Metal Gear Solid Games Ranked

They pushed the limits of what a game could be, with complicated themes and interesting characters. They also made cardboard boxes hilariously useful.

The Metal Gear Solid games have always been a hybrid of video games and cinema. It’s both a blessing and a curse, with radio conversations and cut scenes routinely lasting over ten minutes. A younger SDCC had to choose between Otacon, and Mum. Dinner was ready, but Otacon had so much to say! I often got in trouble for this.

We have a re-release of the older games on newer consoles incoming, and we’re already getting a remake of MGS3. But overall the series seems to have reached a conclusion. I’ve been playing them since I was thirteen, when Metal Gear Solid was released on PS1 (I’ve not played the older Metal Gear games). So what do I make of them all? Time to rank the Metal Gear Solid games!


8 – Metal Gear Survive – PS4, 2018

MGS V’s main strength was its game play. So you could be fooled into thinking that since Survive uses those same mechanics, that it might be at least sort of good.
NO NO NO.
Survive is a complete cash grab, a quick buck to made to be made from a series without it’s leader to protect it.
It doesn’t play as well as the game it’s based on, nor does it look as good. The whole design is grab and convoluted. The dialogue is lacking and treats you like an idiot. I don’t expect every aspect of an MGS story to make sense, but this is ridiculous. And utterly crap.
After several hours wandering around, hoping for improvement, I laid my avatar down in a puddle and waited for him to starve. For a game called Survive, dying was the only aspect of the game I fully understood.
An MGS in name only. I tried.

7 – MGS V: The Phantom Pain – PS4, 2015

Yes, The Phantom Pain is this low down the list.
Blaring ‘Take On Me’ out over the loudspeakers as I landed my chopper into a hot zone and went loud was just as enjoyable as being dropped off with D-Dog hundreds of meters away and making my way in silently.
Mechanically it’s the best MGS by a mile. The furore over the voice cast was a storm in a teacup too. It was the right choice to differentiate Solid Snake and Big Boss vocally the nearer in time frame they got. Kiefer Sutherland did a good job.
What lets MGS V down is the story, as it’s both messy and incomplete. It just peters out.
With repeated missions and an inconclusive story, MGSV ends one of the greatest stories in gaming with a whimper.
The Phantom Pain shines at points. But it’s truncated, abrupt and ultimately disappointing.

6 – MGS 2: Sons of Liberty – PS2, 2001

One of the most hyped video games of all time, MGS2 had enormous expectation places upon it. Looking back it’s amazing it met any of them.
Technically it’s an amazing achievement, and the opening Tanker section with Snake felt exactly like the thing we were all waiting for. I could still do a reasonable speed run of it now. The smashed glass, rain effects and design of the ship were a show-reel for what the PS2 could do. On it’s own it’s one of the single best pieces of Metal Gear.
Then there’s Big Shell and Raiden. I understand the thesis of the game, and I applaud Kojima for throwing a curve ball. I know it’s meant to be an imitation of Shadow Moses. But it just isn’t as interesting. Though the “Colonel” talking absolute gibberish, naked cartwheels, and “did you say nerd?” do stick in the mind.
MGS2 was far ahead of its time in it’s subjects and what it makes us question. Talking of digital curation and no real truths years before Facebook. What do we want to pass on? Who are we?
It’s also melodramatic and E.E is infuriating.
I used to dislike it. Now I understand it far better and there are parts I adore.

5 – MGS V: Ground Zeroes – PS4, 2014

It was released on its own so it gets an entry! There are caveats of course. As a prologue to The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes isn’t very long. Ninety-odd minutes to do the main story.
But also as a prologue to The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes manages to contain the large majority of it’s sister title’s strengths with pretty much none of the weaknesses.
Performing a rescue mission, we’re provided with an open area to sneak through as we see fit. Sneaky? Run and gun? It’s up to you!
Not exactly in the spirit of a sneaking mission, but it’s fun. Much like GTA, if you want to get on with things you can, but if you want to muck around, then fill your boots.
With streamlined storytelling, top notch graphics and audio, modern controls and strong replay value it’s worth paying out for.

4 – MGS 4: Guns of the Patriots – PS3, 2008

The PS3 only had one full entry, which wowed us with it’s looks whilst tying up everything we had seen so far.
OctoCamo was a well judged follow on from the camo used in Snake Eater, and we could finally pause cutscenes! Good thing too as there are a lot of them.
MGS4 felt like a road trip, visiting famous locales as it gave the series a sense of finality.
That’s not to say it didn’t still have some surprises. Just the thought of returning to Shadow Moses still blows my mind.
I’ve never been sold on Drebin or his points system. Thematically it makes sense but it jarred with what I expected from the games up to that point. This was a big move away from OSP.
Still, it played decently and made the most of the newer hardware.
Part conclusion, part nostalgia trip, this game was a fitting end for Solid Snake. Here’s hoping it gets released from captivity on the PS3 soon.

3 – MGS: Peace Walker – PSP, 2010 & PS3, 2011

Originally a PSP game, I played this on the Xbox 360. It plays well, taking Big Boss on a journey that pleasingly explains his change from famous soldier to leader of an ‘army without a nation’. I’m really glad I played it before getting into The Phantom Pain.
Due to the limitations of the original hardware the game is split into smaller mission areas. I never found myself getting bored with visiting similar places and the leaner story was one of the stronger in the series.
The artwork in particular, used instead of video, was beautiful. Hayter’s Snake voice was getting a bit crazy at this point though. Much like Bale’s Batman it seems no one put a check on just how throaty and gravelly it should get.
Don’t overlook this one because it was a handheld game. It’s important in the mythos and a great game in general.

2 – MGS 3: Snake Eater – PS2, 2004

Kojima defied expectations, taking us back to the sixties and focusing on someone most of us didn’t know much about, Solid Snake’s Dad Big Boss.
Kyle Cooper, director of the opening sequences for 2 and 3, went all out on a Bondesque introduction. It even had a title song!
After two games sneaking through concrete jungles, it was time for a real one. It was a joy to play through and a technical marvel.
In a series of great bosses, The End is a high point. A cheeky shot early on in the game could prevent the entire boss fight. though you’d be missing a great; a real battle of snipers.
Meeting a young Big Boss was a big departure but it worked, not only giving us a great game but a large part of the history that lead up to Solid Snake.

1 – Metal Gear Solid – PS1, 1998

An obvious but correct choice. From the moment I saw a demo I was all over it. I had to have it. Never would have guessed I’d still be playing it twenty-five years later.
MGS was unlike any game I’d played before. It was like I was controlling the main character in a movie. The lengthy cutscenes did take some getting used to though!
Cyborg Ninja. Revolver Ocelot. Vulcan Raven. Liquid Snake. The cast of characters is outrageous! But the game and story commits to them fully, plus they’re extremely well acted.
Crazy boss battles (A Hind-D?!). A cool main character. Double and triple crosses. Breaking the fourth wall. 556ers and pineapples.
I’ve never had to watch the butt wiggle of a soldier before.
Metal Gear Solid is the best Metal Gear game. In fact, it’s my #1 game full stop.


There you go! I’ve pushed up my cardboard box and pushed my opinion out there. Let me know what you think!

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