Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid is a video game that consists of 11 releases

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Metal Gear Solid, released in 1998, is a game developed and published by Konami Corporation. The game follows a newly-retired Snake through his mission on Shadow Moses Island as he attempts to rescue hostages DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and president of ArmsTech Kenneth Baker, while preventing a nuclear catastrophe.

Overview

is a stealth-action game released for the Sony PlayStation in October of 1998.  With a critically-acclaimed storyline, addictive gameplay and innovative use
Shadow Moses Island
Shadow Moses Island
of the PlayStation hardware, MGS was an instant classic. The series has since come to be a primary series for the PlayStation consoles.  It features the legendary Solid Snake in his first 3D adventure as he must infiltrate a nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island.  Liquid Snake is in command of rogue special forces unit FOXHOUND as they attempt to acquire Metal Gear Rex to launch a nuclear strike and it’s up to Snake to stop them.  It features an immersive storyline, cinematic in-game cut scenes, superb voice acting and genre-defining gameplay.  has shipped more than 6 million copies to date and is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential games of all time. The game was later released on the PC as well.

Metal Gear Solid was remade for the Nintendo Gamecube by Silicon Knights in 2004, titled Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.  The remake featured improved  graphics, re-shot cutscenes, re-mastered the audio, and added general gameplay improvements from Metal Gear Solid 2, such as a first-person view and ledge hanging. Most of the voice actors from the original game were brought in to re-record their dialog, excluding the voice actors for the Cyber Ninja and Mei Ling.  It also added a number of new easter eggs to find throughout the game. The game is now available in the Japanese and US PSN, which allows play on both the PS3 and PSP. In  Metal Gear Solid 4, players revisit the game in a flashback.


Gameplay


    

Don't look down, Snake
Don't look down, Snake
Metal Gear Solid is a game which revolves around stealth, so Snake will spend most of his time avoiding enemy detection. Utilizing his ability to walk quietly, crawl, and press against walls, Snake can avoid attracting enemy attention. Snake can also take out enemies by grabbing them and knocking them out, or utilizing the variety of weapons in his arsenal to take them down. Unfortunately, making any sort of noise will alert other guards in Shadow Moses. If Snake is detected, the game will go into alert phase, bringing extra guards to the area as long as alert mode is active. In this mode, Snake must either fight or make flight, though most often, he must escape, as he is at a disadvantage. If Snake manages to sneak away, the game enters the evasion phase in which the guards are actively searching for Snake, though they are not aware of his presence. If Snake can hide long enough, the game will go to normal sneaking mode. If Snake is found in evasion phase, the game will return to alert status. In both alert and evasion phases, Snake cannot use his Soliton radar.

Soliton radar becomes a handy tool for Snake, showing him enemy positions, making it easier for him to avoid detection. In alert, evasion, and jamming phases, the radar becomes unusable. Snake has no radar in the harder difficulty levels of the game.



The player moves Snake around the environment using the D-pad or analog sticks, which are also used to look around when in first person mode. The first person mode is initiated by pressing the triangle button. To sneak around, Snake will often be crawling, using the X button. The X button also allows snake to crouch, which allows him to stay out of sight behind short boxes or other objects. Snake can press against walls as well, a technique often used for sneaking. With his back to the wall, Snake can use the square button to knock on walls, which will attract enemy attention, possibly allowing Snake to sneak off in the other direction.


Snake's inventory is sorted into two menus on the left and right side of the screen. The right menu shows all weapons currently in Snake's inventory, while the left menu shows all other items Snake is carrying. The player uses the L2 button to bring up the item menu, and the R2 button to bring up the weapons. When the player brings up either menu, the game pauses, the inventory borders the screen, and it can be navigated with the D-pad. The L1 and R1 buttons are used from weapon and item quick changes. Snake is able to use many weapons throughout his mission, including pistols and claymores.
    

The codec
The codec
To access his codec, the player presses the select button. Often throughout the game, the codec will ring and a message will display, informing the player that they have received a call. Pressing the select button will answer the call. Whenever the player needs to save or consult any of the other characters, he can access the codec menu using the select button. The codec will save important numbers, though most numbers must be entered before they are saved. The codec is very important, both for saving and telling the story.

The circle and square buttons are used for combat. The square button is the weapon button, and when pressed, Snake will fire the equipped weapon. Without any weapons equipped, Snake can use the square button to throw or choke an enemy he has grabbed. The circle button will unleash Snake's devastating punch and kick combo. Snake will attack in the direction he is facing, which is altered using the D-pad or analog sticks.


One of the most memorable aspects of Metal Gear Solid is the unusual pieces of gameplay that go beyond stealth. The game introduces the torture event, which became a staple for later titles. While being tortured, the player has to press a button repeatedly to keep Snake alive. The game also has sequences that take Snake's equipment away, require Snake to rappel down a building, and other off-beat sequences. Snake will find his mission is much more difficult then simply avoiding enemy detection. There is one known difference between the US and Japanese versions of MGS1 on the PSX. In the Japanese version, if you dial the codec frequency to 140.66 in the Snowfield, and two other locations, it plays a song. One song sounds like a laggy broken version of the theme from MG2:Solid Snake. You can access this song from the Snowfield outside of the Hangar when you first encounter Vulcan Raven.



Plot Summary

      
Codec
Codec
A nuclear weapons storage facility, located on Shadow Moses Island, has been attacked and overtaken by a group of terrorists called " FOXHOUND".  The terrorists have taken two hostages: DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker.  A lone solder is sent on an unarmed sneaking mission to rescue the ArmsTech President and the DARPA Chief.  Also, he must find out if the terrorists have the ability to launch a nuclear weapon "and stop them if they do".  Unknown to the public, Shadow Moses is  also a storing facility for nuclear weapons.  It was created to house the newest reincarnation of the infamous bipedal nuclear equipped battle-tank called Metal Gear REX.  You play as Solid Snake, a hardened soldier who has had "a couple of run-ins" with the previous Metal Gear projects.  Snake won't be alone though, as he is able to communicate with an extensive cast of support characters over his codec radio system.  As Snake infiltrates the facility, he finds out twisted secrets about Shadow Moses, Metal Gear and even himself .

Memorable Moments

      

Where The Hell Did I Put That Case!?!

Okay, so you've just saved Baker from the old sadistic gunslinger and now what?  Baker said something about Meryl's frequency being on the back of the CD case, but what does that mean? Okay, don't start backtracking just yet.  Find the CD case for the game.  You know, the box with the shiny red text on it that says "Metal Gear Solid", that's probably sitting right next to your PlayStation... because you had to take the disk out of it to play the game.  Yeah, that one... now flip it over and look at it...  See anything interesting?  There should be a screenshot of the Codec when Snake is talking to Meryl...  140.15...
   
 

Mantis

Metal Gear Solid really did a lot to break the fourth wall so that the player feels more immersed into the warped story-line.  This is seen all over t
     he place throughout the game, especially in the Psycho Mantis boss fight. The Mantis fight really is a memorable experience as the designers used the PlayStation hardware in truly innovative ways to freak out gamers. During the beginning of the fight, Mantis will read your Memory Card for certain Konami games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and comment on them. He will also comment on your saving habits if you don't save much. Sony had just released the Dual Shock controller and Metal Gear Solid used it in full force, most memorably when Mantis tells you to, "Put your controller on the floor.  Put it down as flat as you can."  Then the controller would vibrate and wiggle around on the floor for a little bit.  The fight is filled with a bunch of other little psych-outs, no pun intended, like pretending to change the channel on your TV to HIDEO 1, and making it impossible to aim at Mantis unless you switch your controller to "Port 2" so he can't read your mind

Les Enfants Terribles (Contains Spoilers)

Man, those rockets better pack one hell of a punch if you wanna take down that thing...
Man, those rockets better pack one hell of a punch if you wanna take down that thing...
This game has one of the most twisted story-lines of all time, only surpassed by the all-out wackiness of it's sequel.   Liquid Snake and Solid Snake were genetically created in a lab from the Big Boss's DNA. Big Boss was revered as the perfect soldier back in the day, but he defects and starts to work to destroy the Patriots. Liquid and Solid Snake are both products of the  Les Enfants Terribles  project.  According to Liquid, Solid Snake received all of Big Boss's dominant genes, and that he got stuck with the recessive genes. The genome soldiers that had been guarding the base had been genetically conditioned, using the research born from Les Enfants Terribles project.  Liquid wishes to surpass their father's dream of a world of war, where soldiers can have a purpose.

Life or Death (Contains BIG Spoilers)

Metal Gear Solid has two different endings.  The most common ending is that when you have finished  fist-fighting with liquid on top of the destroyed Metal Gear REX, Snake runs over to Meryl only to find her dead.  Snake says, "I gave into my fear! I gave into my pain!  I sold your life to save my own...  I'm a loser.  I'm not the hero you thought I was!  I'm nothing!!!"  Then Otacon show's up and starts talking about how "Death is not Defeat" and stuff.  Now Snake's little speech should have raised a red flag.  He is referring directly to the  torture chamber section of the game. If you hit the "Select" button during either of the torture sequences, then you are doomed to the "Hal and Dave" ending.  Surviving  Ocelot's electric shock torture is no joke though, especially on the original PlayStation version (it definitely seems a lot easier on The Twin Snakes).  


 
Not something I would want to do
Not something I would want to do
First thing's first, you MUST save after fighting Sniper Wolf in the hallway.  The game will not let you "Continue" if you die during this sequence, which means you will have to fight Wolf again.  In the cutscene before the torture, Ocelot will explain that you must push the circle button repeatedly to regain your strength.  You cannot use "AUTO-FIRE" or the game will not register the button presses.  However, my friend and I were able to use a third-party controller with a "TURBO-FIRE" button, so if you have a controller that has any kind of "AUTO-FIRE" or "TURBO FIRE" it might not be a bad idea to give that a try (it will be A LOT easier than the alternative if it works). Okay, there are many techniques for hitting a button really fast.  I've heard of people using spoons to slide it across the button or alternating your index and middle fingers to hit the button faster, but I have never been able to use any of these successfully. What I do is hold the controller with my left hand (like you would normally and place my thumb on the D-pad and index finger on the L1 button.  I tense up the muscles in my right hand and forearm so that my hand shakes. Then I use my thumb to hit the button while my hand is shaking. Now don't go putting yourself into a seizure or anything, it's not my fault if you hurt yourself, you shouldn't have to tense up your muscles too much anyway. I'm just saying that this is how I beat this section of the game; I'm not saying that it's the right or wrong way. Once you've finished the first round of four progressively longer shocks, you will be sent back to your cell for a brief intermission. Then it's time for round two, which is going to be familiar territory by now. If you succeed, you will be rewarded with the real ending, along with a snazzy new Bandanna for the next play-through which when worn gives you infinite ammo. If you get the other ending you will get the Stealth Camouflage.

Key Players


Bosses:


Here's a list of the bosses you will encounter throughout the game in order of appearance:
- Revolver Ocelot
- M1 Abrams
- Gray Fox (Cyborg Ninja)
- Psycho Mantis
- Sniper Wolf (Communication Towers)
- Hind D
- Sniper Wolf (Snow Field)
- Metal Gear Rex
- Liquid Snake


Support Team:                   Codec Number:




Playstation Traits


  • He was asking for what came next, really...
    He was asking for what came next, really...
    1 Player
  • Memory card 1-15 blocks
  • Analog controller compatible
  • Vibration function


Original Soundtrack



1
. Metal Gear Solid Main Theme                                                                                                                                                                                      
Cover art for the Metal Gear Solid soundtrack
Cover art for the Metal Gear Solid soundtrack
2. Introduction
3. Discovery 
4. Cavern 
5
. Intruder 1 
6
. Encounter 
7
. Intruder 2 
8. Warhead Storage 
9. Intruder 3 
10. Mantis' Hymn 
11
. Hind D 
12. Duel 
13. Enclosure 
14. Blast Furnace 
15
. Colosseo 
16. Rex's Lair 
17. Escape 
18
. End Title/The Best Is Yet to Come 
19. VR Training 
20. Metal Gear Solid Main Theme [1997 E3 Edit]






Game Name Metal Gear Solid
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Original US Release Oct. 22, 1998
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Aliases MGS


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