Most exciting Metal Gear moment for you as a fan?

[A.G.]

As a fan, what was the most thrilling moment that you recall in Metal Gear?

March 2001. For me it would have to be when I got the MGS2 Demo. I went out and bought Zone of Enders just to get that disk! I remember driving home and my hands were nearly shacking from excitement! I could not wait to actually experience MGS2 after seeing the trailers. At that point I just barely launched MGF and this demo's anticipation was a big reason why I did it. I still remember the excitement... Definetly the peak of my MG fanboism! LOL!

Nothing I recall compared to that. It was the first Metal Gear game that I was anticipating. Sure MGS3 was exciting, but I don't think it measures up to that. I was relatively new to Metal Gear at that point so it was just a massive thrill rush!

[The Mad Jackyl]

I have more than one, more than a few, but here's the notable ones.

Picking up my reserved copy of Metal Gear Solid two days after it came out. I bought it with the (still unmatched in quality) Millenium strat guide and I remember strongly the drive home that day. I was 16 and couldn't drive yet, so I rode with my dad. Reading the foreward by Kojima himself in the front pages got me so excited. Knowing already that I was holding gaming gold in my hand, it was like I was privy to some secret since I already had foreknowledge of Snake since I grew up with the original NES Metal Gear port. So I knew I had something special. I couldn't believe Solid Snake would be back in action!

That's the first exciting moment for me, and maybe the most. I thought it would be really great to add that foreward here so all of you could read it. Think of how you played games coming up - then, one day you read the following and this is when you realize there are games you've played and then there is this whole other thing which all the other games were not. This served as my formal introduction to the man Hideo Kojima, before I even so much as popped MGS into my PSX. There's another foreword by David S. J. Hodgson that I'll also add.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forward

Metal Gear (for the MSX) was the first game I released after joining the game industry. This is how I made my debut. It was released in 1987, and therefore it has been 11 years since I started in this field. In these 11 years, the game industry has changed tremendously. The capabilities of game consoles have also advanced dramatically. When compared to the low quality 2D graphics of the first Metal Gear, the new 3D Metal Gear (using real time polygons throughout game) expresses a much more detailed and intricate reality, and the amount of information itself has multiplied by leaps and bounds. In addition, along with the evolution of hardware capabilities, I believe that I myself have made some progress through the development of Snatcher and Policenauts. In that sense, I think I can say that the new Metal Gear solid is a compilation of all of my experience and know how that I have earned in my life of creating games.

A film like or cinematic game is a concept I have been talking about since the 2D Metal Gear days. With the emergence of 32 bit machines, it is now possible to play film quality CG movies on a game console. At the same time, the style in which rendered CG movies are shown at the beginning and end of games is now the most common approach used in games. However, that is not the film like approach used in Metal Gear Solid. The real concept is to experience a movie - for that in-game playing experience to add up to form a film you actually take part in as well as view. This differs from the currently popular method of increasing the quality of demos and showing them like a film. Incorporating the essence movies in the game with no incongruity is what Metal Gear Solid is all about.

The fusion of film and game is often compared to water and oil. The view is that water and oil never mix: they are of different elements and of different dimensions. As proof of such thinking, so many games out there go only as far as linking the movie and game portions. However, by using digital means, it is possible to fuse water and oil at the molecular level. This is what could be the very key or breakthrough in the game media. By breaking down film elements (story, theme, direction, camera work, lighting, etc.) digitally, incorporating them in the game media, and unifying them, the fusion of film and game becomes complete. This kind of digital fusing is what we have challenged in Metal Gear Solid. While remaining a game, Metal Gear Solidcan also give the player the film-like experience - the illusion and excitement as if the player is part of the movie. Metal Gear Solid is an example of work that we hope hints at the future of digital entertainment.

It has been over four and a half years since the first days of the planning stage. After one year of experimental programming, we started actual development two years ago. Moving from Western Japan to Tokyo, establishing Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (KCE Japan), putting together the staff, educating the young developers... instead of only concentrating on the game, we had to start from building the very basic foundation and environment before the development of the game. This made everything so difficult. There were times when we did not know what to do next. We were so close to giving up.

But now we have completed the game. The staff has worked so hard. I think it is unbelievable that they have all followed me all this way.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife and son who have affectionately supported over these past few years a husband and father who has not spent enough time with his family.

-Hideo Kojima,
KCEJ Japan, July 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Central Operations - Overview by David S. J. Hodgson

Welcome to the Official Metal Gear Solid Mission Handbook. As Mr. Kojima rightly points out in his preface, the world of video games is crying out for a game that delivers a movie-quality storyline experience, but without compromising gameplay and the addictive qualities a gamer craves. Metal Gear Solid is one of those highly exalted games. Never has a delightfully interwoven plot interjected so much personality, emotion, and downright excitement as this assault on Shadow Moses Island. With real military takedown tactics (such as the method of strangulation) studied and converted to silicon form, and a four-and-a-half year gestation period to tweak the gameplay nuances to a spectacular level, Konami has achieved the ultimate action title for the PlayStation.

But Metal Gear Solid is about so much more than simple action. The stealth assassin known as Solid Snake engaged in countering terrorist activities uses espionage tactics to win the day, and this should be foremost in your mind when playing. Simple punching is not enough to secure an area: sniping, hiding, and stalking are all just as important. It was with this in mind (and Kojima's legendary attention to detail leading to numerous moments of spine-tingling intensity) that we began sculpting the book you have before you. We've undertaken the task of exposing all the game's features, tactics and secrets in unmatched detail, and we hope you enjoy the end result. In fact, there were so many hidden features that we created a special sealed section, the "Ultimate File." The file is sealed for a reason, so open it at your own risk (ideally when you've beaten the game, or wish to view the final battle tactics or host of hidden features that the game possesses).

In order to maximize your enjoyment of the game and the book, we squeezed out absolutely every strategy Metal Gear Solid has to offer, as you'll see when flipping through our various sections. I think "in depth" would be approaching the description of what we uncovered for your playing enjoyment in this guide (and hey, you may not wish to know the technical specifications of an M1 Abrams MBT, but we included them anyway!). However, I must finish with a word of warning: This book contains revealing information on all facets of the game. Check the Contents before flipping to a section, or you may fin dout more than you bargained for! But that's enough from me. I hear the sounds of crunching footsteps in the snow... let's go take down some terrorists!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hooah, that's a wall of text. Anyways, I enjoyed it. Better than posts being too short anyways.

[A.G.]

I really wish I was into gaming during the MGS1 hype... Sadly though, I never had video games growing up and my first move into them happened in June of 1999 when I graduated from High School. I was working full time to save money for school and finally decided that I wanted a game system. I bought the original PlayStation (still have it and use it) along with Bloody Roar 1 and 2. After a month or so of trying various games and getting boared with them I checked out the demo disk that came with my system. Tryed MGS and made the decision to buy the full game. And was hooked ever since!

On a side note, I'm glad that the first game I played was MGS1. I doubt I would've gotten into Metal Gear had I started with the NES Metal Gears.

[Liquiduz]

Getting the MGS3 demo. It wasnt until after MGS2's enegmatic ending that I really got into MG, and MGS3 was one of the most expected games so far in my life.

[-ANTH-]

For me it would have to be FINALLY getting MGS3 after everyone else in the world.

When they finally decided to release it to PAL countries they delayed the Australian release until April.
I imported it from Europe in February cause thats when it was first released in PAL.

I was coming home from school and i saw a DVD case sized package jammed into my letterbox i ripped it open to find MGS3 i was so exited cause it was highly likely i was one of the first people in the country to play MGS3.

On a completely unrelated topic... I bought subsistence on release date and still havnt played it my brother stole my PS2 and all my games when he moved out and i bought that game and gave it to him cause he had the PS2. So i never got to even try online mode or anything! the bastard

[A.G.]

IMO the online stuff was nothing exciting. Mostly run and gun and people hacking to make themselves invincible.

The real treats of Subsitence (and you REALLY need to look into that) are the 3D camera for MGS3 and the two Classic MG games.

[The Mad Jackyl]

I'll add that another "most exciting" moment for me was when I first got my PS2. Just like you, AG, I bought Zone of the Enders for the MGS2 disc. I finally watched the full intro as Snake infiltrates the tanker and it was beautiful! I couldn't believe how many new things you could do, rolling, holding guards up...

[A.G.]

I still see MGS2 as the first game to actually feel real...