Oh no, the truck have started to move!

User Rating: 7 | Metal Gear NES
Metal Gear for the NES is a translation of the MSX2 version of the original game by Hideo Kojima. It follows the story of a rookie special forces agent named Solid Snake who must infiltrate the mercenary stronghold of Outer Heaven in order to rescue a captured operative named Grey Fox and neutralize Metal Gear, a nuclear-equipped bipedal tank that the rogue mercenaries are using to threaten the security of the free world.

Metal Gear NES loses some elements from the MSX2 version, but the essentials have stayed intact. It's still a stealth action game at its core, a strategic decision made by Kojima because the MSX2 could not handle very many enemies on-screen. As one of the first stealth games, Metal Gear broke new ground and introduced a hide-and-seek style of gameplay that continues to influence a vast variety of games today.

The game features a broken translation (see review subtitle) and some flawed level design choices, but playing through it will reveal some of the original ideas that made the Solid half of the series so successful (i.e. weapon experimentation, crazy bosses, etc.). It is also fascinating how far the series has come since its inception. Metal Gear Solid 4 launches this June, and this retrospective is a celebration of the creative brilliance of Hideo Kojima and his persevering belief in the artistic worth of videogames that has allowed us to enjoy over 20 years of Metal Gear.