So, for those who don't know - I'm beginning to tackle the entire Metal Gear series, from beginning to end. I'm already a huge fan, but I liked the idea of replaying every single games, and covering the ones I didn't play. I already did an editorial regarding this game, but because I'm doing the whole series from the start... I guess it'd be fair to also play this one! Metal Gear was one of the first stealth games, and the beginning of the Metal Gear series, in general... I played this after the other games in the series, so... um... yeah...
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Days ago, FOXHOUND Agent Gray Fox was tasked to infiltrate the Fortress Outer Heaven, and locate the Ultimate Weapon capable of launching a nuclear weapon - this Operation would become known as Operation Intrude N312. Gray Fox made it into the Fortress, but didn't make it out, his last words muttered through communication were "Metal Gear..." Armed with the knowledge of this bipedal tank's whereabouts, FOXHOUND tasks Rookie Solid Snake to infiltrate the fortress, make contact with Gray Fox, and destroy the Ultimate Weapon, built by Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar... METAL GEAR!
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Regardless of it's flaws, it's difficult not to appreciate this game, it's contribution to the stealth genre, and it kicking off the entire Metal Gear saga, in general. Within moments, there's no shortage of time till we're thrown in to a world of espionage, insane storylines and characters, operations and the world of Metal Gear, one which would come beloved throughout the World of Gaming. The first thing that caught my eye once I was thrown into Outer Heaven was the age. Since around 1987, with this game's release, gaming has developed lots and lots, so this game, from a technical standpoint, is instantly horribly dated. That doesn't make it a bad game, but it comparison to modern gaming, it doesn't entirely hold up properly and could alienate players that aren't interested in 8-bit games. Still, the game isn't a complete loss - the first thing I'd like to compliment this game on is it's World Design - the fortress of Outer Heaven is simply a thrill to discover, with many rooms which lead into other locations, boss battles to encounter, weapons hidden around... Metal Gear is foremost, a stealth game, but also an addictive puzzle game. There isn't much story, so it's mostly gameplay centered, but with the frustrating backtracking aside, unlocking all the weapons hidden around and making your way undetected - or detected, depending on your play style - is a memorable experience, in itself. Like other Metal Gear games, getting caught by enemies is frightening, which adds significantly to the suspense of the stealth, because once you're caught, enemies will most likely fire bullets at Snake, depleting your health, and rations, so it's always encouraged that the player takes the approach which makes them pass by enemies unseen.
The stealth itself is primitive. Back then, when this game was put out, it was an innovation, something new, and promised many things which could be done with the stealth genre, but regardless of the intensity of being caught, there isn't much to the stealth system, and the approaches are repetitive, and limited. There's the punching button, in which the player is able to sneak up on enemies, and bash them to defeat, which is such a simplistic feature, there isn't much to do with it. It isn't like MGS1, or any of the games following it. Snake isn't able to put the enemy into a hold, or flip them onto the ground - it's only beating them up to submission, and that's it, and if done undetected, the enemies won't make any effort to fight back. In combat, knockouts aren't encouraged, it's simply too slow and clunky, so players will be encouraged to run off of the screen and away from enemies if falling into their line of site!
Still, credit where credit as due, and one of the most thrilling things with the stealth is running past enemies, who will continuously turn their heads, meaning it's the player's responsibility to guide Snake, in the right moment, in the right time. Besides that, there's not much to say with the stealth. That said, hands down, this game has one of the best assortment of equipment in any Metal Gear game. There's the classic rations, which will automatically regenerate health! Searching for rations is a key feature of Metal Gear, and enriches the experience with a sense of puzzling. Then there's firearms, defensive weapons, such as the general pistol, the minigun, the grenade launchers, and the RC MIssiles, to name a few. Ammo could've been something sparse, but there is an exploit, in which ammo continues to respawn! Another piece of equipment is the Plastic Explosives, with many moments in which the player is to bang on walls to locate the delicate surfaces, and blow them to pieces. Those are all cool, but the most recurring item(s) in this game are the Key Cards, there's eight of them, each of them unlocking their own doors, and collected throughout the span of the game, but I'd go as far as saying it's probably the worst feature of the game - as this comes with frustrating backtracking!
The boss battles themselves are easy and repetitive, most of them are simplistic, such as firing RC Missiles at the enemies, or firing grenades, or mines or something. Unlike the other games, there isn't creativity, but the tanks are some of the best boss battles! One boss battle has the player fire grenades at a tank before it rams Snake down. The player is unable to make their way out of the room before their rammed down, because the tank regenerates health if they do.
The story of this game is the Uprising of Outer Heaven, which is a key moment in the Metal Gear series, but the narrative and the characters are unimportant. The characters are underdeveloped, as is the storyline, but that's charted up to the fact that storytelling standard in gaming was low back then, so I wouldn't be shocked if this story was something unique in those days! I'd urge every single big Metal Gear fan to play this one. It would've benefited with more heavy handed storytelling, but again, this was back in 1987, so I won't fault the game for it's story! The main character is Solid Snake, with his Commander Big Boss on radio, feeding him intel, and resistance Leader Schneider helping Snake locate weapons around the fortress, and Diane and Jennifer on the Radio, and the bosses, such as Shotmaker, and Machinegun Kid. What makes the story memorable, though, is the plot twist! It could've been more rewarding if the storylines and characters were more developed, but it's easily one of the strongest, memorable and most key plot twists and elements in the Metal Gear Saga!
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METAL GEAR - MSX! = 7/10
Metal Gear was a huge contribution to the stealth genre, and begun the Universe of Metal Gear, but has aged horribly. Still, it's addictive, with an awesome assortment of equipment and weaponry, puzzle-orientated gameplay, documenting the Uprising of Outer Heaven, and a memorable, key plot twist, which holds this as one of the weakest games in the series, but also a good game, in it's own right!
- + Addictive, Stealth and Puzzle Gameplay
- + Thrilling Alert Modes
- + Memorable World Design
- + Contribution to Stealth Genre
- - Frustrating Backtracking
- - Ammo and Supply Exploits
- - Primitive Boss Battles
Thanks for reading, now... let's all count down the days till we go to Zanzibar Land! Don't forget to share thoughts on the Original Metal Gear below, and to follow for more reviews on everything Metal Gear!
- TAS
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