Metal Gear Solid – A Game of Substance


Metal Gear Solid (MGS), the long lasting series by Hideo Kojima, is the much loved game of many gamers including myself. It spanned two decades over many consoles, from NES to PS1, then to PS2 and eventually PS3 (and also Xbox 360 in Metal Gear Solid Rising). After completing MGS4 recently, after it came out for two years, I’ve decided to come out with a list of reasons why MGS is one of the best games ever!

  • The thrill of sneaking up to enemy (only to alert them and raise the alarm!).
  • The humour of the developer (remember in MGS1, you have to unplug your controller from port 1 into port 2 so that Psycho Mantis cannot read your mind.)
  • The engaging cinematic with a story that spanned across so many consoles and so many years.
  • The cool close quarter combat skills of Snake.
  • The often unexpected twist in the many of the MGS storyline.
  • The interesting easter egg found throughout the game.

MGS series has real high replayability. I remembered completing MGS1 at least 5 times, twice for MGS2 and thrice for MGS3. As for MGS4, I will definitely play it again!

Apart from the gameplay, the many fun easter eggs found throughout the games are another all time favourites of mine. Here is a list of my favourite easter eggs.

  • In the fight with Pyscho Mantis in MGS1, you are required to plug in the controller into port2 so that he cannot read your mind. Also, he can use his pyschic power to read your memory (or rather memory card).
  • Hand massage available after being tortured in MGS1.
  • In MGS1, in order to find Meryl, who is disguised as a soldier, you need to look for one that walks with a swaying butt.
  • The use of men’s magazine to distract enemy. In MGS4, you can even flip through the pages!
  • The Patriot gun that the Boss used in MGS3 has infinite ammo as its drum magazine is shaped like the infinity symbol ∞.
  • The fully playable MGS1 shadow moses as recapped by Snake in MGS4.
  • In the fight with the End, if you save and play the game a week later, he will die of old age.

Tell us your favorite easter eggs in MGS by writing in our comments. For now, let us await the release of Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Check the GameTrailer video series that explain MGS’s storyline. To end it off, enjoy the orchestra performance of MGS theme:)

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