METAL GEAR SOLID

Metal Gear Solid suffered from being a PlayStation game, really limiting what it was capable of being. Don't forget Thief came out around this time, and Metal Gear Solid is just archaic in comparison. There are some nice attention to details in Metal Gear Solid like being able to stuff bodies into lockers, but for the most part this is a very linear stealth game where you're limited to just running around and taking cover out in the open, somewhat taking after the old top down Metal Gears but compare that to a real masterpiece like Thief with so many more nooks and crannies to hide in, where you have to be so mindful of noise and light/darkness, none of that applies here. Aside from lockers and doors and such, the environment is static due to console limitations hence why they had to give you the ability to knock on walls and an empty magazine item to use as distractions, while in better stealth games you can just interact with anything not bolted down. Metal Gear Solid is also another Japanese classic with weird, clunky controls, so it doesn't feel good to play both due to the aforementioned mechanical weaknesses as well as the way it feels and controls. Level design isn't just functionally limited as I mentioned before but it's also sorely lacking in variety, but that's just the nature of the game being set in one location. Corridors all day long. The narrative design is another weakness of this franchise, though not nearly as much as the gameplay. This game is inspired by Apocalypse Now with the expected weird Japanese anime influence, though not as much as its sequels which get utterly ridiculous and inconsistent. They're all about cutscenes and overly cinematic narrative style, not using the interactivity of gaming to its advantage. If you want a government espionage stealth game, just play Deus Ex. Even Human Revolution and Mankind Divided trounce any MGS game.