Metal Gear Solid Review

 (Originally published to Glitchwave on 9/30/2021)

[Image from ign.com]

Metal Gear Solid

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

Genre(s): Stealth, Action-Adventure

Platforms: PS1

Release Date: September 3, 1998

Metal Gear Solid: a video game that is a science-fiction work more philosophical and convoluted than The Matrix, more anxiety-ridden with the looming milestone of the 21st century than Radiohead’s OK Computer, and more wrought with paranoia regarding government conspiracies than portly American filmmaker Michael Moore. It’s also considered a landmark mark title for the medium of video games. Its launch year of 1998 had some steep competition. Banjo-Kazooie nearly perfected the 3D platforming formula established by Super Mario 64, Half-Life provided stark innovation for the single-player first-person shooter experience, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time translated the elements of The Legend of Zelda so remarkably that it was quickly considered to be the greatest game of all time. Metal Gear Solid is considered to be among the ranks of these early 3D titans. 1998 was the year that proved these newfangled 3D polygons weren’t just a phase but a changing of the new guard for gaming. While all of these titles deserve every bit of praise they get, I’d argue that Metal Gear Solid was the most impressive.

The outstanding aspects of Metal Gear Solid are too numerous to briefly summarize. The other three games from 1998 that were previously mentioned are impressive in their own right, but Metal Gear Solid was on a whole other level. Metal Gear Solid is the brainchild of Hideo Kojima, an iconic figure in the video game industry and arguably the finest example of a video game auteur. His eccentric vision spurred by his love of film fostered the question: can the gaming medium be a cinematic spectacle and be as narratively rich? As one could see from the final product of his masterwork, the answer to that question was yes. Metal Gear Solid pushed the boundaries of what we all thought was capable in a video game. In a period when the medium was still juggling with the new 3D capabilities, Kojima took it a step further, and his baffling ambition created something way before its time and also managed to make it a work of quality. Of course, this was 23 years ago, and the passage of time was not kind to many aspects of this game’s presentation and gameplay. Compared to future cinematic games and other games in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, the first Metal Gear Solid tends to be regarded in a similar breath of respect to other early 3D games. Most people will argue that it’s an important game, but its incredibly dated aspects sully its replayability decades onward. Judging from my non-nostalgic perspective of playing Metal Gear Solid, I’d argue that Metal Gear Solid still retains its impressive qualities.

The groundbreaking cinematic qualities of Metal Gear Solid are readily apparent as early as the opening cutscene. One of the first screens presents itself as a “Hideo Kojima Game”, stamping his name on the title to signify his distinctive vision like Jean-Luc Godard or Quentin Tarantino. The first visual of the game is a submarine treading through dark, frigid water accompanied by some nifty water effects. The operations inside the submarine are depicted as intricately as something from Das Boot. A voiceover gives the details of a classified espionage mission to Solid Snake, the special operative assigned to this daunting escapade. A group of highly capable terrorists known as FOXHOUND possess nuclear weapons and have threatened to unleash them on American soil if their demands are not met. They have also taken hostages involved in the nuclear device’s inception as collateral. Their stronghold is located on Shadow Moses Island, located in the center of the Alaskan arctic, surrounded by the Bering Sea. Snake’s mission is to rescue the two hostages and find out more information about FOXHOUND's nuke launching capabilities and the intricacies of their plan. As he ejects himself from the missile and arrives on Shadow Moses Island, he swims up to a cargo bay as a point of entry.

Most people who argue against Metal Gear Solid’s lasting appeal usually poke and prod at the graphics. Admittedly, the rudimentary 3D graphics commonplace in this era of gaming are quite jarring. The backgrounds are heavily compressed, which in turn makes the dark, oppressive look and tone of Shadow Moses look murky and monochrome with age. The atmosphere Kojima intended to convey isn’t as effective when the player can’t discern what they are looking at. The more dated aspect of the graphics that is more popularly criticized is the character animations. They are just as compressed as the backgrounds, with the added awkwardness of the stilted movements of each character. The mouths of the characters don’t budge in the slightest, maybe proving a point that Kojima was perhaps too ambitious to create a cinematic game during a period where 3D graphics were still so primitive.

With all of the dated aspects in mind that I cannot overlook, I will make something clear in the game’s defense. The graphics of a game and its presentation aren’t necessarily interchangeable. While the graphics of the game couldn’t be more endemic to the early 3D era, the game's direction is still masterful. Judging by the opening cutscene of the game, the intended spectacle is still present now as it was in 1998. The opening visual of the submarine verging closer to the screen while moving is like the opening scene of Star Wars, plunging the viewer into the action with an alluring, ambiguous scope. The wide-ranged shots of the environment surrounding Shadow Moses Island illustrate the breadth of the hostile landscape. As Snake exits the SDV, he ascends to the glimmering surface as the screen fades to white. These kinds of shots are not ones of typical game developers but ones of a filmmaker. Metal Gear Solid’s presentation is preserved through marvelous cinematography. Critiquing the dated visuals is superfluous when the direction holds up its foundation so well. Other impressive cinematography uses are the first-person perspectives of enemies during cutscenes, flash cuts in scenes when someone dies, and the explosions that occur during some scenes. I’d even argue that all of this is even more impressive with age because it’s astounding that the game can perform all of this with such primitive technology. The game also utilizes live-action portions in cutscenes with long swathes of exposition. Live-action cutscenes were popular during the early 3D era and tended to look cheesy. Normally, I’d chastise a game’s presentation for using these, but Metal Gear Solid has managed to use them tastefully. Most of the live-action sections include what looks like clips of classified government footage, and the grainy textures of the PS1 add a certain rarefied quality to them.

I can also forgive the borderline paralyzed character animations in the game because the voice acting is phenomenal. Along with the game’s cinematography, Metal Gear Solid was leagues ahead of the curb regarding voice acting as well. This era was when voice acting in video games was still a new concept. Most voice-overs during this period were either awkward or patently directionless, inadvertently making the game comical or campy as a result (see the first Resident Evil for a prime example of this). Considering Metal Gear Solid bears many film-like qualities, having a stellar cast of people to provide the voices is a mandatory feature. Metal Gear Solid is a very dialogue-intensive video game, probably setting an unprecedented record for most spoken dialogue in a video game at the time. David Hayter gives our furtive protagonist a gruff, gnarled tone of voice. Yet, he evokes more of a range than one would expect from his tone. The same could be said for all of the voices in the game. Most of the dialogue in the game is spoken through codec calls, characters from the outside listening in on Snake’s mission and giving him a bevy of information to aid him on his quest. The conversations during the codec calls are meant for exposition and to aid the player in whatever situation Snake finds himself in. The codec calls are usually prompt and formal due to the somewhat urgent nature of the mission. Still, the voice actors give the talking heads behind the codec calls enough personality to characterize them properly.

It helps that the characters supported by the stellar voice acting are all very interesting. One thing I’m not fond of in the action-espionage genre is the lack of characterization. These types of stories usually highlight the action-intensive story and its wavering nature. They don’t take the time to give the characters more personable traits, making the story unsubstantial. The medium of video games allows more time for this among the action, and Metal Gear Solid does this splendidly. Solid Snake, for instance, is more than just a capable force against villainy. He’s got the strong demeanor of a typical action hero but is far more brooding than suave. This, however, does not stop every female character from making suggestive, flirty comments at Snake. Moments like these are indicative of Metal Gear Solid’s sharp script. While a lot of the dialogue is very forward, as per usual for the espionage story, there are plenty of moments like these that add a much-needed sense of levity. The other characters are given this characterization through their banter with Snake, especially those only spoken to through the codec calls. Roy Campbell is the government head of this classified mission, but he and Snake speak to each other like they are long-time friends with a lot of history. Mei Ling’s frequency is only used to save the game, but Snake forms a caring, respected relationship with her while being treated to the wisdom of ancient Chinese proverbs when the player saves. Otacon is more front and center in the action than the other supporting characters, but he still forms a personable bond with Snake. He’s like the nerdy, pragmatic foil to Snake’s grizzled, warrior persona. He also pees himself when confronted with danger which is both amusing and disgusting. The espionage genre was in dire need of characters that wee themselves out of fear. The guards can also be a source of levity given the circumstances. For being militant soldiers with impressive AI working in extreme weather conditions, they can act like total nincompoops at times. One can’t forget the squeaky-voiced guard telling Snake to shut up or another guard patrolling Snake’s cell that suddenly gets the shits and comes back amused to find Snake playing with ketchup (if the player screws this up). It’s funny to me how the most elite group of terrorists can still have the dopiest of workers guarding their stronghold.

Speaking of that elite group of terrorists, FOXHOUND is the most colorful and eccentric team of bad guys to ever threaten the world with nuclear annihilation. Each member is as unique as the next and has philosophies about justice and their place in the world. Revolver Ocelot is a Russian soldier adept with the gun of his namesake. He’s also fashioned himself up like a cowboy due to his fascination with spaghetti westerns. Vulcan Raven is a hulking man of Native American descent with shaman-like superpowers. The birds of his namesake always seem to be flying around cawing when his presence is near. Psycho Mantis is a maniacal man with psychokinetic powers, donning a gas mask that makes his voice more menacing. Sniper Wolf is a deadly sharpshooter, the best in the profession. Leading the group is the motivated soldier Liquid Snake, who is just as capable as a soldier as Solid Snake is. The fights with these bosses are all incredible as they are all varied from one another and very engaging. The distanced duel with Sniper Wolf is so tense it will make the player’s brow sweat, and the infamous Psycho Mantis fight was and still is unparalleled by anything else in gaming. Hideo Kojima ostensibly used the gun masters from the cult classic acid western film El Topo. Like the gunmen of that film, Kojima wanted each FOXHOUND boss to be distinctive from one another in both aesthetics and beliefs. If the muse of El Topo creates video game bosses of this magnitude, then perhaps the film should be used as inspiration for more video games.

The remarkable cinematic properties in Metal Gear Solid are something to behold, but they do not make up the entirety of the substantial weight of the game. I’ve never been a huge fan of cinematic games as they tend to heavily simplify the gameplay to enhance the film-like qualities. They tend to come across as glorified interactive films to either compete with the medium or to reel in film people who might be averse to most video games. Hideo Kojima’s ideology as a developer strives not to let the cinematic properties dilute the gameplay, and he does an exceptional job at finding that balance here. Metal Gear Solid is as impressive in the gameplay department as it is with its presentation.

Metal Gear Solid is a stealth-action video game, a genre of game that the previous Metal Gear games pioneered in the 1980s. The games involve the player surreptitiously traversing through an area with an emphasis on avoiding being detected, or else the player will suffer some kind of consequence from carelessly blowing their cover. Like many early 3D titles, Metal Gear Solid is in many ways a 3D translation of the gameplay elements presented in the 2D Metal Gear games. Many familiar aspects of the 2D games make their return here. The radar returns to aid Snake in avoiding guards, codec calls are still present to communicate with people on the outside, and the game gives the player time to evade the guards after being spotted. The extra visual dimension in Metal Gear Solid also adds other aspects to the stealth gameplay. Holding down the triangle button on the controller engages a first-person perspective that Snake can use as a visual vantage point. The 3D environments also allow more objects to be a part of the terrain to be used as barriers to hide from guards. Overall, the 2D aspects are translated swimmingly, and the new 3D graphics unlock parameters that flesh out the stealth gameplay.

Snake also has an eclectic arsenal to aid him in his mission. Both items and weapons are designated to opposite sides of the controller that appear in a menu when the left and right triggers are held down. On the right side are the weapons that Snake can use during combat. The first firearm Snake can use is a SOCOM pistol which can take out a guard with a few rounds. The FAMAS assault rifle is unlocked later to deal with bigger guard ambushes as the game gets progressively more demanding. Snake also has access to two missile launchers: the Stinger for dealing with larger, more durable vehicles and the remote-controlled Nikita missile. A sniper rifle helps Snake pick off enemies at a distance. Still, it’s rendered impractical without the additional use of the drug diazepam to calm Snake’s nerves and make accurate shots. Snake also incorporates a bevy of explosives like grenades, C4, claymores, etc. These can be used offensively, but explosives like C4 are also used to combust walls with weaker foundations for traversal. Chaff grenades and stun grenades are used to subdue security cameras and guards, respectively. On the left side of the screen is the smattering of items that aren’t weapons, such as rations to restore health, a multitude of goggles for different occasions, and the staple cardboard box that Snake can hide under to avoid being detected. Having all of these weapons and items at one’s disposal may give off the impression that Snake is an impenetrable offensive force, but the game counter-balances his array of tools by making ammo for them scarce. This counterbalance makes the game invigorating as the player has to prioritize when to use their inventory.

Metal Gear Solid is also much more action-oriented than its 2D predecessors. This isn’t to say that the series has been adulterated to fit the more accessible action genre. It’s still a tried and true stealth game that will subtly reprimand players who decide on a gung-ho approach attempting to mow down the guards. Even if they succeed, remember that ammo and other items are intentionally scant to persuade the player to be stealthy. This way, the player will be screwed during sections when they need a plentiful amount of ammo and supplies. Rather, Metal Gear Solid gives the player more leniency with error, allowing them to take action in hectic circumstances. Snake is not equipped for speed as his quickest running animation still looks like he has something uncomfortable wedged between his asscheeks. Trying to run away from the guards will be unsuccessful most of the time. Metal Gear Solid is a rare example of hiding working out better than running. The player will be overwhelmed by guards if they take a head-on approach. When the player is forced to run and conserve their resources, Snake isn’t rendered defenseless. He can also hurl enemies to the ground, knock them out by punching and kicking, and can snap the necks of enemies by sneaking upon them. The stealth-action gameplay is perfectly balanced in most circumstances, reasonably giving the player enough to work with while making it clear that Snake is not a seemingly impenetrable force of nature like the Doom Guy.

One aspect that isn’t as balanced is whenever the game forces an action sequence upon the player. This doesn’t relate to the bosses as those encounters are never overwhelming due to focusing the action on one person, but the same can’t be said for being ambushed by guards at certain points. The first case of this is when Snake and Meryl are accosted by a group of guards once Meryl breaks out of her cell. If the player hasn’t alerted any guards up to this point, this is certainly when they discover that shooting in this game isn’t ideal. Aiming the guns at the guards is imprecise, especially if the player is aiming with a PS1 controller without an analog stick. It can be forgiven in most cases because it’s more incentive for the player to take a stealthy approach, but there is nowhere to run or hide during these instances. Whether it be the instance where Snake is ambushed on the elevators or the section where he is climbing up a tower of stairs, the forced-action sections feel unfair to the player because of the awkward controls.

On the surface, Metal Gear Solid sounds like a more intricately written James Bond film in an interactive medium. While the iconic British spy was certainly an influence on the series, Metal Gear Solid is far more weird and cerebral than anything Ian Fleming ever wrote. Hideo Kojima only uses the espionage genre as a base, engulfing it in his auteur eccentricities with a healthy dose of postmodern sensibilities to shake things up even more. Characters will often break the fourth wall by instructing the player to press certain buttons on the controller (I knew this was where Sly Cooper got the idea from!). They will also acknowledge the game outside of normal metaphysical boundaries. These postmodern tropes in the narrative are typical of the style. They might never have been used in a video game before this, but they are common in other mediums like film and literature. Something unprecedented that Metal Gear Solid debuts are translating postmodern elements into gameplay mechanics. A simple one is locating Meryl’s codec code on the back of the game box, which Campbell will also instruct the player to do outside the metaphysical boundaries of the game. A silly vibration mechanic with the controller will be used by Naomi Hunter to “calm Snake’s nerves”. I played along, and the slight tingling sensation did feel rather nice. These light-hearted mechanics are fun and interesting, but they are nothing compared to the infamous section of the game that utilizes postmodern properties with gameplay mechanics to the nth degree.

The Psycho Mantis boss is the ultimate video game mindfuck. He’ll start by possessing Meryl by making her unhinged with both ravenous desire and aggression, which is unnerving. Once he physically appears, it gets a whole lot stranger. He claims he can read Snake’s mind, commenting on the player’s saving habits and approach to combat. If the player is still skeptical about his abilities, he responds by reading the player’s memory card. Unfortunately, the only other Konami game I had saved on the memory card was Silent Hill which came after Metal Gear Solid, so Psycho Mantis just told me that my memory was clean. I can still imagine that the jaws of every player back in 1998 were dropped to the floor when this happened. Once he sets the tense, creepy mood of his boss fight, the player will notice that they can’t do anything to even wound Psycho Mantis. The TV even turns off suddenly with the input visor HIDEO in the top right corner (this effect is unfortunately lost on anyone not playing on a modern TV. Too bad.) Once this culminates in driving the player into a panicked frenzy, Campbell calls and instructs Snake to swap the controller into the second controller port. Yes, the player has to get up off their ass and switch the controller to defeat Psycho Mantis. While many of the effects of Psycho Mantis’s powers are somewhat lost to time due to needing outdated technology to be effective, implementing all of these postmodern elements into the gameplay was unheard of. I can still appreciate the ingenuity of this portion of the game and the intensity of Psycho Mantis’s fight.

Metal Gear Solid’s plot and themes are much more sophisticated than the typical work of espionage fiction. The political spectrum of most espionage works is set on a very black and white compass, often leaning towards the power and might of the western world (mainly the Anglosphere if not specifically America) to be right and true. Metal Gear Solid takes a more nuanced take on good and evil as Snake only sees his enemies as people who are just casualties of war. Even though they try to kill him, he still respects them as fellow soldiers. The game also conveys the message not to trust the government a soldier is working under, even if they are portrayed as heroic and just. Snake’s initial mission of rescuing the DARPA Chief and ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker is derailed when both mysteriously die from onset cases of cardiac arrest. His mission becomes a perilous race when he learns that FOXHOUND already had the codes for the nuclear launch. When Snake is taken hostage, he finds the body of the DARPA Chief in his cell with him and notices how strange it is that his body has decayed to the point where it is being digested by maggots in only a matter of hours. He then learns that the person he saw die was not the DARPA Chief but FOXHOUND member Decoy Octopus posing as him. Near the end of the game, there is a scandal involving Naomi Hunter being an imposter. She is a scientist that developed a deadly virus called FOXDIE, which is programmed to kill any past or present member, including Snake. The government sent Snake on this mission knowing this would happen to him, so they could retrieve the unscathed Metal Gear REX and use its nukes for their purposes.

The convoluted twists and turns of Metal Gear Solid’s plot are certainly engaging, but they are not the essence of Metal Gear Solid’s narrative brilliance. The substance of Metal Gear Solid lies in its general theme of fate or subverting its supposed absolute nature. Metal Gear Solid explores this theme under the pretense of genetics and how they shape a person’s life. The reason why Liquid Snake wants the remains of the infamous American soldier Big Boss is because he and Snake are genetic clones of the man. While Snake inherited all of the dominant genes, Liquid ostensibly inherited all of the weak recessive ones. This makes him jealous of Solid Snake and yearns to use Big Boss’s genetic data to subvert his supposed fate of being an inferior soldier by design. The theme of genetic-based destinies also rings true for other characters in the game.

The Naomi Hunter we’ve come to know launched her career in genetic research to discover who she is. Meryl feels inclined to become a soldier because many family members were soldiers. Otacon feels his work with Metal Gear Rex is fated to be destructive because of his grandfather’s involvement in the Manhattan Project. Solid Snake even feels that his role as a cold-blooded, genetically engineered soldier makes him fated to be alien from humanity. Solid Snake is callous to the casualties of war because his genetic makeup does not allow him to not have humanistic traits. He has no family, no relationships, and he doesn’t even have a name. He’s as much of a war machine as any tank or nuclear device he’s come across, except that he’s made of flesh and blood. This fate he’s accepted is tested with Meryl because he finds himself attracted to her. Whether he’s enamored with her because she’s an exceptional female soldier or lusting after her...posterior, she still makes him feel the human emotion of attraction that he claims to not possess. Even Psycho Mantis gives kudos to Snake for not being driven by the same “impure desire to create” as other humans, but his relationship with Meryl proves otherwise. His foil to this theme is the allied cyber soldier Grey Fox who turns out to be Snake’s old soldier friend Frank Jaeger who was presumed dead. While he is still much alive, his new cybernetic armor that is holding up his body is making him anguished, a shell of his former humanity that Snake takes for granted. He even wants Snake to fight him with his bare hands to feel the embrace of flesh and bone instead of mechanical bullets, which is both disturbing and sad (and kinky).

There are two different endings to Metal Gear Solid that contrast Snake’s fate with Meryl. If the player survives the torture sequence and escapes the hostage cell, Snake will escape Shadow Moses with Meryl. If the player submits to the torture (which is understandable because smashing the circle button will give anyone onset of carpal tunnel syndrome), Ocelot will kill Meryl, and Snake escapes the base with Otacon. Both endings differ entirely in narrative resolution. Escaping with Meryl gives Snake a chance to subvert his fate of being an alienated killer by starting a relationship.

On the other hand, having Meryl dead gives Snake the profound human emotion of feeling grief for losing someone he cared about. Either outcome provides a strong resolution to this theme, but I think the more uplifting ending where Meryl lives is better. This is mostly because if she dies, Otacon falsely equates losing Sniper Wolf to Snake losing Meryl, which is ridiculous. Meryl and Snake had chemistry, while Otacon had one conversation with Sniper Wolf before she died. Otacon is that kind of uberdork that will fall in love with any woman who talks to him. Whether either ending takes place, another falling action also gives a resolution to this theme. Liquid Snake chases Snake and Meryl/Otacon out of the base, guns blazing. After Snake and his compadre are in a tight spot at the end of the base, Liquid has a chance to make a final strike. He then, however, succumbs to the effects of FOXDIE and dies. Snake assumes this is when his body will surrender to the virus because of the similar genetic makeup, but it doesn’t kick in. When he asks Naomi Hunter why she didn’t kill him with the virus, her answer is very vague, which leads the player to ask these questions: did Liquid Snake die from FOXDIE because of his inferior genetics, or did Naomi subvert Snake’s fate to die from FOXHOUND because Snake himself subverted his traits and showed some humanity? Either or, it’s a fantastic open ending.

Metal Gear Solid is a game that is highly regarded for a reason. It set so many unprecedented landmarks in the medium that it’s still hard to believe that it came out at a time when other games were simply exploring the basic realms of 3D gaming. Hideo Kojima treated us gamers to something that could rival any major filmmaker in terms of narrative and intelligent design and direction. As it gets older, some of the jagged aspects of the gameplay and graphics might not hold up, but its indelible mark on gaming cannot be taken away. This is a rare instance where the phrase “for its time” makes all of the positive aspects of the game more impressive as time passes.