Metal Gear Solid is a video game series developed by Konami that started off ages ago in 1987 and has since achieved a massive fan base, that has watched the series evolve from the amazing 3D stealth-action game that it was to the even better game that it is now.
But does the N-Gage version live up to the Metal Gear name ? Is Metal Gear Solid Mobile worth the buy?
Read the review to find out.
Gameplay :
In Metal Gear games, Stealth has always been the key. Metal Gear Solid Mobile follows suit with that principle. You can’t just run around blowing things up or just shooting people.
What you’re supposed to do though, is sneak around and remain as inconspicuous as possible, making sure none of the security guards or cameras see you. You have a camouflage suit to help you do that. Camouflage helps you sneak past guards and security cameras. When leaned up against a wall you see your current level of camouflage indicated at the top of the screen and if you match your surrounding well enough (see “Phone Camera use” section below) you can go unseen. But the slightest bit of movement brings your camouflage down and you become more visible, so dont expect to run around in camouflage and not be seen.
Of course like in every MGS game, you can hide under cardboard boxes to sneak about too. You can hide just about anywhere in the game. Under tables, in toilet cubicles or even in guards’ lockers. You’ll want to hide if you’re being chased by security guards.
There’s also a bit of rations (health) and ammunition scattered around the levels.
While this all might sound a bit strange to a newcomer to the series, these factors accompanied by the storyline, has made Metal Gear Solid one of the greatest stealth games ever created.
You start the game off in your enemies base, at the ground floor. In the beginning you have a few guards or security cameras here and there, scattered around the place. As you progress through the game tough, you’ll move between floors, face more security guards, cameras with turret guns attached, laser bomb traps, and more to make it harder for you. There are rails and crates that you can climb your way over, or boxes to hide under all throughout the game.
The levels in the game are very well spaced so it gives you a good sense of freedom as there is normally more than one way to approach your enemies. You honestly feel like you can almost do anything you want.
The AI in this game is standard MGS fare and does not disappoint ! There are security guards who patrol around in a fixed pattern, based on which you can either choose to ignore them and sneak past them as they patrol by where you’re hiding, or sneak up behind him and either be merciful and tranquilize him, or kill the poor fella by way of hand to neck, or with the silenced gun you’re carrying. Its all your choice.
Whatever your choice with disposing of the guard, there are regular radio checks with the base, which means that another guard is sent to take his place if there there is no response from him.
But be warned, you must be sneaky and quiet. The game recognizes how fast you’re moving, so you cant just run up to a guard, without him hearing you first and calling for backup. If the guard sees you, or wake up from his tranquilizer dart and sees you, alarms go off and you’re in trouble. Immediately, they start shooting at you, unless you manage to sneak away again and hide out until the alarm is switched off.
There’s an “alert” meter on the upper right corner of the screen, to tell you about the alarms. When you trigger an alarm, or a guard sees you, it turns from green to orange to red depending on the situation.
When it returns to green, everything returns back to normal and the guards go back to patrolling.
Remember, its all about the sneaking.
There’s also a first person view, in the game. It comes in very useful when you want to aim at enemies, or shoot at specific targets.
The game automatically saves at every room you enter. When you move to a new room, there is a bit of a loading period but this is very short and isnt really a problem.If you die you re-spawn from the last room you entered. I should also add that you dont have a limited number of attempts, so you dont need to worry about dieing too often.
For a “mobile game”, I was very pleasantly surprised at the level of detail. I wish more N-Gage games were so well developed.
Backstory :
Now, do you need to know just a tiny bit about Metal Gear to understand what’s going on in Metal Gear Solid Mobile, when the game first starts.
The storyline in Metal Gear Solid Mobile takes place between the first Metal Gear Solid game on Sony’s Playstation console and the second MGS game called “Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty” which was on the Playstation 2 console.
You play Solid Snake, who’s teamed up with a scientist called “Ocelot” who helps you out via conversations on your radio “codec” from time to time. You also use this codec to communicate with other characters in the game too. In Metal Gear Solid Mobile the communication is a lot shorter than the console MGS games, but no complaints there. Some of the dialog is pretty funny too which will probably put a smile across your face while reading it. Of course, you can also choose to skip the dialogue if you’ve already read it and replaying the level or so.
You and Ocelot are a small part of a secret organisation thats trying to rid the world of “Metal Gear”. This “Metal Gear” is a platform that, in the hands of the wrong person, can launch nuclear weapons and endanger innocent lives, which is why it must be stopped.
Hence, in Metal Gear Solid Mobile “Solid Snake” sets out to destroy any remnants of Metal Gear weapons or related information. Your scientist friend “Otacon” gets a tip from a programmer who was working on Metal Gear called “Dr Victoria Reed”.
Phone Camera use :
Metal Gear Solid Mobile supports using your phone’s camera in some instances.
One of them, is to find a camouflage color for your suit. Some rooms in some levels of the game, have security locks which only allow workers wearing a certain color of uniform to pass through. For example, a green or red uniform.
Using your camera, you can find something in your real-life surrounding that is of the same color (in our case, green or red) and take a picture of it.
Your camouflage will then turn the same colour as what you took a picture of, and you’ll gain access to the room.
Thankfully, if you dont want to use your phone’s camera, or are in a situation where you cant or dont want to, you can choose not to use this feature. There’s usually always a poster on a random wall in the in-game level that you can use to match your suit’s colour to.
The other instances where you use your phone cameras are for certain puzzles in the game, but even these can be done without the camera if you choose not to use it.
Game Modes :
Metal Gear Solid Mobile on N-gage is basically a One player game. You have the single player storyline, and you have the VR training missions.
Its really advisable to complete the VR Missions before you start the game.
They’re basically a bunch of Virtual Reality (VR , get it ?) training missions which teach you the controls and invaluable skills and tactics that you’ll need while playing the game.
The VR missions teach you everything from how to shoot,how to climb or crawl to how to sneak about or camouflage yourself using your suit. And to inspire you to do these, you get 10 NGP (N-gage Points) for each VR mission that you complete.
Orientation :
The game can be played in both portrait and landscape modes, according to which, the controls can be flipped to be on the other side of the phone.
The game feels a lot better and more like a “console game” in landscape mode though.
Controls :
The controls in Metal Gear Solid Mobile are very well suited. Movement or directions are controlled with the Dpad (or 2, 4, 6 and 8 keys) and game button 1 is the action key, while game button 2 is for first person mode. You can switch to first person mode at any point of the game and look at your surroundings, although you cannot move in this mode.
You can customize these to your liking in the options menu.
Graphics :
The graphics are great. Being able to look around in first-person view adds to an already good looking game.
Framerate is never a problem, and the game’s shadows and various characters and props are all well detailed. No problems here.
Sound :
The sounds in Metal Gear Solid Mobile are VERY well suited to the game. While you’re sneaking around there’s very quiet ambient music which suddenly bursts into fast-paced action music if you get spotted or trigger an alarm.
This can be a really scary experience if you’re sneaking around quietly and suddenly get spotted. I almost dropped my device once because I jumped at the sudden change. This is a good thing though.
Multiplayer and N-gage Arena :
Once again, another game with a missed opportunity. The N-Gage Arena feature in this game is unfortunately, only score uploading to leaderboards.
Conclusion :Metal Gear Solid is really fun game. This is Konami’s first game on N-Gage and they’ve done very well indeed.
Weighing in at just 2MB, you might think the game’s pretty short but the developers have really squeezed in great graphics, sounds and really fun gameplay. You’d be amazed at how big the game is, even though its such a small file size.
There is plenty of replay value. For example, to earn some of the N-Gage Point Pickups you’ll have to complete the game without your radar activated, or without killing any guards at all, etc which is fun to try and greatly adds to the replay value.
The game is well worth the $8 (Approx £6 / Rs 430) full version price.
I’m going to give it a 4.5 score out of 5 overall. Only losing that .5 because of the lack of proper multiplayer.
Metal Gear Solid comes very highly recommended by us here at ZomgitsCj. You definitely will not be disappointed with it.
You can find out more about the game over on its Official Game page or if you need tips or help with the game, head on over to the Official Metal Gear Solid Mobile N-gage forum.
-Teh Cj
Clinton is currently based in New Delhi, India and is executive editor for UnleashThePhones. He is responsible for all editorial decisions, and covers all forms of Mobile things.
Cj is addicted to caffeine, social media, and technology. Always up for a good conversation, you can reach him through the contact form, his website, on Google Plus or on Facebook or Twitter: Follow @clintonjeff
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