DISCLAIMER 

This is not the official website for Konami's Metal Gear Solid.

Released: 1998, U.S.A. Publisher: Konami Co., Ltd. System: PlayStation (PS1) Players: 1 Genre: Action/Adventure

Metal Gear Solid was first released in the West in November of 1998 on the original PlayStation console. Some may have remembered playing a game years ago in the heyday of the Nintendo Entertainment System similarly titled "Metal Gear", its original predecessor. For those who enjoyed this game and remembered it, the new Metal Gear Solid was definitely something to look forward to. It had been eleven years since the conception of Metal Gear, and six years since the last Metal Gear game was released. Sadly, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which was released in 1992, was never released stateside and audiences outside of Japan were instead treated to a faux-sequel in the form of the ill-favored Snake's Revenge. With the introduction of polygon rendered graphics to the ever-growing video game industry, original series creator Hideo Kojima thought the advancement of technology and timing was proper to create anew the world of action games.

Industry and gamers alike were very receptive to the idea of refreshing this long-dormant series which was a staple of the early NES days. The character of Solid Snake was to be given new breath for the first time in six years. A lot was expected from series creator Hideo Kojima, who was a little-known game developer outside of Japan but had been creating very innovative titles including Snatcher and Policenauts. Snatcher, a great game by standards of the time was doomed to obscurity with the overall failure of the Sega CD console. Policenauts to this day has never made its American debut. With the strong sales and popularity of the PlayStation, Kojima knew he had found the right combination of console and game to act as a vehicle to propel Metal Gear to worldwide success. Kojima teamed with several members who had helped in the creation of Policenauts and Snatcher and found talent residing within Konami's own ranks; some fresh from the Konami developing school. With these key elements, he began work on his biggest endeavor yet, one which would take him upwards of two years to complete.

As development trudged along, Konami used such industry tradeshows as the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and Tokyo Game Show (TGS) to capture the industries' attention. Hype for the game rose and rose as the concepts latent in the game fascinated crowds, journalists, and anyone who could be bothered to watch the demos or play the trailers. Metal Gear brought stealth and spy tactics to the player. Never before had a game combined the elements of sight, sound, smarts and tactical strategies in such a way. The game emphasized trickery and deception as better alternatives to full-on encounters with the enemy. Even more different than traditional games of its type was the stress put on avoiding the enemy entirely, something never fully considered to this extent before. Also revolutionary were the often interactive boss battles in which PlayStation's DualShock controller capabilities brought another dimension to the gameplay. Voice-overs were done for each and every character of the game which to this day still stand the test of time. The quality and quantity of well rounded characters matched to superb voices really brought the characters to life. None more than the lead character of Solid Snake, played to perfection by the gravelly-voiced David Hayter. Solid Snake would in a short time after Metal Gear Solid's release become as iconical and memorable a character such as Samus, Mario, or Link. It would also help stir interest in the backstory to Metal Gear Solid and fans of the game would rediscover the previously underappreciated Metal Gear titles through the use of emulators (a downloadable program designed to mimic the hardware of a certain system).

After the release of Metal Gear Solid in the West in November of 1998, the action/adventure genre of games experienced a revolution which saw the release of many new games that incorporated the aspects of stealth and spy intrigue. None was so successful at this than the original though and Metal Gear Solid became both a blockbuster hit and without a doubt, a classic. After Konami's success with the game, a trend that might or might not be considered coincidental followed in the years to come - retro gaming. Many of the old characters and games from earlier video game systems were given a reprise and new life on next generation consoles, much to the joy of their lifelong fans. As I make this page, this being 2003 - five years after its release, we are yet to see the end of life for the original Metal Gear Solid. In late 2003 for the Nintendo Gamecube Metal Gear Solid : The Twin Snakes, a direct remake of the PSX version will make its debut. All new directing, all new graphics, all new voice-overs. Same ol' Snake. Rejoice, Metal Gear Solid is being reborn as if for the first time!

As you can tell from this not-so-brief introduction and the care I've put into creating this page to share with the world hopefully for a long time to come, I still have derive great pleasure out of this masterpiece. Five years ago a great thing was made, and it still has me under its spell. It can make you feel something, like art does. Maybe it IS art. I think it is definitely more than a game. Hopefully you too can see why this is for yourself.