Metal Gear Solid [PS1]

In 1998, Metal Gear was an extremely niche series. Hideo Kojima wanted to release a third Metal Gear game following the previous two on both the NES and MSX. Enter Metal Gear Solid.

Metal Gear Solid is the first 3D Metal Gear game (solid refers to its graphics). It is heavily overshadowed by other games in its year such as great titles like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Half-Life. Even StarCraft has its name mentioned by many PC fans. The third-person stealth genre never made its mark in this era, but it does not take away the greatness in the game. In fact, the game is so good, it is remade for the GameCube.

First and foremost, as mentioned above, the game is a third-person stealth action game. Even if one is not a fan of these particular type of games, it does not mean one cannot also thoroughly enjoy this title. As far as controls go, the game is pretty easy to understand. The control stick and control pad move Snake whether between running, walking, or even crawling. The buttons function between action (climbing ladders or opening doors), using weapons or gadgets, fighting, and other simple things one can easily understand. All one needs to do is listen. The controls are not a problem.

Without spoiling the story, Metal Gear Solid essentially starts off as a soldier, named Solid Snake, being dropped off in Alaska and told about a mission by his higher-up. Terrorists with nuclear weapons have threatened the American government, and are coercing them into giving away the remains of "Big Boss". If their demands are not met in 24 hours, they will launch a series of nuclear attacks.

I cannot give away more than this, but I can assure that Metal Gear Solid has one of the best stories in a video game ever conceived. The characters are extremely realistic and the suspension of the game is always in rising action. I suppose it may alienate some who did not play the original 2 games but it isn't necessary to play them, because if one simply has patience, one can grow into the story naturally.

It has a great cast of characters and the voice acting is simply terrific. I have to give credit to Kojima as this was essentially his first 3D game. The voice acting in this game rivals voice acting today. I can always hear the actual emotion of some of these scenes.

The ending will leave one speechless. I do not lie when I say this. If a human plays and completes this game they will leave with something they did not have coming into this game. I can assure that the experience of the story that this game gave me is simply unprecedented. I can ignore every single aspect of the game right now and still rate it a perfect 10/10 for the story online. That is what this game is all about: its story. Its characters. Its concepts that it tries to stress to the ordinary person about war, politics, and mankind. Again, I wish I could speak more of the story, but I must make this clear: the story is an extremely important part of one's overall experience of the game, and even if you do NOT enjoy storylines in video games, you will enjoy this one regardless. I don't care who you are. You will fall in love with at least one of these characters.

The music is mostly dark. It fits the nature of the game and its setting. Many of you probably heard a few tracks in Super Smash Bros. Brawl; it isn't all dark of course as there are some sorrow and mystery-esque themes. Overall, the game is extremely good at setting the mood in whichever scenario that is currently presented. Goosebumps went through my body in my first play-through almost throughout the whole game and the farther you venture, the better it got.

The graphics in the original Playstation version obviously does not compare to the graphics today, but for its time they were solid (no pun intended). The faces don't exactly look expressive, but if one wants a more updated feel one can always get the remade GameCube version.

Despite all of these things listed above, the gameplay is actually not all that impressive. It's easy and it's simple, but it's not something revolutionary or anything you want to talk first about. The gameplay usually involves stealth avoiding detection from soldiers. I will give credit to some of the boss fights however. Their quotes are very memorable and each one has a distinctive style in defeating them. There is pleasure in fighting many of these bosses. Gadgets include guns, bombs, grenades, and many other goodies. Snake can also fist fight and sneak up behind enemies. Saving can be done anywhere. It's really all standard stealth. Most fans of this game will not praise the gameplay however; the story is just what makes this game work.

If I could sum up what one would experience in playing a complete round of Metal Gear Solid, I would summarize it in these words: a movie that is a video game. Whether one are a gaming fan, a movie fan, or a reader: you will LOVE this game. The beginning could use a little work, but I understand that it is part of the rising action later on. One will not be terribly interested as soon as they start, but patience has to kick in. The farther one goes, the more interest one takes in. It slowly sucks one into the story enough to give make one wonder what happens next.

Only real problems I can find in this game is maybe the learning curve. It's pretty steep, but it's not terribly impossible to complete these objectives. Some of the cutscenes may be way too long for the average person despite how much I enjoy them.

And that is essentially it. The game is really just mostly a brilliant story one experiences. I have always been a person of gameplay, but this is simply an exception. I began to realize that gaming can also be appreciated for its art outside of gameplay, and I promise that you will agree as well once you see the ending. This game proves that games can be as deep as any other medium in existence. It is the perfect poster child for what gaming could potentially be as a medium. It will give you chills like a real movie, it will make you laugh like a real movie, and it will make you cry like a real movie. Clear 10/10 for those who are wondering.

Nice review, but IMO the game isn't deserving of 10/10. I think a small amount of bias is present, although I can't say since I haven't played the game and my reviews are probably biased. I agree that it probably deserves a high score however.

I don't give away too many 10/10, but you can trust me when I say it's a 10/10!

But you are right in saying that until you play the game, you can't *truly* judge if my review is biased or not.

But then again, what review isn't?