Metal Gear Solid

"NWalterstorf's vote for the best game ever made."

This is the Metal Gear Solid game for the PSone. The series began back in 1987 in Japan with Metal Gear for the MSX. A year later, the game arrived on American shores on the NES platform. Later, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was released in 1990, which pushed the envelope of the Metal Gear series (I'll exclude Snake's Revenge because it is not Metal Gear canon).

So here we are with Metal Gear Solid, 1995, for the Playstation game console. Tactical Espionage Action, with a high focus on stealth over action. So how great is this game? Allow me to explain.

"A story unlike any other."

There are so many games out there with some many various stories. This game takes the cake as being the best story I've ever heard in a video game (except for MGS2, but that's for another review of mine). The story rests in the near future, and is circled around the Metal Gear, a bi-pedal nuclear tank. So what's Snake's job? Stop the launch of nuclear warheads from the Metal Gear by any means necessary. And so Snake embarks on another mission in Alaska; and just as he was enjoying his semi-retirement as a dog musher!

The story twists and turns enough to make you sick, but carries cintrifugal force to keep you along with the ride. It's a complex story, but it won't loose you. While you experience this one of a kind story, pay close attention to everything; every plot advancement, every story curve, every encounter, every Codec conversation. If you bat an eye, if you blink a single blink, you'll miss it all. Luckily, when you leave the game and restart on a save (like, say, the next morning), you'll be greeted with a story synopsis on where you left off in the game. Very helpful if you don't have enough time to play the game straight through.

The story is detailed, complex, and leaves some very small areas open to your imagination; it's a great tale, and once you get done, everything will click; "Oh! That's why Snake did this and that," and "that's why this happened when he did that!" Things which may at first appear confusing are not, in fact, confusing, part are simply part of the bigger picture. By the end of this tale, all questions are answered, and there are absolutely not plot holes (unless you batted an eye, or blinked a blink).

Also, Hideo Kojima has one of the best minds when it comes to a unique and intricate story and plot. For example, he'll take something as crazy as Telepathy, or gene therapy, and make it seem completely real.

The game begins with Snake surfacing from under water, and infiltrating a nuclear weapons disposal plant. As you exit the water and experience the first of many stealth-inducing encounters, the credits roll on the screen as you must avoid the guard patrolling the area. Of course, if the intensity within the game gets too compacting, you could just as easily shoot and kill the guards, or, if you're unequiped with a weapon, knock them out or break their neck.

"Tactical Espionage Action."

It's in the title itself. The gameplay is phenomenal. You must utilize stealth in this game. Don't get sighted. Sneak around behind enemies. Don't step in water or you'll make noise, don't run across the snow like an idiot or your footprints will notify the enemy of your presence. You must use stealth while playing this game. Hideo Kojima's entire emphasis on the Metal Gear series' gameplay would be "stealth over action."

Also, there's excellent action segments, which occur when you get caught or encounter a boss. You must learn strategies to defeat every boss. Also, one boss towards the middle of the game is so confusing, and so trippy, that you'll find no way to beat him at first, because he surprisingly knows your every move; of course, the answer is simple when you discover what to do, but it's very interesting.

The torture segments are done well; they actually influence the end of the game. Sure, they're very short, but they're good. You must tap a certain button to keep from dying. You can succumb to the torture by pressing the select button; but, if you fail, you cannot continue at that part of the game, putting you at high risk of loosing your game if you attempt a no-save playthrough.

When the alert status hits the screen, you must avoid the enemy, or you will, 90/100 chances die. You'll need to find a place to hide or, cleverly, wear a box and blend into the background. Also, you'll have to be sure to keep an eye out for security cameras; if you run around madly while in alert mode, chances are a camera will spot you, and you'll be discovered once again, unable to successfully escape the enemy.

Here's an example of this game's incredible gameplay. There's a place where you have to cross a field using a mind detector. You have to brave your way across, then take on a tank, all by yourself. You have to use a Chaff Grenade to disrupt the tank's auto-fire mechanism, then run in and hurl grenades down the hatch of the tank. After the battle's over, you'll have to head north across the field and run into another building. After infiltrating the next building, you'll have to avoid guards; also, it's the nuclear weapons chamber, so you cannot fire your weapons to make things easy. Head to an elevator, and come to another floor, and you'll need to use a security card to open a door, then put on a gas mask to avoid the toxic fumes to keep out infiltrators, then use a Nikita missile launcher to take out an electronic floor battery device. All within ten minutes. Yeah. It's that fun, and that's only a small, small piece of the overall gameplay.

"You'll like the way you look. I guarantee it."

The graphics are excellent for this dated system. They don't meet up with the current-gen and next-gen system, for obvious reasons, but these graphics are some of the best that the Playstation had to offer. Everything looks great, from te environments to the characters (despite the low polygon count this platform offers).

The sound is great, as well as the music; it has a beautiful theme, both at the beginning, and again at the ending. The VR missions have a catchy tune, as well as the action segments throughout the game. The atmosphere, set up by the sound effects, graphics, and music are intense.

The hero of the tale is Snake, a character who's danced to this jig before (that would be the jig of "prevent nuclear war by any means necessary). Snake is a very unique character, very strong willed and powerful. He's voiced by David Hayter, who I believe is one of the best American voice actors I've ever heard; David Hayter does an excellent job as Snake. Also, the other characters in the story are interesting. When you hear the story of the boss enemies you'll have to fight, you'll feel sorry for them having defeated them.

"In closing."

In closing, this is one of the best game's I've every played, for one of the best series every invented. It's a great title; dynamic, impacting, leaving a lasting impression upon all who play it. Nothing in this title is rushed, nothing is overdone, nothing left undone. I found myself utilizing every weapon, every object at my disposal that the game qued. Also, there's plenty of replay value, as various endings give you various extras to use during the next playthrough. Also, you're ranked after each playthrough. The game's a little short, but your first playthrough should be long enough. You'll be given a grade depending on how long it took you to complete this game, as well as how many enemies you've killed, how many rations you've used, saves, ect., and you can share these ranks on-line via message boards.

But like I said, it is a very short game. The first playthrough will take anywhere from five to nine hours, but the following playthroughs will barely reach three. Of course, there's plenty to look at here, and a ton of easter eggs are in every direction, not to mention the fact that you have access to some very cool equipment upon completion on the game depending on which ending you get. Needless to say, you'll be coming back for more, even if you've beaten the game three times and have everything the game has to offer. It's that good.

So should you rent this title or purchase it? Purchase it. It will be hard to rent this title in this day and age (of this review), so I'd recommend a purchase from a bargain bin at a video game store that sells Playstation titles. Plus, it's cheaper than a normal game anyways, and the gameplay and replay is incredible.

This gets my rating for the best game I've every played, and that's no over-statement. I've played a lot of games and made a lot of reviews, but this take the cake. I give Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation console a perfect ten out of ten, as well as my vote for the best game ever made.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/06