Metal Gear Retrospective: Intro

Metal Gear. Those two words represent one of the most respected and widely acclaimed franchises in all of gaming. If you look up professional lists of the 10 best gaming franchises, Metal Gear is likely to be there. Hell, it's my #2 following only Metroid and Mass Effect trailing behind it.

What makes the series so great? While it wasn't the first stealth franchise, it did popularize stealth in video games. It's got an incredibly in-depth and complex story, some would argue overly so. It's characters are beyond memorable and iconic, from Solid Snake and Big Boss to Liquid Snake and Revolver Ocelot. There is arguably no series better for boss fights than this one. I made a Top 20 list of the best boss fights from this series and there's a reason it had to be 20.

Despite not having the best dialogue, the voice acting is consistently excellent. Cutscenes go on a little long but they still succeed in telling a compelling storyline and drawing out emotion from players. It's fourth-wall breaking humor is always enjoyable and its excellent mix of patient stealth and awesome action is the perfect balance.

I've been planning on doing a retrospective of this series for a while and if I haven't conveyed my love for this series enough, this should hopefully sell it. It may take a little while, especially with Mass Effect 3 two days away but I hope that this provides a great look back at one of the all-time greats or serve as a gateway for those who have never played it before.

So keep your eyes open as starting soon, I'll be looking at the series in the order they released in. Only the canon games though. Only one thing to say, "Metal Gear?!?"