Games for Lunch: Metal Gear Solid (GBC)

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0:16 I parachute in amid a happy tune and immediately get a codec call. Of course. I'm 3 km south of the fortress. Staying out of the guards' sight is the name of the game, as usual.

0:18 They manage to squeeze a tiny radar into the corner of the tiny screen. Impressive.

0:19 Campbell finally shuts up and I'm in control. Cue tinny stealth music. A nice simple overhead view -- reminds me of the original NES game, but with better animation.

0:21 Snake can sidle up against walls and tap them to get guards' attention, just like in the PlayStation version. Even more impressive than the radar!

0:23 The first area is basically a hedge maze with occasional sleeping and or lazy guards. The radar makes it hard to tell which direction people are looking. I guess this is more realistic, but I'm spoiled by the little vision halo in the original game's radar.

0:24 Snake can crouch down in the mud and hold his breath to sneak by unseen. When he gets up, he's completely clean. Man, I want that suit!

0:25 I'm spotted! Luckily, the soldiers are very conservative with their bullets and can't take a punch. Even luckier, when I move to a different screen, they forget all about me. Gotta love that touch of realism, there.

0:26 "Stage 01 cleared" What? Stages? This is Metal Gear Solid. We don't need no stinkin' stages! I get a rank of "Poor" since I was found once and killed a guy with my BARE HANDS! Which is frowned upon, apparently.

0:27 Campbell gives me the good news that Delta Force has been wiped out. Way to go, U.S. military! Mercenary expert Weasel tells me that means their hired guns are "A-list." My CIA contact, McBride, tells me not to underestimate them -- they get $50 million a year from drugs and rare metals.

0:30 There are even surveillance cameras. I'm really impressed with how they managed to squeeze the essence of Metal Gear Solid onto this puny portable hardware.

0:31 A guard walks out a fortress door and leaves it wide open. Is it really gonna be that easy to get in?

0:32 Apparently so. I'm in! Of course now that I'm here I have no idea where I'm going. Time to wander!

0:34 So I'm a super high-tech soldier of the future, right? Yet I can only hold two rations at a time, and I can't hold the ammo for a weapon I don't have. Lame.

0:37 I'm actually pretty impressed with how the guards scramble after me once I accidentally trip the security camera. It takes a while to find a good hiding place. The upshot is that I'm now more lost than ever.

0:39 Found again. I'm forced to use a ration and my newly-equipped gun. All this running away from soldiers through maze-like rooms -- it feels more like Pac-Man than Metal Gear.

0:40 Sergeant Chris Jenner of Delta Force manages to get me on the codec. She's a fan of Snake's work. "Some say I'm just an attention-seeking killer," he replies. Oh, don't be so modest, Snake... Delta Force was ambushed, no one else survived, yadda yadda yadda.

0:44 Chris tells me to look for a drain at a building with a recessed east wall to get into the fortress. Then they flirt: "Can I call you Chris?" "We don't know each other that well." "We can easily change that." "As comrades in arms?" "That's up to you." Mercenary and ladies man -- he's a double threat.