M is for... Metal Gear

Platform: GoG

Genre: Action/Stealth

Completed: 25/01/2024

While I will not claim myself to be a die-hard, know-it-all Metal Gear series number one fan, I will admit that the series is my absolute favorite.

Therefore, it is with great shame that I have to admit I had not played this title until now. (Still haven't played Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake). When it first came out, I never gave it any notice. But the funny thing is, I still remember the advert in a gaming magazine. I just never realized what game it was referring to until much, much later.

The first opportunity I could have had to play the game was when it came bundled with Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. I probably even started it, but for one reason or another, I never continued it.

It was actually because of my younger brother, who played it as part of the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Part 1, that I finally decided I should remedy this.

So technically, I had started this game before the challenge. And because of that, I ended up losing focus and hopping from one game to the next. The A to Z challenge helped me focus on the game and pick up from where I left off.

Once I got fully invested in Metal Gear I was impressed by how much Metal Gear Solid mimicked (the Hind battle; Tank fight and even Big Boss was reminiscent of Vulcan Raven). If it weren't for the fact that Metal Gear is canon, you'd think Metal Gear Solid was a re-imagining of it.

But hey, in Metal Gear Solid 2, the La Li Lu Le Lo did say that the Shadow Moses Incident was the best training exercise. Maybe what they really meant was that Intrude N313 was the best simulation.

However, while I did enjoy Metal Gear, I realized from Metal Gear Solid onwards, the games are a lot easier to get through. It's not so much the difficulty of Metal Gear but more on the vagueness of where to go and what to do next. I found myself backtracking a lot for critical items; having to hunt for weak walls that revealed hidden passages or contacting a rebel leader at every screen to see if it would trigger a message of assistance.

It was frustrating, and I often had to allow myself a breather just to stop myself from breaking my keyboard. But now, I can safely say that I beat the game, and I can see how it shaped the future of the Metal Gear Solid franchise.

Next up will be - Narcos: Rise of the Cartels