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A Walk-Through by glass_soul
Final
(C) 2005
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1)Introduction
2)Weapons And Equipment
3)Enemies
4)One or Two Other Things You Might Like to Know
5)The Walk-Through
6)Codes
7)Secrets
8)In My Opinion...
9)Acknowledgements and Legal Stuff
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1)INTRODUCTION
Something bad is happening in the province of Garzburg South Africa. A
renegade mercenary outfit operating out of a base known as "Outer Heaven"
has been developing advanced weaponry to sell on the black market. And
also, incidentally, to help them take over the world (over-achievers).
Their headman is an unknown entity; no descriptions are available beyond
the fact that he's an ex-soldier of outstanding capibilities as well as a
cold-blooded killer.
This is old news. Your government has known about this enclave for
sometime, and up until now, deemed them a noisy but mostly non-threatening
nusiance at best. Something has changed all that, however.
This organization has kidnapped Dr. Pettrovich Madnar, a top arms
developer, as well as his daughter Ellen. Rumor has it that they are using
Ellen as a hostage to force the good doctor to create an ultimate weapon,
code-named Metal Gear. Your government can no longer ignore the potential
danger eminating from Outer Heaven. Someone's got to go in there. Someone's
got to find out what these renegades are up to. Someone's got to put a stop
to it all. And, you guessed it, that someone is you.
Enter Solid Snake, the newest member of an eliet Special Forces unit.
Code-named "Fox Hound", your unit's mission is to infiltrate Outer Heaven,
free Dr. Pettrovich and put a stop to the Metal Gear project. Good luck,
the fate of millions rests in your hands (bum-bum-bummmmmmmmm!).
2)WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT
You start with your bare hands and a pack of cigarettes (this game having
been made before smoking was considered way-ultra-mega-totally un-cool).
Fortunatly for you, there is a wide variety of helpful items that you will
run across to assist in your completing the mission.
WEAPONS
Fists - Your basic weapon. Your punches aren't very powerful
(and don't even THINK about hitting a boss to death).
The upside is that your barehands are always with you
and they're silent, allowing you to murder unsuspecting
guards without alerting the whole base. Punching, when
combined with the iron glove, also lets you locate
hidden doors.
Grenade Launcher - This weapon lobs explosives in a low arc. It can be
used to fire over walls. It's particularly useful
against larger, slower enemies, but has limits when
dealing with quicker foes. 6 shots per pick-up.
Hand Gun - Life definitly gets much sweeter when you find this
baby. The hand gun fires bullets in a straight line
and will take down guards and their mutts in one
hit. Still not the best weapon for taking down
bosses, but more than adequate for low-level house
cleaning. Bullets for the hand gun come in 20 rounds
per pick-up.
Mine - Put one of these on the ground and then wait for
some unsuspecting dope to walk over it and blast
themselves to pieces. Not a very useful weapon,
perhaps, but you do need these to take out the tank.
5 per pick-up.
Plastic Explosive - An explosive charge that will...um, explode after
planted. As a general weapon, its uses are extremely
limited. However, this is the only thing that can
hurt the Super Computer, so you do kind of need
them. 5 per pick up.
R.C. Missile - Radio-controlled missiles that once fired you
control these with your d-pad. You can maneuver them
around corners, make them double back, or chase down
individual enemies with these gems. One of the best
anti-boss weapons in the game. 5 per pick-up.
Rocket Launcher - Fires a very damaging rocket in a straight line at
your enemies. Kills things very quickly and is a wee
more direct than the grenade launcher. 5 shots per
pick-up.
Sub-Machine Gun - Fires shots like the hand gun but sprays them out in
an arc. Hold down the fire button for continuous
fire (obviously). Great weapon for clearing large,
wide rooms and probably the best gun to help you get
across the desert. As with the hand gun, 20 rounds
per ammo pick-up.
ITEMS
Antenna - Once in the second building, your radio transmissions
will be jammed, preventing you from talking to and
getting info from your various contacts outside. Pick
this item up to un-jam your transciever and get back
on the air.
Antidote - The desert area is inhabited by venomus scorpions. One
hit from these and you'll be poisoned, with your life
meter draining away slowly. This simply won't do. Use
the antidote to stop the poison from killing you. Once
you have this item, there's no limit to how many times
you can use it so don't worry about running out.
Ammo Crates - These boxes replenish the ammo supply for all of the
weapons you fire (handgun, rocket launcher, etc.).
Picking up one box will supply ammo for all of the
weapons you currently posess. In other words, grab a
box when you have the hand gun and the grenade
launcher, and you'll get 20 bullets and 6 grenades.
Armour - Body armor (I like the British spelling). Body armor
protects you from damage. Not all damage, mind you,
but it does reduce the damage you will take by about
half. It's a nice thing to have during boss fights or
in the later stages of the game, when you will be
dealing with wave upon wave of guards.
Binoculars - These will allow you to see one screen in any
direction from your current location. Not a horribly
useful item, but kind of nice early in the game or if
you've never played Metal Gear before. Be careful when
using these however; the programming is such that the
game will understand binocular use as your character
having moved to the next screen. In other words, if
there were enemies in the area where you're standing
when you use this item, they will be back when you're
done.
Bomb Blast Suit - This one still kind of confuses me, and the
transmission in the area that you need to use this
seems to indicate that the bad guys now control the
wind as well as a huge, sprawling complex and a
walking nuclear tank. The winds on the roof of the
first building will constantly blow you backwards,
preventing exploration of the area. Put on this handy-
dandy suit, and they won't bother you any more.
Cardboard - It's a cardboard box to hide in. Allows you to sneak
past enemies in some circumstances. Not a vital item,
or particularly useful, but interesting if you are
trying to collect all the items in the game.
Cards 1-8 - Key cards that will allow you to access certian parts
of the base. Certain cards will only work on certain
doors, so you need to collect them all. Think of them
as Pokemon.
Cigarettes - A seemingly nonsensical item, you begin your mission
with this pack of smokes. Using these after you take
out the Super Computer will add 1000 extra seconds to
the base's self-destruct timer and will make you look
cool like Joe Camel or the Marlboro Cowboys (just
kidding).
Compass - In the desert and in areas of the jungle as well, you
will find yourself walking through the same screens
over and over and over again. How do you get out of
this predicament? Well, whip out your trusty compass.
This item negates the repeating areas.
Detector - You're not the only one with mines. The enemy has
planted their own explosives in several areas of
Outer Heaven. This gizmo allows you to see them. Once
the mines are visible, it's an easy matter to either
avoid or shoot them.
Gas Mask - Areas of Outer Heaven are filled with poisonous gas
(why a renegade merc unit would feel the need to
flood parts of their own facilities with Serin, I
don't know). Enter one and your health will slowly
start to drain away. Don the gas mask to stop this.
And, a la Martha Stewart, that's a good thing.
Goggles - Infrared goggles. There are various areas in the bases
that are protected by invisable security beams. This
spiffy eye wear makes the beams visible again, and
hence avoidable.
Iron Glove - This item is an iron glove, oddly enough. You never
actually have to equip this item, and doing so doesn't
add any power to your punches where enemies are
concerned. You do need to have this item in your
inventory when searching for hidden doorways (punching
a wall with a hidden door makes a strange, higher-
pitched thunk than usual; without the glove, all
you'll get is the usual noise Snake makes when hitting
something solid).
Light - There's an area, affectionatly known as the "Pitfall
Zone", that is typically completly blacked out. Trying
to cross this charming area under these conditions is
suicide. And that's where the flashlight comes in.
This will allow you to see what you're doing in the
Pitfall Zone and, hopefully, let you dodge the
pitfalls.
Oxygen - Not the network for women. Part of the second building
seems to be either a small docking area for boats or
an above ground sewer. In any case, the dark areas of
this sludge lake are deep water, and if you walk into
these, you will start to suffocate. With the oxygen
tank in your inventory, you can freely traverse these
nasty areas without risk of dying.
P.O.W.s - Scattered around the cells in the buildings are
prisoners taken by the enemy. Some are from your team,
and some are from the local resistance fighters who
don't like Outer Heaven and its inhabitants any more
than you do. Freeing prisoners will increase your rank
as well as net you valuable information concerning
your mission.
Rations - Lovely little tins of food that fully restore your
life bar when used, allowing you to fight on. You can
only carry a limited number of these, so use them
spareingly. You get 1 ration per pick-up.
Silencer - This one shows up on the weapon screen, but it's
really more of an item, since you can't use it in
itself to attack things (unless there's a special mode
where you can beat people in the head with it that I'm
not aware of). What it does, as the name implies, is
silence the sound of your gun, allowing you to shoot
guards without alarming other guards in the same area.
Transmitter - At some point in the game, the enemy manages to plant
this bug in your equipment. As long as you are
carrying it, stealth goes right out the window;
enemies will know you're there the second you walk
onto any screen with guards.
Uniform - This is an enemy soldier's uniform. It acts like a key
card to the second building; you can't get in without
it. It also makes for a better disguise when sneaking
around than the cardboard box does.
3)ENEMIES AND HAZARDS
REGULAR ENEMIES
Guards - Obviously the most common enemy you're going to run into,
Guards wear two different kinds of uniforms but they both
behave exactly the same so who cares. They all pack guns,
though how often they shoot at you and how accurate they are
seems to depend on how far into the game you've progressed.
Guards will drop after three punches or one hit from any
other weapon.
Guard Dogs - Trained German Shepard puppies that would like nothing
better than to tear your guts out. Dogs are less dangerous
than guards; more of them won't come running from off screen
when the alarm is sounded and, of course, they aren't
packing firearms. In the very early stages of the game, dogs
can be dangerous, but once you find the pistol the threat of
doggy death becomes almost non-existant.
Scorpions - These little bastards are quick and they move in an erratic
circular pattern, making them tricky to hit. Scorpions don't
hurt you all that much by themselves, but they will poison
you if they hit. If you don't yet posess the antidote, this
can be very bad indeed. Thankfully, scorpions only inhabit
the desert area, and you won't be there for very long.
BOSSES
Arnold - These guys won't shoot at you. Instead, they'll run
into you when they see you. The Arnolds are tough
jerks too; you can't hurt them with anything but the
rocket launcher.
Bull-Tank - This boss is one of the first things you will
encounter upon entering Building 2. It moves slowly
and has no weaponry to speak of, but one touch is
instant death, and there's no room to maneuver around
it in the corridor you will face it in.
Coward Duck - This guy throws boomerang-like projectiles at you from
across the room. The boomerangs don't hurt that
horribly. The problem you need to get around here is
Duck's got himself surrounded by P.O.W.s that he's
using as shields. Getting out of this fight without
offing a hostage can be tricky.
Firetrooper - This dude has a flamethrower, as the name implies. The
wall of fire that the trooper spews out will destroy
any bullets, rockets, or grenades you send his way.
Also, it's not a good idea for Snake to touch the
flames either.
Machine Gun Kid - Another armed punk, this one has a machine gun that
will tear you to ribbons...if you are stupid enough to
let that happen.
Shotgunner - The first boss you will meet. He's armed with a
shotgun (imagine that) and he's not afraid to use it.
Deals out decent damage and moves fairly quickly.
Super Computer - This is the computer that controls Metal Gear. By
itself, it can't harm you. It is protected, however,
by an elaborate security system. And oh yeah, guards
too. Destroying this renders Metal Gear useless, but
it also arms Outer Heaven's self-destruct device.
Tank - A large, armored tank that guards the pathway between
Buildings 1 and 2. It has two machine guns that fire
in an arc from either side and its main turret fires a
very, VERY damaging shell that you should avoid at all
costs.
Twin Shot - This pair of heavy gunners guards the prison cells on
the roof of Building 1. Their guns will put the hurt
on you somtething fierce, and because of their
positioning they have the ability to cover most of the
roof.
and finally...
The Leader of Outer Heaven - I don't wish to spoil this right now, in
case you've never heard of this series
before or are unaware of Metal Gear's
"suprise" final confrontation (in other
words, in case you've been living under a
rock for the last 20 years). Suffice it to
say, the mysterious leader of Outer Heaven
is armed with only a pistol, but he's
quick and tough. And by the time you meet
him, he'll be rather angry with you.
HAZARDS
Cameras - Security cameras that will bring hordes of soldiers
down around your ears if they see you. The best way
to avoid detection by these devices is to hug the
walls directly under where they're guarding; they
can't see you when you're in this position. Much
later, you will encounter cameras that fire lasers.
These beams of energy are deadly when they hit you
in rapid sucession, but the laser cameras can be
fooled in the same manner that regular ones can.
Electrified Floors - If you run into an area where the floor is glowing,
don't step on it. That unhealthy radiance means
that the floor is electrified and will hurt you to
the touch. USUALLY (note the emphasis) there will
be a small, purple control panel somewhere nearby.
Take it out with RC missiles to shut the floor down.
Mines - There are a few areas of the game that are mined,
and stepping on a mine is not good for your health.
Like the security beams, you can't see these under
normal circumstances. Also like the security beams,
there is a device you can use to reveal them, in
this case the detector. Once you can see the mines,
you can either walk around them or shoot them.
Pitfalls - These are traps that open up as you get closer to
them. One touch is instant death again, so avoid at
all costs.
Poison Gas - Certain areas of Outer Heaven are flooded with
toxic fumes. You will be able to recognize areas
like this by the white, puffy clouds that seem to
seap up from the floor. Don that gas mask quickly
when you enter an area like that to avoid major
damage.
Rollers - These resemble oil drums stacked end to end and
roll back and forth, blocking your path. It's death
to the touch, and the only thing you can do is
avoid them. Sometimes there are nitches in the
walls of the area where you can duck as the rollers
go by, but don't count on it.
Security Beams - Blundering through these will set off the alarm and
call the guards out, al la being seen by a camera.
To make matters worse, they're invisible. Put on
those goggles if you'd like to avoid these.
4)ONE OR TWO OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW
AN EXPLAINATION OF THE RANKING SYSTEM
There's no score-keeping in this game per se. Rather, you will be
promoted to a higher rank depending on how many hostages you've rescued.
Why is this a good thing? Higher rank increases the amount of ammunition
and rations you can carry, the size of your life bar, and one of your
radio contacts won't even talk to you unless you're at rank 4. You can
also go down in rank by accidentally (or on purposly, if you're feeling
eeeeevil) shooting and killing freed hostages. You start out at the rank
of one star, and can acquire a maximum of four stars. Here is a qucik
list of the perks you get at each rank and how many hostages you need to
rescue in order to make it to that rank.
0-4 Hostages - 1 Star 5-9 Hostages - 2 Stars
Hand Gun - 50 rounds Hand Gun - 100 rounds
Sub Machine Gun - 50 rounds Sub Machine Gun - 100 rounds
Grenade Launcher - 15 rounds Grenade Launcher - 30 rounds
Rocket Launcher - 5 Rounds Rocket Launcher - 10 rounds
Plastic Explosives - 5 units Plastic Explosives - 10 units
Mines - 5 units Mines - 10 Units
R.C. Missiles - 5 units R.C. Missiles - 10 units
Rations - 3 units Rations - 6 units
10-14 Hostages - 3 Stars 15+ Hostages - 4 Stars
Hand Gun - 200 rounds Hand Gun - 250 rounds
Sub Machine Gun - 200 rounds Sub Machine Gun - 250 rounds
Grenade Launcher - 60 rounds Grenade Launcher - 60 rounds
Rocket Launcher - 20 Rounds Rocket Launcher - 30 rounds
Plastic Explosives - 15 units Plastic Explosives - 20 units
Mines - 15 units Mines - 20 Units
R.C. Missiles - 15 units R.C. Missiles - 20 units
Rations - 9 units Rations - 12 units
YOUR TRANSCIEVER AND YOU
In addition to your arms and your cancer sticks, you also start the game
with a transciever that allows you to communicate with your home base
as well as a variety of resistance fighters along the way. Chatting with
these folks usually allows you access to semi-valuable tips about what
to do next, for the most part.
Most of the time your commanding officer, Big Boss, and company will
call you, so you won't have to worry about fiddling with frequency
changes on your transciever. There are, however, certain areas where you
need to make outgoing calls yourself. As a general rule if you rescue a
hostage and they tell you to contact someone, do so immediatly upon
leaving his cell.
THE FABLED "TRANSCIEVER TRICK"
It was recently brought to my attention that I've mentioned the
transciever trick several times throughout this document without ever
bothering to explain what exactly that is. Allow me to rectify this now;
it's a little trick that will help you pass pitfall traps much, much more
easily. Here's how it works.
Upon triggering a pitfall, immediatly go to the radio screen, then go
back into the normal game. What this does is freeze the trap so it can't
open any further, as well as make it disappear. (It's still there,
though, and will still kill you if you touch any area that it had time to
open to.)
Sneaky? Perhaps. A programming glitch? I'm not so certain. This is Metal
Gear, afterall, a series which has always challenged you to think outside
of your typical video game box to win. At any rate, this doesn't count as
cheating in my book. If you disagree, try making it through the Pitfall
Zone a billion times without using it and then come talk to me.
5)THE WALK-THROUGH
Here we go. This is the main course of this game guide feast. Read on to
see how to beat the whole, entire game of Metal Gear from start to
finish. Since there aren't distinct levels in this game, I have broken
the guide into six parts for slightly easier reading.
PART 1: JUNGLE BOOGIE
Metal Gear begins with a brief cut-scene showing you, and three of your
buddies, parachuting into the jungle. Upon landing, you'll recieve a
call from Big Boss, your unit's head honcho. He'll explain the mission
objectives in more or less understandable English. Once he's done
babbling, follow the trail to your right.
Here, we will delight to an example of this game's horrid translation
base. The guard by the jeep will fall asleep after a few moments if you
simply don't move (wait for the cue, "I'm getting sleepy!!"). When he's
peacfully in slumberland, either sneak by him or run up and punch his
lights out permenantly, then head south.
The next area is occupied by three mutts, and it's pretty much
impossible to get by without alerting them. They aren't too hard to
dodge, so run by and take the path on the right to continue furter
south.
Pass another screen with a dog, and you'll come to a small clearing with
a truck. From this point on, things are going to get very sticky. The
guards you encounter will are all very trigger-happy and your low rank
(and hence, low amount of energy) doesn't permit you to soak up much
damage before dying. This makes the opening of this game probably one of
the toughest parts to get past. Enough disclaimers, back to the game.
Watch the guard patrolling the clearing. When his back is to you, charge
up behind him and quickly deck him until he's dead. The truck hereabouts
has the binoculars in it. Now you have a choice to make. The binocs
aren't an essential item, though if this is your first time playing this
game the ability to see what lies ahead is a nice thing to have. Still,
you will have to fight the same guard again if you opt to grab the
binocs, and he'll see you immediatly when you exit the truck. Whatever
you decide, after you're done continue south.
After another couple of screens of stealthy kills, you'll come to a
large, concrete structure with a soldier stationed on either side of it.
Take the right side. Beat the tar out of the trooper there and scoot
southward again. If he sees you before he dies, don't worry. Simply
hurry off the screen before the other guard can try to kill you.
Now, since you followed my instructions and came down on the right side,
you should be in spitting distance of one of the two guards on this next
screen. Take him out fast; even if the other jerk does see you, you'll
only have one left to deal with. Once you've mopped up the two guards,
hop into the truck on the left side of the screen. Inside is Card #1. As
a bonus, grabbing the first key-card seems to be the signal for the
enemy troops to stop shooting at you for awhile. When you exit the
truck, the two guards will be back, but they won't fire. Either take
them out or simply dodge your way into the truck on the right, and be
treated with a classic video game line: "Uh-oh! The truck have started
to move!" You've got to absolutly *LOVE* sloppy translations.
Once the truck "have" stopped moving, jump out. You are now in front of
Building 1. There's a lone guard here, but if you wait for a few
moments, he'll wander off saying "Ok, your turn!!", which I think is
supposed to mean they are changing guards. Anyway, the truck on the left
has rations in it, so fill up on them if you want to (and remember that
the guard will be back and will see you each time you leave the truck).
Once you're ready, equip #1 and enter the base.
PART 2: SECRET AGENT MAN
You have sucessfully snuck into one of Outer Heaven's four structures,
the unimaginativly named Building 1. Now, head north from the entrance
and either sneak past or murder the guard that's patrolling the area
next to the door. Enter the room, deal with the guard and grab the gas
mask. Double back and make your way west through the garage. I find that
it's easier to head south, then west, then north, as this route offers
more cover and you really should be avoiding fights at this stage of the
game. Big Boss will call in two areas of the motor pool. He says the
same thing both times, essentially telling you what you need to do to
complete your mission. Ignor him or listen if you'd like another example
of truly hideous dialogue.
Once you hit the west-end wall, take the left path northbound; there's a
pitfall trap on the right side. This, however, will bring you face to
face with a pair of guards that will spot you the second you enter the
area. Take them out fast, or high-tail it northward before the area
becomes infested with troopers. Next, you'll come to an elevator guarded
by a soldier who will ditch like the guy did outside after a moment or
two. Wait him out, and then move when the coast is clear. Ignore the
elevator for now and head east.
There's one guard here and three trucks. You can't open the door at the
far right at this time, so don't even try. There truck on the right has
mines, the middle one holds a nasty surprise of four guards, and the one
on the left has the hand gun. Finally! You're armed! Now you just need
some bullets to go with the gun. If you are spotted whilst collecting
the hand gun and mines, simply duck into one of the trucks to evade the
guards. New weapons acquired, head back to the elevator. This lift will
only go to the third floor, so take it on up.
Once out of the elevator, hug the left wall to avoid being spotted by
the cameras and head south. Ignore bothe of the troopers patrolling the
area and go into the door on the left side of the room. Your reward is
an ammo box. Enter and exit the room, grabbing the ammunition each time,
until you have all the bullets you can carry, then use #1 on the door to
the south and rescue your first prisoner. Use #1 again on the next door
and walk into a wonderful rtoom filled with poison gas.
Slap your gas mask on to stop taking damage (you'll always take a tinsy
bit when keying into and out of rooms like this, I'm afraid) and make
for the door at the bottem of the screen. #1 will get you out of here.
Big Boss will also call and tell you that you need a gas mask. No
kidding.
Upon entering the next room, creep along the left hand wall to avoid the
cameras again, and use #1 to enter the lower door here. You'll get to
free another prisoner, who gives you some information regarding a
missing team member of yours code-named Grey Fox. Leave the cell and
head east. Avoid the roller in this next room, scoop up the plastic
explosives, and continue on in the same direction.
When you reach the eastern wall, there will be a pair of rooms guarded
by a pair of cameras. Slip past the cameras and use #1 on the lower of
the two rooms. Your reward is Card #2. Hooray. The upper room holds
rations, so use #2 to open it and restock if necessary, then back track
to the area where you freed the second P.O.W. Open the upper door with
#2 and swipe the R.C. missiles. Nice indeed. Now go back (again) to the
area where you found #2 and head north from here.
How charming! Your very first experiance with an electrified floor! Wait
till you tell the boys back home! Big Boss will call and warn you that
the only way to shut down the high-voltage flooring is by breaking its
control panel, also that Schneider knows the location of the missiles
you already acquired. Use those missiles to blast the panel, then cross
when it's safe and continue north.
You'll come to another elevator here. As with the last one, ignore it
for the time being and head west. Use #2 to gain access to the upper
room here and grab the cardboard, if you's like. Then key through the
western door and proceed through it.
Use #2 again to enter the small structure in the middle of the room to
get the silencer, and use #1 on the door to your right for the grenade
launcher. Head back to the room with the ammo box (it's west, then south
from here) to refill your pistol and get some grenades in your launcher.
While you are in the neighborhood, use #2 on the door on the right side
of the screen to free another captive, then head back to the other
elevator (not the one directly north of here). You can't do anything on
the roof and nothing of particular consequence on the second level, so
head back down to the ground floor.
Head south from the elevator once you touch down (avoid the space
between the crates; it's a pitfall). Use #2 on the first door to your
left. Free the hostage who will tell you some more about Grey Fox's
whereabouts, then continue on your merry way. In the next area, use #2
again on the door to your right for the sub-machine gun, then access the
door to your left with #1. Inside is another prisoner (your fifth, oh
goody!) and he tells you it would be a good idea to let yourself be
captured. That's thoughtful of him. Exit and continue south.
Hop into the truck you see down there, and lo and behold, you get
captured! Things are going according to plan...aren't they? (By the by,
"You're under arrest!!"? I thought this was a para-military station some
where in the butt-end of Africa, not downtown Omaha. And all are these
exclaimation points really necessary?)
PART 3: JAIL HOUSE ROCK
Well, you're now resting comfortably in Outer Heaven's prison. Big Boss
calls you (they didn't take your radio?) saying the infiltration is a
smashing success. I guess that depends on which side of the bars you're
standing on. Anyway, no rest for the weary. Boss drops clues in his
dialogue that you need to feel around (ie punch) the walls to find a way
out. Hit the left hand wall and you'll open a hidden door. Go into the
next room and be greeted by none other than Grey Fox, who will give you
some unsettling intelligence before splitting. Punch the southern wall
of this cell to reveal your exit, then head east to your first boss
fight.
SHOTGUNNER - Now typically in Metal Gear, beating bosses requires a
simple amount of out-thinking them rather than straight forward brute
force. The shotgunner will run back and forth across the top of the
screen, stopping occasionally to pepper you with blasts from his street-
sweeper. These don't hurt too terribly much, but you're better off
avoiding them all together. The first thing you need to do is re-arm
yourself. There are two doors at the bottom of this room. Head to the
one on the right. All of the gear you’ve collected is in a bag on the
table in here. Grab it and ditch the transmitter the bad guys have
placed inside the bag. Now head back into the Shotgunner’s room to face
him. Hide behind the crates and use your remote missiles on this guy.
Though he’ll try, he won’t be able to shoot through the crates to hit
you. You should have four remote missiles left. Hit him with all four
and he’ll go down. Should you run out of missiles, equip the handgun,
charge up to his level, and fill him full of lead for the coup de
grasse.
Now that that’s out of the way, use #2 to key into the room on the left
hand side and retrieve card #3. #3 opens the door to your right, leading
out of this building. So exit stage right.
Head into the door to the south here with #2. Body armor is your reward.
Head back out and go up and around the corner. Use #2 again to get into
the room at the top of the screen for the bomb blast suit, then use #3
on the door to the left of the one at the bottom of the screen for the
uniform. Make sure you get these three items before you leave; you won’t
be able to come back to this building until you acquire the compass, and
that’s locked up deep inside building 2 (which you can’t access without
the uniform). Once you’ve collected all of these goodies, exit the
building with #3.
Head east from the building’s entrance until you can go east no more.
There will be a truck here with rations inside. Restock your ration
supply, and then head south. Eventually, you’ll come to Building 1’s
northern wall. There are three trucks here. The middle one will take you
to Building 4, and the upper one has plastic explosives. The one at the
bottom has card #4. Grab the card and use it on the door here. You’re
back in Building 1. A quick side note: once you grab card #4, the
enemies will start shooting at you again, so be on guard.
Dispose of the welcoming committee that’s waiting for you, and head back
to the elevator. Make a quick pit stop on floor 3 for some more ammo and
more missiles, and then proceed to the roof. Don that bomb blast suit.
Ha! Take that wind! Head as far west as you can go, then go south.
There’s an open room along the way with ammo in it, stop and refill if
you need to. At the bottom of this path, use #2 to get access to a cell,
rescue the hostage inside, then back track to the area where the path
splits east, west, and south. Go south.
The suspension bridges are dangerous, but only if you aren’t careful. If
the bridge planks move out from under your feet, you’ll fall all the way
to the ground floor and, of course, die. Go slowly and carefully watch
the way the bridges sway, and you’ll be fine though.
Once across the bridges, go west. Either sneak up on the guard and kill
him before he has the chance to activate the floor or use your missiles
to blast the control panel from afar. Use #3 to gain access to the room
and swipe the detector. Now head east.
TWIN SHOT---At the far eastern side of the roof, you’ll encounter Twin
Shot. They will open up with a wide angled barrage of gunfire the moment
you enter the screen, so don’t waste time. Scurry over to the upper
right-hand corner of the area, behind the small barrier that separates
you from one of the Twin Shots. You will probably take at least one hit
during your mad dash across the firing field, but it shouldn’t hurt you
all that much. Now it’s time to use your grenade launcher. This weapon
will allow you to fire over the barrier, hitting the first Twin Shot
without putting you in harm’s way. After the first one drops, repeat the
process in his former cranny. 10 grenades a piece and Twin Shot won’t
bother you any more.
The door on the right will open with #3. The cell is empty. The door on
the left opens with #2. Rescue the hostage in there, and he will tell
you that Pettrovich has just been moved to Building 2. So it looks like
you’re going to have to do some more hunting before you can find the
good doctor and find out how to put Metal Gear out of commission. Back
track to the elevator and take it to floor 2.
Head south from here. Those weird silver blocks that you see produce
security lasers, but you don’t have the goggles right yet, so just run
through them, avoiding the guards that will pop up when you trigger the
alarm. At the southern wall, use #1 to access a cell for a P.O.W. then
head west. Card #3 opens this cell and grants you your tenth hostage
(rank up! Rank up, Richie!) who will inform you, belatedly, that Dr.
Pettrovich is being held on the roof. Pat him on the head and send him
on his way. Then use #3 again to break into the room on your left.
MACHINE GUN KID---And it’s time for another boss fight. Obviously, don’t
stand in the openings for too long; MGK runs along at the top of the
screen and stops at each corridor long enough to fire a stream of
bullets your way. The first, most obvious weapon to use against him is
your remote missiles again. This does work, and fairly quickly, but you
will need those missiles in Building 2, and using them up now will
necessitate a side trip to grab more of them before you leave. Instead,
take him out with the pistol. Stand by an opening that he’s approaching,
and quickly dodge out and fire a shot or two down the corridor in his
direction. Then duck back into cover. MGK will move to attack you, but
in doing so, will walk right into your shots. Repeat this several times,
and he’ll die.
Use #1 to access the door at the top of MGK’s room for the stupid iron
glove, then use # 4 on the door the west. Off the guard there before he
can switch on the frying floor, open the door he was guarding with #3,
and claim the infrared goggles as your own. Head north from here. #1
will get you into the cell block on the right side for another hostage,
and the open door on the left has three guards and land mines. Stock up
fully on the mines; you’re going to need them very soon. Then keep going
north.
Enter the room at the top of this area, dodge the roller, and escape
with #3. Head west briefly for more ammo and some plastic explosives if
you feel like it. Then go back to the elevator. Take it back to the
bottom level, and exit the building via the door you most recently used
to enter it. You will never have to come back to Building 1 now, so wave
buh-bye and continue with your mission.
PART 4: HEAVY METAL
Head north from Building 1. When you run back into the ration truck,
re-supply yourself, then equip the detector. Ooooh! Mines! Either dodge
or shoot these, and head north.
TANK---Throw on the body armor and charge right up against the brick
wall; the tank’s machine guns fire out in arcs on either side of it, but
they can’t hit you when you’re right next to the wall. Now it’s a simple
matter of when the tank backs up, run out in front of it and drop three
mines. You might take a little fire from the machine guns, but the body
armor will reduce the damage you receive. The tank will come forward
again, and it will roll over the explosives damaging itself. After 11
hits, the tank will be destroyed, and you are free to move on to
Building 2. There are two things you need to keep in mind while fighting
this brute. Number one, don’t touch it; that’s instant death. Secondly,
the tank will fire its turret cannon at you if you step directly in
front of it. This is obviously stupid and unnecessary, so don’t be an
idiot and stay out of the tank’s way.
Keep going north with that detector handy, as you’ll run into another
minefield. Once past this, you’ll reach Building 2, and Big Boss will be
on the phone again. He’ll say something about a roadblock and trying to
slip past it. Put on that uniform you stole earlier and enter the
building.
If you need a quick ammo boost, head immediately left and access the
door there with #4. An ammo crate is inside. Restock until you’re fully
re-armed, then go jump in the sludge. Equip your grenade launcher and
use #4 on door.
BULL-TANK---The bull-tank, like its late counterpart, is lethal to the
touch. So don’t touch it. You need something with decent punch to take
this thing down. That’s where your grenade launcher comes in. The moment
you enter the room, start lobbing grenades at the lumbering behemoth.
You should be able to take it down before it reaches you. In the event
that you don’t act fast enough, simply access your sub-screen and the
bull-tank will reset to its starting position, with whatever damage you
dealt to it on the first go round.
#4 will get you out of the bull-tank’s room. Head east from the
elevator, and then south. Cross the river of sludge to the other side,
being careful to avoid the dark (deep) area, and use #2 on the door to
your left. The antenna is in here, and this is an important item to get
on this level as two new and different contacts will be showing up on
your radio and you won’t be able to talk to them without this item.
There’s nothing more you can do on this floor right now. Head back to
the elevator and take it to the roof.
#2 will open the door in your immediate area, and inside is another
hostage. He’ll tell you that Pettrovich is being held on floor 2.
Continue across the roof until you reach the second door. Use #4 to open
it and be rewarded with card #5. Keep going until you reach the
elevator, and take it back down to the ground floor.
Don’t go between the crates in the first area here, there’s another
pitfall. Head west, then north (or continue west for rations if you need
them, the door is opened by #5). Stay on the lower side of the sludge
ditch and go east, then north until you reach a door. Open sesame with
#5 and rescue yet another hostage who tells you that you need a rocket
launcher to beat someone called Arnold for the key card to the outside.
Head back, jump in the muck, and go north. When you reach the area that
is blocked by all that deep water, exit the sludge via the opening on
the left and head south. Follow that path to another door and open it
with #5. This room holds card #6. Now go back to the first elevator, and
take it to floor 2 (it’s an irritating fact in this building that the
elevator you took up to the roof only goes up, while the elevator you
took down from the roof only goes down).
First, follow the path to the right opening the door at the end of it
with #6. Your prize is the antidote, something which you will need very
soon. Head back and pop open the southern door that you passed with #1.
Yep, those two things are Arnold (Arnolds?), but you’re not quite ready
to fight him yet. Use #5 to open the door in the southeast corner, and
then again to open the cell in the next room. A hostage will be there
and he’ll tell you that you can’t cross the desert without a compass.
Head back to the Arnolds’ room and use #5 on the door on the right side
now.
#5 will get you into the room in the upper-left corner, and your 15th
hostage. Just in time too. He tells you about a resistance member named
Jennifer who’s a snob and won’t talk to you unless you’re “classy”
(translation, high-ranking). Fortunately, that freed hostage just put
you to four stars, so you’ll have plenty of class when talking to Jen.
Leave the cell and contact her immediately. She’ll tell you that she’s
got some rocket launchers ready for you. Use # to access the other room
in the area, and voila! Rocket launcher! Now all you need is something
to fire out of it, and fortunately, I know just where that something is.
Go back to Arnolds’ room again, and this time key yourself out with #1
at the lower left-hand doorway. There’s an open room over here with
three ammo crates. Fill up and then prepare for battle. (You can also go
north from here, and key yourself into a cell with #6. There, a person
who seems to be Dr. Pettrovich is bound up like a hostage. Don’t fall
for it; it’s a trap and he’s not the real doctor. If you move to free
him, he’ll try to kill you by opening up a pitfall. I usually shoot this
guy out of spite.)
ARNOLD---The Arnolds don’t shoot at you; they don’t have any guns.
Instead, as I’m sure you’ve learned by ducking into and out of this
room, they’ll charge you and slam into you for decent damage. This fight
is more straight forward than most. Now that you have the rocket
launcher, simply blast away at each of the Arnolds until they die.
Equip the body armor for extra protection if you feel like it and heal
when necessary.
After the Arnolds pass, a key card will appear, #7. Grab it, then use #2
on the door in the upper right-hand side of the room. Go east from here,
and then call Jennifer again from this seemingly dead-end room. She’ll
tell you she’d got a compass ready for you. Use #1 to open the door in
the area and swipe the compass. Go back to Arnolds’ room (again) and
head back through the southeastern door. This time go east until you
reach the elevator, and take it back to the ground level.
Head back to the sludge area, and go to the area where you got #6.
Instead of going south this time, go north. Use #7 on the door here, and
you’re out of Building 2.
PART 5: TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS
You’re in the desert now, so equip the compass and the sub-machine gun.
The SMG is ideal for dealing with the scorpions, since it sprays out a
fan of bullets to cover the fairly large area that the little arachnids
scuttle around in. Head north, and north, and north some more, until you
reach Building 4. Big Boss will call you up and tell you to get into the
truck on the right (I think he means the one in the middle on the
right). Don’t listen to him; the truck in question will whisk you away
back to the beginning area of the game and you’ll need to make your way
all the way back to Building 4. The truck in the upper right takes you
to the front of Building 1, the lower truck has ammo, and the one on the
upper left has a single soldier in it. Use #7 to enter the building.
Interesting. It seems like you’re expected. There’s no sneaking past the
guards in this room. They know you’re there and will attack the moment
you enter. Wipe them out. Big Boss calls you again and tells you to go
into the room on the left. Again, don’t listen to him. There’s a pitfall
in that room and nothing else. Now why is it that Big Boss suddenly
seems to want to halt your progress, in one way or another? But that’s a
question for later. Head north. Get past the two pitfalls by using the
transceiver method to freeze them, then hop in the elevator and take it
down…and down…and down some more.
The cameras in the next room are actually the fun, laser-shooting
variety, which means you’re pretty close to the super computer. That’s
irrelevant right now, though. Use #7 to key into the room at the bottom,
grab the oxygen tank and then make your way back to Building 2.
Now, equip the oxygen and go jump in the deep water and head north.
Eventually, you’ll exit the water and come to an area with another
electrified floor. Use your missiles to deactivate it. The room on the
left is opened with #1 and holds ammo. You’ll also receive an alarmed
message from Schneider, telling you that he’s found out who the leader
of Outer Heaven is. But the transmission cuts off before you can find
out. The other door leads to your next boss fight.
COWARD DUCK---Maybe this is more homage to 80s icons (hello, Howard the
Duck) and maybe not. At any rate, Duck’s got himself surrounded by
hostages and he throws boomerang looking thingies at you. Jennifer will
call and inform you that one of the hostages in the room is her brother
(the middle one) and if you shoot him she won’t help you any more. On
top of all that, there’s a pitfall in the middle of the room. The best
way to deal with Ducky is your handy-dandy remote missiles. If ever
there was a situation tailor-made for these babies, it’s this one.
Alternatively, you can trip the pitfall and freeze it with the
transceiver trick, then walk up besides the Coward and fill him full of
lead with the pistol. Finally, you can head to either the left or the
right side of the room and use the sub-machine gun. This really isn’t a
good idea though. With all those bullets spraying around, you’re bound
to hit a hostage or two.
Duck had the final key card. Grab #8 and free the hostages. Jen’s
brother tells you to take the left elevator when you escape the complex,
so not killing him paid off. Now head back out to the desert. Go north
again with the compass and the SMG at the ready. After you clear the
desert, keep the compass at the ready and head west three times, north
once, and west once more. This will take you to the northern entrance of
Building 3. #6 gets you in here. (You can also get back to the southern
entrance of Building 3 now that you have the compass. Get to the
clearing with the rations truck and the small mine field below where you
fought the tank, equip the compass, and go west three times, north once,
and west again. You’ll recognize this area as the building you broke out
of when you were captured. I don’t recommend going this way, however.
You’re coming up on the pitfall zone, and if you approach it from this
direction, you’ll have to do it blind, which is nearly impossible.)
Schneider calls at this point, miraculously back from the dead somehow
and not at all interested in telling you who the evil leader is. (I’m
guessing the game was set up for you to handle this area first, and then
go back to deal with Coward Duck. So the programming gets a tad
confused. Anyhow, doing things my way will save you an extra side trip.)
Use #5 to break into the cell in the upper left and free the hostage
there, then use #3 to open the other door in the upper area of the
screen.
You’re back in gas land, so put your mask back on and follow the path.
The first room you come to is unlocked and has a roller and three
bundles of plastic explosives. Grab them if you need to and then
continue onward. You’ll come to a dead end with an open room. Inside is
the all-important flash light. Snag it, leave and then go to the wall on
the left side of the screen. Punch it and you’ll hear the tell-tale
sound of a hidden door nearby. Feel around for it, and pass through when
you locate the door.
FIRETROOPER---“I am a Firetrooper! Want to see me roast you alive?”
*sigh* One can only hope that question was rhetorical. The trooper
stands at the northern end of the room, guarding a doorway. At regular
intervals, he shoots out a stream of fire that he then swings back and
forth in an arc. This fire will hurt you, but more importantly, it will
block any shots that you send in his direction. There are two ways
around this. One, use the sub-machine gun. While most of the bullets
will fly wide or be destroyed by the flames, one or two per burst will
be at the correct angle to bypass the Firetrooper’s defenses and hit
him. This does take awhile. Alternatively, wait for the Firetrooper to
stop blasting the area with flames, then run up into his little alcove
next to him. He won’t be able to hit you here. Now fill his head full of
lead with your pistol.
However you choose to dispose of him, once the Firetrooper is gone, use
#6 to key into the cell behind where he was standing. At last! Dr.
Pettrovich! The doctor says he’s willing to help you out by telling you
Metal Gear’s weakness, but not until he’s sure that his daughter is
safe. She is somewhere inside this building as well. Looks like you’re
not quite done yet.
Head back through the gas area to the entrance of the building and use
#5 on the door to your left. Get that mask back on, because you’re back
in gassy world. Punch around the top area of the little corner you are
in until you find another hidden door, and go through. Use #1 on the
first door you encounter to free another hostage, then continue onward.
The next door opens with #5 and holds rations, so restock if you need
to, and keep going. In the area immediately south of the room with the
rations, punch along the left-hand wall to find yet another secret area,
and go through it. Hug the bottom wall in this room, there’s a pitfall
in the upper area. Punch the wall north of this room’s exit door for yet
another hidden area. This one has two ammo crates, so reload all of your
weapons if you need to, then use 6# to open the door to the south.
Welcome to the Pitfall Zone. As you can see, you can’t see anything.
Equip the light to change that and proceed southward. Diane will call
you on every screen of this area, warning you not to fall into any pits.
Try and do what she says. The pitfall freezing trick is invaluable here.
Eventually, you’ll reach another door. Key through it with #1 and keep
going south.
A couple of screens later, you’ll come to a room with a door to the
south and one to the north. Use #5 to access the northern room. There’s
a pitfall in here, and if it opens up entirely, it will block your way.
So freeze it with the pitfall trick, then punch around on the left hand
wall to find another secret door. And there’s Ellen! You are nine tenths
of the way done now.
PART 6: IN THE END
Head back through the pitfall zone to Dr. Pettrovich’s cell. He will
tell you that the best way to disable Metal Gear is to destroy the super
computer that controls it. It will take 16 plastic explosives to do so.
Your work here is done. Leave Building 3, and by foot or truck, make
your way back to building 4 again.
After taking the elevator to the tenth level of hell again, open the
door on the right side of the room with #8 and free the prisoner in
there. He tells you that Big Boss is, in fact, Outer Heaven’s commander
(as if you hadn’t figured that out by now). Head west and ignore the
frantic call from Big Boss to abort the mission. Use #8 to card through
the door here.
Put that gas mask back on and head north. Ignore the door on the right,
it leads to a pitfall. Take the left-hand path. Use #1 to get through
the door in the next area. You’ve got more gas to deal with, so put the
mask back on. There are mines in this room too, but you can’t use the
detector without choking to death on the toxic fumes. You’re strong
enough at this point to take a few hits from some mines, so don’t worry
about shooting them. Also, there are apparently invisible hostages in
this room, and if your bullets hit them you’ll lose ranks.
The next room holds the final electric floor in the game. Jennifer calls
and tells you there’s no way to shut it down. You need to hoof it
across. Heal as necessary and make certain you’re healed before you step
through the last door.
SUPER COMPUTER---There are three guards in this room; take them out
quickly with a spraying from your SMG. Then, turn your attention to the
super computer. Plant plastic explosives on it until the machine is
destroyed. Probably the simplest fight in the entire game.
After the super computer is wrecked, the base’s self-destruct system
automatically arms, giving you 1999 seconds to get out of Outer Heaven
before you go up in flames with it. Use your cigarettes now to add
another 1000 seconds to the clock, don your combat armor for the final
fight, and then run to the room on your right.
BIG BOSS---You didn’t really expect to get out without taking down this
sleaze bucket, did you? After a brief exchange where Big Boss
sorta-kinda explains his motives, he’ll attack you. Use the rocket
launcher on him; nothing else really does damage. Your biggest problem
here is going to be hitting the guy, as Big Boss is fairly fast, and
your rockets are fairly slow. It definitely takes some timing, but this
fight is in no way particularly difficult. After he’s taken about 10
hits from the rocket launcher, Boss will kick it, and the elevators
leading out of Outer Heaven will open up.
Remember what Jennifer’s brother said, “Take the left elevator.” Do just
that and you will be well on your way back to home base when Outer
Heaven explodes. Congratulations, Snake. Mission accomplished!
CODES
There are really too many variables in this game to make a coherent code
list. Besides, the walk-through details what I believe is the most
expedient way to defeat the game. It’s not the only way or order to do
things. And there aren’t levels per se in this game anyhow. So I’m not
going to list any specific codes in this section. However, there are a
substantial number of “hidden” codes that do a number of odd and
interesting things, discussed below.
SECRETS
All of the following codes can be entered on the Continue screen.
21Z1C GZZZG
UOOOU UYRZZ
NTOZ3
This code starts you off at the beginning of the game with only 1 star,
but with all weapons, items, and full ammo, as if you had 4 stars.
GMMMM MMMMM
MMMMM MMMMM
MMMMM
Here you’ll start in the jail cell next to Grey Fox’s with a variety of
equipment and weaponry. And oh yeah, the self-destruct sequence is
activated and counting down.
TOOOU TOOOU
TOOOU TOOOU
TOOOU
Starts you in the room before the super computer with 1 star and limited
equipment. However, the good news is that both Big Boss and the computer
are no more. So to see the ending, you need only exit via the left
elevator.
FUCKM E1111
11111 11111
11111
Incase you haven’t noticed yet, the words “f--- me” are in this code.
And rightly so. This code will start you off with three stars in the
room before the super computer and the countdown timer going. But you’ll
have no equipment whatsoever, and Big Boss still waiting on the other
side of the door out.
T1111 11611
11111 11111
11116
Identical to the above code, except you only have 1 star and Big Boss is
no more. Oh and you have the binoculars too. Gee, thanks a heap.
ELLEN DIANE
JENNI FERBI
GBOSS
Starts you off in the room before the super computer with 2 stars and a
smattering of weapons and equipment. The computer is gone and the
countdown is going, but you’ll still need to deal with Big Boss.
51111 11111
11111 11111
1111F
Starts you with 4 stars but no weapons or equipment. You’ll begin at the
north entrance to Building 1.
51222 22222
22222 22222
22222
Identical to the above code, except you do get a few weapons and items
this time.
WZZZZ YZZZZ
UOOOU UYRZZ
VZZZK
Starts you off in the room before the super computer with 4 stars, all
items, all weapons, and full ammo. And it’s a shame that you won’t get
to use this muscle and might on anything, because both Big Boss and his
PC are dead.
5ZRZX OZZZG
COO1U UYRZZ
NZRZV
Starts you off with 4 stars and most of your weapons, equipment, and
ammunition. You will begin at the north entrance to Building 1.
5ZZZZ YZZZZ
UOOOU UYRZZ
VZZZS
Starts you off with 4 stars, full ammo, all weapons and all items. You
begin at the north entrance to Building 1.
3LLLL LLLLL
LLLLL LLLLL
LLLLL
Begins you in the prison area, next to Grey Fox with two stars and a
variety of items and weapons. And no countdown going this time.
Game Glitches
SOLID IS JUST AN ILLUSION---Whey you enter the super computer’s room,
stay within the door frame and press right on the control pad. You will
be whisked to the confrontation with Big Boss, without having to worry
about of the self-destruct timer running out during your fight.
8)IN MY OPINION...
We're going to try a different format for this editorial page. Actually,
I've already written a review for Metal Gear, and this is my lazy-ass way
of justifying cutting and pasting something I wrote three years ago. Still,
it's not bad reading.
There’s a definite lack of graphical flare in this game. The sprites aren’t
very detailed, there are virtually no large pictures, and the scenery is
extremely repetitive. It’s a little interesting meeting the bosses, as they
add some visual flavor to the stale scene after scene of the same guards.
Not bad but not outstanding.
Metal Gear gets a few extra marks for what’s actually a very varied
repertoire of sound effects. Your weapons all make different noises when
fired (or planted, as the case may be), as do most of the enemies’. The
clicking sound your ammo-dependant weapons make when you try to fire them
empty is a very nice touch for a NES cart, as is the barking of the dogs.
There’s not much in the music dpartment, so minus points for that. However
the five-or-so tracks in this game are all very memorable and will stick
with anyone who’s played this game long enough to appreciate it.
On the control side, Snake usually goes where you want him to but he does
so rather slowly. This can be a bother when you’re trying to get out of a
room full of angry guards. Also, there’s the irritating tendency to take
corners too tightly, and the result is getting stuck on a wall when you
think you should have cleared it. This can be bad in the above-mentioned
situation as well. Sometimes you won’t be quite lined up correctly, and
your punch or gun shot will miss. But for the most part, you shouldn’t have
problems.
Without the aid of some kind of walk-through, this is hands down one of the
hardest NES games out there. Even with a strategy guide, it’s very likely
that you’ll die several times before completing the game. The opening area
is probably the most frustrating part of the game, as you have to sneak
around un-armed for what seems like an eternity. Also, there are a few
areas where you may be stumped, and the solution to your current set of
roadblocks isn’t obvious or even remotely hinted at (the compass is a good
example of this). By the time you get to these areas, however, the game
will already either have it’s hooks into you and make you rabid with a
desire to figure out the puzzle, or you will have lost interest and given
up on it entirely.
In the plot department, it’s the starting point to one of the greatest game
series ever, and it has everything you’d want or need (excepting the
sometimes idiotic dialogue). Metal Gear covers the entire spectrum;
intrigue, betrayal, pulse-pounding excitement, suspense, you name it. The
ending sequence is a little lacking, but it does come to a concise
conclusion, and it hints broadly at sequels to come. Ultimately, it is this
element which will enrapture gamers, provided they allow themselves the
time to get into the game.
The most fun, as always with games of this genre is the first time through.
Once you’ve played through the game and found everything, there’s not much
else here. The codes in the Secrets area add a bit of zest for replay,
allowing you to try tackling the game starting with different capabilities
in different areas. And also, since there’s no set way to beat the game,
you can experiment around with changing the order you accomplish things.
I think Metal Gear can easily be ranked among the top 100 games of all
time, for what it was and what it started. This game caught many an eye at
the time of its release because it played differently. Back in the late
80s, video games were still mostly about running around and blowing things
up. Fast-paced action was a necessary selling-point. Metal Gear changed all
that. With its compelling story line (minus the horrible translation
errors) it drew players into the game in a way that they hadn’t been
effected before. It was almost more like reading a book than playing a
game. Even the Legend of Zelda, arguably the most successful and well-known
adventure game of all-time, didn’t even come close to Metal Gear’s depth.
It’s just an outstanding game any way you cut it. The difficulty and the
emphasis on stealth rather than full-fledged combat is going to turn away
some players (it certainly did for me back when my brother first bought the
game). But for those of us who’ve stuck it out, Metal Gear will always
remain one of the greatest gaming experiences ever.
8 out of 10.
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9)ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND LEGAL STUFF
Konami/Ultra (what exactly WAS Ultra? a state-side division of Konami?)
for the creation of the game, of course.
The game play info of the walk through and the level codes was all
acquired by me, through copious note taking and more than one wasted hour
in front of my TV. The one exception was I couldn't remember how to get
the compass, so thanks to Robert Dacunto's FAQ for that.
Codes found in the secrets area were gleaned off of the Cheat Codes and
Secrets page for this game on GameFAQS.com, and therefore I must commend
Wallpaper Kid, Aether Knight, SSnes Vegita, dinobotmaximized, JDawg007,
Ryan Mac, Binta, J.Lau, Mr SNK, Dude Love Fan, and C de Vries for their
work in making these cheats available.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
This document is Copyright 2006 glass_soul (that's me). Only GameFaqs,
Neoseeker, and 1-up have permission to post this walk-through on their site
(if they feel like it). Nobody else, person, entity, or otherwise, may post
this document in part or whole on their website without my express
permission to do so.
Comments, questions, corrections and other forms of feedback in general are
all welcome.
I may be reached at
[email protected].
Adios.
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