A solid few days of fun

The government can't possibly afford the demands: One billion dollars, and the body of their former master. But they threaten a nuclear strike if they don't get what they want, there's no other option. Well, there is one option; he's retired, but he's the only chance we've got. He'll be up against a group of individuals unlike any he's fought before, with abilities beyond those of normal men, but that's the easy part. For you see, deep within the facility at Shadow Moses Island lies the ultimate weapon, one that could mean the end of life as we know it:

METAL GEAR!

Ah, Metal Gear Solid. It's certainly a classic piece of gaming history, and one that helped usher in a new era of interactive storytelling. As you should know, it was recently released for download on the Playstation Network, and I just had to pick it up. Naturally I've played through it a number of times before, as I'm sure most of you have, but it's been a while, and I wanted to try it on the PSP. How does it feel after all these years, and is it worth the $10 asking fee? Let me spend a few minutes discussing these things.

One aspect that still stands out, even after all this time, is the cinematic feel. This is apparent from the moment you start the game, and it draws you straight into the story. The cinematography was even more outstanding when Metal Gear Solid was new, as it was only a couple of years earlier that we had to deal with the laughably-bad live action opening of Resident Evil. The same can be said of the voice acting, which is a little cheesy, but overall still good.

As for the actual gameplay - you know, sneaking around and whatnot - it has some fun elements to it, but it also has some frustrations. The addition of first-person aiming in MGS2 was such an improvement that it's hard to go back to number 1. Of course, it's best to get around without killing anyone, but even stealth is a little tricky when you have a camera that only allows you to see 5 feet in front of you. I found that most of the time I relied more on my radar than the view of my character, so couldn't even imagine attempting it on anything higher than normal difficulty (because there is no radar). Then again, it wouldn't be until the re-release of Metal Gear Solid 3 that we finally got a (half) decent camera, so I guess I can't knock it too much for that.

The sneaking around and neck-breaking is actually less of the game than I remember, though. It seems that really, Metal Gear Solid is a series of boss fights, held together with some short stealth sections. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad thing; the bosses are all fun and there's a lot of variety between them. From tank battles to sniper battles to fights with psychics and shamans, there's always someone new around the corner waiting to kick Snake's ass. The confrontation with Psycho Mantis deserves special mention as it contains some real meta-moments, including one of the coolest puzzles ever seen in a video game.

This brings me to Metal Gear Solid's strongest aspect - the story. This was the first game I ever played that almost made me feel like I was controlling a movie. Of course, we're all used to this kind of storytelling these days, with fully voice-acted cutscenes and dynamic camera movements, but Metal Gear Solid still does it better than a lot of modern titles. While the plot itself might be a little convoluted, and at times cheesy (do all the bad guys have to tell you their life story as they die?), it stands head and shoulders above most games because of the little details. Gamers who rush will miss a lot of them, but those who are interested have a wealth of information at their fingertips, from the optional mission briefings on the main menu to the almost never ending stream of codec conversations you can have with your teammates.

But of course, I'm sure you knew all of this already. I found that while I didn't discover anything too surprising when revisiting Solid Snake's first 3D adventure, I still had a good time. In fact, I may even play through it again to get the other ending. Not that I don't remember it, but there's a really fun item to unlock that I wouldn't mind a mess around with. Besides, if I remember correctly, playing through the game twice allows Snake to attempt his next battle in a new, rather spiffy outfit!

So if you've never had a chance to sneak your way around Shadow Moses Island and destroy mankind's most lethal invention, you really deserve it to yourself to try it out. And even if you have, it's still worth the $10 asking fee to do it again. While Metal Gear Solid may be showing it's age in some areas, in others it feels like it could have come out yesterday, and it's clear why it's been named the best PS1 game of all time, in multiple places. I just hope Sony carry on releasing classics like this on the PSN, because there are many more adventures I'd love to revisit.