Video Game Hall of Fame - Metal Gear Solid

Oh, Scott Riley. My old high school buddy taught me so much about the world, simply by telling me to play Metal Gear Solid back in the late 90s. I didn't think anything of it at the time, just another fun video game. But the more I learned about video games, new and old, the more I came to appreciate the true masterpiece that is the third installment in the Metal Gear series.

And those first two are key reasons why this game was important. Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Snake's Revenge were both interesting games that I found utterly impossible. Joe Perez, another pal from my youth, engaged me in multiple conversations about the original game, usually culminating in something along the lines of "the damn dogs."

The concept was unique. There were dozens of games about using overwhelming firepower and quick dodges to defeat your enemy; there were precious few that relied on stealth as a key factor. And even though I never got the hang of either of the first two games, I saw the merit in the idea.

So when I started playing Metal Gear Solid, I quickly embraced it as "my kind of game." Sneaking around, outsmarting guards by knocking on a wall to draw their attention, hiding in a box to get transport between areas, and using a cigarette's smoke to locate security lasers, these are my kinds of things. It's no secret that the more complex a game is, the more pieces of the environment that you can use, the more fun it is.

MGS also had some of the best boss battles of all time. There was always a trick or a strategy that you had to figure out to win the battle, and it helped to integrate a puzzle nature to the game. In fact, one of the strongest reasons I think the game was so successful was that it relied not so much on being fast with the trigger and dodging attacks, but on being intuitive and deductive. It certainly made it more fun for me, being someone who's not altogether that good at being fast with the trigger or dodging attacks.

Metal Gear Solid (along with its sequels) was also known for its cinematic presentation. It offered a complex storyline, along with many cutscenes that moved the story along. Personally, this didn't do much for me, but I acknowledge its value to some gamers, as well as the fact that it was among the first non-RPG game to employ such tactics. These days, most of the best games have some kind of cinematics integrated, and some of the credit for that, and for the in-depth storylines we find these days, has to go to Metal Gear Solid.

Thanks Scott.