A gruff, lone wolf type government assassin soldier is assigned to infiltrate a top secret terrorist operation in Alaska to stop the threat of nuclear war and it's still such an awesome, stone cold classic! I remember this game real well, I was never into the whole espionage angle and had only ever really played platformers and RPGs, but this was just too cool and hugely appealing a game for me to pass up and not get into and I just loved it, the stealth element of the gameplay made it so thrilling and nailbiting to play and I was hooked by the gripping cinematic quality that it displayed right from the opening credits. The ice cold visual style gave it an atmosphere that was very edge-of-your-seat and dangerous. The squad of villains were extremely cool and it made for a surprisingly sad tone when several of them were humanised in their final moments, making you almost feel like you wish you didn't have to take them down. The only real hero was a bit of a rebellious antihero, but he was the best character in the game and a perfect badass, blunt and lethal but an honourable sort of guy at heart, it was immensely enjoyable to play as Snake. It was quite a chatty game but I loved that part of it, I could get engrossed in all the endless back and forths on the Codex system, it made for a richer narrative to me, I only really appreciated the story when I was a little older, as a kid it mostly went over my head. Graphically it's rough today but it's still got its gripping magic as a game and to me is just as absorbing to fully figure out and complete as it ever was, it's one of the most rewarding gaming experiences of all time. I loved the way that, fundamentally being a game of stealth and avoiding your enemies and taking them out from the shadows rather than confronting them directly, it forced you to think outside the box, you had to memorise the patterns of your foes, you had to sometimes lure them out by getting their attention or leaving a trail, or sometimes hiding in a dang cardboard box! I loved how all of the boss confrontations were done differently, with the last major fight that sees Snake taking on the might of the gigantic bipedal battle tank Metal Gear Rex requiring you to use every bit of skill that you've learned in order to survive. Yet another thing I loved was the more subtle qualities of the game, without all those little humorous touches it could have turned out a lot less endearing. So to this very day I still find this to be a truly great video game classic and with good reason, it was one of the topmost games of the original PlayStation and was one of those special titles that beautifully championed what that console was capable of at its best. "Huh? What was that noise?" 📦
