Metal Gear Solid

"An excellent game in which hiding from enemies is a good thing."

I remember back in 1998, when all the hype was building about how Metal Gear Solid would be the best game ever. I didn’t take the hype in and never really got around to play it. My friends all had bought the game and they said it was one of the best games ever. And being a fool, I took one look at the game and thought it looked kind of dumb. But finally, I just decided to try it out, because I watched carefully and got slowly more and more interested in the stealth infiltration method of playing the game. So I thoroughly played the game, and I was quite shocked. I didn’t expect a game like this to have such a good story (Much like a movie), have such nice graphics, and have such great innovative gameplay.

Graphics
Amazing. Every little bit of the game has excellent graphics, so you didn’t have to wait for cinema scenes just to see the best of them. They just stayed the same for the whole game, and you were able to experience all of it all the time. They were easily some of the best graphics for the Playstation at the time, and still are. There weren’t really any blocky shapes. All the characters were nicely shaped, which is good because that way their hands aren’t cubes. The enemies came out looking just as good as the main characters. They were chock full of detail, and it was at least pretty easy to see what they were trying to do. The environments that surrounded the characters all the time were full of detail and clear. (For the most part)

Audio
To tell you the truth, there isn’t too much variation of the music, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. The music that you did hear was great. It fit in well into the environment and/or situation, and made the game much more enjoyable.

As for the sound, it was excellent. Unlike many games out there, the sounds were sounded realistic and clear. For instance, when Solid Snake knocks on a metal truck, it actually sounds like someone is knocking on metal, not wood or anything. The footsteps made slight noises, and Konami made sure that they could make it more realistic if the footsteps got louder if there is nothing below. (Bah, I can’t explain it.) All the other sounds in the game sounded excellent as well.

No cheap voice acting! Hurray! The voices that the people did sounded like it was part of a real life conversation, not like a stiff House of the Dead 2 type voice. Well, I’m saying this for the major voices important to the storyline, because the words that the enemy genome soldiers spoke were not the best thing I’ve ever heard. (“Huh? What was that noise?”)

Gameplay
Metal Gear Solid has some very unique things going on in its gameplay. The whole game revolves around infiltration, not fighting. Don’t lead yourself to believe that this is a Goldeneye type of game, because you have to basically kill people in that game. If you try to do that in MGS, you’ll die pretty quickly. You must find a way to sneak past enemies, surveillance cameras, gun cameras, and infrared rays to proceed. Being spotted will not end the game, but it makes things really risky. If you get spotted, it changes the game to “Alert Mode” in which the enemy knows where you are and is after you. After the enemy loses sight of you, the game enters “Evasion Mode”, which means that the enemies are constantly looking for you. There is a timer, and when it reaches zero, the enemy soldiers go back to their positions and you can breathe a sigh of relief. And to make things worse, your radar doesn’t work. There is a radar system installed in the game (except for “Hard” and “Extreme” modes) to make work easier for you. Of course, you can’t expect to make it through the game without being spotted. There are several points in the game in which you must be spotted in order to proceed. This usually happens automatically when you reach an area. That’s why you’ve got a ton of weapons and helpful items to help you blast down your foes when absolutely necessary and make it by your bosses.

There’s a system of “Codec” in the game in which Snake can contact people through a small system in his ear. Using this you can talk to people and find out how to beat bosses, get past traps, etc. So it’s sort of like a built-in mini-guide. This is used also for much of the dialogue in the storyline.

So overall, Metal Gear Solid has excellent gameplay. It’s innovative, original, and not to mention fun.

Story
An excellent story lies within Metal Gear Solid. Actually, you might even get annoyed to be cut off SO MANY TIMES with cut scenes and Codec calls that contribute to the overall story. It goes a little bit like this: You are Snake. You must infiltrate a nuclear warhead storage building, which was overrun by terrorists. The terrorists are demanding a person’s remains, and if they do not get their demands within 24 hours, they threaten to launch a nuke. You must first rescue hostages, then find out if they really have the ability to launch a nuclear missile. If they do, you must stop them at all costs.

This sounds pretty basic, but it gets really deep with a LOT of plot twists. If you haven’t played this game and you have a friend who already has, here’s some advice: Don’t ask him/her anything about the game’s story. They’re bound to give away something big.

~ Replay Value
Actually, there is some replay value. After playing through the game, you can save again from the very beginning. Depending on your actions at a certain point in the game, you can restart the game getting an item. For instance, if you do the right things, you can get stealth in your next file. If you do something different, you can get a bandana. Both of those items are extremely useful, so it’s actually worth getting them.

But of course, there are a couple of different endings. Those actions that you took that determined your item also determine how your ending will turn out. You can get either a “good” ending or a “bad” ending. You can replay your game to see them both.

~ Game Length
Unfortunately, this game isn’t too long. When you play through your game the first time, it usually takes players roughly about 10 hours to beat it. After getting stealth and bandana, it’s possible to blast through this whole game in less than 2 and a half hours!!! Yet those 10 hours it takes to beat it are very enjoyable. The new infiltration idea and the story, which keeps you sucked in, make it seem like much more than 10 hours.

~ Challenge
Sure, this game is plenty challenging for newcomers. The infiltration thing kind of takes a little bit of getting used to (I recall jumping out and choking the first 10 guards), but once you get used to the control and radar, it gets much easier to penetrate. The bosses weren’t too hard, but they did provide enough challenge to make you sweat at times…

Final Word
Metal Gear Solid is a game that must be played by anyone who owns a Playstation. Although it’s a bit short, the game is sure to please you with its unique and awesome gameplay, its deep story, its great music and sound effects, and the brilliant graphics. Almost every part of the game should please you, like it pleased me. Forget the age; if you don’t have this yet, get it!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/01, Updated 06/15/01