I played this back when I was far too young to be playing it and it still managed to set my standards for video game immersion. You can catch a cold, chain smoke to look for laser tripwires, the list goes on. I can point to a dozen different interactions in this game and go "they were so real for this" but I'll settle for the Psycho Mantis fight that genuinely made me think the signal cut out on my old TV.

Without even getting into the themes or the English localization effort, Metal Gear Solid has a lasting impact I'll never escape and I'm better off for it.