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- Metal Gear Solid Retrospective
- Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago by 00.19
In honor of Solid Snake’s upcoming retirement from the battlefield, I’ll be taking a look back at the Playstation incarnations to get you all fired up for the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Today we’ll be looking at Snake’s first 3-D mission on the original Playstation, Tactical Espionage Action: Metal Gear Solid.
The fall of 1998 was an interesting one. I was starting my senior year of high school three months after the Columbine incident. The Yankees were sweeping the Padres to win the World Series with quite possibly the best Yankee team ever assembled. The Starr Report was released, further igniting the Lewinsky Scandal for then President Clinton. Oh, and on October 21st, Konami released Tactical Espionage Action: Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation One. With the World Series results a foregone conclusion, I found myself immersed in the world of Solid Snake. But that was in 1998. How does the game hold up nearly ten years and four games later?
When the opening cinematic began, I thought for sure everything was going to fall back into place, and I would fall back in love with one of my favorite games. I hadn’t tried my hand at MGS in years, and was looking forward to refreshing myself on the story before MGS 4 released. Then I was put in control of Snake, and the disappointment started to settle in.
Over the years, the template started by MGS has been improved upon one way or another by countless other games hoping to capture the success of Kojima’s franchise. Camera placement in a game where you’re trying not to be seen is crucial. Splinter Cell made great use of a rotating camera you could control with the right analog stick. Granted, MGS was developed without the Dual Shock controller in mind, but having a fixed camera in a game where the camera is supposed to be one of your greatest assets hinders the gameplay. I didn’t really know any better back in 1998. Having played so many games that improved the camera (including later Metal Gear games) since then makes playing through the game an exercise in patience.
While engaging in combat defeats the purpose of stealth, there are instances where you are forced to break out your machine gun and lay waste to some terrorists. Honestly, it’s not that big a deal if you can see them on your screen. In fact, the combat isn’t really an issue until the boss fights. Having made my way through all the way up to the second full-on fight with Vulcan Raven, I began wondering how my 18 year-old self could have possibly dealt with the camera induced frustration. The battles are still as challenging as they were back then, and still well worth the time they take. Psycho Mantis was a bit of a bastard since I forgot to get the thermal goggles early in the game, but fighting through him to get to the sultry Sniper Wolf was worth every backtracking minute.
Graphically, I truly believe the game holds up, sporting some of the best visuals of its time. The fact it was one of the rare occasions where cutscenes were rendered with the in-game engine, and not CGI, makes it stand out even more. Sure on a 1080p HDTV, it looks a wee bit clunky, but given how the franchise has always pushed the graphical boundaries, I’m not disappointed. Plus, with all the great character and environment design, Konami made sure the game was as visually enticing as possible. Hell, the characters were so beautifully designed, McFarlane Toys produced some of the finest videogame action figures ever made based on the art of Yoji Shinkawa.
Metal Gear games are known as much for their intricate-to-the-point-of-confusion plots as they are for their gameplay. Ten years later, I can say this game still makes less and less sense the deeper the rabbit hole gets. Don’t worry, I get all the little intricacies, I’m just not so sure the game needed them. If I took away 60% of the backstories and twists, I guarantee the overall story would still be just as captivating, and a little more coherent. And just think, this is the least confusing of all the games.
At the end of the day, the adventure I was part of at the Shadow Moses facility was one of the highpoints of my gaming career. Despite the shortcomings the game now presents, it doesn’t matter. There are issues that bug me, but none so much that I wouldn’t gladly sit down with this game again in another few years. Playing through this game again proves Kojima knows what he’s doing, and I can’t wait to see where it all ends up with MGS 4 hits shelves on Thursday.
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Comments
You can't pause the cutscenes (perhaps you can in MGS4?).
I must be a minority here, but I really love all the cutscenes in the Metal Gear games, and it's one of the reasons I keep playing them. I love the cinematic aspect! Not to mention the gameplay is great, as well.
I've never played a Metal gear game before. Are the cutscenes really that bad? And if they are, are they at least pausable?
I remember playing Lost Odyssey and having to pee very badly through a (what seemed like) 20-minute cutscene. I was afraid of pressing start for fear of skipping it, so I had to hold it. Not fun.
Back in 1998 they only had twenty minute cut scenes....