Snake…SNAKE!’ Yes, yes…we all know where this is going. I’ve reference this game umpteen times in previous ‘Memory Lane’ articles. It’s the release that made action games into Hollywood movies, Hideo Kojima a rock star and the original Playstation essential. It needs no introduction, so let’s get straight to talking about the title that was so good, Otacon felt the need to scream its protagonist’s name every time he perished. Let’s talk about Metal Gear Solid.

‘Do not underestimate the power of Playstation.’ Eighteen years ago that was the tagline that was being beamed across our TV sets. At the time I didn’t really get what it meant. Was it a literal terminology that referenced the horse power the thing was throwing about? Were they talking about how widespread Sony’s influence was about to become post-system release? Or did they simply mean not to underestimate how much electricity the Playstation would require? Today the question remains. However, in my mind this enigmatic statement was Sony’s way of saying ‘We’re about to release a bucket-load of excellent software- get ready.’ You would need a whole team of people to calculate just how many great games came out during the 32-bit era on Sony’s gaming marvel. The mere mention of titles such as Silent Hill, Tekken 2 and Syphon Filter brings about a warm, agreeable salivation that can only be satisfied by dusting off that grey box, placing it gently underneath your television and strapping in for some retro action (alternatively you could just download them on the Playstation Network).

Of course in 1998 you wouldn’t have been salivating over nostalgia; you would have been gripped by the here and now. At this point the ‘now’ for me would have very much involved heavy doses of something call an ‘N64’ (it’s still cool saying that abbreviation to this day – maybe even cooler). Segueing effortlessly from Sega to Nintendo meant that I completely bypassed the PSOne, but that didn’t stop me keeping one eye on the enemy; a constant stream of game after game being released (culminating in a library that might be close to a thousand strong). And then, just as we approached autumn and I assumed the imminent arrival of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would render every other title redundant, the words ‘Tactical Espionage Action’ floated off the pages of some magazine and permanently into my consciousness. The Nintendo owner in me said ‘whatever’ whilst my objective side exclaimed ‘holy c**p that sounds good!’

Metal Gear Solid was not your average third-person adventure; it couldn’t be completed by simply rampaging through, welding which ever combination of pistol/shotgun/Uzi took your fancy. It was considered, measured and demanded your intelligence. The opening cinematic was closer to a David Fincher movie than it was the overzealous use of FMV intros by developers at the time. It was a brooding prologue to a setup that, if you weren’t familiar with the SNES games (which I wasn’t), became instantly enjoyable. You were thrust into a world of spying and physiology and a title that keep you consistently on your toes.

Of course no game these days would be complete without its leading man/lady, and it was almost like MGS kick started a trend of imperfect but identifiable characters. Solid Snake was a product of his upbringing; a damaged, Rambo-esque veteran who seemed to find his home in battle but carried the scars of events prior. Whether you were engaging in a verbal back-and-forth with Otacon or going twelve rounds with Sniper Wolf you never felt disconnected from him, always striving to think your way through a situation and see what surprise loitered around the next corner. And my word there were surprises along the way: the knowledge of FOX-DIE, Vulcan Raven hurtling at you in a tank just when you thought you had space to breath and the revelation that Master Miller was actually your twin brother/nemesis Liquid Snake (didn’t see it coming). The Nurburgring has fewer twists and turns than Metal Gear’s narrative. And if the game wasn’t hitting you for six with its great story arch, it was enthralling you with high-brow dialogue. (It’s no wonder the Hollywood exec’s finally decided to make it into a movie- the blueprint was already there.)

Of course everyone has their favourite MGS moment and it’s likely to be one of the following three: the incident in the elevator were you realize there are five or more guys cloaked in there with you; the elegantly designed boss fight with Psycho Mantis and the introduction of Grey Fox/Cyborg Ninja. We don’t love Snake’s adventures just because they handle skillfully and look amazing, we love them because they are inventive and never cease to push the envelope of what games can do/be (the ‘Mantis boss battle is a particular standout- breaking the fourth wall and reading your memory card, then the thing with having to place the control pad in controller port two- genius). I could go on and on like this but the thing is, you already know how good the original game was. You were there too, riding a wonderful natural high every time you switched the console on. But (and it’s a big ‘but’) there was to be an almighty sting in the tail not too far down the road.

As with any art form success breeds expectation and our anticipation was at fever-pitch when trailers started to populate the internet relating to something called Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Oh, how we rejoiced. From 1998-2002 we’d been sitting there, legs crossed, arms folded, waiting patiently for the sequel to a game that had bulldozed its way into many a gamer’s ‘top five’. You could feel the excitement in the air, the wisp of expectancy in the class rooms (if you were in school at the time). The demo bundled with Zone of the Enders looked incredible, Snake was back and he was going to kick FOXHOUND or some form of terrorist butt all over again. Finally March ’02 came around and with a joyful exuberance we sprinted home, rammed the disk into the tray, turned on the power button and discovered…we were only playing as Snake for about ten percent of the game(?!).

Sons of Liberty is hands down the most disappointing sequel of all time. I know that’s a bold statement but think about it; in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker you still get to play as Link, in Duke Nukem Forever you still play as Duke and in Resident Evil 6-that’s right-you still have the choice of playing as either Chris Redfield or Leon Kennedy. But in Metal Gear Solid 2, no no no, that was too much to ask for. Having the ability to play as the character you’ve worshiped for five years via countless hours of playtime and homage? The developers thought they knew better. So, if the option to play as Solid Snake all the way through had been taken away from us then surely Konami had replaced him with someone equally as deep, equally as subversive? We wanted brooding, manly and menacing. We got…a long haired Albion who’s namesake was based on Leonardo Dicaprio’s character from Titanic?!

Of course, with Snake still popping up throughout the story all could be forgiven if Hideo Kojima served up some great gameplay with a smattering of varied locals. The gameplay was there, sure…but again he spited us with only two environments! As soon as you leave the well structured and deliberately claustrophobic ‘Tanker’ mission the only other setting you get to play on is the Big Shell…the orange-tinted, hexagonally prone Big ‘bloody’ Shell. I know I’m ranting and there were some saving graces (Metal Gear Ray was awesome and hearing Liquid Snake come back from the dead sent tingles down my spine) but, when your mind’s been racing for sixty consecutive months about what lay ahead and how great it would feel if that potential was reached…I suppose some things just are meant to be.

Games like Metal Gear Solid don’t come round every day. The culmination of a great concept, expert development and having a fantastic console to release it on are not always things that can be manufactured. Konami have worked hard over the years, hoisting the series back to the top of the gaming tree with two more sublime Playstation-bound sequels. And whilst we all anticipate that Kojima won’t make the same mistakes again, even if he did, Metal Gear will never die…and neither will Solid Snake.