Metal Gear Solid on PS1

Metal Gear Solid is the third in the series of games to feature the character Solid Snake, following 1987’s “Metal Gear” and the sequel “Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake”, both of which appeared on the NES. Eight years later and now Playstation owners get a taste.

With the start of the new millenium comes the time for a one-man operation to kick terrorist butt. The nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island in Alaska’s Fox Archipelago is attacked and captured by Next Generation Special Forces led by members of FOX-HOUND. The terrorists have secured hundreds of nuclear warheads and they’re demanding that the government turn over the remains of Big Boss. They warn that if their demands are not met within 24 hours, they’ll launch a nuclear weapon.

Solid Snake is once again called back to duty in a top-secret mission to deal with the greatest terrorist threat the world has ever seen. First, he must single-handedly infiltrate the nuclear weapons disposal site and rescue two hostages, DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and the President of ArmsTech, Kenneth Baker, and then eliminate the terrorist threat and prevent a nuclear launch. The clock is ticking.

Once again, Snake heads into battle…alone. Although he’ll soon be joined by some deadly enemies: Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf, Decoy Octopus, Vulcan Raven, Revolver Ocelot and Liquid Snake.

Playing the Game

Upon loading the game – and viewing the FMV opener – you are presented with the following menu :

1. New Game: Start a new game and select your level of difficulty.
2. Load Game: Load a previously-saved game.
3. Options: Brings up the options menu.
4. Briefing: A comprehensive look at what’s in store for Snake, plus some rather odd video footage.
5. Special: All you ever needed to know about Snake’s previous operations.
6. VR Training: Want to learn how to outwit the enemy before it really matters? Take a walk through these halls.

Options

The options available are :

1. Captions: During FMV scenes, dialogue will also appear as subtitles if this option is turned on.
2. Sound: Stereo or mono.
3. Screen: Not for adjusting a wonky screen, but just for the brightness level.
4. Key Config: Select from three different options, my preference being the third :

CircleUse Weapon CrossCrawl SquareAction TriangleFirst person view L1Toggle use of selected inventory item L2Select one item from inventory R1Toggle use of selected weapon R2Select a weapon

NB.: There are also a number of in-game options which can be changed including the team formation.

Graphics, Sound and Playability

The graphics are rather on the disappointing side for such a high-profile title and not particularly colourful, but then when a game is set inside a dank terrorist HQ you don’t exactly expect a rainbow. Where the problem lies is that the graphics seem very jagged and not as well-defined as you’d expect from a game on a system which, although a long way from 3Dfx standard, is still capable of turning out a pleasing display.

Close-ups suffer the worst and the blockiness of some areas were reminding me of a ZX Spectrum. Oh, and when you get to dress up as a cardboard box (!) the box overlaps the walls as you walk around!

The sound doesn’t tax the Playstation too much. In the background is an up-tempo score which gives a sense of pace, but aside from that are the occasional bursts of gunfire, enemies shouting, and ‘shock sounds’ when you’re stealth skills aren’t enough to stop you being spotted by the bad guys.

Of course even when the sound and graphics aren’t as good as they could be, a game with perfect playability is the one that procures the cash from the consumer. Alas, with MGS it’s difficult to aim the gun and there’s no time to think when the enemy are bearing down on you and you want to set up a C4 explosive which does do a fair bit of damage, or throw a grenade which doesn’t.

It’s also hard to work out where all the guards are when your scanner packs up and you’re viewing the game from a top-down “Machine Hunter”-style point of view, occasionally switching to a closer 3D view when you walk under something and the overhead camera isn’t able to film you. The ‘first person view’ is welcome, but the whole game would have been better off using the Tomb Raider game engine as all too often you’re being shot at from around but you can’t see the guards easily.

Overall

Overall, although this game looks and plays in a very stylish manner, its the execution which lets it down. The graphics aren’t up to scratch, the FMV sequences are too lengthy in places and even on the medium difficulty setting, the game is just too hard. It’s also possible to get stuck in a room with no chance of getting out, so you have to reload a saved game, which leads me on to…

What’s most annoying is the ‘save game’ option. Saving is fine, but try to reload your position and it’ll only allow you to the start of that particular sequence, so saving in the middle of an area and expecting to pick up exactly where you left off is wishful thinking.

If you want a better game of stealth in which outwitting the guards is the order of the day – and one where it’s a damn sight easier to choose your weapon and fire, try Half Life on the PC. In fact, I’ll also go on record as saying that when I see all the magazines claiming MGS as “The Best Playstation Game Ever”, it makes me wonder if we’re playing the same game!

GRAPHICS : *** SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC: *** PLAYABILITY: *** ORIGINALITY : *** ENJOYMENT : *** ——————————- OVERALL : ***

If you’re after some more info on Konami’s games, check out their Website at www.konami.com and the official Metal Gear Solid site at www.metalgearsolid.com

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.