Metal Gear Solid Review [SPOILERS]

The plot of Metal Gear Solid is very information-heavy, and in some ways requires context from the previous two games. I was able to infer things and piece together the story pretty easily regardless though. As stated previously, Solid Snake was sent by Colonel Roy Campbell and Dr. Naomi Hunter to Shadow Moses Island to stop FOXHOUND, who are genetically enhanced special ops soldiers gone rogue. FOXHOUND is threatening to launch nuclear weapons unless they receive one billion dollars and the remains of Big Boss, an elite soldier from long ago. Once he enters the base, Snake finds DARPA Chief Donald Anderson, who is being held prisoner. He tells Snake that there is a secret code to deactivate Metal Gear, but suddenly dies of a heart attack. Snake escapes with the help of Meryl Silverburgh, another prisoner at the facility who is also Colonel Campbell’s niece. Snake finds the other hostage, Kenneth Baker, who is the president of ArmsTech, the defense company responsible for the Metal Gear REX project. They are not alone though, as FOXHOUND’s Revolver Ocelot appears to do battle with Snake. Snake defeats him, and then a mysterious cyborg ninja appears and cuts off Ocelot’s hand. Baker gives Snake more information about Metal Gear, and says to look for the PAL card he gave to Meryl, before somehow also dying of a heart attack.

Snake then goes to find Dr. Hal Emmerich, the engineer responsible for designing Metal Gear. He is then warned by an anonymous tip from someone calling themselves “Deepthroat” (after the Watergate informant) about an incoming tank attack. Sure enough, an M1 tank appears, piloted by Vulcan Raven of FOXHOUND. Snake destroys the tank, and then finds Emmerich. The cyborg ninja then returns, and it is revealed that he is actually Gray Fox, an old ally/rival from long ago. After the two have an honorable duel, Snake talks to Emmerich, who calls himself Otacon (a portmanteau of “otaku convention,” as he’s a big anime fan), and agrees to help Snake through his stealth camouflage. 

Snake and Meryl then fight off other FOXHOUND members on their way to Metal Gear, the first being Psycho Mantis, an incredibly powerful psychic, followed by Sniper Wolf, who shoots Meryl before being defeated by Snake. After the battle with Wolf, Snake is captured and brought to Liquid Snake, the leader of the FOXHOUND rogues that claims to be Solid Snake’s “brother.” Snake is then tortured by Revolver Ocelot and imprisoned, but he escapes with the help of Otacon. After fending off Liquid in a helicopter, Snake kills Sniper Wolf after another duel. Snake also has a final battle with Vulcan Raven just outside the hangar where Metal Gear is being kept. 

While Snake prepares the PAL card to deactivate Metal Gear, he learns that Naomi Hunter was lying about her identity, and that she is secretly working with the Pentagon to some end. He also learns that he is carrying a virus called Fox Die, which is programmed to only affect specific people, and caused the deaths of FOXHOUND’s two hostages. He then uses the PAL card to seemingly deactivate Metal Gear, but he actually activates it, having been manipulated by Liquid. Liquid reveals that both he and Snake are products of a project designed in the 1970s to create clones of Big Boss. Snake then has to fight off Liquid, who is piloting Metal Gear. Gray Fox comes back and reveals that he was “Deepthroat” all along, helping Snake. Fox damages Metal Gear to the point that the cockpit opens and exposes Liquid, before being killed. Snake then destroys Metal Gear and has a final hand to hand duel with Liquid. Meryl, who was being held by Liquid, then comes to and begins the escape with Snake. 

They have to escape because the US Secretary of Defense decided that the incident on Shadow Moses Island must be covered up now that Metal Gear is destroyed, and ordered a bombing run to do so. Meryl and Snake escape the facility, chased by Liquid, before Liquid dies from the Fox Die virus. Campbell, who took back command of the operation from the SecDef, calls off the strike, leaving Snake, Meryl, and Otacon safe and sound. Although Snake is concerned about when/if he will succumb to Fox Die, he decides to live a life on his own terms with Meryl. Snake also reveals that his real name is David. The game has a post-credits conversation, only heard through audio, where Revolver Ocelot tells the President of the United States what happened on Shadow Moses Island. This also reveals that the President is a secret third clone of Big Boss. 

One of the main takeaways I had from Metal Gear Solid’s story was how memorable and deep all the characters were. Everyone in the story has their own ideologies and motivations that bring about their actions. Solid Snake is a hardened soldier who only knows war, killing, and following orders, but over time he questions things and seeks the truth, and by the end he wants to live on his own terms. Meryl always wanted to be a soldier because of her late father, and has to come to terms with everything that entails. The members of FOXHOUND all have their own character arcs as well. Psycho Mantis was abused by his father and then proceeded to use his immense psychic powers for evil, joining FOXHOUND solely to kill more people, but it is only in his final moments that he learns what it’s like to use his powers to help someone. Liquid Snake has a massive inferiority complex because he was told that he was given all of Big Boss’ recessive genes, while the superior genes went to Solid Snake. Liquid is vengeful towards Big Boss, who Solid Snake killed, and vows to surpass him through his plans with Metal Gear. Other characters such as Otacon, Sniper Wolf, Naomi, and the Colonel also go through arcs. Every character introduced to the story serves a purpose, and no one feels out of place or unnecessary. 

The gameplay of Metal Gear Solid is simple and straightforward, yet also incredibly innovative. You control Solid Snake from a top down perspective, sneaking around to avoid guards and cameras while also being able to fight if necessary. In the Shadow Moses Island base, Snake can find weapons and grenades to use in combat situations. Another key aspect of the gameplay is the Codec, which Snake uses to communicate with the Colonel, Naomi, Otacon, and many others. You must input individual numbers to contact each character with the Codec, which are in the game’s manual (and the back of the original box for Meryl). However, I was able to memorize the important Codec numbers pretty easily. 

Although the game has been ported to other platforms, I would recommend playing it on original PS1/2 hardware if possible, because of some of the things Hideo Kojima does to create immersion and break the fourth wall. This is most apparent in the encounter with Psycho Mantis, where he literally moves your controller in the real world with his mind (through the rumble motor), reads your memory card, and forces you to plug your controller into the second port to evade his psychic powers during the fight. The fight also has moments where it's made to look like the video signal from the console itself is cut off. This integration of the actual console and controller into the cutscene is truly unique, and very creative on the part of Kojima. It's really unlike anything I've seen in a video game before. 

Although the polygonal graphics are technically dated, I still think they are very immersive, and in some aspects they enhance the experience. The game’s gritty art style helps to set the scene of the cold and desolate environment of Shadow Moses Island. Metal Gear Solid also makes very good use of full motion videos (FMVs) during certain segments of the game, particularly during Liquid’s final monologue. These segments of live action video add a great deal of immersion and realism to the game. The soundtrack is also very good, with memorable songs like the Encounter theme and the end credits theme, The Best Is Yet To Come. 

To conclude, I found the first Metal Gear Solid to be an incredible game and narrative experience even now in the many years since its original release. I got very invested in the story, lore, and characters of the game’s world. Metal Gear Solid also has a lot to say in regards to the nature of war, geopolitics, the military-industrial complex, and many other topics. If you haven’t played it yet, I would highly recommend Metal Gear Solid, as it’s a game I would consider a landmark achievement in gaming history. As mentioned previously, original hardware is a plus, but Metal Gear Solid is available on numerous platforms, including all of the major current ones, to play and experience.