Metal Gear Solid

Up until last week I had never played Metal Gear Solid, and now I deeply regret I haven't done it earlier.

Launched in the distant year of 1998 this action-adventure stealh game developed by Hideo Kojima and distributed by Konami has gained the status of a groundbreaking title. Metal Gear Solid was very well received by the critic, and is recognized by many as one of the best and most important games of all time. Selling more than 6 million copies, Metal Gear Solid made the stealth genre popular which led to sequels, prequels, spin-offs, remakes, radio drama, comics and novels.

Truth be told, Metal Gear Solid is actually a sequel to the MSX2 games titled Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The MSX2 was a Japanese Home Computer known for its limitations, for instance the impossibility to have more than 4 enemies at the same time in a screen. Kojima was a newbie and didn't really know much about programing, after all he took economics course in college, but he had the dream and desire to make games that looked like movies, and when Konami ordered Kojima to make an action game for the MSX2T Kojima's creativity led to Metal Gear. He surpassed the limitations of the MSX2 and came up with the idea to make a game focused on the goal of not being seen rather than confronting hordes of enemies like most games at the time

Solid Snake sneaking upon an enemy inside a cardbox. An iconic prop in the Metal Gear series.

Metal Gear was released in the western market as a port for the NES system, without any envolvement by Kojima. The game has some differences over the original game, one of them critical...the robot that is the reason for the game (Metal Gear, a kind of mobile tank aka a Mecha) does not appear in the NES version which is simply ridiculous. Nonetheless Metal Gear was a success in the US which led to a sequel (Snake's Revenge) for the NES which, once again, wasn't developed by Kojima. He himself did not knew that a sequel was being made and was during a train trip with one of the delevopers of that game, who had previously worked with Kojima, that he discovered that. His former co-worker asked Kojima to develop a real sequel and that's what he did, by the next day Kojima had the idea of the game almost complete. Snake's Revenge was a success and was never released in Japan, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was only released in Japan and was considered even better than his predecessor, but due to only being released in the MSX2 led to a low number of units sold.

Solid Snake running away from Metal Gear Rex.

Up until today Kojima despises the NES versions and considers them to be garbage due to have significant diferences over his original vision of the game. Snake's Revenge is considered to be non-canon on the series.

So what is Metal Gear Solid about? The game follows Solid Snake, a soldier and main protagonist of the previous games, who infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility in an island on Alaska known as Shadow Moses in the, at the time, future year of 2005. The goal is to neutralize the terrorist threat from FOXHOUND, a renegade special forces unit. Also, Snake must rescue three hostages, the head of DARPA, the president of a major arms manufacturer and Meryl Silverburgh, which is the niece of Snake's commanding officer Roy Campbell.

The main antagonist and leader of FOXHOUND is Liquid Snake. This special force has specialized members like Revolver Ocelot, a gunslinger, Sniper Wolf, a sniper, Vulcan Raven, a heavy-gun specialist, Psycho Mantis, a psychic and Decoy Octopus, a master of disguise. Liquid Snake threatens to launch a nuclear attack if his demands are not fulfilled which might cause a new World War.

Graphics - 4/5 

Being a release to the Sony Playstation game console, Metal Gear Solid is the first entry in 3D of the series. Now we might think that the graphics are a little dated, but the thing is that an HD version of the game would not make a big difference, because it still looks good, and if we think that it was released 15 years ago they look really awesome. A remake for the GameCube using the game engine of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was released, titled, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes but still I've played the Playstation and looked as good as some Playstation 2 titles.

Gameplay - 5/5

This is where Metal Gear Solid excels. The top view is, in my opinion, the best way to play any Metal Gear Solid game. I've tried the Playstation Portable titles and found them less enjoyable due to the camera view.
The game has several ways to be played. You can either be extra sneaky and refrain from killing enemy soldiers or just being sneaky and cleaning everything that comes in your way using the various methods you are allowed to use. You can knock on walls to lure the enemies to traps. You have to use cigarettes to be able to see lasers in some rooms. One particular enemy predicts what you are going to do and the way to trick him is to plug your controller in the player 2 slot. Using a cardbox to avoid being detected or letting dogs pee on it to prevent them to attack you later. The details are awesome and encourage the player to look for different ways to reach the goal.
The boss fights are among the best ever in the gaming history and that is to say a lot about it.
Another great thing about the game is the storytelling, it is a great story that is told by playing the missions and by the many cutscenes that are simply awesome. I think that at the time nothing has been done like that, the game truly looks like a movie. The game takes about 2-3 hours to complete but the cutscenes extend the game for 3 more hours more or less.
It doesn't get much better than this.



Sound - 5/5

Immersive. That is the perfect adjective to describe the soundtrack of this game. The sound becomes part of the action, thrills the player and can either make you feel safe or in danger.
The voice acting is also superb.



Longevity - 4/5

As said before the game isn't very long, but due to the many ways to complete the game, the two different endings and the bonus items that are given by the end of the game (like a bandana that when equipped makes you to have infinite bullets) when you complete certain goals add a great replay value. Also there are the VR Missions which, despite not having any story, are also interesting to play.

Truly a masterpiece, a must have and must play. If you have not played it yet I urge you to do it. I give it a SOLID 18/20.