Metal Gear Solid
Reviewed by Aristotle
Metal Gear Solid. The name sends shivers down my spine,
knowing that I beat such an incredible game. Bestowed with
the honor of being the 1998 'Game of the Year', and with
very good reason, too. MGS is just completely outstanding.
You can tell that a LOT of time was spent making this game.
I mean, look at those exceedingly detailed graphics! The
textures, although not the color, make this game very
aesthetically pleasing. My favorite part, though, was the
story. Two very controversial issues: nuclear weapons and
genetics. Konami said in the game, basically, that nuclear
weapons are horrible and should be stopped immediately. They
basically said also that genetics determines one's future.
Untrue enough, we all know and believe that people's futures
are determined by the childhood they had. Genetics plays a
small part in it all. And nuclear weapons, obviously, have
no high-class use in the world.
The controls allowed this game to be easy. Konami
implemented various strategic elements in the game, such as
crouching in the shadows, knocking on the wall to get a
guard's attention, and then running past the guard. This is
basically most of the game, except for a few extremely rare
occasions where you must fight with your weapons. I'm not
sure if this would be controls, but your Solitar Radar
system and your Codec also make the game painfully simple.
Your radar gives you complete control of the level, with the
white 'cones', representing an enemy's field of vision.
Along with that, your Codec system allows anyone down at
FOXHOUND to call you and tell you where to go and/or what to
do. Even set on Hard, Metal Gear Solid is a surprisingly
easy game. Frankly, Konami, for being the ?98 Game of the
Year, I would expect a little more difficulty than this!
Along with all of this comes the sound. The sound effects
are awesome, and they utilized the Dual Shock controller to
its max here (quite possibly beyond). Combine a shock from
the controller along with a loud sound when you are
discovered by an enemy, and you've got one heck of a stealth
game here. Guaranteed to keep you awake for hours. Music was
scarce, with the beginning and ending music and little bits
and pieces in between, but I preferred during the whole game
to listen to my own music. I especially liked how, during
the course of the game, upon being exposed by an enemy, they
always make some random, snide remark.
Now comes the difficulty. Seriously, I wouldn't have minded
if Konami made the game just a teeny-weeny bit harder than
this. I beat the game in two days. I'm working on my fourth
time here. Maybe take away some of the functions of the
radar system, put in some more enemies (as in, a LOT more =)),
or make the puzzles a little bit harder. Anything at all. Give me
some difficulty!!!!!!
I also worshipped the number and variation of weapons here.
You got everything from a pistol to a machine gun to a
remote-controlled missile launcher! (Which, by the way, I
thought was the best weapon in the game, Stinger being second).
Best Feature: Immersive gameplay
Worst Feature: Relatively small area
Buy or rent: Definitely buy. Most definitely. For forty
dollars??? And if you happen to have an extra thirty dollars
laying around, go for a Dual Shock Controller, too!
Overall: 10 out of 10
