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 | The year is 1995. Deep in South Africa, a group of mercenaries control a stronghold called Outer Heaven. Leaked information indicated this group has access to a new kind of weapon that could forever change the scale of warfare. Fox Hound, the secretive special forces unit, are the only organisation that can investigate. Their best agent, Grey Fox, went undercover to infiltrate the mercenaries and report back. Before contact was lost, Grey Fox sent in a report consisting of but two words: "Metal Gear". |  |
 | Fox Hound, disturbed by the briefness and urgency of this message, have sent another agent named Solid Snake into Outer Heaven to discover the secret of Metal Gear. Deeply disturbed by the loss of communication with Grey Fox and the apparent urgency of his brief message, Fox Hound sent another agent, Solid Snake, into Outer Heaven to find Grey Fox and discover the secret of the mysterious Metal Gear. Apparently they feel that their second best agent is capable of doing a job on his own that their best could not! Metal Gear introduces an element of stealth to what might otherwise be a run of the mill action game. Snake is not tooled up with weapons, but must rely on his resourcefulness, agility and cunning to save the day. Unlike many games of the time, it's beneficial to avoid confrontation with enemies, rather than fighting them face to face. That being the case, Snake must rely on timing his runs to avoid being spotted, or find alternate routes around guards. If a guard spots Snake, you can bet he'll have a whole gang to back him up, and then you're in trouble! |  |
 | One feature that started in this game and has continued throughout the Metal Gear series, is Snake's 'codec' radio. Using this, he is able to remain in contact with the Fox Hound base, and all of the support staff therein. This is crucial to Snake's progress, but more importantly, it really adds to the atmosphere and the feeling that you are a secret agent behind enemy lines. Not only that, but some of the language translations make for great comic relief! |  |
 | It's perhaps not surprising that Metal Gear became such a success. It offered a much more intriguing action game than anyone was accustomed to at the time. The characters have more personality, and the game drips with Konami quality. Everything came together at just the right time to make this a huge hit, and although the graphical showcases that have really popularised it, Metal Gear Solid and sequels, sold in incredible numbers, it's refreshing to play the original game. The newer games are bogged down with cut scenes, whereas this game flows better without such frills. If you're a fan of the newer games, but have never played the original, then this is the game to take you back to Solid Snake's roots. Although, they never do mention how he got that awful name.... MOZ |  |
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