METAL GEAR, NES, THE ORIGINAL THAT STARTED IT ALL!!!

Well, well, well, well...the original Metal Gear. Yes, this is the game that started it all. Made by Ultra, a Konami company, this was a fairly inovative game for its time. This is a top down style game a la the original Legend of Zelda. There are a TON of things you acquire as you play through the game including machine gun, grendade launcher, mines, key cads (ALOT of them) metal detector, card board box, gas mask, and much much more. Those of you who haven't played this original version probably think it's pretty weak compared to the newer Metal Gear games, but you must respect it because those newer games wouldn't exist without this one, and a lot of elements from the newer games are right here in this, the genesis of the series. You have the guards who you must be careful not to be seen by, using stealth rather than brute fire power, although in my opinion the guards aren't too smart in this game. They get a little tougher in Snake's Revenge, the sequel to this game on the NES, but nonetheless, certain times you'll have the screen fill up with all of those white men. In that case you must take them out, or run to a different room. It does become kind of stressful when you're almost dead, have no rations (life) and you have to cycle through all of your key cards, forgetting which one opens a particular door while a fleet of guards are coming right at you. Also, watch out for gas filled rooms, pit falls, and electrified floors. If you're new to this game and get stuck (and you will, especially if you're new to it) just remember there is always an easy way to get by via an item. I think it's kind of common sense that if you have the item to get by a certain area, you'll figure it out. There is one point in the game where you have to go a certain pattern in a maze to get to the next building. This is something you can look up online if you can't figure it out. Also, there is a point in the game where you get arrested and lose all of your stuff. DON'T FREAK OUT! This is supposed to happen! You'll get it all back very shortly. Haha. That's always scary the first time around though! Oh, and I always thought it was funny how the Japanese didn't quite understand our language so good. Certain trucks would move once you got in the back of them and to this day I find it funny the caption that pops up on the screen, "The truck have started to move." Ohhhh yeah, good times. I know this has been an issue in a couple of other games too, but you gotta love it. Part of what gives a game like this its charm. This game does not contain a battery, but thank God its got passwords. Just like Castlevania II, Simon's Quest, these passwords are VERY long. Once again, make sure you tak your time and make sure you get it right before you shut off your system. Make sure you distinguish between 2's and Z's and 5's and S's somehow. The music is pretty good in this game too. I can still hear the various themes (outdoors, building, boss fight). The music is very catchy... I'm not sure, maybe you think that's a bad thing. I think it's good because it brings back warm memories. Haha. Yeah, this game was payed A LOT when I was a kid. This was another one of those games played by my dad. Back then I guess this game was a little bit over my head, it really was WAY ahead of it's time. Most games of this genre (most of them were mostly shooters) were pretty cut and dry. Just has levels as a platformer, but this one actually had depth!Read full review