GENRE
	Action
	DEVELOPER
	Konami
	PUBLISHER
	Konami
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	WORTH PLAYING TODAY?
	no
	BUY NOW AT

I started playing the Metal Gear series with Metal Gear Solid. I had never gotten to play the older game. However, I went and hunted down a copy of the first game. What do I think of it? First thing first, the copy I am reviewing kept bugging out on me repeatedly. However, this did not hinder gameplay and I was able to fix it after summoning the NES Demons of Cleanliness.

visuals

For an older NES title, this game looks pretty good. It reminds me a bit of Rush N' Attack. The first sequence you see when the game starts is a plane dropping people out of a parachute as the sun sets behind them. As soon as you land, you get a call on your transceiver from Big Boss. This gives way to a communications panel screen where badly translated text explains your objectives. You are supposed to infiltrate "Outer Heaven" and find "Grey Fox." Then you are supposed to destroy "Metal Gear." The night sky looks nice and the jungle looks pretty lush. Animation is a bit clunky; but you can see the enemies pretty well. The buildings are pretty detailed and the "!" mark that appears when you are discovered is comical.

Details on vehicles and enemies are really nice. The vehicles look like they should. You can get inside of some of the vehicles and find special items. There is enough variety in terrain to prevent your eyes from getting bored.

audio

The music is very good and the sound effects are top notch as well. The music really sets the mood for some espionage. You will enjoy the music and the sound effects will not annoy you. I actually enjoy the music more than the actual game.

gameplay

Expect to die and be frustrated a lot. Most of the gameplay involves running away from enemies and collecting items to eventually face up against cool and frustrating bosses. I really do not like the older game as much as I do the newer ones. The game remains extremely frustrating until you get a gun. It only starts to get fun after that. The storyline is the big key here and that provides a good bit of entertainment; but only because of a horrible translation.

If ever a game needed to be remade, Metal Gear is that game. The difficult gameplay will turn off quite a few people. The NES has a lot of frustrating games that are really fun when you stick with them. However, Metal Gear just does not garner my attention long enough for me to play much of it. I did however use passwords to get past some of the difficult parts, so I have beaten it. It is worth beating, even though most of the story pertaining to Metal Gear Solid takes place in Metal Gear 2. Metal Gear 2 was never released in the US. Instead we got a game called "Snake's Revenge" which has nothing to do with the series.

The translation provides a lot of terrible gems for those who enjoy "Engrish." "I feel asleep!" "I'M GETTING SLEEPY!!" The translation leaves much to be desired; but does not hinder the gameplay.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

I really do not like to say it; but I hate Metal Gear. I really love Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel; but I hate the original game. The control is not intuitive and it frustrates me to no end. If you really must own every game in a series than it is worth the price for that reason alone. This game is seriously only for those who are way more patient than I am.

Unlike my counterpart, I thoroughly enjoyed Metal Gear despite the extremely high difficulty level you were faced with during every moment of the game. And I’d like to stress this difficulty fact very strongly – even a seasoned gamer or someone who has played this game religiously for months can die at any instant with the greatest of ease. But that’s what makes Metal Gear such a great game. It forces you to be cautious at all times instead of running around foolishly firing your guns. There’s so much depth, strategy and stealth required from you to play this game, and until you begin to master these mechanics you will be very frustrated. The rest of the game brings me just as much joy as the challenging gameplay does. Everything from the catchy mood-setting music, superb sound effects, impressive visuals and the tacky "Engrish" translations make this game feel so "complete." I highly recommend this game. 9.2/10 -- Jeff Pearson

5.2/10