Creative writing? Damn, I love that stuff. Its my best feature in English right now.
I personally like Metal Gear Solid 4, the cut-scene to game play doesn't bother me because I really want to know more about what is happening and how it is happening. Being Snake's last mission in all just makes it even more better, it is quite sad to see what the Legendary Soldier has turned into in just 5 years, but it does make for a good story line.
I liked the fact that everyone played their part, no matter how small they were in previous games they all played their part in the finale. Like Johnny (Akiba), he was the soldier Meryl stripped in the first game to take the uniform from, in the third you met his grandfather (the guard outside of Big Boss' cell with the balaclava on and the J on the forehead) and he comes to his own in the end. That was good, although there is going to be a 5th, Hideo Kojima already confirmed it, I assume Raiden is main character anyway.
What difficulty did you play it on?