Unfortunately, for all its innovation, this game sits right between the point where I could appreciate it as a rhythm gamer, and the point where I could appreciate it as a musician. The freestyle drumming is high in concept but flawed in its execution as it never felt as if points were awarded for musicality but rather arbitrarily chaining patterns to rack up combos. Apart from that, the story is fun and original. I sincerely hope this concept gets revisited.

Whereas Half-Life (1998) pushed the envelope in terms of environmental story-telling, something many games tend towards and have done better since, Metal Gear Solid represents the medium at its most cinematic. A benchmark that has yet to be surpassed, and that's a shame as this was infinitely more engaging than the vast majority of "show don't tell" slogs that are professed by capital-g gamers.

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