Metal Gear Solid Review

Whilst the basic premise is something that has been done before, the way the game is executed is like no other. What sets Metal Gear Solid apart from the competition is the way stealth is not only actively encouraged, but is downright essential to staying alive. Snake's on his own and when confronted by more than a couple of soldiers he doesn't really have a chance. That said there are more than enough weapons to satisfy the Quake fans among us, although out and out shooting makes the game a lot harder. There is one weapon that deserves a mention, the Nikita remote controlled missile, yes a remote control missile, you launch it and then you can control it from a first or third person perspective. This is a really fun weapon to use. But if you want to succeed in Metal Gear Solid then you need to think ahead, you need to plan all your moves. This is made a lot easier by the radar you have that shows the enemy's field of vision so you can see when the soldiers are vulnerable and you can quietly sneak up behind them and snap their necks.

Being quiet, keeping out of site and making diversions are all key aspects in this game and the various ways you can avoid being discovered are excellent. You can tap on walls, hide in boxes, use chaff grenades to stop cameras as well as using stun grenades. All through a well thought out and precise control system, if you use the d-pad, because for some reason analogue control just seems a little in-precise in this game, and precision is essential in this game.

The sense of atmosphere and involvement is incredible and easily as good as Goldeneye's feel of âbeing there'. This is down to frankly stunning graphics that are so detailed and so smooth, it may not be in high resolution, but who cares when it is a detailed as this. You can see rats, mice and maggots all crawling around even chains swinging in the breeze. The characters are all very well detailed and well animated, although motion capture wasn't used because they wanted to make the characters individuals with their own way of moving, anyway it looks great. Another great thing about the graphics is the fact that you can change from first to third person perspective in an instant, which is very useful. Another testament to the game engine is the fact that all of the cut scenes are real time and they also make use of a effective motion blurring technique. Game and cut scene blend seamlessly and the end result is very, very effective making the whole game one continuous experience.

A special mention must go to the sound which is beyond incredible, everything from the smallest sound effect to the biggest music score and the great dialogue is impeccably done. The whole game looks and sounds like a big budget Hollywood blockbuster, except with a better plot. The speech in the game, and there is a lot, is well done and rarely sounds poor although some of the dialogue is a tad corney it never grates.

There is so much to this game and it would be a shame to tell you, because it is genuinely satisfying to find out what the designers are going to throw at you. This game is full of surprises and you never know what is going to happen, and that is a very good thing. Another great thing is how cinematic the whole thing feels, from the great soundtrack to the credits that keep popping up during the opening scene when you are playing the game. The whole thing is so slick and you never have to go through menu screens. Even saving the game is done by communicating to another character via you codec radio. You missions are given to you by other characters and it just feels like a interactive movie. Normally that is the death knell for any game, but because the game was made as a game that feels like a movie it is just that. A game with all the things you would expect from a film, great dialogue, soundtrack, as well as inter-character relationships. All of the features gel to give you an experience unmatched on the PlayStation and, in my view at least, it ranks along side Zelda 64 as a lesson of impeccable game design fused with stunning graphics and sound.

The only problem with the game is that you can complete it too quickly, it's not that it's a easy game it isn't, it's just over too soon, I completed it in about 11 hours on the normal difficulty. That may seem a long time, but bearing in mind some very expansive cut scenes and the actual game playing time is a little small. But this is a minor thing as it is such an experience that it would always feel to short no matter what they added to it. Although their are two different endings and a time trial mode, as well as the usual secrets a game of this type has that should add to it's lastability

In my opinion this is one of the best experiences you will have on any format at the moment and I emplore you get this game, although don't play it on easy, you'll regret it. Oh and once you've completed it you will find it wide open for a sequel, or though I won't say how, that would spoil it....