Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel

"Snake gets his own comic book"

Metal Gear Solid – Digital Novel

8/10

What can one say about the series that hasn't been said? The series is brilliant (particularly MGS3 - Snake Eater) and always innovative, and this digital novel series only adds to the mix. Although this is ‘only' a retelling of the story of Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation, it is still a great game/novel and still worthy of attention regardless of your level of experience with the original. For myself, who played the original game released back in the 90s, this still has a bit of bang for its buck (as it explains events somewhat differently – e.g. some of the battle victories are odd compared with you actually playing them). For those who hadn't played the original this will likely be an enjoyable ride. Regardless the artwork in it makes the whole trip worthwhile, as will be outlined below.

Visuals – 9/10

The game can't really be faulted here. The style of the artwork as well as the delivery of the animations during the various comic strips works brilliantly. In regard to the artwork style, it's the typical metal gear style artwork for which the game has become famous for.

Overall, it's great to see and read through Snake's various combat scenes from ‘twin snakes' as well as watch the animation reflect this. Having read 1,000s of comic book (Spider-man, Batman, Watchmen, Spawn, etc.), I can say that I have never really experienced a comic book in any way similar to this. It was refreshing. I hope other companies out there take the time to do the same style of digital novels…it was a great experience.

Story – 9/10

The story was the same old story from ‘Twin snakes.' There was nothing new here, but they didn't really need to do anything. The story was great to start with. There was lot's of espionage, and back-stabbing on top of back-stabbing. There was also lot's of history with the characters (Greyfox, snake, Naomi, Big boss). As a story it's strong and compelling, and in all honesty it needs to be. How else is a digital novel going to sell itself? It can't really go for gameplay, can it?

Basically, in all the areas that it needs to be strong, it is. So a solid experience is there, and it won't disappoint.

Sound – 8/10

The sounds were all ‘on point.' Machine guns sounded how they should, and the eerie synthesizer music that the series is famous for when Snake sneaks around is still there, as well as the screeching alert noises. The music is done so well and synched so well, that there will be no second thoughts about it. That said, not all is perfect in ‘snake land' they could easily have done voiceovers and the like for the game, but they didn't (apparently they are doing a revised version of it with voiceovers which will be released with the second digital novel…we shall have to wait and see).

Overall, the sounds are solid, but they are nothing breathtaking. Back in the day, this level would be breathtaking, but breathtaking seems to be the norm these days, as the bar has been raised repeatedly, so the score given here is well justified, especially given that there are things it could do better.

Basically, the digital novel gives us what we have come to expect from the series: a well thought out and planned experience, which will make us question the things around us.

Gameplay – 5/10

There isn't much one can say here…there really isn't any gameplay. The game does allow you to stop on some comic scenes and zoom in and analyze the scene. By doing this you can get some of Snake's memories back (It kind of reminds me of Kingdom hearts here). By collecting these memory fragments, Snake can rebuild his memory banks. All in all, it's a nice idea for extending the life of the game/novel, but the question is ‘could you as the reader be bothered collecting these memories given that they are quite difficult to find, and when the prize is so miniscule (merely a log of the memory and no extension to the story)? I passed on it…I figured why spend time searching around for things that might return his memory when I can just read and enjoy the novel…so, that is exactly what I did.

Lastability – 5/10

Like any book that you read, it's a while before you go back. Comic books are usually much worse for this too, because there isn't much to the story (largely visuals), so unless you are going to go back to study the artwork in it, you probably won't go back any time soon. There are some great shots though, worthy of a second look (e.g. the page where Vulcan Raven and his raven have their faces overlap in profile…very nice composition), however, you won't keep this in your UMD drive long after you finish. There is no reason to. There is nothing left storywise once you finish reading it. I know I was pretty quick to put in Logan's Shadow in after I finished this, and you will likely find yourself another companion too.

Overall – 8/10

This game (term used loosely) will entertain you…but it will likely only take about 4-5 hours to get through. Given the short length of it, one needs to ask whether this warrants a purchase. Personally, I would recommend renting it first as this is worth the experience however it isn't really worth the purchase in my opinion. Games need to have a good level of life to them to warrant that, especially with costs these days. If you can find a friend with it, borrow it. It really is a good experience, but save your cash for something that will have a bit more life to it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/30/08

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