Epic
Metal Gear Solid for the original Playstation really defined the stealth action genre. Actually it started it single handed. For one the game is incredibly cinematic when it comes to its in-game cutscenes which are rendered flawlessly. Also in terms of gameplay which is done very simply and fluidly. The game's bosses are incredibly epic and memorable.
The story is set in Shadow Moses Island, which is a ficitonal island off Fox's Archipelago. It gets attacked and taken over by a group of terrorist known as FoxHound, which was Snake's former unit and one that Colonel Campell use to be the commander of. Unknown to the public is the fact that Shadow Moses is really a nuclear waste disposal facility and houses a nuclear bipedal tank known as Metal Gear Rex.
The gameplay in Metal Gear Solid is very simple. You control Snake with either the directional pad or the left analog stick. The right analog stick doesn't do anything. The square button, which is the weapon button, is used for choking guards when you don't have a weapon equipped. While it also serves as firing weapons, throwing grenades, and setting claymore mines. The triangle button serves as the action button that lets Snake climb ladders. The circle button serves as melee that lets Snake punh and when pressed repeatedly he can do a three hit combo which ends with a kick. It also lets you knock on walls to distract enemy guards when pressed up against a wall. Finally the X button lets Snake crouch and when he crouches simply press forward and he can crawl.
The boss fights are truly the meat of the game. They range from an M1 tank to a Psychic. The best and most notable boss is Psyco Mantis. Psyco Mantis really stands out, out of all of them. The reason being, is because he can "read" your past. What he really does is read you memory card and he tells you whatever games you have saved in it from Konami. He also "moves" your controller with the power of his will alone which all he does is make it rumble, but since the Dualshock controller was just introduced this was a very big deal.
All in all, Metal Gear Solid is a game that stealth lovers, hell, everyone should experience or own. Althought yes it's true that it has lengthy cutscenes and you can get passed the game in three hours or less if you skip all of them, but these cutscenes are simply must see and is what drives the entire game.