Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel

"The original Metal Gear Solid for the PSP, and no, it's not a port or a remake. It's an... art show?"

Be warned! This isn't a full 'game' per se, but a graphic novel / game hybrid- and as cool as it sounds, you'll be pleased to hear that it works quite well.

This is one of my favourite titles for the PSP. As mentioned, this game is two parts comic, one part game. Kojima Productions have taken the adaptation of the original Metal Gear Solid comic Ashley Wood created and converted it into a sort of slideshow, storyboard movie- if you've played Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and watched the cut scenes, you'll know what I'm taking about. The entire experience of the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel winds up being a beautiful, atmospheric collection of artwork with a superb, looping soundtrack complete with great sound effects and animation.

The game is basically the entire MGS graphic novel condensed and augmented with screen effects, sound and music. It's a comic book, so there isn't really much playing; your first time through your likely to sit back and enjoy the ride. As mentioned, the ‘game' part of MGS:DGN is: scattered throughout each panel and page are hotspots which you can collect and form into a sort of 'thought-web' at the main menu. Each hotspot is a memory; a piece of information regarding the events that took place at Shadow Moses, and at the collection screen, you can piece them all together, forming new links and making a massive web of knowledge. The game takes you through the plot panel by panel, until you reach the end of that page, which you'll be given the option to go back and search for highlightable stuff.

This is a neat time waster, and each piece of information you collect has readable stuff, so it's like a little MGS wiki in your pocket. Forming links and paths in the web is a neat feature as well, as not all the information will sync up with one another, so you have to be making new paths and breaking old ones all the time. If you have the idea you'll go through the game slowly on your first and second play through and collect all the hotspots you're sadly mistaken- there are easily hundreds of these li'l critters all over the place, and some are exTREMely hard to find. If you're a completist, you'll certainly have your work cut out for you.

The animation is beautifully done, and the transitions between panels and individual character animation is excellent as well. Your knuckles will be white after watching the pulse-pounding gun draw duel between the older Ocelot and younger Snake, and it's always a treat when the Cyborg Ninja shows up. I'm still really impressed of how they took the graphic novel and turned it into such a cool experience. The fights are exciting, the music matches each mood and scene perfectly, and as a whole, this digital graphic novel retains the iron grip of the Metal Gear Solid universe on the player as much as the original games are able to.

I'm guessing they didn't want the player to feel disappointed about just having an (amazing) digital comic on the go, so they managed to work in a previously mentioned 'game' factor to go along with it. Like I said, scattered throughout the hundreds of panels are numerous hotspots, which can be collected via point and click (by pausing the game on a panel) and picking them out, using the analog nub. They are then automatically recorded, which players can try to piece together, to form a sort of web, deepening the events of Shadow Moses. The process of going over each panel with a fine-toothed comb isn't as fun as reading the comic, but offers a good time waster, and it's a superb for going through every each panel, zooming in and copying the artwork (if you love to draw like me). Some of the stuff in it is far too ethereal and complicated to copy by means of pencil, but I hear Wood does a lot of his stuff by means of Photoshop, so it ought to be brain food for imaginative, computer savvy people out there. Even if you're not a fan of graphic design, it still makes a good read, and the artwork is good enough to transport you to another, esoterical, adrenaline filled world.

I have ONE complaint, however. Other than the lack of voice acting. And how you can't pause at every single panel in the game. My ONE complaint is that the writing doesn't quite stand up to the great art. It's like someone slapped a second-draft speech balloon over the Mona Lisa's head or something. For the most part, the writing is okay, but it can at times kind of jerk you out of the moment.

As you may've guessed, I'm a huge fan of the effort that went into the music and sound for this entry. A gleaming highlight of the game, it makes you realize how lucky you are to be able to hear, and it would be a sin to play this game without proper headphones. The sound and the music is a joy; much like it was in Portable Ops. The music is very atmospheric and fitting with each panel, and all kinds of great sound effects (gunshots, laughter, explosions) are interspersed with the fighting and sneaking sequences. Any handheld game sounds better with stereo headphones, and once again Team Kojima has outdone themselves in stellar production values.

This is a straight-up comic book, with effects thrown in certain spots for the advancement of the panels. The artwork is all done by Ashley Wood, and it all looks ghostly, ethereal, and overall, way cool. The game gives you the option of stopping at any panel and easily zooming in, so like I said, if you're into art, this is a great deal for you. I bought mine for 20 bucks, and considering how the paper version of the anthology is like 30-40 bucks, it really is a good deal as it's basically a smaller, more portable, interactive version of the book, complete with music and sound, with an optional gameplay motive thrown in that they put some thought into. The only drawback for people looking to copy the art is the need of battery power, and the inability to take a step back and examine the whole thing from a distance- you can only go from panel to panel, never the whole page.

I'm giving the game an overall score of 9/10, because of the okay writing and the lack of voice acting, but the sequel will remedy both of these issues, meaning I'll probably give it a perfect 10. But- if any one from Kojima Productions is reading this review, please give players the option to toggle voice acting. I know I was going on and on about the sound and music and all, but sometimes it's kind of nice (I think) to just kind of read for a while and enjoy the music. I'll definitely get the next digital graphic novel, and I look forward to the voice acting, but it's always nice when the player has freedom in these tiny, yet incredible, worlds.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/27/07

Game Release: Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel (US, 06/13/06)