A remarkably complete translation of the MGS gameplay into the handheld format.
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Pros:
+ Controls: Given that you have an extremely limited amount of buttons to work with on the Gameboy, I found it remarkable that you could do basically anything you could on the PS1 in this too, let alone without it being fiddly in the slightest.
+ Complete Gameplay: I still find it amazing just how much gameplay was crammed into this, let alone how varied it can be.
+ Story: You won't find a better story on the Gameboy Colour: fits in very nicely with the rest of the Metal Gear plotline, nice and intricate, and keeps you guessing. It also shows what a Metal Gear game is capable of without half-hour cutscenes occuring every other minute...
+ Music: I've never heard more haunting music come from such a tiny source!
+ Content: There's a greater amount of exploring to do in this game than you might expect, and some funny extras for those willing to dig around in the codec....
+ Size: This is a big game, and if you take away the cutscenes from MGS on the PS1, there's almost as much gameplay in this one!
Cons:
- Unoriginal: While the story itself is for the most part new, many of the setpieces from the PS1 game have effectively been copied and pasted straight into this too. Perhaps they just wanted to prove it could be done in 2D, but it's still a bit cheeky...
- Small Radar: Admittedly there's not much they could have done about this on a Gameboy screen, but it's still pretty fiddly to use.
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Overall, I'd say this is one of the best Gameboy games ever made - it's simply amazing how much they built into it, there's barely a single element that hasn't made the transition to the handheld format. I'd even go as far as saying it's one of the best Metal Gear games too!