By Jason Nimer
Its no secret that the release of the final chapter in the Metal Gear Solid
series, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, is a huge deal in the gaming
world. I limit the sequel’s influence to the aforementioned “gaming world”
because even though Solid Snake might be your favorite video game protagonist,
he doesn’t have the mainstream appeal and name recognition enjoyed by other
recent “big name” releases such as Mario Galaxy, Halo 3, Guitar Hero or (groan)
Grand Theft Auto. It’s also no secret that MGS4 has been earning rave reviews
across the board, from both web-based and print media, even managing to earn
itself some perfect scores. I don’t play quite so fast and loose with my
ratings, so don’t expect another fawning review of the game that has kept hope
alive for the lagging (but doing much better these days) PS3. You won’t find it
here. Instead, with a level of dedication that surprised even me, I finished
MGS4 and immediately dusted off my copy of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence so I
could start the series right back at its NES (or MSX2 home computer, if you were
lucky enough to be Japanese during the late ‘80s) beginnings. Why? Its simple –
I didn’t want to score MGS4 unfairly simply because I hadn’t played, or even
thought about, any previous games in the series in probably three or four years.
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This may be a review specifically for MGS4, but its also a quick look into
the series itself; what goes right, what goes wrong, highs, lows and an
incomprehensible plot that even after my Metal Gear marathon, still seems
muddled, unconvincing, and to put it plainly, expects gamers to possess the
ability suspend disbelief at a near-superhuman level; not exactly a good idea
for a series that has prided itself on its “real world” feel and connections to
actual world history. If you are still on the fence about Snake’s latest
adventure and whether or not it’s worth your time, I’d urge you to read on. If
you aren’t… read on anyway. This took a lot of time for me to put together. Do
that Wayne’s World thing with your fingers (do-dilly-do) and travel back with me
to 1987, a time when Bill and Ted were box office gold, side ponytails were
still cool and Snake began his journey in the original Metal Gear.
For brevity’s sake, I’m only going to hit the high points of the pre-Solid
Metal Gear games. As most people already know, these games, Metal Gear and the
sequel, Metal Gear 2, did eventually find their way to American shores, but
certainly not as they were intended. In the original Metal Gear, names were
changed, plots were altered and even large chunks of the game were either cut or
modified so drastically that the series creator, Hideo Kojima, refused to
endorse the dramatically altered product. An American sequel to the altered
Metal Gear was released as Metal Gear: Snake’s Revenge, but it had little to do
with the series and is usually brushed aside by most Metal Gear purists. The
real sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was a Japanese-only release (until
recently, anyway). It’s complicated, I know.
All you really need to know about these games is that they introduced Solid
Snake, Big Boss, Metal Gear and Zanzibar Land and Outer Heaven, two locales that
you’ll find mentioned in nearly every game in the series. Other than that, these
are dated games that can either be played on the MGS3: Subsistence extra disc or
downloaded in ROM form and played on an MSX2 computer emulator. If you’re a
die-hard fan, have at it. If you only have a passing interest in these two
ancient, frustrating, difficult-to-find titles, I suggest simply starting with
Metal Gear Solid and either reading the plot summaries online, in the PS3’s
downloadable “Metal Gear Solid Database” or any other number of places where the
relatively small amount of info can be found. I can already hear the fanboys
freaking out, but don’t waste your time playing through these old and
far-from-classic titles.
Where the Metal Gear saga really took off was in the original PlayStation’s
Metal Gear Solid, one of the aging system’s best and most memorable games.
Whether or not the GameCube remake of the PS1 title improved upon its near
perfection is a matter of taste (if you have good taste, you know the remake was
1,000 times better in just about every way), but whichever version you call your
favorite doesn’t matter; Metal Gear Solid was and is really something special.
Like the past tiles, you play as Solid Snake, a super agent charged with
infiltrating a nuclear weapons base that has been taken over by a colorful band
of terrorists, one of whom is your “brother (aka clone),” Liquid Snake. The
stealth based gameplay does feel a bit dated by today’s standards, but what made
Metal Gear Solid the game it was and the legend it continues to be is the boss
fights.
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