"All in all Metal Gear Solid is a superb game that Playstation owners should try at least once."

Platform: Playstation

Genre: Action

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Konami

ESRB: M (Mature)

Released: Q4 1998

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Metal Gear Solid

Action games where the player must actually avoid confrontation instead of being a one man army is a very welcome change from the typical "hack, slash, and blast your way to glory" mentality so predominant in games. Metal Gear Solid does the sneak-and-destroy thing to a tee. Coming along for the ride are a fun story of Hollywood movie / Grisham novel quality (albeit not the most profound in its delivery), excellent graphics and sound, and solid controls.

MGS follows our hero Solid Snake to the far north as he tracks down Fox Hound, a terrorist group who have seized control of a nuclear facility and are threatening to wreck havoc on the world if their demands aren’t met. As players make their way through the game they will be treated to a very well crafted story exceeding many "blockbuster movies" in quality. It’s the kind of stuff that makes 5 hours feel like five minutes because the story is so gripping.

Adding to the story is some of the best voice acting to ever come to a videogame. The entire cast did an absolutely top-notch performance. Solid Snake has a wonderfully gritty quality to his voice, Psycho Mantis sound like a cold, calculating, killer, and Revolver Oscelot has a rather charming quality to his voice. It’s all top shelf here people, top shelf.

Even the visuals help to maintain a very immersing atmosphere. Instead of going with CG cut scenes MGS sticks to the in-game graphics when a story advancing sequence kicks in. This is great as it foregoes the rough, often distracting transition that switching to a cut scene often entails, allowing the game to flow smoothly without missing a beat. On top of this the graphics are very well done, as the structures, characters and environments are all extremely detailed.

Where the game really shines is in the gameplay department. More often than not the player must sneak around without attracting the attention of the guards. This is quite challenging and fun as Solid Snake must shimmy along walls, crawl through ventilation shafts, and hide in the shadows to get around the compound. Best of all, when a guard must be taken out players can sneak up behind them, grab them and snap the guards’ necks to get them out of the way. A challenging maneuver but very helpful once mastered. However, when the guards spot Solid Snake, the and the bright exclamation mark pops up above their heads, it is time to high-tail it out of there. When combat is necessary there are plenty of weapons to choose from once they’ve been collected through the levels. Controls are also very intuitive, and are spread nicely on the Playstation controller, making Solid Snake easy to move around.

Tying things together is a nice moody soundtrack that ebbs and flows accordingly with what is happening on screen. When sneaking around some atmospheric spy-like music plays in the background, but when spotted the music switches into some more intense tunes as players try to get away from the pursuing guards.

This is definitely one of the best titles to ever hit the Playstation library. The game is virtually flawless, but if nitpicking is necessary, the game is a little too short, but since new features are added to the game upon completing it taking it for a second spin is very worth while, as the ending is different. All in all Metal Gear Solid is a superb game that Playstation owners should try at least once.

- Mr. Nash