I remember playing this game in the year 2000 (I still have my copy, bought second-hand for 30 CHF) and finishing it with a certain pride (I was 13 at the time), but I found the game a bit short (I checked with the memory card from that time: 13 hours and 30 minutes of gameplay, not something to brag about either). I remember thinking of this game as 'kind of like GoldenEye64, but not as good, but cool story because the dialogues are spoken.' This perspective makes me laugh now because if there's a game that hasn't aged well, it's GoldenEye64, and if there's one that remains interesting today, it's Metal Gear Solid.
The game impresses me with its megalomaniacal desire to shine in every aspect: the cinematics, the soundtrack, the dialogues, the play with the materiality of the PlayStation (the famous 'psycho-mantis' moment), and the boss fights. Let's be clear, if MSG were a movie, it would be a fabulous B-movie close to a soap opera, given how frequent the twists and turns are. The ultra-serious and earnest tone of the dialogues sometimes border on the ridiculous, but that's the charm of this game. Obviously, it's clearly misogynistic, and 'Solid Snake' (not at all a phallic name...) is clearly in heat every time he talks to a female character.
A beautifully fraudulent aspect of the game is its subtitle: Tactical espionage action. Indeed, the espionage part of the game is very, very short. MSG1 is more of a narrative boss rush. Despite its lofty ambitions, the game consists of only a handful of areas, and 'run backs' are frequent. But, in the end, who cares? The boss fights and the dialogues are what make the game interesting.
I note that for a PS1 game, the graphics are impressive, as it tries to make the most of the available hardware. PS1 games have an unparalleled 3D style with a charm of their own that I always found superior to the N64 of that time.
The game impresses me with its megalomaniacal desire to shine in every aspect: the cinematics, the soundtrack, the dialogues, the play with the materiality of the PlayStation (the famous 'psycho-mantis' moment), and the boss fights. Let's be clear, if MSG were a movie, it would be a fabulous B-movie close to a soap opera, given how frequent the twists and turns are. The ultra-serious and earnest tone of the dialogues sometimes border on the ridiculous, but that's the charm of this game. Obviously, it's clearly misogynistic, and 'Solid Snake' (not at all a phallic name...) is clearly in heat every time he talks to a female character.
A beautifully fraudulent aspect of the game is its subtitle: Tactical espionage action. Indeed, the espionage part of the game is very, very short. MSG1 is more of a narrative boss rush. Despite its lofty ambitions, the game consists of only a handful of areas, and 'run backs' are frequent. But, in the end, who cares? The boss fights and the dialogues are what make the game interesting.
I note that for a PS1 game, the graphics are impressive, as it tries to make the most of the available hardware. PS1 games have an unparalleled 3D style with a charm of their own that I always found superior to the N64 of that time.