Metal Gear Solid V First Person Mod
Earleen Statham
Somehow, despite playing video games consistently for the last 25 years, I have never played the Metal Gear Solid series. I know all about them, I know about all the memes, I know who Solid Snake is, I know how they continue to nerf the poor man's buttocks, and I know the shockingly iconic berring(!) noise that happens when you're spotted, but I never actually sat down and played any of the games. I've had literally every iteration of PlayStation console, of which (with the exception of the PS5) has each had at least one monumental Metal Gear Solid game accompanying it. In spite of this, I was never able to get my hands on any of the mainline series to try. These games practically defined a generation and became synonymous with the name "PlayStation." It was a downright travesty that I'd never tried them. It isn't every day that a relatively (by Western standards) obtuse and convoluted Japanese property gets such a large foothold in the whole of the West, and Metal Gear Solid did it with gusto. As such, When Konami announced they were releasing a Metal Gear Solid collection with the first 3 mainline games all in one convenient package, along with the newly announced Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, I decided it was finally time to sit down and give these games the time of day they so desperately deserved.
I know that the Metal Gear Solid Collection disappointed many of the series' long-standing fans, and I understand why. It is about as bare-bones of a collection as you can get. That being said, picking it up on Switch was the most accessible way for me to easily work my way through these three full-length campaigns and complete the games within a timely manner. No, it didn't even hit consistent 30 fps, and yes, the cartridge itself only held the extra bits of the collection other than the games itself, but ultimately it was exactly what I needed to chip away at these games at my leisure. That, and bringing along 3 of the best video games ever made with me everywhere I went is a childhood dream come true. I methodically made my way through these respected pieces of gaming sovereignty for the first time in 2023, and it took me places I never expected.
When you think of the PlayStation, what pops into mind? For some of you, I bet it's Spyro the Dragon. For others, I'll bet it's Crash Bandicoot. For so many more, however, I'd bet my bottom dollar that the iconic red logo with that incredible pencil-sketch art style flashed into your mind, accompanied by large bold letters that read, "Metal Gear Solid."
The majority of this is owed to the fact that Metal Gear Solid's story and character work would be top-notch even by today's standards. Solid Snake must infiltrate a terrorist base in Alaska to attempt to neutralize a nuclear threat (the titular Metal Gear) while attempting to rescue the hostages being held there. The premise is pretty straight forward, but the twists and turns that befall Snake in his mission are numerous and exciting. To top it off, the voice cast for Metal Gear Solid is absolutely stacked. In the English version, which is what I played, you have David Hayter's gruff dulcet tones and dry delivery bringing Solid Snake to life, you have Christopher Randolph perfectly cast as the meek and timid man-in-the-chair Otacon, and you have Jennifer Hale and Paul Eiding as the voices in your ear guiding you through everything. Every voice line delivery is campy, hammy, and fun, but the story is never afraid to buckle down and tug on your heartstrings. The voice acting and story are so well done that you become legitimately invested in the PlayStation monstrosities in front of you, and that is no easy feat. The game does an excellent job of continuing the story forward naturally, and I was extremely impressed by its ability to know where you are and what you're doing at any given time. Calling someone on your codec means you'll get a piece of relevant and helpful information regardless of where you are throughout the game, showcasing all of the different voice lines that had to have been recorded for each area, many of which you won't even hear. A feat like that would be impressive in a game releasing right now, let alone in 1998.
The bosses are iconic and the iconography of Metal Gear Solid cannot be denied. If you've been on the internet, chances are you've seen a reference or a meme in relation to Metal Gear Solid due to how popular the game was at the time and how much it still speaks to players around the world. To this day, the game stands the test of time as a true testament to what can be accomplished with enough talent, time, and faith. I mean, come on, it's the Metal Gear Solid!
After the runaway success of Metal Gear Solid, there was a lot riding on Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (MGS2) to be one of the best follows ups the medium of interactive entertainment has ever seen. So how does Kojima, the mad-lad, decide to tackle this Herculean task? By implementing one of the most notorious rug-pulls in the history of video games.
It forces the player to start as green as Raiden is and learn what it takes to be a soldier in this environment along with him. While he still may not be my favorite character in the series, by the time the credits rolled I was much more in favor of Raiden than I was when I first saw his stupid white hair flow into screen. And Raiden isn't the only interesting new character to be introduced during the runtime, and just like the original game, every character is unique, with each line of dialogue being delivered in a hammy and wonderfully memorable way.
Honestly, everything in MGS2 seems beefed up and improved over MGS. The controls are tighter and allow for a greater range of movement, enemy AI is a lot smarter and will call in backup if they see something that worries them, and the story becomes much more intricate and fleshed out. MGS2 isn't afraid to kill off a few characters either, creating some interesting tension, as well as establish that not everything from MGS is exactly what it seems. It cranks the weird up a notch as well, which each of the bosses of the terrorist organization you're trying to stop being stranger than the last. There were some unexplained paranormal elements within the first game, but in MGS2, every boss has something utterly surreal about them that makes each one of them memorable and strange. Much of the game is played alongside Solid Snake as well, and being able to see what he can do without playing as him honestly makes him so much more of an interesting character than if you would have played him through the whole game. He just has an effortless cool to him that's instantly addictive.
The best part about MGS2, however, is the story. Establishing exactly what the Sons of Liberty are along with who Raiden is and where he comes from are equal parts intense and intriguing. The fact that Kojima's team could make a game based entirely around one singular location this interesting deserves recognition in itself. There is a particular speech at the very end of the game in regards to AI that's unbelievably poignant in today's day-and-age, and while I don't agree with all of Kojima's creative decisions, the man has an uncanny ability to predict the future of technology. Even if you have no intention of ever playing MGS2, I implore you to check out the speech made by Colonel Campbell towards the end of the game, and try to keep in mind it was written over 20 years ago. I got legitimate goose bumps when I heard it.
I can't even imagine how much pressure Kojima and his team along with Konami were under after the massive success of MGS when they were coming up with MGS2. There was such a huge margin for error, and they did something absolutely incredible with MGS2. The fact that the bait-and-switch is still debated to this day just goes to show how memorable of an experience MGS2 was and still is.
Metal gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (MGS3) came out three years after MGS2, and was in the later stages of the PS2's life cycle. There are many who believe that MGS3 is not only the best game to come out of the Metal Gear series, but that it's one of the best games ever made. Just like with MGS2, MGS3 shakes up the formula in a variety of interesting ways. The story is a prequel setting up Big Boss, who is the man who Solid Snake is a clone of. On top of the story shift, gone are the fixed top-down camera angles of the previous games in favor of a more modern behind-the-back third person experience. A new survival mechanic was introduced, forcing Snake to hunt down prey and eat them raw (including snakes, hence the name.) Instead of taking place in a futuristic high-security advanced technology military base or oil tanker, MGS3 takes place in the jungles of Russia, and Russia doesn't have traditional jungle, adding another layer of intrigue. MGS3 introduced a camouflage system, allowing players to swap out Snake's uniform and face paint on a whim to better hide from enemies in different environments. Instead of just eating rations to regain health, Snake must apply field medicine to himself to keep from succumbing to his wounds. More characters are introduced with much more in-depth stories going along with them. The list goes on.
My favorite part about MGS3, however, is the unbelievable attention to detail. Wading into water dampens your clothes up to the point where you were submerged, your stamina will drain faster if you're in higher altitudes and slower if you have adrenaline, different animals you eat will cause you to get sick if you aren't careful, wounds must be tended to (albeit through a menu screen) in a way that makes sense, enemy AI is intensely smart, checking every nook and cranny for you before calling off their search, the same model of gun you receive from different people will look different since they're different weapons, you can destroy ammo and food supply depots to greatly change the behavior of enemies, first person mode is affected when Snake loses his eye. It's baffling that they were able to fit all of this detail into a PS2 game from twenty years ago. I can literally fill an entire story with the tiny bits of details from MGS3 that make the game such a stand out hit. To this day, no one does attention to detail quite like Kojima and his team, and MGS3 really feels like the first time they were able to spread their wings and show off what they could do. It took me a little while to really click with MGS3, but when I finally did, I started to easily see why it has the reputation it does. It earned every inch of it.
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