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          <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">- <a href="../index.html">Contents</a><br>
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              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC">volume 
                1, issue 19</font></b></font></p>
              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC"> 
                </font></b></font></p>
              <p>  <p><font face="Courier New, Courier, mono"><b><font color="#339900" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today 
                in loonygames:</font></b></font></p>

<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New!!</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Archives have been cleaned up, fead links fixed, and printable versions restored! Also, don't miss the new comments <a href="../../../index.html">on the front page</a>!</font></p>
              
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        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0022A8"><b><a target="" href="../../columns.1"><font size="-1">Pad 
          Happy</font></a><font size="-1">:</font></b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+3" color="#0022A8"><br>
          Solid Gameplay:</font></p>
        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+1" color="#0022A8">(or, 
          how I loved to stop worrying and love the interactive movie)</font></p>
        <p align="RIGHT"><font color="#804000"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By 
          </font></b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <a href="mailto:nickf@saqnet.co.uk">Nick 
          Ferguson</a></font></font></p>
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        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The cut-scenes in <b>Metal 
          Gear Solid</b> are well-scripted and contain a lot of essential information. 
          I actually bought the Japanese version of the game when it first came 
          out, and played through the first half until I realized that I was spoiling 
          things for myself by going through the motions of playing without understanding 
          the complexities of the story. I also found that it was often impossible 

          to do certain sections without referring to a FAQ (and I’m used to muddling 
          through Japanese text), so that should indicate the importance of the 
          cut-scenes. As well as the cinematic sequences (of which there are plenty), 
          <b>Metal Gear Solid</b> also makes use of a radio that relays important 
          messages from base. You are also able to make use of the radio yourself 
          and contact various characters if the need arises. The entertaining 
          banter that emerges through continued radio chatter helps keep the relationships 
          between the characters in focus, too.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Konami have blended linearity 
          and interactivity and crafted one of the sharpest games of the year. 
          Every character has a distinct role and personality, every item (including 
          the infamous cardboard box) has a use, every location serves a purpose. 
          <b>Metal Gear Solid </b>comes packed with surprises – the plot twists 
          like the best political conspiracy thrillers, and the game is littered 
          with little touches, the kind that make you glad you play video games. 
          The brilliance of the design is made all the more noticeable by its 
          economy – alas, this same economy means that although <b>Metal Gear 
          Solid </b>is one of the more intense games you’ll play this year, it’s 
          also one of the shortest. Fortunately, the designers have provided plenty 
          of ‘moments’ destined to enter gaming folklore; memories of playing 
          will stay with you long after you complete the game. Special mention 
          must go to the <b>Metal Gear Solid</b> project director Hideo Kojima 
          – it is relatively rare for Japanese designers to become famous in the 
          West (Shigeru Miyamoto, Kenji Eno and Yu Suzuki aside) but Mr. Kojima 
          certainly deserves recognition for combining the many elements of this 
          game so successfully.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The brevity of <b>Metal Gear 
          Solid</b> is perhaps its major weakness. When you consider that once 
          you know what to do the game can be beaten in about six hours (of which 
          a third is dedicated to cut-scenes and radio messages) without rushing 
          through, it almost seems absurd that PlayStation owners have been waiting 
          over two years for its release. There is some incentive to play the 
          game more than two or three times in the form of alternate endings and 
          assorted hidden extras, but there’s no doubt that once <b>Metal Gear 
          Solid</b> has been completed, it’s never quite the same. Whether you 
          buy the game for full price or just rent it over a weekend is up to 
          you, but take the importance of replay value out of the equation and 
          there can be no doubt that <b>Metal Gear Solid</b> is one of the most 
          compelling games of the decade (and, yes, I did buy a copy with my own 
          money)! The question of whether a ‘great’ game should be capable of 
          entertaining for hours on end is one I don’t want to get into here, 
          other than to say that although the <b>Resident Evil</b> games rank 
          among my favorites, I wouldn’t want to play through them again in a 
          hurry. Perhaps I’m not so bothered if a game is short, so long as it’s 
          fun, original, and intense while it lasts.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Amid all the hype, many have 
          forgotten that <b>Metal Gear Solid</b> is actually the third game in 
          a series. Although in many ways it is a fairly logical 3D update of 
          the decade-old original NES and MSX titles (to which the game pays respectful 
          homage), influences can be seen from Capcom’s <b>Resident Evil</b> (the 
          in-game cut-scenes). The real inspiration behind the game, however, 
          is a cross between James Cameron’s hi-tech, hi-powered action movies, 
          and Japanese anime – all the graphics have an authentic anime feel to 
          them and, thematically, the story is typical of the genre. Ultimately, 
          this is the closest any game has come to creating the feeling of taking 
          part in a real action movie. It is a highly cinematic, highly intelligent 
          piece of work and deserves respect as one of the most well structured 
          console games ever. I’ll say once again that, for me, this game has 
          redefined the concept of what an ‘interactive movie’ should be – yes, 
          players are still functioning within some fairly limited plot restrictions, 
          but because the plot is so closely tied to your actions in the game 
          you don’t necessarily feel that you’re following a set path.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Considering a new PlayStation 
          costs little more than a force-feedback joystick, you could do a lot 
          worse than pick one up with a copy of <b>Metal Gear Solid</b>. Alternately, 
          rumor has it that enhanced versions for both Dreamcast and the PC are 
          in the works. Then again, rumor once had it that Virtua Fighter 3 was 
          headed for Saturn - so take your pick…</font></p>
        <p align="right"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><font size="-1">- 
          Nick Ferguson is a soon-to-be regular contributor to loonygames.</font></i></font></p>

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      <p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"> </font></i><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"><b>Credits:</b> 
        Pad Happy logo illustrated and is &copy; 1998 Dan Zalkus. Pad Happy is 
        &copy; 1998 Nick Ferguson. All other content is &copy; 1998 <a target="_self" href="http://www.loonyboi.com">loonyboi 
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