My Top 5 Metal Gear Solid Games
/Okay, I love Metal Gear Solid. I love all of the games on this list! But these games are not made without drawbacks, either to gameplay, pacing or even the story. Here’s my top 5.
SOLID SNAKE, the MAIN PROTAGONIST is a stealthy badass who uses a silenced pistol and expert CQC (Close quarters combat) skills to eliminate his opponents with deadly precision.
In these games, you play as Snake, or some incarnation of him.
So let’s get into the list. There are 5 games I’m going to cover in this list, not including Peace Walker or Portable Ops, so we’ll be starting with…
#5: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Yup, you can watch this game’s entire story online. Thanks, Youtube. - runtime: 8 hours and 27 minutes. Oh, and spoiler alert, obviously.
There’s a lot to be said about this one, but a complaint that most will have after playing through this is:
Too much talking, not enough gameplay! And their complaints would be well-founded because the game has almost 9 hours of cutscenes.
It has good gameplay, with an interesting story if you’re willing to sit through all of it. Lots of unique concepts and ideas from the man who made it, Hideo Kojima. (more on him later)
All in all, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a good experience and it’s a solid addition to the franchise. Earning it a spot at #5.
#4: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain/Ground Zeroes
While they are technically two different games, I’m including them as one since GZ is pretty small.
The final one, The Phantom Pain, came out in 2015, and, boy, the hype was real. This was the final installment in the series and it was meant to tie up the rest of the story for the character Big Boss (Venom Snake), along with his two comrades Kazuhira Miller and Revolver Ocelot at their Mother Base.
This was my favourite trailer for the game, it really got the hype train going. I must have rewatched this 10 or 20 times.
In an unfortunate turn of events, the game was given to us in an unfinished state. But what we got was really truly awesome, at least from a gameplay standpoint. You can approach most of the missions from any angle you want, deciding whether to go loud or to sneak in quietly.
It was revealed to us some time later that the game was missing a big chunk of its story, and that the ending was unfinished. Which was a damn shame for all of us MGS fans. That’s why I’m putting this one at #4.
Did it disappoint? Yeah, a little.
#3: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
The codec calls get pretty weird too.
At #3 on the list we have MGS2. This one was pretty controversial, but I thought it had some of the best boss fights out of any MGS game. In this one you only play as Solid Snake through the prologue but then switch to playing Raiden, which was probably the most controversial part.
This game did some subversive stuff with its story, and definitely carved itself out its own unique spot in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Even though every Metal Gear Solid game offers political commentary with its story, this one, in particular, makes the player really think about playing games as a whole.
Yeah, I still like it even if you don’t get to play as Snake the whole time. He still plays a large role in the story as one of the main characters. Raiden’s alright.
#2: Metal Gear Solid
Yup, the original one. First and foremost, this game is great and legendary. It made its mark as an extremely fun and interesting game when it came out, in the year 1998, and was a bestseller on the first PlayStation.
Really, everything about this game was perfect in 1998. The story, the gameplay, the boss fights, and the stealth. There are tons of items to use, and many of the concepts were all-new. It was the first 3D Metal Gear game ever. It was extremely innovative.
Sorry MGS1, but the addition of first-person aiming in the future titles really helped out the gameplay experience. Unfortunately, this can be painful to play.
This is an example of a game that has not aged very gracefully. It came out over 20 years ago, which means you are going to run into some things that have been remedied in today’s modern (mostly) polished games. The top-down camera contributes to an overall janky and dated feel of the game. Which is to be expected, of course - that’s why the game was perfect for that time.
I love this game, but I can’t put it at #1 if I’m comparing it to the other titles. The wonderful thing about this is that Mr. Kojima took each of these games and improved on them every single time from a gameplay standpoint. The reason why others are lower in this is for reasons other than the core gameplay.
#1: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Okay, I gotta say, this one is one of my all-time favourite games. Metal Gear Solid 3, for me, has it all. Every element of what makes an MGS game good is in 3, plus more. It was the first prequel in the series and gave us the return to playing as Snake, which was a breath of fresh air for most fans. The stealth in the jungle is phenomenal, this time coupled with elements of survival (eating for energy, stitching your wounds) which was really immersive. Much of the game is outdoors, and so the player is offered different forms of camouflage in order to blend in with their surroundings. These details gave the game excellent replayability.
The boss fights were excellent and covered all bases of the gameplay. The story was my favourite out of any in the series due to it being easier to understand than the others, having plenty of twists and turns that, on the first playthrough, you really would not expect. The seeds are all planted, though, and after a player finishes it once they can go through again, noticing little clues sprinkled around, or the hidden codec calls, or the many, many easter eggs. This game really nails the characters, who are each extremely memorable, apart from the dashing Snake who, in my opinion, is at his absolute peak of badassery and coolness in this game.
