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Metal Gear Solid

Score: 100%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami OSA
Media: Cartridge/1
Players: 1 - 2
Genre: Action/ Adventure


Graphics & Sound:

Wow. This is one of those games that make you wonder just what can be pumped out of the ten-year-old Game Boy architecture. Solid Snake himself is animated well, with all the requisite sneaky looks; the guards and cameras look just right, the automap is clear and readable, and the text is nice. The VR mode looks almost identical to the VR mode in the PlayStation version. It would be practically impossible to improve upon the graphics in MGS on this system. It almost floored me the first time I played it. The sound pushes what the puny Game Boy speaker can do, with recognizable tunes, especially in the VR missions, and suitable clanks and bangs and explosions. But graphics have never been the Game Boy’s strong suit. The fact that Metal Gear Solid does so well with them is testament to the power of good code and art.

Gameplay:

Not to mention extremely good gameplay. Metal Gear Solid (Ghost Babel was its subtitle in Japan) tells the story of Solid Snake as he infiltrates a jungle encampment that will soon feel strangely familiar to fans of the series. But the story doesn’t go where you think it will, and it will keep you engrossed throughout the entire title. The gameplay will as well -- it matches the PlayStation almost type-for-type, allowing you to use the Nikita to blow someone away, or some C4 to surprise someone with a bang; ducking into a cardboard box so a guard won’t notice you, then strangling them from behind; staying behind shrubs and hoping to God that the guard isn’t looking your way. Sirs, this is what Metal Gear is all about, and MGS for the GBC does it right-on.

If you’ve had enough of the single-player game (which isn’t overly long, but certainly enough to entertain you), you get to play the VR Missions. There are tons and tons of them, and they’re laid out in roughly the same manner as they were on the PSX. You can do stealth missions, or train with each weapon, and the game keeps track of how many you’ve done. It also has ‘advanced’ missions for when you’ve beaten enough of the others. Many of the levels are straight from the PSX Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions, but a lot of them are different, surprising me. And, even more so than the game proper, the VR Missions translated perfectly to the GBC. I found them to be the ultimate time-killer. If I was waiting for some game to finish loading (Colony Wars: Red Sun comes to mind), or installing something (any of a bevy of PC games), I could blast my way through a few VR missions and get stumped on one for a while, going back to whatever I was doing beforehand for a few minutes, and then pick it back up. I really enjoyed VR Missions for the PSX, and this is a wonderful add-on for the GBC. It makes me wonder just how much stuff you can cram on one of those tiny cartridges.

So what else can you say about the gameplay in MGS? It’s the PlayStation game encapsulated in cartridge format, as best as is humanly possible. And the PSX version was amazing. The GBC version is just as good.


Difficulty:

Some of the VR Missions are fiendishly hard, and the later areas in Metal Gear Solid may give you conniptions, but none of them are impossible. If you find parts too easy, save the game and go back to a previous area, where you’ll find you’ll have to zoom through it in record time. This built-in replayability is a Good Thing. Most people should be able to beat the main game in a matter of hours (not two or three, mind you) and get through most of the VR missions, although those last ones are madly hairy.

Game Mechanics:

You can only do so much with the two main buttons of the GBC, and Konami’s done the best they can. You select items by pressing, well, Select, and then scrolling through the choices, where you generally automatically use what you stop on. The controls themselves, however, are easy and comfortable, and once you get used to the control scheme, it all becomes second nature. The changing of cigarettes to foggers is somewhat trite, but doesn’t mar an otherwise wonderful game. This is a game to buy the GBC for. If you at all enjoyed the PlayStation version, or any of the previous ones, or, hell, games in general, you should pick this title up. It’s a winner.

-Sunfall to-Ennien, GameVortex Communications
AKA Phil Bordelon

GameBoy Color/Pocket Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! Sony PlayStation 2 Vietcong: Purple Haze

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated