Metal Gear Solid

Written by Chris Reiter  on November 20, 2001

Review: Hey baby, what Snake do you prefer...Liquid or Solid?

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Metal Gear was originally Konami's killer Action title from the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Today, Konami's success has grown larger than ever, due to the fact that the company's profound continuation in bringing the overall genuine fun of sneaking around into the future realm of 3D more real. Metal Gear Solid, not only one of the PlayStation One's best titles ever, but in actuality, one of the best video games in existence, alone makes the fact that playing video games can be more entertaining than ever having to go outside with your friends ever again.
The continuing story behind our snake like hero moves onward, into a new evolution where criminals pursue to make global threats. Solid Snake is called into action from retirement once again, to heed the call of justice, to right the wrongs, to make the world a safer place again for all. You are Solid Snake, an exceptionally well trained solider, out to infiltrate a remote island in the chilly Alaskan seas, to save the hostages DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Chief Donald Anderson and the President of Arms Tech, Kenneth Baker. But, your story isn't all it seems to be. A radical group of terrorists in the FOXHOUND organization plot the world's demise at the cost of a nuclear war. Unless their demands are met within 24 hours, it'll be the end for us all...unless, you as Solid Snake can save the day!

Getting into the controls for a second here, they're definitely one fraction of the game's most significant highlight. Snake is capable of all sorts of maneuvers. He can shoot, crawl, get up against a wall...snap a guard's neck, toss soldiers over ledges, and even knock on a wall whenever Snake's in need of a good distraction tactic. Most of all, the gameplay involves a heavy dose of strategy. If you don't realize that you're living as a soldier where guards are your ticket to purgatory, you've got another thing coming! With the tons of features Snake can pull off, you'll need to use each of his elements in order to succeed any of which giant areas in the game to overcome and surpass the enemy's fault lines. Times when a camera is placed overhead, Snake has the option of sneaking underneath a blind spot. Guards have a super power ability to be able to see and listen to your movements from a good distance. Covering yourself underneath tanks or behind walls is always the best possible way to get around, if on occasion there are just too many guys to kill.

By collecting an arsenal of weaponry, Snake is capable of defining any of the game's areas with blood. Certain armaments like a Chaff Grenade; when thrown, blocks out anything electrical for a matter of moments, a PSG-1; a sniper rifle for taking enemies out from a good distance, and the mother of them all, the Stinger; a missile launcher that'll take down any land, air, or sea vehicle, are all a part of what Snake will need when it comes to his strategic firepower. Knowing which type of weapon to use for any situation is also a method that needs to be thought out in order to complete the game. For instance, are you going to take on a tank with a pistol? No? Then using a missile launcher will greatly aid your quest to opportunity.

Another thing that should be easily known is that you can't always fight your way through a situation. The Genome soldiers (the AI you're up against almost through the entire course of the game) can sense Snake easily. Once a guard or a camera spots you, a sequence where the arrival of more of the soldiers appearing on the screen will initiate, and all at once will try to take you down. Unless you're able to hide in an area where you cannot be seen, you're toast. This is why learning to sneak and strive are two different skills that you'll always need to know how to pull off when the time comes forth for either one.

And yet, there's still more... Knowledge of stealth and fighting aren't all there is to the gameplay module. Metal Gear Solid is loaded with puzzles you'll have to overcome in order to advance to the next room. These puzzles are sometimes targeted to consist of the use of a PAL card for unlocking a set of doors, and finding specific key items used later in the game. Other times, puzzles can become as complicated as learning how to use a remote control guided missile in order to eradicate an electrically charged floor. There are all sorts of puzzles that involve a variety of gameplay. And if you can learn to use your sneaking ability, fighting ability, and thinking ability all at once, you can officially nick name yourself THE Solid Snake.