Metal Gear Solid

"One fine masterpeice"

As soon as Metal Gear Solid made its debut, it became an instant classic. This fine masterpeice is a great example of what the PlayStation can really do. Metal Gear Solid refined the genre of action adventure games. Proving that espionage games are very fun and exciting. MGS (Metal Gear Solid)has breath taking graphics, clear crisp sound effects, and game play that will astound you. Spooky bad guys and a vast array of high tech weaponray will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This game takes place during the 21st century. The nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island in Alaska's Fox Archipelago is attacked and captured by Next Generation Special Forces led by members of Fox-Hound. Terrorists capurted hunderds of nuclear warheads and they are demanding that the government turn over the remains of Big Boss. They threaten that if the demands are not complied within 24 hrs, they will launch a nuclear weapon. Your assignment must single handedly sneak into the nuclear weapons disposal site and rescue two hostages. DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and the President of Arms Tech, Kenneth Baker, and then neutralize the terrorists threat & prevent a nuclear launch. Time is of the essence. You will be heading in alone. So you must be quick, lethal, and most importantly stealthy.

MGS's gameplay is unprecedented. This game provides the player a thrill they will never forget. Controls in the game are straightforward and easy to learn. A simple button layout and an on screen radar map help you fight your way to your mission objectives. The dual shock analog controller is compatible with this game, making the experience even more enjoyable. The rumbles from the controller match the game's activities. For example, if the player gets shot up by bullets you'll feel a jolt in the controller. A really nice touch to the game. The game's difficulty is adjustable to the players liking. There are four difficulty settings: easy, normal, hard, and extreme. The Hard and Extreme settings disable the radar map for increased difficulty. A real life situation story line keeps the player on their toes, making them guess what's going to happen next. The characters in the game are filled with unique personalities. Each of them with cool evil voices and personal agendas that give them the personalities of true terrorists. Camera views are amazing and take a while to adjust too. All these camera angles provide a cinematic atmosphere. Another nice feature in the game. If you find yourself in a jam, you can ask for some advice from your military advisors on your Codec (radio of some sort, used for contact).

Weapons & equipment are a key factors of success when dealing with a ton of rotten bad guys. The player has the choice of utilizing a little over 10 weapons. These consist of a: Socom pistol, fa-mas assault rifle, C-4 explosives, some grenades, chaff grenade (used to jam electronic equipment), stun grenade, Nikita (Remote controlled missile), claymore land mines, Stinger missiles, PSG-1 Sniper rifle, and a digital camera. Your equipment consists of the basic infiltration essentials which are: Scope (binoculars), some cigarettes, rations, Card levels, thermal goggles, nightvision goggles, etc. Most of these items must be found by the player. They are hidden in locations throughout the game. At first the player will only have the Scope and some cigarettes. The player should familiarize themselves with each weapon's characteristics and use them wisely. You have the option to contact one of your advisors via Codec to learn more about the different weapons and equipment.

Menus in the game are easily navigable. There are no complications and they are easily understandable. It's a breeze to configure the settings to your liking. Typical options such as: Caption, sound, controller vibration, key configuration, adjust screen brightness, and training mode.

The VR training modes are hype. They allow the player to practice their skills and trains the player to have the potential of an assassin. There a few modes, these modes are: Time attack mode, gun shooting mode, and survival mode. As the game progresses your awarded with more menu choices. It is in the VR training missions that allow you to perfect the advanced techniques that you must acquire in order to reach your ultimate goal. With practice you'll of course get better. But with out practice, your on a suicide mission. I recommend checking out the VR missions for beginning players.

MGS has state of the art graphics that please the player's eye. They cinematic graphics are consistent, meaning are the same throughout the game, whether it being playing time or cut scene time. There are no CG movies in here. There's no need for them because the graphics are all ready top notch. By the way, having a consistent graphical representation, the game's loading time is decreased dramatically. Therefore making the game fast in a way. Lighting effects such as the bullets flying out of a Famas assault rifle are spectacular. From grenade explosions to cigarette smoke, they look amazing. If your in the snow you'll be able to see the foot prints you make and your hot breath condensing with the cold outside air. Another nice touch to the game. Sound effects and music are pleasing to the ear. The music consists of some orchestral scores, none of that rock and roll or rap stuff in here. The game doesn't really need that kind of a feeling. Gunfire and character voice overs are terrific. They sound authentic to a real movie. If fact, your actually playing in a movie, because MGS provides such a cinematic feel.

Now for the negative flaws in the game. There aren't a lot but quite a few. Controlling Snake (main character) can be rather difficult at times when using the analog stick. Sometimes the slightest movement of the stick can push Snake out of a good hiding place and revealing him to sentinels (guards). Or sometimes when you stealthily sneak up behind a guard and try to snap his neck, the player might over do the motion of Snake and ruin the ambush attack. To sum it up Snake can be a little hard to control at times. Only through practice will you master this. It takes a lot of patience and practice to be a true stealthy master killer. Another downside to MGS is the long frequent cut scenes. It is like every 4 min. of play result in a Codec transmission or a cutscene. Making the game long and tedious to the impatient gamer. But I guess it is only to move the story line along. The first time you play it, the scenes are amazing and important, but when you get to be a real pro and beat the game several times the scenes then become a nuisance. Therefore, reducing the replay value a bit. Another thing that I find trouble some is the aiming of your guns. Konami did not provide any aiming recticles in the game, making the player frustrated at times. The method of aiming is to line up your weapon with the path of your enemy. Again, you'll need practice to overcome this obstacle. Another flaw is the lack of realism. For example, if the player shoots the guard in the leg, the bullet seems to pass through the neck! I don't understand, are these magic bullets? Plus the game is short. I beat the game in 18 hr. the first time I played it. But I guess that' why they have the 24 hr. deadline. Anyway, these are the flaws of the game, I wouldn't say that these flaws should keep you from buying the game. These are minor flaws in my opinion.

Overall Metal Gear Solid is an outstanding representation of a tactical espionage action thriller. I would recommend checking this game out. This masterpiece of the Metal Gear series will astound you with a superb cinematic gaming experience.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 02/20/03