This is, of course, the big one. Perhaps one of
the most anticipated and most hyped games in
history, Metal Gear Solid took what was really a
niche franchise and turned it into a gaming
household name. After its debut at the 1997 E3
show in Atlanta, MGS was the talk of the game
industry. It became known for its stylish,
movie-like presentation and the stealth-oriented
gameplay that had made its prequels so
interesting.
MGS upped the ante over its predecessors in
almost every aspect of its production. Unlike
some developers who compromised gameplay
in favor of glitz when they received the benefits
of CD-ROM storage, Kojima remained true to
his original vision for Metal Gear, using the power of the PlayStation
to finally realize the game he'd obviously wanted to make on less
capable systems. From the first title, A Hideo Kojima Game, to the
movie-like introduction and opening credits that roll while you're
playing, all the way to the end of the game, Metal Gear Solid defined
the term "interactive movie." Forget the old FMV-based schlockfests
that first claimed that title; this is the right way to conduct narrative
through video games.
An attempt to detail Metal Gear Solid's story
would only do the game an injustice, and at the
same time those who haven't experienced it
should do so without foreknowledge, so we'll
stick to a summary of the more outstanding
parts. If you really feel compelled to know what
happens, keep reading.
The Story
The peace foretold by Metal Gear 2 never came to pass, and by
2010, nuclear deployment was again in full swing. A United States
military installation on Alaska's Shadow Moses Island, while playing
host to a series of tests involving a new secret weapon, was
hijacked by a group of terrorists. Interestingly, the group was led by
renegade agents of Fox Hound, Solid Snake's old unit. Important
government and corporate officials were on hand to observe the
tests, and they were taken hostage. The terrorists' demands were
simple, if a bit puzzling: They wanted the remains of Big Boss within
24 hours, or a nuclear warhead would be launched. Former Fox
Hound commander Roy Campbell calls on Solid Snake to infiltrate
the base, rescue the hostages, and disable the terrorists' nuclear
capability.
Snake was shocked to find out that the leader of the insurgence is
Liquid Snake, an agent with the same codename as him and almost
identical physical features. Joining Liquid was a group of Fox
Hound's top agents, such as gunslinging torture specialist Revolver
Ocelot and perceptive powerhouse Psycho Mantis. Vulcan Raven,
Sniper Wolf, and Decoy Octopus rounded out the crew. Liquid
Snake also commanded a legion of genome soldiers, troops whose
genes had been conditioned to increase their physical attributes. In
light of this capability to manipulate genes, the terrorists' demand for
the remains of Big Boss, the "legendary soldier," became
understandable.
Snake successfully breached the base's
security and found the hostages, and from
them he learned that the tests being conducted
on the island were for a new model of Metal
Gear, called Rex. Snake's mission then
became one of search and destroy. En route to
Metal Gear, he encountered a number of
interesting figures, including Meryl Silverburgh, niece of Roy
Campbell and inexperienced soldier, and Hal Emmerich, aka
Otacon, the lead scientist on the Metal Gear Rex project. Snake and
the terrorists were also stalked by a mysterious cyborg ninja who
was later revealed to be the previously deceased Grey Fox.
After defeating all of the Fox Hound agents (except Revolver Ocelot,
who escaped), Snake destroyed Rex. Liquid Snake then confronted
him and revealed a terrible secret about their lineage. Both of them
were genetic experiments, born of the "Les Enfants Terribles" (the
terrible children) project in a laboratory and crafted by scientists from
the genetic material of Big Boss, known as the perfect soldier.
Despite his emotions to the contrary, Solid Snake exists solely to
fight. After a narrow escape and the apparent death of Liquid, Snake
and Meryl rode off once again into the sunset.
After the credits roll, we hear a brief
transmission from the sole Fox Hound escapee
Revolver Ocelot to, of all people, the president
of the United States. It appears that Ocelot was
a double agent the whole time, and even more
shockingly, that Solidus, the president, was a
third product of Les Enfants Terribles. What
this portends for Solid Snake's future remains to be seen, but you
can bet that it's not good.
There you have it, but there's really a lot more to the story than this.
Just go play it already.
The Game
Metal Gear Solid didn't introduce a ton of new features to the classic
Metal Gear model - it's pretty obvious that Hideo Kojima had the
general gameplay rules ironed out from the very beginning. MGS did
a lot to refine that gameplay, though. For instance, Snake always
hides behind, under, or around everything in sight to evade the
enemy, but MGS's 3D graphics made that hiding a lot more involved.
When Snake presses up against a wall, the camera angle swings
down to face him, revealing whatever's happening around the corner.
Crawling under a tight space brings the game to first-person mode,
which lets you see the feet of passing guards. And perhaps the
coolest addition to the game is Snake's ability to sneak up behind
guards, grab them in a choke hold, and silently break their necks. It's
not pretty, but it's a good way to deal with certain, um, obstacles.
MGS gave Snake plenty of weapons to play
with. Starting humbly with only his fists, he
would later find a SOCOM pistol, an assault
rifle, a sniper rifle, various kinds of explosives,
and a small-scale surface-to-air missile
launcher. Plenty of items rounded out his
arsenal, from cigarettes and rations to the
famous cardboard box.
Story from metalgear.com
The Dawn of the
New
Millennium; the 21st Century...
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.
Other views of the story:
Metal Gear Solid's story is very detailed and can sometimes be a
bore to sit through, but some of it is very interesting so bear with.
A group of Fox Hound members, which at one time were working
for the United States of America have gone rouge and taken over
a Nuclear arms base, which they are threatening a to launch
missiles if there demands are not met. Here's where you come in,
an Ex-Fox Hound member who has been living in solitude in
Northern Canada has been brought back to the front lines.
You're mission is to infiltrate the base, find D.A.R.P.A. chief,
rescue the two hostages, and disarm the threat. Once again this is
a solo mission, so don't expect any help or official support. The
leader of these rouge Fox hound members is the one given the
same code name as you, Liquid Snake. Good luck on you're
mission Solid Snake.
System: PlayStation (released 1998)
