Hearing that Metal Gear Solid has “bad controls” always rubs me up the wrong way. First up, when compared to the controls of that generation’s action-adventure competition like Resident Evil 2, Tomb Raider, or Syphon Filter, Kojima’s classic has aged surprisingly well.
That’s because, for the most part, Metal Gear Solid is essentially the same 2D game design as Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake with a couple of jazzy 3D elements bolted on. On top of that, it’s worth remembering that a lot (perhaps even a majority) of PlayStation owners in 1998 would still have still been using the old digital pad (essentially a SNES controller) rather than the Dual-Analog.
To my eyes, it holds up surprisingly well for a game from 1998, with the designer’s expectations for the player staying firmly within what these controls can accomplish.
And, to finally get around to the topic of this review, what proves my case that the MGS1 controls are fine is Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions (Or Integral if you’re in Japan and VR Missions in the U.S.).
These are 300 VR missions that push the Metal Gear Solid control system to its limits. It’s long been a slightly perverse truth that Metal Gear games give the player a huge wealth of combat options then discourage you from using them as much as possible. Ideally, you won’t fight enemy soldiers at all, leaving any heavy weaponry to be deployed against bosses (and if you’re going completely non-lethal, not even then).
But Special Missions shows that there’s a lot of meat on the first game’s bones. For example, in the core game, the Nikita rocket launcher is pretty much only used once in a rather simple puzzle. Here it’s the focus of several tricky puzzles in which you manage fuel, figure out ways to gain and lose altitude, and switch between first person and overhead view.
Even the humble SOCOM reveals its hidden depths as you master luring guards into its lock-on range, conserving ammo to three shots per guard, and figure out how to ‘aim’ with the SOLITON radar.
The weapons and sneaking trials form a large chunk of Special Missions, though they’re soon revealed as the homework you need to complete to get to the juicy pudding of the Special Missions. These feel like what Kojima and co wanted to make all along, forcing you to think laterally using all the skills you’ve picked up so far.
For gameplay, I’m in love with the Vs. 12 Battles, which give you a limited selection of weapons and ammo and ask you to eliminate 12 guards. Figuring out how to dispatch multiple people at once with explosives, or which you can waste your handful of bullets on is very satisfying.
The cherry on top are the Mystery levels, in which Snake must play detective to solve a series of murder mysteries. None of these are especially tricky, though I loved listening to guard’s heartbeats to find the guilty party, testing their eyesight, or disguising myself as Liquid to see if they salute. There’s also a great punchline with n the final level, which puts you in a room full of suspicious items (and Resident Evil Easter eggs), a ticking time limit, and no obvious way to solve the case.
Then there are the Ninja missions, fulfilling everyone’s dream of playing as Gray Fox. These are awesome, though there are only three of them set in one new environment and you can blast through the entire sequence in under a minute. Gray Fox has a bunch of new mechanics and is fun to play as, but I can’t imagine any player not finishing this and wanting more. He’s on the box, dammit!
For the real Metal Gear nerd there are also some tantalizing hints of Metal Gear Solid 2. The photo mode sees you ogling high-detail models of Mei Ling and Naomi that feel like tests for MGS2’s facial animation. It’s ‘yer typical 90s Japanese creepy sexist shit, but at least both characters are in sensible clothes and not bikinis or anything. Plus, complete all 300 missions and you get a sneak peek at Metal Gear Ray – trust me, it was exciting in 1999.
Special Missions is proof that Metal Gear Solid is more than a fun story whose gameplay you have to tolerate. There’s actual depth here, with this game showing off the thought that’s gone into the minute-to-minute gameplay design that’s easy to overlook when playing the game.
Perhaps it’s not strictly essential, but I had a blast with it. After this, I’m tempted to give the Substance MGS2 VR missions another whirl, but I already 100%ed them on the original release and I still wake up in cold sweats remembering the painfully tough MGS1 Snake Sniper and Grenade Missions…
Pixel Hunted 