Based on the We Are the Mainstream Dot Net rubric, Here's my review (orignally posted on wearethemainstream.net).
This game can be summed up in one simple question: Who wouldn’t want to be a bad ass secret agent?
The action genre has always been dominated by run and gun games. I mean what could be more exciting than bursting into a room and unloading your shotgun/pistols/laser gun on cowboys/Russians/Germans/aliens/zombies/gangsters. And then Hideo Kojima and Konami gave us a glimpse of a very familiar situation handled in a very different way.
What if you burst into that very same, enemy filled game.. But instead of pock-marking the walls with bullet holes... you stuffed yourself into a box and quietly sneaked by?
While it may be exciting to have a full on showdown with a room full of Russians and their AK-47 (which is also something you could do in this game, if you’re that set on it... That’s one of the more impressive aspects of this game; you don’t need to do it just one way), I feel that it’s even more exciting, and challenging, to leave those same guards alone, just creeping by them without notice.
This game received hyped before it’s release, and it’s one of the few games that can honestly say it lived up to that hype, but let’s really get down to many things that make this game something I can recommend to anyone.
Plot:
This is one of the stronger things that this game has going for it, if you can stand it’s length. The story and it’s presentation make this feel more like an interactive movie than a video game, which in my opinion is a wonderful thing. You get everything that you could want from a spy movie: A bad ass secret agent who’s on this mission against his will, A support team with sketchy background and many secrets, a group of genetically enhanced soldiers who’ve turned on their government commanders for unknown reasons and joined with the terrorists, a terrorist group of super soldiers each with their own unique powers and backgrounds which are more than a little interesting, and, last but not least, a beautiful but tough female heroin who has her own rich history.
This story has MANY twists and turns, and it shows you some conflicts from multiple angles... Very few stories are written this well, and it really feels like something that belongs in a movie. It really makes you feel for the characters, from constantly wanting to push onward and help Snake see his mission though, to feeling sympathy at the end for Liquid, this is truly an impressive story.
I should note however that at times the antinuke preaching can be tedious, none the less, it’s still a wonderful plot, which is a very good thing considering you’ll be spending more time in story sequences than actual game play.
Controls:
I don’t really have much to say here. The controls are pretty much perfect, wither your snapping an enemy soldiers neck or resisting torture it just feels perfect. One thing I would like to note however is the perfection when it comes to the items menu, a quick flick and you’re there, it’s very nice.
Sound:
Sound is another one of those things that can make or break a game. In this case, it makes it in many ways. All of the subtle atmospheric sounds are dead on, as is the music. When the action’s calm you can hear the footsteps of the enemy soldiers and the slow pan of the security cameras, the music is very low key and barely noticeable. When an alarm trips the music ramps up, the alarms ring, and the gunfire (which sounds pretty dead on, especially for that time) rings out. It’s also very important to note that the sounds did change based on where you were, if you were on an open snow field gunfire would sound slightly muffled, if you were in an inclosed room the shots would ring out and slightly echo. A perfect ominous soundtrack with dead on sound effects ads to the already intense atmosphere. Aside from the wonderful sound scape this game is also among the first games (if not the first game) to feature a complete voice over. The games cinematic feel is totally enhanced by this, and the fact that every actor is of professional calabur doesn’t hurt.
Graphics:
For it’s time this was top of the line. Though a few of the textures were a bit on the grainy side, it was still an impressive feat to have a game fully rendered in 3d, nothing was 2d here unless it was attached to the wall, from the items residing on desks to the maggots eating a rotten corpse. It was rare back then for games to look this real. I should also note that the frame rate never really hitches up, which allows for smooth play though out, in turn giving you realistic animations.
Playback value:
Does Metal Gear Solid really give you a ton of good reasons to go back though it again? In some ways yes, in others no. It should be noted that there are two different possible outcomes to the story, and both endings are worth a view, though it could be said that most people wouldn’t be willing to go back though all that story which they’ve already seen (only about 5% changes the second time though), though if you like watching a movie you really enjoy more than once then you’ll probably end up playing this more than once. The other bonuses involved in going though the game a second time are pretty tacked on, from a different tint to a ninja we all know and love, to Snake wearing a tuxedo.... It’s really not that impressive. Even the secret items you gain aren’t really that interesting (though being invisible is pretty sweet). While the story may be sweet, playing though it twice may be all you can stand for a good period of time.
The Navi Factor:
This game has a certain ‘Navi’ factor it. Surely you remember Navi, that annoying as piss fairy that floated around Link giving us constant interruptions to game play that we didn’t really need. Well unfortunately this game does have a that feel to it in some ways. It seems that at every turn, any difficulty is taken away by the codec’s presence. If you are ever even slightly curious of where anything is all you have to do is codec the Colonel and he’ll spell it right out for you, though most of the time you won’t wonder where anything is because not only did that last story sequence tell you, you also got a codec from the Colonel right after it telling you again. I’m ADHD and even I find this redundant and unnecessary. Oh well, at least it doesn’t really interrupt the flow of the game that much, which is why I’ll only take off half a point here.
Artificial Counter-Intelligence:
The AI in this game is pretty good in most aspects. If a guard spots you from a distance he will become curious and start walking over, if he hears a noise (because you walked in a puddle, or on a metal surface, or knocked on a wall) they will get curious and go check it out, if they spot your footprints they’ll follow them. This is all very impressive. But there are a few problems here or there. The guards appear to be near-sighted and can’t see anything past about 20 feet in front of them, genetic engineering apparently leads to bad eye sight. If you are spotted however an alarm will go off and danger time will start. However once the alarm stops the guards just... figure you ran away and go back to their posts. No added guard patrols, no man hunt, everything just goes back to normal.
Both of the things mentioned here are more than understandable from a game design perspective, I mean if the guards could see across the whole screen this game would become much more difficult, and being punished for the rest of the game for being spotted once seems more than a little harsh. It may take away from the realism, but these flaws make the game playable.
Added Difficulty?:
In the American release there are three additional added difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, and Extreme. Normal just changes a few things up, but it’s not really noticeable. Hard and Extreme are both sans radar and adds to the damage you take. Now here is where there is a bit of a problem. Without you’re radar you really have to rely on first-person perspective to see where the guards are on the level, and unfortunately you can’t do much of anything while looking around in first person... Which makes it so that if just one guard turns around at the wrong time and you’re totally screwed. You really rely on the radar in this game and taking it away isn’t a good idea. That’s not saying the other modes are totally impossible however, though they still just feel really tacked on and pointless.
I however don’t feel this is a very important thing, so I am making this category null and void and giving it’s point allotment over to the category that totally dominates this game: Plot.
Over-all value:
The length of this game, every second of story included is probably around 10-15 hours, which isn’t very much to say the least. It’s like a really long movie and you will probably beat it the day you take it home if you’re a loser like me. And this can be a pretty bad thing, because as I mentioned you really won’t want to play though more than twice. The one thing that makes this not such a bad thing is that you will want to go back and play again in a few months. Given that online it can cost anywhere from the 20 dollar range It gives you more value than most movies of the sam price, so it’s worth it, just know that it won’t last you that long. Though after that you can just move onto the other games in the series (Once you finish the game you’ll be hooked).
Style:
I felt the need to put this in it’s own category, though some may say it falls under many different other categories, but I feel this game really needs to get a commendation for it’s over-all style. This game pushes the line between anime and real life very impressively, and by using some artistic touches it really gains some flare and gives you many moments to remember. Ninja freaking out, the exclamation mark over a soldiers head when he spots you, and a few other strong points of focus really flesh out a unique style and feel for this game. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you play the game, trust me.
The Bottom Line:
This game is a game I can honestly recommend to anyone, from start to finish it wraps you up in an immersive tale of intrigue and espionage, and the best part about it is that you actually feel like a super-spy while you’re playing, you feel as though the fate of the world may be resting in your hands, and that’s really what makes video games so great. I would also like to note that if you’re not too fond of Playstation graphics (shame on you) there is a remake of this wonderful game for the Gamecube and in many ways it honestly feels a lot better (and for those of you who already own the original and a gamecube, I’m not sure if I can recommend paying another 20 dollars for the upgraded version, but it does have a few bonus features and the story sequences are extended....... which can be really good or absolutely horrid based on how tolerant you are).
What are you doing still reading this, you should be searching eBay trying to get your hands on this game. Go. Now.
Overall Score: 8