#3 – Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – PSP, 2010 & PS3, 2011
Originally released on the PSP system, I picked it this one up when it was released on the Xbox 360. Not only did it play well but it took the Boss on a journey that pleasingly explained his change from famous soldier to leader of an ‘army without a nation’. We’re left with him in possession of his own nuclear equipped Metal Gear, and a stern determination to do things his own way now. I’m really glad I played it before getting into The Phantom Pain.
Due to the limitations of the original hardware the game is split into smaller mission areas. I never found myself getting bored with visiting similar places and the leaner story was one of the stronger in the series.
The artwork in particular, used instead of video, was beautiful. Hayter’s Snake voice was getting a bit crazy at this point though. Much like Bale’s Batman it seems no one put a check on just how throaty and gravelly it should get.
Don’t overlook this one because it was a handheld game. It’s important in the mythos and a great game in general.
#2 – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – PS2, 2004
We all expected a direct sequel to Sons of Liberty. Instead, in a massively brave move, Kojima took us back to the sixties and introduced to someone we’d only heard about previously. Solid Snake’s Dad, Big Boss.
Kyle Cooper, director of the opening sequences for 2 and 3 (as well as many Hollywood movies), went all out on a Bondesque introduction. It even had a title song!
After two games sneaking through various complexes the jungle environment not only pushed the PS2 to the limit but was a joy to sneak through.
It had one of the more interesting boss fights too. You could avoid battling The End by taking a cheeky shot earlier in the game. If you weren’t that quick-witted though you had a lengthy battle of stealth against the old sniper. It was a tense affair and one of the best battles in a series full of them.
Meeting a young Big Boss was a big departure but it worked, not only giving us a great game but a large part of the history that lead up to Solid Snake.
Snaaake Eateeeerrrrrr…..
#1 – Metal Gear Solid – PS1, 1998
This is it.
I hadn’t even played the demo. But I saw it on the TV in my local GAME store and ended up getting it as a fourteenth birthday present. Little did I know that I’d still be playing it nearly twenty years later.
Metal Gear Solid was unlike any game I’d played before. The entire concept of not killing the enemy was alien. But then there was the cinematic quality. It was like controlling the main character in a movie. I say controlling…there was a big shock as I got used to listening to conversations.
Cyborg Ninja. Revolver Ocelot. Vulcan Raven. Liquid Snake. The characters were outrageous but also extremely well acted (I interviewed the voice of Meryl here). It would have been a lot harder to get into if they hadn’t been so effective.
Crazy boss battles (A Hind-D?!). A cool main character. Double and triple crosses. Breaking the fourth wall. 556ers and pineapples. Have you ever been asked to figure out which soldier to talk to purely by their butt wiggle in any other game?
It had it all and is not only my #1 Metal Gear game but also my favourite game of all time.
There you go! I’ve lifted the lid off my cardboard box and pushed my opinion out there.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know!
Chris Cooper
Originally published September 28, 2018. Updated July 27, 2024.
