An edited version of this review can be found at gamepeople.co.uk
Metal Gear Solid - PSP review
1998’s 3rd person action adventure Metal Gear Solid by Konami is the game that popularised the concept of stealth based gameplay and birthed a whole genre in its wake. Without the influence of MGS gamers would, arguably, never have had the pleasure of games such as Hitman, Splinter Cell or Thief; all games that used stealth as a selling point and discouraged combat wherever possible, much of the gameplay being taken up by lurking in a shadow until an opportunity arose for evasion.
But that was last century and, a few key titles aside, gamers quickly tired of pussyfooting around; turns out, all they want to do now is to overcome their enemies graphically and violently. So, recently, stealth as a genre has become something of a dirty word in video games. Recent successes like Bulletsorm, Gears of War, and the forthcoming Duke Nukem Forever are currently leading the charge in a torrent of all-out, gung-go, run-towards-the-enemy-screaming types of games. Even Metal Gears latest instalment, Metal Gear: Rising, has sensed the changing wind, having recently seen its development taken over by Platinum Games; the studio responsible for Bayonetta and Vanquish; two very high octane video games in which hiding in a cardboard box is tantamount to suicide.
