The Story
The year was 1995. At that time, nuclear disarmament was only a pipe dream, and fears of nuclear attack ran rampant. Deep in South Africa, a mercenary group controlled a stronghold called Outer Heaven. According to leaked information, this group had access to a new kind of weapon that would change the scale of warfare irreversibly. The elite special forces team Fox Hound was called upon to gather further intelligence related to this supposed weapon of mass destruction. To this end they sent their best agent, Grey Fox, to go under cover, infiltrate Outer Heaven, and report back with new information. Grey Fox's report consisted of exactly two words: "Metal Gear." Then contact was broken.

Deeply disturbed by the loss of communication with Grey Fox and the apparent urgency of his brief message, Fox Hound sent another agent, Solid Snake, into Outer Heaven to find Grey Fox and discover the secret of the mysterious Metal Gear. Snake found his way inside the fortress, enlisting the aid of various prisoners to continue his search for Grey Fox and Metal Gear. Eventually Snake located Fox and learned that Metal Gear was, in actuality, a walking, nuclear-capable tank. The implications of this new weapon were staggering; Metal Gear's mobility and its ability to launch a nuclear warhead from any position made it an imposing factor in the global tension between nuclear superpowers. Solid Snake went on to rescue the scientist behind Metal Gear's development and from him learned Metal Gear's weak point.

Finally, Snake discovered Metal Gear itself, on the 100th basement floor of Outer Heaven, and using his knowledge of the behemoth, he destroyed it. After Metal Gear's destruction, Snake received a shock: The leader of the Outer Heaven mercenaries, and the man behind Metal Gear, was none other than Fox Hound's leader, Big Boss! Big Boss had been pulling the strings behind Snake's mission in Outer Heaven all along. Stunned by this betrayal, Snake went on to engage Big Boss in battle, emerging victorious. With Metal Gear destroyed and the traitor vanquished, Solid Snake flew off into the sunset.

The Game
Metal Gear introduced the idea of stealth to a video game audience more accustomed to obliterating everything in sight. True to secret agent form, Solid Snake's greatest ally wasn't a rifle or grenade (though their importance wasn't understated), but rather his own agility and resourcefulness. The clearest path to victory in Metal Gear was through sewer grates, behind corners, and in the shadows. Combined with the twisting plot, the stealth aspects made Metal Gear one of the most original action-adventure games of the time. The original Metal Gear plays very much like the more recent versions; the series continues to get prettier and perhaps more elaborate, but the core remains the same. Action is presented from an overhead perspective so floor layouts and the location of guards can be easily discerned. Like usual, Snake begins this mission with no equipment, requiring him to find weapons and items during the mission. He is also assisted by a Metal Gear staple called the codec, a tiny radio with a tunable frequency that keeps him in contact with the mission commander and any number of support personnel. Avoiding guards is essential to Snake's survival; being spotted means a horde of guards coming seemingly out of nowhere, and Snake must evade them for a preset amount of time before they'll stop looking for him. Metal Gear was a departure from the typical video gaming of the day, to be sure.

The first Metal Gear appeared originally in 1987 on the MSX, a computer popular in Japan and Europe but basically unknown in the United States. American gamers were fortunate enough to receive the chance to play Metal Gear the following year, when Konami released it there under the Ultra Games label on the NES. This 8-bit incarnation of Metal Gear had undergone a few minor changes by the time it made it to American consoles. Many of the backgrounds had changed, and maps were laid out differently. The translation was a bit odd in parts. And although Big Boss is still the eventual bad guy, you are led to believe that a terrorist named Vernon CaTaffy is controlling the Outer Heaven group. The changes weren't earth shattering, but die-hard Metal Gear fans agree that the MSX version is the definitive Metal Gear.