Before 1987, it wasn't often that gamers could win by not killing bad guys.
It was after Konami's “Metal Gear” was released that year.
The game's trademark tactical espionage action conditioned gamers to sneak their way through enemy territory rather than subdue every foe they encounter. It asked gamers to use their brains to defeat bosses, not necessarily outlast them in wars of attrition that wear out the player's thumbs.
On the MSX2 home computer and, later, the Nintendo Entertainment System, “Metal Gear” helped popularize stealth play in video games. Its legacy is widespread today, perhaps most prominently in the “Splinter Cell” and “Metal Gear Solid” series.
The latter series, which continues the “Metal Gear” mythology, will be the subject of a “Citizen Gamer” column in early April, when I review the “Metal Gear Solid Essentials” collection for PlayStation 2, and another in mid-June, when Konami releases “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” for the PlayStation 3.
The game that initiated the series, “Metal Gear,” was imagined more than 20 years ago by first-time designer Hideo Kojima as a standalone title. Protagonist spy Solid Snake is deployed to a militaristic South African state, Outer Heaven, to find and destroy a walking tank with nuclear capability known as a Metal Gear. Along the way he must rescue POWs and collect crucial resources, such as a gas mask, an oxygen tank and a cardboard box in which he can hide from guards.
Though Snake is armed, most of the foes standing between him and his objective can be overcome without weaponry. By exploiting obstacles in the environment as hiding spots and timing Snake's advance on enemies with the turns of their heads, players can simply pass through their surroundings undetected. Snake can also sneak up on bad guys and batter them with fists to spare the bullets.
Success in “Metal Gear” requires patience, which is not commonly prized as a virtue in a medium where the most button-presses a minute win the bulk of the time. A player's impulse to proceed is often their own worst enemy in this game. But subverting that impulse to sneak through enemy terrain unnoticed is a rewarding experience that spikes the adrenaline as much as any shoot-'em-up or racer.
For all its innovations in its game play and intrigue in its story, “Metal Gear” contains its share of faults, a few of which have grown more glaring over 20 years. The labyrinthine level design, and lack of maps to decode it, places “Metal Gear” among the most difficult NES titles ever made. Once players discover items and keys, prolonged backtracking to newly accessible areas is all but certain to delay their progress. The game's NES version is also rife with alterations unapproved by Kojima, including many amusing passages of “Engrish” such as “Uh-oh! The truck have started to move!”
Though these flaws continue to frustrate, they couldn't stop “Metal Gear” from attracting fans to a franchise that would soar in popularity with the 1998 release of “Metal Gear Solid” on the PlayStation. Stealth truly arrived in 1987, and many players noticed.
Staff writer David Wilcox reviews video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you play
Game: “Metal Gear”
Score: 90 out of 100
Rating: N/A
Designer: Hideo Kojima
Publisher: Konami
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
Price: N/A
Features: One player
Life span: Five hours
The final boss: “Metal Gear” popularized stealth game play and began crafting a mythology that continues to compel gamers 20 years later.
The game's trademark tactical espionage action conditioned gamers to sneak their way through enemy territory rather than subdue every foe they encounter. It asked gamers to use their brains to defeat bosses, not necessarily outlast them in wars of attrition that wear out the player's thumbs.
On the MSX2 home computer and, later, the Nintendo Entertainment System, “Metal Gear” helped popularize stealth play in video games. Its legacy is widespread today, perhaps most prominently in the “Splinter Cell” and “Metal Gear Solid” series.
The latter series, which continues the “Metal Gear” mythology, will be the subject of a “Citizen Gamer” column in early April, when I review the “Metal Gear Solid Essentials” collection for PlayStation 2, and another in mid-June, when Konami releases “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” for the PlayStation 3.
The game that initiated the series, “Metal Gear,” was imagined more than 20 years ago by first-time designer Hideo Kojima as a standalone title. Protagonist spy Solid Snake is deployed to a militaristic South African state, Outer Heaven, to find and destroy a walking tank with nuclear capability known as a Metal Gear. Along the way he must rescue POWs and collect crucial resources, such as a gas mask, an oxygen tank and a cardboard box in which he can hide from guards.
Though Snake is armed, most of the foes standing between him and his objective can be overcome without weaponry. By exploiting obstacles in the environment as hiding spots and timing Snake's advance on enemies with the turns of their heads, players can simply pass through their surroundings undetected. Snake can also sneak up on bad guys and batter them with fists to spare the bullets.
Success in “Metal Gear” requires patience, which is not commonly prized as a virtue in a medium where the most button-presses a minute win the bulk of the time. A player's impulse to proceed is often their own worst enemy in this game. But subverting that impulse to sneak through enemy terrain unnoticed is a rewarding experience that spikes the adrenaline as much as any shoot-'em-up or racer.
For all its innovations in its game play and intrigue in its story, “Metal Gear” contains its share of faults, a few of which have grown more glaring over 20 years. The labyrinthine level design, and lack of maps to decode it, places “Metal Gear” among the most difficult NES titles ever made. Once players discover items and keys, prolonged backtracking to newly accessible areas is all but certain to delay their progress. The game's NES version is also rife with alterations unapproved by Kojima, including many amusing passages of “Engrish” such as “Uh-oh! The truck have started to move!”
Though these flaws continue to frustrate, they couldn't stop “Metal Gear” from attracting fans to a franchise that would soar in popularity with the 1998 release of “Metal Gear Solid” on the PlayStation. Stealth truly arrived in 1987, and many players noticed.
Staff writer David Wilcox reviews video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you play
Game: “Metal Gear”
Score: 90 out of 100
Rating: N/A
Designer: Hideo Kojima
Publisher: Konami
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
Price: N/A
Features: One player
Life span: Five hours
The final boss: “Metal Gear” popularized stealth game play and began crafting a mythology that continues to compel gamers 20 years later.
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