Metal Gear Solid Playthrough Part 3

Channel:

proa007

Subscribers:

536

Published on August 4, 2021 11:00:04 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApCIkhAWOdk

Game:

Metal Gear Solid (1998)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 1:36:45

17 views

1

Brief disclaimer: Went for the "non-canon" ending due to repeated failed attempts in the torture room.

1998, PS-X. Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Few games have had as seismic an impact as Metal Gear Solid has. Games had dealt with spies before and games had been cinematic before, but nothing quite like this. Writer-director Hideo Kojima had blurred the line a bit in previous games such as Policenauts, but this espionage thriller, full of weighty themes about nuclear war, human nature, genetics, ethics and more, is a cut above. Kojima designed Metal Gear Solid to feel like an interactive movie and it is felt in every second of this game, which brings plenty of tension and atmosphere to the table.

The story deals with Solid Snake being forced out of retirement by his former CO to stop member of his former unit, FOX-HOUND, and a group of soldiers, from using the new Metal Gear, code-named Rex, and a secret nuclear weapon. The plot itself is nothing new (and is, in fact, structurally similar to Metal Gear 2 for the MS-X, released in 1990). What makes the game stand out from the others is, again, the cinematic style and the attention paid to the characters, their dialogue and their circumstances. Kojima may go to the trope well more often than he should, but he gets plenty of help from his superlative voice actors. David Hayter, who voices Solid Snake, gives a career-defining performance as a gruff, hardened, but privately broken man who has seen and learned too much about the battlefield and about himself to ever go back. Even with that, he is not a one-dimensional character. There is still something inside him yearning for redemption. That arc, combined with several of the supporting cast members, propels the narrative about as much as the nuclear threat. Not all of the twists work and some of them are limited in their impact after the first playthrough, but there’s still a lot that does work even today.

The rest of the game is of variable quality. The graphics are decent, but rather pixelated and blocky (even in 1998), but they work well nonetheless thanks to Kojima’s staging. The music has a techno feel, but still provides excitement and tension when needed. The gameplay is, at best, average, and action scenes are awkward. Some of the boss fights can be particularly aggravating. Menuing can also be difficult at times; especially when keycards are involved.

Even with those demerits, Metal Gear Solid is one of those games that overcomes these otherwise significant flaws and becomes an engrossing experience. It really did change how narrative and video games could work. It is a seminal piece of craftsmanship that should be experienced by all gamers.

Watch live streams and speedruns on https://www.twitch.tv/proa007.

I am also a self-published crime and mystery novelist. You can find my books on Amazon here (warning: they are hard R in terms of language and occasionally violence).

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07QV22TGB

0:00 Torture Room
9:29 Prisoner of War
23:04 Retracing to Communications Tower
31:08 Communications Tower 1
40:29 Communications Tower 2
46:46 Hind Boss Fight
54:04 Going Back to the Surface
1:00:09 Sniper Wolf Boss Fight 2
1:14:44 Blast Furnace and Descent
1:21:15 Vulcan Raven Boss Fight 2

Other Statistics