Metal Gear Solid

Despite a transition to 3-D, Metal Gear Solid's gameplay remains similar to its 2-D MSX2 predecessor Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The player must navigate the protagonist Solid Snake through the game's areas without being detected — detection sets off an alarm, which draws armed enemies to his location. To return to a lower alert setting, the player must hide, and remain undetected by the enemy until a timer reaches zero.

To remain undetected, the player can perform techniques which make use of Solid Snake's abilities and the environment, such as crawling under objects, using boxes as cover, ducking or hiding around walls, and making noise to distract the enemy. These are carried out using the third-person camera; which slowly changes its angle to give the player the best strategic view of the area possible, and an on-screen radar, which displays enemy personnel and their field of vision. Solid Snake is armed with many items and gadgets, such as thermal goggles and a cardboard box disguise. This emphasis on stealth promotes a less violent form of gameplay — firefights against large enemy teams will likely result in heavy damage and often death for the protagonist.

Intermixed with the player's progress are plot-progressing cut scenes and radio conversations as well as encounters with boss characters. To progress, players must discover weaknesses of these enemies (such as attack patterns) to defeat them. This is where the player will most often use the game's weapon-set, ranging from pistols to rocket launchers and hand grenades. Game controls and play strategies can also be accessed via the Codec radio, where advice is delivered from Snake's support crew as if the character were playing the video game; for example, the support team may chastise Snake for not saving his progress often enough, or explain his combat moves in terms of which buttons to press on the gamepad. Completion of the title provides the player with a statistical summary of their performance, and a "code name" based upon it, typically the common name of an animal.

In a first for the Metal Gear series, a training mode is available in which players can practice hiding techniques, weapons use, and sneaking. In addition to the stealth gameplay, there are set-piece sequences that entail firefights between the player and the enemy from the third-person and first-person perspectives.

Story

Characters

Metal Gear Solid's protagonist is Solid Snake, a legendary infiltrator and saboteur. During the mission, Snake receives support and advice via radio. Colonel Roy Campbell, Solid Snake's former commanding officer, supports with mission advice and battle tactics. Campbell is joined by Naomi Hunter, who gives medical advice; Nastasha Romanenko, who provides item and weapon tips; Master Miller, a former drill instructor and survival coach; and Mei Ling, who saves the player's progress onto a memory card.

The main antagonist of the game is Liquid Snake, leader of FOXHOUND, and genetic counterpart to Solid Snake. An elite special forces unit, FOXHOUND contains experts specializing in unique tasks. Members are Revolver Ocelot, a Western-style gunslinger and expert interrogator whose weapon of choice is the Colt Single Action Army; Sniper Wolf, a preternatural sniper; Vulcan Raven, a hulking Alaskan shaman armed with an M61 Vulcan torn from a downed F-16; Psycho Mantis, a psychic profiler and psychokinesis expert; and Decoy Octopus, a master of disguise.

Other characters include Meryl Silverburgh, Roy Campbell's niece (secretly his biological daughter) and a rookie soldier stationed in Shadow Moses who did not join the revolt; Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, the lead developer of Metal Gear REX; and the Cyborg Ninja (Gray Fox), a mysterious cybernetically-enhanced agent who is neither an ally nor an enemy of Snake but clearly opposes FOXHOUND.

Plot

The game is set in 2005 (six years after the events of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake), where FOXHOUND and the genetically-enhanced Next-Generation Special Forces unit lead an armed uprising at Shadow Moses, a remote isle located in Alaska's Fox Archipelago and the site of a nuclear weapons disposal facility. In the process they acquire Metal Gear REX, a nuclear-capable walking tank, and threaten the U.S. government with a nuclear reprisal if they do not receive the remains of the "legendary mercenary" Big Boss. Solid Snake, in retirement at Alaska's Twin Lakes, is forcibly dispatched at the request of Colonel Roy Campbell to penetrate the terrorist defenses and neutralize the threat.

Solid Snake first locates hostage Donald Anderson, the DARPA chief. After he informs Snake of the new Metal Gear REX unit housed at the facility, and its deactivation procedure, he mysteriously dies of what appears to be a heart attack. Following a brief encounter with Meryl Silverburgh, who aids their escape from the base prison, Snake continues on to find the other hostage, ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker. He is used as bait by Revolver Ocelot and challenges Snake to a gunfight. The fight is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious cyborg ninja who severs Ocelot's right hand before escaping. Snake is again briefed on the Metal Gear project by Baker; much like the DARPA Chief, he dies of a sudden heart attack before revealing key information.

Snake then contacts Meryl via Codec, and agrees to meet her in the base's warhead disposal area on the condition that he contacts Metal Gear's designer, Hal "Otacon" Emmerich. While searching for him, Snake encounters the giant Vulcan Raven in an M1 Abrams tank, which he disables, and locates Otacon in his lab. The cyborg ninja Snake previously encountered reappears, and after a hand-to-hand battle and some taunting, disappears as suddenly as he appeared. Solid Snake figures out that the cyborg ninja is actually his former ally Gray Fox, who Snake believed he had killed years earlier. Before they can settle their score, the ninja vanishes again. Otacon is unaware that Metal Gear is a nuclear delivery system, and breaks down when Snake informs him. Snake tells Otacon that he is continuing his family's close involvement with the US nuclear program. He agrees to aid Snake remotely, using special camouflage to procure information and supplies while remaining unseen. Snake meets with Meryl and they discuss their differing roles as soldiers. Meryl having joined the military to feel closer to her father, who was killed in action, and his brother (Roy Campbell). Ultimately he allows her to accompany him on his mission. Meryl gives Snake what seems to be one of three PAL keys and they head for the underground base. Their reunion is brief, as Meryl attacks Snake while under the telepathic control of Psycho Mantis. After Snake defeats Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf ambushes and wounds Meryl, eventually capturing Snake in the process.

While imprisoned, Liquid confirms Snake's suspicion that they are twin brothers. Snake is tortured by Ocelot and the player can choose to give in to this torture, or not. Snake quickly escapes and, after being chased to the top of the base's Communications Tower, he encounters Liquid again in a Hind-D attack helicopter. Despite being out gunned, Snake shoots the helicopter down and upon descending the tower is yet again ambushed by Sniper Wolf but kills her following a second duel. Otacon, enamored with her, is overwhelmed with grief but continues to assist Snake.

Snake descends into the bowels of the Shadow Moses facility, first cutting through the base forge then into the warehouses below. Here he encounters Raven again, this time on foot, and kills him. Before Raven dies, he reveals that the DARPA Chief who Snake encountered was actually FOXHOUND member Decoy Octopus in disguise. Shortly after, Master Miller calls and reveals that Dr. Naomi Hunter, a support agent, had given Solid Snake the genetically engineered virus "FoxDie" during his mission preparations, and is sending coded messages into the facility. Campbell swiftly orders her arrest. The virus, designed to kill people with particular genetic markers via cardiac arrest, was responsible for the deaths of Octopus and the ArmsTech president. Naomi, struck by guilt, contacts Snake in secret and confesses that she joined the mission to sabotage it as she is the adoptive sister of the now barely human Gray Fox. Upon learning of Snake's own tragic past through the current mission, she no longer has the heart to kill him directly having reprogrammed the virus.

Infiltrating Metal Gear's hangar, Snake discovers that the warhead Liquid plans to fire is targeted for Lop Nor in China. Liquid explains to Ocelot that Lop Nor is a nuclear test site and can be concealed from the public while the United States are forced to deal with a retaliatory strike from China. Using the PAL key, Snake unknowingly activates Metal Gear REX after which Master Miller reveals himself to be Liquid in disguise. He informs Snake that his entire mission was manipulated by the renegades to allow the launch of the nuclear weapon. As he boards REX, Liquid explains that they are the product of the Les Enfants Terribles project, a government sponsored effort to clone legendary mercenary Big Boss that was conducted during the 1970s. However, part of the process required that their genes be altered. Solid received all of Big Boss' dominant genes while Liquid received all the recessive genes.

Drawn into battle with Metal Gear REX, Snake manages to disable the machine's sensors with the aid of Otacon. Gray Fox (who admits to being Snake's radio informant, "Deepthroat") fights the Metal Gear, but is wounded and crushed by its foot. Once the Metal Gear is destroyed Liquid explains to Snake how the Genome soldiers and the Gulf War babies were genetically related to them. He challenges Snake to a final fist-fight atop Metal Gear. After Snake succeeds he is reunited with Meryl or Otacon, depending on the player's actions (see next paragraph). After a protracted jeep-chase between Snake and Liquid, their jeeps crash. Snake finally escapes the facility while Liquid collapses and dies from the FoxDie virus. Colonel Campbell, briefly ousted from command of the mission, calls off a nuclear airstrike intended to obliterate the evidence of the day's events and officially declares Snake killed in action to stop the US Government's search for him in the future. In the aftermath, the player finds out Snake is actually genetically inferior to Liquid and has an indeterminate amount of time left before FoxDie kills him. Ocelot himself is revealed to be a double agent for the President of the United States, the third Snake, Solidus. Ocelot's intention was to obtain Baker's disk containing Metal Gear's specifications and deliver it to the President.

There are two possible endings depending on the player's actions during the game. If the player gives into the torture, Snake finds Meryl dead and escapes with Otacon. If the player does not give into the torture, Meryl survives and escapes with Snake while Otacon volunteers to stay behind and sacrifice himself to help Snake and Meryl get out, not knowing that the air strike intended to hit Shadow Moses would not come. In either ending, Otacon survives the airstrike.

Cast

Development

Kojima originally planned his third Metal Gear game (titled Metal Gear 3) for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in 1994. While producing the 3DO version of his adventure game Policenauts, conceptual artwork by illustrator Yoji Shinkawa of the characters Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh (who was also a character in Policenauts) and the FOXHOUND team were included in the Policenauts: Pilot Disk preceding the release of the full 3DO game in 1995. Due to the decline of the 3DO hardware, development of the game shifted to the newly-released PlayStation and the game was retitled Metal Gear Solid.

The actual development for Metal Gear Solid began in early 1996 with the intent of creating the "best PlayStation game ever." Developers aimed for accuracy and realism while making the game enjoyable and tense. In the early stages of development, a SWAT team educated the creators with a demonstration of vehicles, weapons and explosives. Hideo Kojima, the director, stated that "if the player isn't tricked into believing that the world is real, then there's no point in making the game". To fulfill this, adjustments were made to every detail, such as individually designed desks.

The characters of Metal Gear Solid were created by Hideo Kojima; modifications and mechanics were made by conceptual artist Yoji Shinkawa. The characters were completed by polygonal artists using pencil drawings and clay models by Shinkawa.

Kojima chose the name Metal Gear Solid over the working title of Metal Gear 3 due to the fact that the first two MSX2 games in the series were not very well known. The word Solid refers to the game being the third installment in the series, and also because the game uses 3D computer graphics. The subsequent sequels in the series also bear the Metal Gear Solid title, following a new numeral progression.

Hideo Kojima wanted greater interaction with objects and the environment, such as allowing the player to hide bodies in a storage compartment. Additionally, he wanted "a full orchestra right next to the player"; a system which made modifications (such as tempo and texture) to the currently playing track, instead of switching to another pre-recorded track. Although these features could not be achieved, they were implemented in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

Metal Gear Solid was revealed to the public at the E3 gaming event in 1997 as a short video. It was later playable for the first time at the Tokyo Game Show in 1998 and officially released the same year in Japan with an extensive promotional campaign. Television and magazine advertisements, in-store samples, and demo give-aways contributed to a total of US$8 million in promotional costs. An estimated 12 million demos for the game were distributed during 1998.

Localization and re-releases

The English version of Metal Gear Solid (translated by Jeremy Blaustein) contains minor refinements made during localization, such as adjustable difficulty settings, alternative outfits, and a "demo theater" for viewing cut scenes and radio conversations.

Some countries in the PAL region received a version of the game dubbed into their language, including Spanish, German, French and Italian. Most PAL versions feature an "Extreme" mode which introduces restrictions such as extended guard vision. A premium package was released in Japan and the PAL region.

Integral/VR Missions/Special Missions

Released on June 25, 1999 for the PlayStation in Japan, Metal Gear Solid: Integral is an expanded version of the original game based on the North American localization (including English voice acting replacing the original Japanese voices) with further additional features and an extra disc of 300 stage based missions (established as a VR Training mode). New features included a sneaking suit outfit for Meryl (in addition to red-colored Ninja from the Japanese original and Snake's tuxedo from the American version), a "Very Easy" difficulty setting (where the player begins the game with an MP5 with unlimited ammo and suppressor), two secret Codec frequencies, a First Person View mode, alternate patrol routes for enemy soldiers and a downloadable PocketStation minigame. A Windows PC port of Integral was also released in Europe and North America in late 2000 with PocketStation support removed. Scoring 83 in Metacritic's aggregate, the game was criticized for "graphic glitches", the aged nature of the port, and being essentially identical to the PlayStation version.

The VR Disc from Integral was released as a stand-alone product outside of Japan — in North America as Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (September 23, 1999) and in the PAL region as Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions (October 29, 1999). VR Missions features training missions testing the player's sneaking and fighting skill, as well as less conventional tests, such as murder-mysteries, battling giant genome soldiers, and a mode allowing the player to control the Cyborg Ninja. It includes trailers for Metal Gear Solid, a preview artwork of Metal Gear RAY from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and a "photo shoot" mode to take pictures of Mei Ling and Naomi. The PAL version (Special Missions) requires the player to boot a copy of the original Metal Gear Solid before playing the game, a requirement that was unnecessary in the American VR Missions. When this procedure is done on a PlayStation 2, the console does not recognize the Metal Gear Solid disc when it is loaded, rendering the game unplayable.

The Twin Snakes

A remake of Metal Gear Solid, titled Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, was developed by Silicon Knights under the supervision of Hideo Kojima and released for the Nintendo GameCube in North America, Japan, and Europe in March 2004. While Twin Snakes was largely developed at Silicon Knights, its cut scenes were developed in-house at Konami and directed by Japanese film director Ryuhei Kitamura, reflecting his dynamic signature style, utilizing bullet-time photography and choreographed gunplay extensively. While the storyline and settings of the game were unchanged, a variety of gameplay features from Sons of Liberty were added such as the first person aiming and hanging from bars on walls. Another change in the English voice acting was the dropping of Mei Ling, Naomi Hunter and Nastasha Romanenko's accents, as well as the recasting of the Cyborg Ninja from Greg Eagles (who reprised the role of the DARPA Chief in the remake) to Rob Paulsen. The graphics were also updated.

Comic & Digital Graphic Novel

In September 2004, IDW Publications began publishing a series of Metal Gear Solid comics, written by Kris Oprisko and illustrated by Ashley Wood. As of 2006, 12 issues have been published, fully covering the Metal Gear Solid storyline. The comic mimics Yoji Shinkawa's gritty style using a palette of grays and rough, sketchy paintings as panels.

Announced in January 2006, Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel is an interactive comic for the PlayStation Portable. Based on the Metal Gear Solid comic book adaptation, it features visual enhancements and two interactive modes designed to give further insight into the publication. Upon viewing the pages, the player can open a "scanning" interface to search for characters and items in a three dimensional view. Discoveries are added to a database which can be traded with other players via Wi-Fi. The "mission mode" allows the player to add collected information into a library. This information must be properly connected to complete a mission. Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel was released in North America on June 13, 2006, Japan on September 21 and the PAL region on September 22. In 2006, the game received IGN's award for Best Use of Sound on the PSP.

Other media

The Metal Gear Solid Drama CD is a Japanese radio drama continuation of Metal Gear Solid. Directed by Shuyo Murata and written by Motosada Mori, it aired, in 18 segments, from 1998 to 1999 on Konami's CLUB db program. The series was later released on two separate CDs. Set after the events of Shadow Moses, Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Roy Campbell and Mei Ling pursue missions in hostile third world nations as FOXHOUND. Characters not seen in Metal Gear Solid are introduced, such as Sgt. Allen Iishiba (voiced by Toshio Furukawa), a Delta Force operative who assists Snake and Meryl; Col. Mark Cortez (v.b. Osamu Saka), an old friend of Campbell who commands the fictional Esterian Special Forces; and Capt. Sergei Gurlukovich (v.b. Kazuhiro Nakata), a former war buddy of Revolver Ocelot.

A 336 page novelization of Metal Gear Solid written by Raymond Benson will be published by Del Rey on May 27, 2008.

Dreamcast

A refurbished version of Metal Gear Solid was rumored to be released on the Dreamcast, but this was denied by Konami. This may have been caused by confusion with the Metal Gear Solid version of the Bleemcast emulator, which allowed PlayStation games to be played on a Dreamcast via emulation.

20th Anniversary and The Essential Collection

In Japan, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the original Metal Gear on July 26, 2007 , the original Japanese language edition of Metal Gear Solid was included in the Metal Gear Solid Collection box set, which also includes the Japanese language edition of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (bundled with The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2), the first disc of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (bundled with a bonus disc containing Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake) and the PSP game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

In North America, a boxed set of Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, and the first disc of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence was released on March 18, 2008 as Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection for the PlayStation 2. Though transferred to a PlayStation 2 case with new boxart, the re-release of Metal Gear Solid was printed on a PlayStation disc.

Music

Metal Gear Solid's musical score was composed by in-house musicians at Konami, including Kazuki Muraoka, who also worked on Metal Gear. Composer and lyricist Rika Muranaka provided a song called "The Best is Yet To Come" for the game's ending credits sequence. The song is performed in Irish by Aoife Ní Fhearraigh. The main theme was composed by TAPPY. Music played in-game has a synthetic feel with increased pace and introduction of strings during tense moments, with a looping style endemic to video games. Overtly cinematic music, with stronger orchestral and choral elements, appears in cutscenes. The soundtrack was released on September 23, 1998, under the King Records label.

Reception

Reviews
Publication	Score
Allgame
Edge	9/10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	10/10
GameSpot	8.5/10.
IGN	9.8/10
NGamer	9/10
Compilations of multiple reviews
Compiler	Score
Metacritic	94 (based on 99 votes)
Game Rankings	93% (based on 32 reviews)

Metal Gear Solid was a commercial success, shipping over 6 million copies worldwide. Upon release, it was one of the most rented games, and topped sales charts in the United Kingdom.

The game was generally well-received by the media, and was given high scores by some of the most prominent gaming critics. Gaming website IGN awarded the "incredible" rating of 9.8/10, and the GamePro website gave it a score of 5/5 in the site's retro feature. However, they criticized the slow frame rate at certain points during gameplay, and also criticized the instructional content provided by the team at the start of the game, calling it an "annoyance". GameSpot also criticized this, saying "it needlessly interrupts the game". They also criticized how easy it is for the player to avoid being seen, criticized the game's short length, and called the game "more of a work of art than an actual game". Further criticism came from the website Adrenaline Vault, which said it had "some serious flaws" which "made it a complete disappointment". It received an Excellence Award for Interactive Art at the 1998 Japan Media Arts Festival. NGamer said, "It's like playing a big budget action blockbuster, only better." Gaming website IGN said it came "closer to perfection than any other game in PlayStation's action genre" and called it "beautiful, engrossing, and innovative in every conceivable category".

Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded Metal Gear Solid the Platinum Award (four scores of 10 out of 10), which was unprecedented at the time. IGN editors ranked Metal Gear Solid as the best PlayStation game ever. Writer for the site David Smith said of the demo for the game that "There was more gameplay than in most finished titles". They also gave it the "Best Ending" and "Best Villain" awards. In 2005, they placed it 19th on their list of "Top 100 Games", saying that it was "a game that truly felt like a movie", that the fights were "unique and innovative", and that it was "the founder of the stealth genre". It was also placed in 9th "Readers' Picks Top 100". Members of GameFAQs ranked it the 8th best, and readers of Japanese magazine Famitsu ranked it 50th in a 2006 poll. It also placed 23rd in Entertainment Weekly's list, and 17th in both Electronic Gaming Monthly's and Game Informer's lists. In 2005, GamePro ranked Metal Gear Solid first in their list of "10 Modern Classics Every Gamer Should Own."

References

External links

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