I've played a good bit of MGS2 and 3, now it's time to tackle the original.
METAL GEAR SOLID
System: Play Station
Rating: M
Story
The Metal Gear series all started in "Metal Gear" and "Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake," which ended in Solid Snake retiring to Alaska from his duties in FOXHOUND. In MGS, his old Colonel calls him out of retirement to tell him about a FOXHOUND rebellion which has become the biggest act of terrorism in history. The FOXHOUND team that has rebelled consists of 6 members - Psycho Mantis, a power psychic; Vulcan Raven, a large and fearsome fighter; Decoy Octopus, master of disguise; Sniper Wolf, a highly skilled female sniper; Revolver Ocelot, a master interrogator and gun handler; and the FOXHOUND squad leader who joined the group shortly after Snake's retirement, codenamed Liquid Snake. Snake is sent to Shadow Moses Island in Alaska to infiltrate their base of operation and rescue the people they've held hostage, but as he gets deeper into the heart of the base, he learns more of how serious this situation is…
Bottom line, it's very interesting writing material.
Gameplay
Gameplay is about the same as the games that come later, but with a few things taken away. You can walk and crawl, hide in boxes, use weaponry you find around the area, and of course your goal is the same as always; Try not to get caught. Due to the age of this game, it has some issues, such as the sniper rifle having a very slow targeting system, but most of the items still work fine.
This game must have been very impressive for its time, because it featured unique uses of gameplay. For example, in order to contact Meryl, you are told to look at the back of the 'CD case' - On the case that the game came in, there is a screenshot of Meryl on the Codec, with her frequency in view. Also, during the battle with Psycho Mantis, he proves his psychic ability by reading your memory card data. He lists a few games (only Konami titles, such as Castlevania), as well as comment on how often you save on MGS. Additionally, he will turn the screen blank a few times, and be able to predict your attacks unless you plug the controller into the second port.
These are things I've never seen performed in video games, so needless to say it impressed me.
Graphics
Well, one thing that has to be said is that age has not been kind to this game. The game itself is from the original Play Station, so it is not very well details. There are instances where cutscenes feature real video (such as war scenes), but otherwise, the graphics are not impressive in todays world of games.
They're very blocky and polygonal, as expected. If you ignore that, though, it becomes very minor.
Music
This is where MGS first started using theatrical music. As you play through the battles and witness the emotional scenes, you soon become familiar with the theme of the music and the haunting sound of the choir melody.
There's not much else beyond that.
Voice Actors
The voices you all recognize from the later games all started here. From Solid Snake, to Otacon, to Ocelot and Colonel. Everyone has had the same voice from this point on.
Konami is great with consistency.
Sequel?
Considering there are already sequels beyond this game, the best thing to bring up here is that there was a remake of MGS which was released on the Nintendo Game Cube after MGS2 came out. All I know at the moment is that it's been updated with new high quality graphics, a revamped script, and improved gameplay all to fit what we see in MGS2.
It sounds like an impressive piece of work, so when I get the chance, I'll buy it and review it here.
Overall
Overall, this was an awesome gaming experience, and if you feel like taking on a challenge, this one's for you. Remember to buy a PS1 memory card too, I learned that the hard way!
Rating: 9/10
