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Hmm... only one way in, and it's being watched by three guards, two surveillance cameras, and a wall-mounted machine gun. My plan? Hell, I'm a walkin' army. Chances are I'll take a few hits, but as long as I'm breathing I've still got a chance.
Think I'll knock out those cameras with a chaff and spray the joint with my FA-MAS. Sure, the blood may splash on my duds, but no one said counter-terrorism was pretty. Saving the world can be dirty business.
Welcome to Metal Gear Solid, the latest from Konami and one of the most anticipated games of the year. The hype within the gaming community has been enormous, a sign of either a sure winner or an insufferable loser. Well, I'm happy to say that MGS is the former, a game that comes pretty darn close to meeting all its lofty expectations.
You are Solid Snake, ex-member of a special forces team called FOX-HOUND. Having been living in isolation in Alaska to escape the madness of war, you are once again called upon to rid the world of evil (pesky evil, always getting in my soup...). It seems that some members of FOX-HOUND have taken to terrorism, capturing a nuclear weapons disposal facility on an island near your home. You are called in to penetrate the base, rescue hostages, and eliminate the terrorist threat - or sit back and watch World War 3 unfold.
I vividly recall Metal Gear for the NES, one of the best games ever made for the system. I played it endlessly, amazed by the combination of stealth, combat and gadgetry. After two sequels, Konami realized they had a good thing on their hands, and MGS is much in the same mold as its predecessors. You'll need to use both stealth and sheer force to succeed.
The game is played from a wealth of camera angles. Reminiscent of Resident Evil, you guide Snake primarily via a top-down view, though the backgrounds in Metal Gear are entirely 3 dimensional. The camera pans to follow you at fixed positions, such as when climbing a spiraling staircase. You can also see through Snake's eyes using a first-person perspective. Unfortunately, you can't move while doing this - it's mainly for identifying doors and objects.
The graphics are fantastic. Almost all objects (including Snake himself) are polygonal. There are few clipping errors and the characters move smoothly. The level of detail is unrivaled - you make footprints in the snow that will eventually get covered up by snowfall. You can identify guards and other characters by their breath in the cold air. Water effects are accurate, light sourcing is dead-on, and the textures are solid. On the other hand, since you are infiltrating only one base for the whole game, there isn't a tremendous amount of variety. You tend to see the same kinds of rooms again and again - but in a way this helps to establish tthe environment. In all, these some of the finest graphics around.
The sound is fabulous as well. From full orchestrated tracks to the best voice-acting this side of Blood Omen, MGS is a treat for the ears. Guns and items sound appropriate, footfalls differ depending on terrain, and explosions are burly.
As an ex-mercenary war maven, Solid Snake is adept at using a wide assortment of cool items. Ranging from the useful (keycards) to the curious (cigarettes) to the downright strange (cardboard boxes(?)), the gadgets are essential to your success. There's even a set of binocular scopes that allow you to zoom in on locations while staying safely out of range (much like the sniper rifle in Goldeneye). Very cool.
Then there are the weapons. What killing machine would be complete without a nice supply of violent noisemakers? Pistols, rifles, grenades, missile launchers... you're here to kick some ass. If you wind up weaponless, you can punch, kick, and even strangle the bad guys. Again, very cool.
The gameplay requires you to proceed with caution at times, with sheer brutality at others. In the upper corner of the screen you'll find your radar. Here you get a vector based lay of the land and the location of doors and enemies. You'll also see a 'line of sight' cone emanating from your enemies. If you enter this cone, you're spotted. The guard sounds the alarm, your radar jams and all guards within earshot come to blow your head off. To sneak past enemies, you need to use misdirection (i.e. tapping on walls to divert attention) and patience.
In general, however, stealth is not quite as integral to MGS as it is to Tenchu. Of course, sometimes you just might want to take on all the terrorist punks you can handle (sometimes you're forced to). The combat is pretty straightforward - just aim and fire. The variety of weapons require a variety of combat techniques, from fist fighting to sniping.
Frankly, this is quite possibly the most engaging and immersive game you'll see for the PSX. The plot is brimming with twists and turns, and as the story develops, the characters become more fleshed out. Genetically enhanced soldiers, invisible ninjas, misguided patriotism, betrayal, murder - this game's got it all. Every last detail is covered - they even explain how you
manage not to freeze while running around in Alaska. In fact, the little things covered in MGS really make the game stand out.
For instance, to save your progress you have to use your Codec, a communications device implanted in your head. You also use this to contact various allies at different frequencies. This acts as sort of a hint system as well - they give you advice on what to do in your current situation.
And then there's the level of interactivity. Konmai pulled out all the stops to ensure that you WILL be pulled into this game. By picking up on what kind of hardware you're using - controller type, memory card, etc. - the game demonstrates that it's almost as smart as you. Just check out what happens with Psycho Mantis... (I won't spoil it)
So with all this good, is there anything holding this game back from a coveted Game Revolution 'A'? Well, I'm glad you asked (I'm talking to myself again, right?)...
Metal Gear Solid is too short. The game can be completed in about 10 hours (more or less, depending on how good you are), which just isn't long enough. Since there's no two-player mode, you pretty much have to play the game over and over again if you want any more action. While Konami threw a veritable plethora of easter eggs and secrets to keep you going, the developers could have just taken more time to create a longer game. It takes up 2 CD's, though most of this is due to the enormous amount of cut-scene and FMV.
Too much. Just too much movie watching. While the TONS of rendered cut-scenes are great at drawing you into the game, they also get a bit...boring. I'm estimating that roughly 40% of the game is spent watching the story unfold, not actually playing it. With such excellent graphics, gadgets, and gameplay, one wonders why they didn't either crank out another CD worth of game or cut down the amount of movie watching.
Also, there are these long stretches of using the Codec that involve you listening to Snake talk to his friends about nothing: the weather, Chinese proverbs, you name it. You're basically stuck staring at two faces on the screen and listening to dialogue. It's just filler, background stuff to help immerse you. Again, nice to have it there but not in such prodigious quantities.
I have a few other minor gripes, including the sketchy control. Too often I was shot because I couldn't face the right direction to shoot back. The control while crawling is also very shakey. But this just takes getting used to - eventually you get the hang of it.
Let's face it - the hype surrounding Metal Gear Solid would be hard for any game to match. It won numerous awards after E3, and deserved most of them. In the end, we have a great game, one of the best for the system. But its diminished length and excessive no-interactive plot hold it back from truly reaching the highest plateau. Still, this is a must have for any PSX library and a ton of fun.
Playstation Review from psx.ign.com
PlayStation's most
anticipated game is finally here. Does it live up to the hype?
Metal Gear Solid – those
three words combined arguably equal the most hotly anticipated
PlayStation game in the console's three-year existence. Created
by veteran designer Hideo Kojima, it marks the continuation of a
series that began its life on the MSX home computer, and, later,
appeared on NES, the version with which most of us are familiar.
More than two years in the making, Metal Gear Solid retains, at its core, the same gameplay principle made familiar by its predecessors released all those years ago. Emphasis is placed on covert actions, rather than all-out machismo. The importance of this is clearly seen in the game's premise.
Players assume the role of Solid Snake, returning hero from the previous Metal Gear episodes. A special forces operative, he is called back to duty for the purpose of infiltrating the heavily-guarded Alaskan stronghold of his ex-comrades, alone and unarmed.
That's how the game begins. Snake is without weapon, outfitted only with binoculars and a contraband pack of cigarettes. Survival and progress early on in the game is entirely dependent on stealthily killing the base's guards, bare-handed. Snake will come upon plenty of weapons later in his mission, however, but the emphasis on keeping his presence within the immense compound secret (or as secret as possible, to keep things realistically playable) remains of utmost importance.
Gameplay is controlled from an elevated third-person perspective within realtime polygonal environments. Various camera angles are just now and again to provide close-ups on the action, or simply infuse the situation with some cinematic flair. Unlike many games, all of Metal Gear Solid's cut-scenes are generated via its 3D engine.
Progress in the game is kept on a linear path, much like a role-playing game. Plot points crop up often along the way, providing subtle (and sometimes glaring) hints at what you must do next. Snake also remains in contact with his operations center via a satellite up-link. Just as in the previous games, this device operates on various frequencies which, when selected, offer several types of mission-critical data from Snake's support crew "back home."
As for Snake's enemies, they aren't merely limited to standard guards. Snake must contend with the six main members of the terrorist group at various points during his mission. Each of them has his or her own specialty (sniping, sharp-shooting, sheer strength). Some take Snake on within the base confines while at least one prefers to attack via helicopter. We'll keep the rest secret.
Long considered the most ambitious
PlayStation title ever envisioned, Metal Gear Solid is here at
last. Is it everything we expected? Let's hear it straight from
the review crew…
Comments
I'm in awe. An admittedly ambitious project from the very
beginning, Metal Gear Solid has managed to deliver dutifully on
all of its promises. From beginning to end, it comes closer to
perfection than any other game in PlayStation's action genre.
Beautiful, engrossing, and innovative, it excels in every
conceivable category.
I must warn, however, that first time players absolutely must go through the training stages before heading into the game itself; failure to do so will put you at an extreme disadvantage, as this definitely isn't merely a "run around, guns blazing" action game. Once the concept and control settles in, you're in for the single greatest gameplay experience possible on PlayStation.
What can I say? Hideo Kojima has come through and produced the finest PlayStation game ever. My hat is off to him, and Konami, for delivering a game that proves, once and for all, that exceptional gameplay doesn't have to take a backseat to technical majesty.
This is one game that every
PlayStation owner should experience first-hand. Cliché as it may
sound, "go get a copy. Now!" You won't be disappointed.
--Randy Nelson
Hmmm…. Metal Gear Solid. What is all the fuss about? At
this point, I won't disturb you all with hype because I'm certain
that you've heard it all before.
Konami's espionage game is a fantastic game, straight and simple. Not hype, but fact – any hardware maker (Nintendo, Sega, etc.) would love to have this game on its system. It's the kind of game the PlayStation is made for, and combines solid player skills with an intriguing storyline, funny, relatively deep characters, and a smooth transition between action and adventure.
Fact -- the game enables players to immediate immerse themselves into a movie-like game that stirs a fantastic cocktail of high-quality, informative cut-scenes in an unobtrusive fashion in amongst smart stealth-based gameplay. What's nice about the level of stealth (Metal Gear's nerve-center), is that it's crucial to the game, but it's not unforgiving, a characteristic of which Tenchu may be more guilty. This is no knock on Tenchu – a great game – but Metal Gear Solid is slightly more forgiving.
Fact – for most gamers, this isn't an eight-hour game. It's a 16- to 28-hour game, which is an excellent amount of time for any game, especially one of such high quality, and that's not an RPG. In fact, certain employees at Imagine Media love the game so much that they already have played it as many as five times already. (Names have been withheld to protect the innocent…or er, guilty…)
Fact – Few games that appear on any console or PC are made with such finely tuned gameplay elements and mechanics. Guards notice your footsteps in snow. Within a minute or so the footsteps will disappear, after newly fallen snow covers them. Stepping in water makes sound audible enough to alert guards to your presence. Camera perspectives change frequently, but are well thought out. Waves of sound effects and moody music are well crafted and beautifully produced – and change depending on the situation – to create a feeling of tension, fear, and surprise. Heck, I can go on and on, but I won't.
All-out subjective OPINION (Warning!
This is the biased, opinionated part)– If you have a
PlayStation, you must own Metal Gear Solid. It's fun, smart, and
crucial. Period.
--Doug Perry