Non Spoiler Version: I really think you should play the other games, at least starting with Metal Gear Solid for PS1, if you have a PS3 you can actually pick up a pretty cheap bundle package online for cheap, so you don't even have to go to a store to buy a game, nor do you need a PS1 or PS2 you can but them all on your PS3 heh heh. Metal Gear series is one of those rare franchises that really rewards its fans and its fans loyalty. That also being said even if you don't have time to play the other games? You could also just Youtube them, there are youtube videos of people playing the whole games, so if you like to study with background noise? You can study and soak up the game and story in the background and occasionally look up from studying to see what is going on in the screen. You might ignore the game play parts and just pay attention to when there is a cut scene, or maybe only watch the boss battles. Or there are just youtube videos one Metal Gear where people just talk about the philosophical aspects of the story and how deep it is, much more faster but removes the fun of the person doing it themselves. I mean this is a game series which has moments that make you say "woah cool" a lot. Except its probably not as fun or cool to have someone just tell you heh heh.
It can be a really fun stealth game, but this game is also very character strong, very poetic, philosophical, dramatic and silly but funny and witty silly, with a poignant twist. It also has a lot of action if you choose that route too, plus it has some of the most original and iconic boss battles ever as well. There are so many revelations, twists and turns in the series, some really deep and emotional. The creative team behind this series really know their tropes and spend a lot of time subverting them as well as playing them straight. If you know your pop culture well and war time history well, sci fi well and even biblical history you will be rewarded well. This series also has a lot of meta messages and themes, I'll explain this more in the spoiler part. Oh and the soundtrack is epic!
Spoiler Parts: Nooo you don't want to read this section. Go back. Snaaaaakkkkkeeeeee! Okay so I started playing with Metal Gear Solid, and I loved games, but never really considered them an art form or as "good" as movies, I thought they were fun, but not as good as telling stories as movies or novels, but games like Final Fantasy series were starting to make me question that. Metal Gear Solid 1 was going to be another dumb fun action game to me, guns, explosions and bad guys right? The opening CGI movie started off just like a movie starts off. It even had a dramatic gaelic song and had credits heh heh - and then the game actually spends a long time trying to establish the realism and credibility of the game, it uses pseudo science and futuristic sounding technology and real world military terms to ground the game. It even gives you a support team you contact on a Codec - but then the game starts to subvert the realism it establishes by throwing some really freaky stuff at you, and it starts breaking the forth wall. Not in a Deadpool way, more of a surreal existentialist way. The main character Snake questions himself and is confused at parts, but is still tough and badass. You can smoke in this game and supporting characters will chide you and will also get annoyed if you call them too much. You can hide in a box, and throw down porn mags to distract guards - one boss character can even tell you what games you had on your memory card and the only way you can beat him is to swap your Playstation controller to its second port!!!?!?!!! The game also gives you a lot of history lessons that cover real life military and war events and consequences and juxtaposes that against you the main character and the other "good guys" in the game - are you really the good guy? Are you?!?! You start getting introduced to all these other crazy cool characters - and because of your main character (Snake's) interactions with them, you start realizing how deep and crazy cool your main character is. A lot of what I just said is pretty common place now in video games, great stories, meta messages, focus on plot and characterization with good gameplay mechanics but Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998, one of the first games of this type on this level. Metal Gear Solid is not only awesome but historically important. Following games not only get better gameplay mechanics wise (adding in more advance Close Quarters Combat and gun mechanics and other abilities) but add to its own history and lore.
The whole second PS1 game basically trolls the premise of Metal Gear Solid. MGS4's hero and main character looks like he is in his 70's and there aren't many video games that give you that type of main character, most are wish fulfillment or fantasy type characters. Not characters that sneeze or have coughing fits, or just have the psychology behind them that Snake does. Oh in Metal Gear Solid 3 you can defeat a boss by turning off your game after saving and not playing the game for over a week and then the boss dies of old age 0_0 - come on how awesome is that? This is just a very deep, very unique game series. Also a series with many breakthroughs and innovations for its time. Geez actually I could talk about this game for 100 extra paragraphs and still not cover everything. I'd really recommend playing the games, or watching them or just reading about it - all links that you can.That being said? Metal Gear Solid 5 will still be really fun and awesome to play because thats the nature of these games, the game mechanics are just fun, innovate and well crafted and refined. I'd say the reason why its considered one of the greatest video games ever? Is the story, characters and themes the game carries across all its games.
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