I had the original on both PC and PSX, and played the hell out of them. Happy to see the pc version re released again. I always liked it because of the additional graphics smoothing provided by pc hardware for it's time. A lot of people moan and groan about it because it was a port. But this was usually the case with Playstation ports. The PC version is a near perfect port, rendered in beautiful 1024 x 768 resolution. Yeah, you can fan patch it up just like everything else. But the GOG version seems to run great as is, and personally I'm fine with it unaltered by all crap. Besides, outside of owning an original ps or one of those fadangled mini consoles all the kids are about these days, where else are you going to play it?
Until a proper remake or remaster comes along, this is likely the best way to play Metal Gear Solid. I don't say this lightly, fully acknowledging that this port is far from perfect.
However, even with the omissions and deficiencies this is still the best way to play one of the greatest games ever made.
To begin with, it's incredibly easy to play with a controller. There is no need to download any other software as the game picks up on compatible devices and the default layout is pretty close to what it was on PS1. You can customize your control configurations to your heart's content. I'm playing with my Elite Series 2 controller and it's absolutely wonderful.
It's also easy to set-up higher resolutions, and stretch to widescreen using GOG's Directx Settings executable. I understand that stretching the image to widescreen is not exactly looked at favorably, but I like filling my screen. Completely subjective and personal preference. Through this executable you can also enable Anisotropic filtering up to 16x and Antialiasing up to either 4x or 8x, I can't remember which.
A couple of additional changes that I think are indispensable. Go to PC Gaming Wiki and download the mod that improves the games audio quality. This mod fixes what is arguably the worst part about this port. The sound isn't horrible, but it is noticeably low quality.
There are also 2 commandline arguments that I consider to be essential. The first enables the games original subtitle font for the codec calls. The second argument disables the texture filtering which eliminates a lot of the warping that is typical of PS1 games. Both commandlines can be found on PC Gaming Wiki.
You will not get better textures or better lighting or anything like that, you get virtually the same experience you had playing on PS1 just much clearer and sharper. It's great.
This revived my passion for the series, and I look forward to pouring hours into this game to get all the unlockables.
Playing this game for the first time in 2022, I can say it holds up better than a lot of fifth-generation games. Don't let anyone tell you the game is primitive, ugly, or whatever. Metal Gear Solid is a masterful cinematic thrill ride and the 12 hours I spent in the main campaign just flew by. It truly feels like an 80s thriller movie come to life, while still putting just as much focus on the stellar gameplay. For only $10, you're getting one of the best games of a generation. So yeah, I'd recommend it.
The game runs fine, and it's an easy to get MGS1 on your PC. It looks good on a 16:9 screen. Here are a couple of issues. The soundtrack is off, as in the "Alert" music plays during boss fights. Also, when you beat the game, there is no end game screen, so you are not awarded the bandana or Stealth camo for your replay. What a huge disappointment!! I was looking forward to replaying the game with Stealth.
