Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid (メタルギアソリッド) is a stealth action game directed by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation. It was well-received critically and commercially, shipping more than six million copies, and scoring an average metascore of 94 out of 100 on Metacritic. It is recognized by many as one of the best and most important games of all time, heralded as the game which made the stealth genre popular. It is the third canonical title released in the Metal Gear series, being a direct sequel to Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.

The commercial success of Metal Gear Solid prompted Konami to enhance and re-release the game for the PlayStation and Windows PC under the title Metal Gear Solid: Integral; a remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was later released for the Nintendo GameCube.

Gameplay
Despite a transition to 3D, Metal Gear Solid 's gameplay remains similar to Metal Gear 2. The player must navigate Solid Snake through the game's areas without being detected – detection sets off an alarm, which draws armed enemies to his location. To return to a lower alert setting, the player must hide, and remain undetected by the enemy until a timer reaches zero.

To remain undetected, the player must make use of Snake's abilities and the environment, such as crawling under objects, using boxes as cover, ducking or hiding around walls, and making noise to distract the enemy. These are carried out in the third-person camera view; which slowly changes its angle to give the player the best strategic view of the area possible, and an on-screen radar, which displays enemy personnel and their field of vision. Solid Snake is armed with many items and gadgets, such as thermal goggles and a cardboard box for use as a disguise, as well as numerous weapons. This emphasis on stealth promotes a less violent form of gameplay, as firefights against large numbers of superiorly equipped enemies will likely result in heavy damage and often death for the protagonist, especially early on in the game when less potent guns are available.

Intermixed with the player's progress are plot-progressing cutscenes and radio conversations (known as the Codec) as well as encounters with the bosses. To progress, the player must discover the weaknesses of these enemies in order to defeat them. This is where the player will most often use the game's weapon-set, ranging from pistols and assault rifles to rocket launchers and grenades. Game controls and play strategies can also be accessed via the Codec radio, where advice is delivered from Snake's support crew; for example, the support team may chastize Snake for not saving his progress often enough, or explain his combat moves in terms of which buttons to press on the gamepad. Completion of the game provides the player with a statistical summary of their performance, and a codename based upon it, typically the common name of an animal.

In a first for the Metal Gear series, the player can partake in VR Training, a training mode in which they can practice hiding techniques, weapons use, and sneaking. In addition to the stealth gameplay, there are set-piece sequences that entail firefights between the player and the enemy from the third-person and first-person perspectives.

Plot
During a training mission on Shadow Moses in February of 2005, at a nuclear weapons facility on a remote island off the coast of Alaska, the Next-Generation Special Forces unit FOXHOUND rebelled against the United States government, under the command of Liquid Snake. Their target was the advanced weapon system Metal Gear REX, a gigantic robotic weapons platform able to independently launch a nuclear warhead at any target on the face of the planet. Their demand was the body of the greatest soldier who ever lived, Big Boss, which, through gene therapy, they could use to create an army of ultimate soldiers.

With the safety of the entire world at stake, at the request of the Secretary of Defense, Colonel Roy Campbell, the former commander of FOXHOUND, summoned Solid Snake out of retirement for one last solo covert operation.


 * For a full plot summary, see Shadow Moses Incident.

Cast
Most of the voice actors were credited under pseudonyms since they did not know if the project was supported by the Screen Actors Guild. The only ones who used their real names were David Hayter (Solid Snake) and Doug Stone (Psycho Mantis).


 * This credit only appears in early demo versions of the game and in the back of some versions of the user manual under Cast and Credits in the European version. Hayter did not use a pseudonym in the game credits.

Theme
Genetics is the theme behind this game, or the idea of nature vs. nurture. In the ending, Liquid has an opportunity to kill Snake but the FOXDIE virus gets him first. Since Liquid and Snake are identical, it is implied that Snake will eventually be killed by FOXDIE as well. The idea of genes expands beyond the family tree with the Genome Army. Due to being genetically-enhanced with Big Boss' "soldier genes", they are also a part of the "legacy" of Big Boss.

Development
Hideo Kojima originally planned to release the third Metal Gear game, to be titled Metal Gear 3, for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in 1994. While producing the 3DO version of his adventure game Policenauts, conceptual artwork by illustrator Yoji Shinkawa of the characters Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, who was also a character in Policenauts, and the FOXHOUND team, were included in the Policenauts: Pilot Disk preceding the release of the full 3DO game in 1995. The concept art featuring Meryl and Snake can be seen here and the concept art for the FOXHOUND crew can be found here. However, due to the declining support for the 3DO, development of the game was shifted to the PlayStation shortly after the 3DO version of Policenauts was released.

Kojima decided to retitle the game, Metal Gear Solid. He did this because he believed that the first two MSX2 games weren't well known at the time. The word "Solid" in the title refers to the game being the third installment in the series, and also because the game uses 3D computer graphics.

Development for Metal Gear Solid began in mid 1995 with the intent of creating the "best PlayStation game ever." Developers aimed for accuracy and realism while making the game enjoyable and tense. In the early stages of development, a SWAT team educated the developers with a demonstration of vehicles, weapons and explosives. Kojima stated that "if the player isn't tricked into believing that the world is real, then there's no point in making the game." To fulfill this, adjustments were made to every detail, such as individually designed desks.

Kojima created the characters of Metal Gear Solid; modifications and mechanics were made by conceptual artist Shinkawa. The characters were completed by polygonal artists using pencil drawings and clay models by Shinkawa.

Kojima wanted greater interaction with objects and the environment, such as allowing the player to hide bodies in a storage compartment. Additionally, he wanted "a full orchestra right next to the player"; a system which made modifications to the currently playing track, instead of switching to another pre-recorded track. Although these features could not be achieved, they were implemented in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

Metal Gear Solid was revealed to the public at E3 1997 as a short video. It was later playable for the first time at the Tokyo Game Show in 1998 and officially released the same year in Japan with an extensive promotional campaign. Television and magazine advertisements, in-store samples, and demo giveaways contributed to a total of US$8 million in promotional costs.

Original version
The English version of Metal Gear Solid (translated by Jeremy Blaustein) contains minor refinements made during localization, such as adjustable difficulty settings (including an Extreme setting available after completing the game, which adds extended guard vision and removes the Soliton Radar, among other changes), a bonus tuxedo outfit for Snake, and a Demo Theater for viewing cutscenes and Codec conversations.

Versions of the game dubbed in Spanish, German, French and Italian were released thorough Europe in addition to the English-dubbed version released in North America. A premium package was also released in Japan and the PAL region, which came with a special box, FOXHOUND army dogtag, T-shirt, metallic memory card seal, music disc, and a history and art book.

Other re-releases
The original PlayStation version of Metal Gear Solid, as well as Integral, had been reissued twice: once under The Best range and second time as a PSone Books title. Likewise, the North American and European versions of the original Metal Gear Solid were reissued under the Greatest Hits and Platinum ranges respectively. The game is included in the Japanese Metal Gear 20th Anniversary: Metal Gear Solid Collection (in addition to a standalone 20th anniversary edition) and in the North American Essential Collection.

A Bleemcast! version was made for the Sega Dreamcast and released in the early 2000s. It is a high resolution of the original Metal Gear Solid with enhanced graphics and requires that the player owns both the Bleemcast! disc and the original game.

The game was re-released in the Japanese PlayStation Store on March 21, 2008, as part of the PSOne Classics. It was released in the North America PlayStation Store on June 18, 2009 and in the European PlayStation Store on November 21, 2009.

In addition, Kojima Productions planned on remastering and to a certain extent reimagining Metal Gear Solid due to the datedness of the original's graphics.

Music
Metal Gear Solid 's musical score was composed by in-house musicians at Konami, including Kazuki Muraoka, who also worked on Metal Gear. Composer and lyricist Rika Muranaka provided a song called "The Best is Yet to Come" for the game's ending credits sequence. The song is performed in Irish by Aoife Ní Fhearraigh. The main theme was composed by TAPPY.

Music played in-game has a synthetic feel with increased pace and introduction of strings during tense moments, with a looping style endemic to video games. Overtly cinematic music, with stronger orchestral and choral elements, appears in cutscenes. The soundtrack was released on September 23, 1998, under the King Records label.

Reception
Metal Gear Solid was a commercial success, shipping over 6 million copies worldwide. Upon release, it was one of the most rented games, and topped sales charts in the United Kingdom.

The game was generally well received by the media and some of the most prominent gaming critics. Users and critics of GamePro gave it an average score of 4.8 out of 5 calling it "this season's top offering [game] and one game no self-respecting gamer should be without." However, they criticized the frame rate, saying it "occasionally stalls the eye-catching graphics" and "especially annoying are instances where you zoom in with binoculars or the rifle scope", and also the interruptions of "advice from your team", in the early parts of the game, "that's listed in the instruction manual", calling it an "annoyance." GameSpot also criticized this, saying "it needlessly interrupts the game." They also criticized how easy it is for the player to avoid being seen and its short length and called it "more of a work of art than ... an actual game." Further criticism came from the website Adrenaline Vault, which said it had "some serious...flaws" which "made it a complete disappointment."

It received an Excellence Award for Interactive Art at the 1998 Japan Media Arts Festival. NGamer said "It's like playing a big budget action blockbuster, only better." IGN said it came "closer to perfection than any other game in PlayStation's action genre" and called it "Beautiful, engrossing, and innovative...in every conceivable category."

Metal Gear Solid is recognized by some as the first 3D stealth game (Tenchu: Stealth Assassins and Thief: The Dark Project are also considered). The idea of the player being unarmed and having to avoid being seen by enemies, rather than fight them, experienced a resurgence in popularity, and has been featured in many games since. It is also sometimes acclaimed as being a film as much as a game due to the lengthy cut scenes and intricate storyline. Entertainment Weekly said it "broke new ground with...movie-style production...and stealth-driven gameplay, which encouraged...hiding in boxes and crawling across floors." GameTrailers said it "invented the stealth game genre" and called it "captivating, inventive and gritty." The game is widely considered one of the best PlayStation games, and has featured in numerous greatest video games ever lists by GameFAQs, Japanese magazine Famitsu, Entertainment Weekly, Game Informer, GamePro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and GameTrailers. However, it's placing in these lists is inconsistent, ranging anywhere from second to 50th.

In 2002, IGN's editors ranked it as the best PlayStation game ever. IGN writer David Smith said that just the demo for the game had "more gameplay [in it] than in most finished titles." They also gave it the "Best Ending" and "Best Villain" awards. In 2005, in placing it 19th on their list of "Top 100 Games", saying that it was "a game that truly felt like a movie", that the fights were "unique and innovative", and that it was "the founder of the stealth genre."

Strategy guide
The strategy guide for the game, titled the Metal Gear Solid Official Mission Handbook, was published by Millennium Books in 1998. The book was authorized by Konami, including a foreword by Hideo Kojima, and featured additional information on various characters and equipment, such as Big Boss, Decoy Octopus, Sniper Wolf, Liquid Snake, Revolver Ocelot and Ocelot's torture device. However, due to the story developments in later games, it is unclear how much of this information should be considered canon. The book was written by David S. J. Hodgson, who went on to write many Prima official game guides.

Radio drama

 * See Metal Gear Solid (audio drama)

A Japanese radio drama version of Metal Gear Solid was produced shortly after the release of the original PlayStation game. Directed by Shuyo Murata and written by Motosada Mori, it aired, in 18 segments, from 1998 to 1999 on Konami's CLUB db program. The series was later released on CD as a two volume set. Set after the events of the PlayStation game, Snake, Meryl, Campbell and Mei Ling (all portrayed by their original Japanese voice actors) pursue missions in hostile third world nations as FOXHOUND. Original characters are introduced, such as Sgt. Allen Iishiba, a Delta Force operative who assists Snake and Meryl; Col. Mark Cortez, an old friend of Campbell who commands the fictional Esterian Special Forces; and Capt. Sergei Ivanovich, a former war buddy of Revolver Ocelot from his SVR days.

Comic

 * See Metal Gear Solid (comic series)

In September 2004, IDW Publications began publishing a series of Metal Gear Solid comics, written by Kris Oprisko and illustrated by Ashley Wood. 12 issues have been published, fully covering the game's storyline.



Novelization
A novelization based on the original Metal Gear Solid was written by Raymond Benson and published by Del Rey. The American paperback edition was published on May 27, 2008, with a British edition released on June 4, 2008. A Podcast nearing the release of Metal Gear Solid 4 also revealed that Hideo Kojima was directly involved in supervising the written work.

The novel shed light on the mysterious Les Enfants Terribles project, stating some of the people involved, and where it took place, as well as giving more information on the death of Master Miller.

Legacy
Metal Gear Solid along with Metal Gear Solid 2 will be featured in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's "The Art of Video Games" exhibition from March 16 to September 30, 2012.

Behind the scenes

 * This the only game in the series that has an alternate ending.
 * The musical group Eiffel 65's song "My Console", which is on their album Europop, makes tribute to many hit PlayStation games, including Metal Gear Solid.