Metal Gear Solid

aka: Hejin Zhuangbei, MGS, Metal Gear 3
Moby ID: 2511
PlayStation Specs
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Description official descriptions

Metal Gear Solid is a sequel to Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. After the tragic confrontation with Big Boss, the hero, special agent Solid Snake, decided to retire and has since then lived in a secluded region in Alaska. But the US government recruits him once again for a dangerous mission. The members of Foxhound, a renegade special forces unit, threaten to use a devastating nuclear weapon if the government doesn't hand them the mortal remains of Big Boss, their former commander. Foxhound is now led by a talented, ambitious young man with the codename Liquid Snake. Knowing that the visual resemblance between this new terrorist mastermind and himself can not be coincidental, Solid Snake agrees to infiltrate the new Foxhound base, destroy the unknown nuclear weapon, and find the truth about his own identity.

The gameplay in Metal Gear Solid follows the prototype established in the two earlier Metal Gear games. Solid Snake has a limited arsenal of weapons and cannot allow himself to pave his way to the goal by killing all the enemies. He has to stay unnoticed, hide, crawl, wait for the right moment, sneak, and use various gadgets that will prevent him from alerting the enemy. Boss battles and some other sequences are played out as action-oriented set pieces, with the player having to figure out the weakness of the enemy in order to succeed.

The game utilizes a traditional top-down view, but the graphics in this installment are real 3D. Conversations with Snake's allies and cutscenes are used extensively to advance the plot and gain more insight into it.

Spellings

  • メタルギアソリッド - Japanese spelling
  • 合金装备 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • 特攻神諜 - Chinese spelling (traditional)

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (PlayStation version)

173 People (148 developers, 25 thanks) · View all

Solid Snake
Liquid Snake
Meryl Silverburgh
Naomi Hunter
Hal Emmerich
Roy Campbell
Mei Ling
Gray Fox (Ninja)
Nastasha Romanenko
Revolver Ocelot
Vulcan Raven
Psycho Mantis
Sniper Wolf
Donald Anderson
Kenneth Baker
Jim Houseman
Genome Soldier A
Genome Soldier B
Johnny Sasaki
Enemy Soldier
Computer Voice
European package design
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 94% (based on 33 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 234 ratings with 11 reviews)

It was more like a movie

The Good
This game is one of my all time favourites. The first time I played it was when I rented it. I actually finished it a week later and bought it anyway. My friend was so impressed with it: he went and bought a PS, just so he could get Metal Gear Solid.

The thing that really won me over with this game wasn't the graphics, game play or sound. It was the story, the voice acting and the characters. The overall game is really well done, but I was drawn in by those particular elements. The director, actors and writers did a really great job.

The way that the characters speak to each other sounds very believable. The story was just really easy to get into. Very entertaining. MGS has such a flow to it, that it's very difficult to take a break from it. You just want to see what happens next.

After I completed it, I got to thinking: The newer generation of video games can be as good as any classic movie or book. It has become more like an art-form.

MGS is a good example of this: With memorable characters and an interesting story.

The Bad
I liked everything about it.

The Bottom Line
Awesome!

PlayStation · by Robert C (6) · 2003

A rare classic.

The Good
Metal Gear Solid was undoubtedly, in my opinion, the best game made for the PlayStation. Every aspect of the game, the story, the action, the character development, was achieved with utter perfection.

The action in this game is incredible. While most of the time you will be attempting to practice "tactical espionage", you will more than likely get caught at some point, and if you're anything like me, half the time it will be on purpose, just because it's so entertaining. Each time it happens, a heart-pounding battle ensues, where you will frantically search for a place to lay low, encountering seemingly endless enemies along the way. And if that's not enough, don't fret, because you will also constantly be confronting the various bosses in the game, each one with their own unique personalities and abilities, and each one completely different than the last. While you are not fighting, though, you will perform tasks such as misdirection, hiding under a box, and many more in order to throw the enemy off your tracks.

Unfortunately, you would expect a game with this caliber of action to be at least slightly lacking in story, a common flaw in action games. But MGS surpasses this stereotype by incorporating a captivating, deep, and suspenseful story that easily matches the quality of the action, if not exceeding it. It starts out as a seemingly unoriginal story but turns into something that is anything but unoriginal. You will feel for every major supporting character in the game just as much as you feel for Snake, and each one is as significantly important to the progress of the game as the next. Plot twists are around every corner, to the point where nothing is as it seems, and nothing is ever predictable. Add outstanding voice actors to each and every one of the characters, and the result is an unforgettable experience.

Along with these two imperative factors, you have varying gameplay that never gets old. You wil never find yourself doing the same thing twice, and I can't stress that enough. Each area is abound with new tasks you must perform, but you never feel as if you're being forced to complete tasks, because they're so flawlessly integrated into the game, and to put it plain and simple, they're actually fun. To help you complete these tasks you will be supplied with countless items that you will find in the course of the game, along with numerous weapons that each serve their own purpose. Never will you find a weapon that isn't useful at some point in the game. And when you do beat the game, don't think you've completed it, because there are two endings. And each ending rewards you with a valuable item that you can use in your next attempt, and they are both very fun to use.

The Bad
There wasn't a time in this game where I wasn't in complete ecstasy. No complaints at all.

The Bottom Line
Metal Gear Solid is, in a sense, perfect. It doesn't lack in any area, but rather excels triumphantly in everything it attempts to achieve.

PlayStation · by DarkDove (63) · 2003

A good barometer of what console gamers think serious gaming is. That is: Arcadish, overhyped, childish and with lots of cheese.

The Good
Well for a while Metal Gear Solid's action sequences were fun. The action is furious and the cinema aproach to it makes it very exiting. There is a very nice animé feel to the graphics which are pretty acceptable yes, though they are nothing we haven't seen before. The sound of the game is excellent, from the voice acting, the sfx to the music it really shines through....what else... well I should point out that if you are a nostalgic dude and want to re-live the old Metal Gear nes gameplay this game pretty much captures the entire gameplay spirit, it even feels like an updated copy at times, with the "use the cigarettes to pass the laser" or "hide in the box on the trucks" and of course the stupid "guide the missile" sequences. Oh yeah! and the action figure line from McFarlane Toys rocks! be sure to check it out!

The Bad
Well, all I have to say about this game is that it confirms the worst prejudices the pc gaming community has towards the console community. That you play shallow, commercial kiddie-crap. That you are to videogames what N'sync is to music. Really, the amount of popularity this game had on the playstation serves only to back this up.

But why is the game so bad you say? well, first of all the story. It is the single lamest, infantile piece of crap I've ever encountered on a videogame. Suffice to say that Tetris or Street Fighter have more compelling stories than this. It's the kind of over-ambitious aproach to storytelling that has brought us such masterpieces as say...Street Fighter: The Movie, or Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.....yeah, it's that bad. You are placed on the shoes of the super-badass spec-ops agent Solid Snake, who is sent to save the world from a group of former spec-ops agents gone bad who are threathening to release the infamous Metal Gear. All through the game you'll be treated to the worst collection ever assembled of cornball dialogue and action movie clichés. The dialogue is truly painful to listen, taking its roots from every bad action movie starring Lorenzo Lamas you've ever seen. Worse are the video sequences, a particularly awful one comes to mind: you get explained by a certain character what the Metal Gear is supposed to be, and he starts babling about him being a manga fan (because the MG is a mecha) what's next? you get showed an expository animé sequence (showing some giant-robot show) explaining to us how the japanese use this, and were the first to manufacture bi-pedal robots...... I first stood in sheer confusion at what had just been showed to me...then of course I broke up and started laughing out loud.

Want more inconsistency? Get this: you are the super-duper special agent who is sent to danger equiped with.....nothing! that's right! not even a stupid knife! The bad guy (who, of course, shares a nasty secret with you) knows were you are and could send an army your way...but no! he'll wait to the "final confrontation", every character dies in a "dramatic" way, most of the time with "ah, you have beaten me, you were a worthy opponent" as their last words.

Sorry, but I can't stress enough how bad the story, how cheesy the characters are, how utterly childish the whole thing is...But that would be okay at least if the gameplay was good, right? well gameplay sucks too. You can only carry one piece of equipment at each time (so if you want to use the bullet-proof vest and smoke a cigarette you are out of luck...just like in real life!). And the much-touted "sneak" gameplay is a joke, there are some interesting details, but otherwise this is an arcade game with deliriums of grandeur. Since the game is played mostly from a top-down view it wouldn't be fair if enemies that weren't even on screen could see you, right? thus when you switch to 1st person perspective you'll see that a guy standing 12 feet away in a clearing with both of you standing up can't see you! More unintentional laughter courtesy of ms. Snake comes in the way of characters that are oblivious to gunshots, etc. In all, the "sneaking" doesn't even get to Thief's knees.

Moreover, the game is blindingly easy, with every emphasis placed on "twitch" arcade reflexes. Even the things that are supposed to be puzzles can be bypassed with no use of neurones whatsoever. Case in point, there's a certain boss whom you just can't kill by conventional means. Fail to exterminate him enough times, trying to think you must make a strategic use of some sort of specific equipment, or use some special tactic, and the game will actually TELL YOU what you need to do to defeat it. And surprise, surprise! it involved just fidling with your controller. Even the super Metal Gear that's supposed to be a world-wide threat can be destroyed by the combined might of you and your gamepad.

The Bottom Line
In all, Metal Gear Solid is a title that has remained frozen in time. It's like gaming hasn't made any advances besides getting better graphics, and clearer sounds. Mario works because you make a lot of concessions to it. MG: Solid instead tells us that it's a super-realistic cinematic thriller and ask us to make no concessions to it, and that's what kills it. If this game had just said to the world Hey! I'm nothing but a high-tech arcade game, then we could have believed it. As it stands MG:S dies by overhyping itself and pretending to be something it isn't, and sadly, that includes being a good game.

You can however, use this game as an excellent example of the mentality behind console gamers. Try asking people for their opinions on this, and you'll be able to pinpoint with amazing accuracy the persons that think Super Mario is the very best of videogame entertainment, and the ones that don't listen to N'sync and Britney if you catch my drift.

PlayStation · by Zovni (10504) · 2001

[ View all 11 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Zovni's (really old) review for this is great! Simoneer (29) Oct 5, 2010

Trivia

Action figures

For the US release of Metal Gear Solid, McFarlane Toys was entrusted with the sculpting of an action figure line based on the game by Konami. Consisting of one series, the lineup includes: Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Ninja, Revolver Ocelot, Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf, Vulcan Raven, Liquid Snake and a limited edition Psycho Mantis repaint. This series has been re-released several times (later in double-packs).

Copy protection

It is rather important to keep the box for the PlayStation version of the game, since it features a frequency for the CODEC communicator thay you will need to progress through the game in one of the screenshots.

Emulation

One of three games to be emulated on the short-lived bleemcast! PlayStation emulator for Dreamcast.

References

Members of the development team hid images of themselves throughout the game. These images or 'ghosts' as they are referred to are only visible by taking photographs of certain areas in the game with the camera item.

References to the game

This game is referenced in the Eiffel 65 song, My Console.

Rumors

There were untrue rumors about Greg Eagles, the actor who voiced Grey Fox, being dead. In fact, he was mistaken for Kaneto Shiozawa, the actor who voiced the same character in the Japanese version of the game, dead in 2000.

Voice acting

Due to union regulations, the voice cast (with the exceptions of David Hayter and Doug Stone) used pseudonyms during the recording sessions, and were credited that way. Here's a list with the voice actors names and their respective pseudonyms: Cam Clarke (James Flinders), Debi Mae West (Mae Zadler), Jennifer Hale (Carren Learning), Christopher Randolph (Christopher Fritz), Paul Eiding (Paul Otis), Kim Mai Guest (Kim Nguyen), Greg Eagles (Greg Byrd), Renée Raudman (Renee Collette), Patric Zimmerman (Patric Laine), Peter Lurie (Chuck Farley), Tasia Valenza (Julie Monroe), Allan Lurie (Bert Stewart) and William Bassett (Frederick Bloggs).

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • February 2006 (Issue #200) - #12 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time" list
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #17 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
    • October 2004 (Issue #200) - #12 on the "Greatest Games of Their Time" list
  • GameSpy
    • 2001 – #32 Top Game of All Time
  • Retro Gamer
    • September 2004 (Issue #8) – #70 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by Ace of Sevens, Big John WV, chirinea, Evil-Jim, Grant McLellan, Indra was here, J. Michael Botorff, PCGamer77 and Zovni

Analytics

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Related Games

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Released 2001 on PlayStation 2
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Released 2004 on PlayStation 2
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Released 2005 on PlayStation 2, 2011 on PlayStation 3, 2012 on PS Vita
Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions
Released 1999 on PlayStation, 2013 on PS Vita, PlayStation 3
LittleBigPlanet: Metal Gear Solid Solid Snake Costume
Released 2008 on PlayStation 3, 2014 on PlayStation 4
LittleBigPlanet: Metal Gear Solid Meryl Costume
Released 2008 on PlayStation 3, 2014 on PlayStation 4
LittleBigPlanet: Metal Gear Solid Level Kit
Released 2008 on PlayStation 3, 2014 on PlayStation 4
LittleBigPlanet: Metal Gear Solid Raiden Costume
Released 2008 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4

Related Sites +

  • Hints for Metal Gear Solid
    The solutions are revealed one tip at a time to give you just the help you need. If you're stuck, these hints will help you.
  • JUNKER HQ
    This fansite is dedicated to the games produced and/or designed by Hideo Kojima and contains all kinds of trivia, artwork, plot summaries, discussion forums and more.
  • Metal Gear Solid PC
    Official Site
  • Metal Gear Solid: The Unofficial Site
    A fansite that contains information about the whole Metal Gear franchise, including galleries, interviews, downloadable content and discussion boards.
  • Wikipedia: Metal Gear Solid
    Information about Metal Gear Solid at Wikipedia

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 2511
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

PS Vita added by GTramp. PlayStation 3, PSP added by Foxhack. PlayStation added by Grant McLellan.

Additional contributors: woods01, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, tlm, tarmo888, DreinIX, —-, Paulus18950, Caelestis, Patrick Bregger, yenruoj_tsegnol_eht (!!ihsoy).

Game added October 19, 2000. Last modified March 8, 2024.