Metal Gear Solid (Game Boy)
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| Metal Gear Solid | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (West), TOSE |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Designer(s) | Shinta Nojiri (director) |
| Series | Metal Gear (non-canonical) |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Color |
| Release date | JPN April 27, 2000 NA May 5, 2000 EU May 5, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Stealth game |
| Mode(s) | Single player Two-players competitive |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone ELSPA: 11+ |
| Media | 16-megabit cartridge |
Metal Gear Solid, released in Japan and Asia as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, is a 2000 stealth action game for the Game Boy Color produced by Konami. It is a spinoff of the PlayStation game of the same name. Although it shares the same title, it is a different game based on the same concept featuring a different storyline set outside the main Metal Gear series.
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[edit] Gameplay
Ghost Babel uses the same 2D overhead gameplay format of the early Metal Gear games for the MSX2 and NES, but with a few elements of the PlayStation game Metal Gear Solid included as well. As with previous Metal Gear games, the objective is to infiltrate an occupied enemy base while avoiding detection from guards and surveillance systems. The player can acquire numerous items and weapons to help them fulfill their mission. Unlike the earlier 2D games, the player now explore an entire portion of an area in one screen instead of merely changing from one screen to the next. The player can lean into walls and move the position of the came above Snake's back or have Snake tap into the wall. The player can also move diagonally as well. Almost all the weapons from the PlayStation version are included, with the exception of the Stinger missiles (which required the use of the radar in Metal Gear 2) and the sniper rifle. Like in Metal Gear Solid, the player can use the communication device, Codec, to receive information from allies and save their progress.
Unlike the console installments, Ghost Babel uses a stage-based structure, with a total of 13 stages. After completing a stage, the player's performance is graded from "Poor" to "Excellent". An overall rank is given at the end of the stage. The player can replay previously completed stages in the Stage Select mode for higher ranking. After the game is completed, a Special sub-mode becomes available where the player can replay the stages with new objectives (such as collecting FOXHOUND emblems or completing the stage without being seen). Other additional game modes includes: VR Training, a mode where the player can test their sneaking and shooting skills in over 180 missions (most of them taken from the Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions expansion); and Vs. Battle, where one player competes against another in a mission via link cable.
[edit] Plot
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main characters
- Solid Snake - The player's character. Former FOXHOUND operative who retired three years prior to the events of the game. He is brought back to action to infiltrate Galuade and destroy the Metal Gear prototype that has been hijacked by the GLF separatists.
- Christine "Chris" Jenner - The heroine of the game. A surviving member of the Delta Force team that was sent to Galuade before Snake. Her rank is Sergeant.
[edit] Support crew
- Col. Roy Campbell - Snake's commanding officer, who served as FOXHOUND's commander-in-chief before retiring two years before the events of the game.
- Mei Ling - A data analyst who designed Snake's radar and radio equipment and is in charge of saving the player's progress. Like in Metal Gear Solid, she meets Snake for the first time in the game.
- Weasel - His real name is Ronard Lensenbrink (or Rheaunalt Lensenbrink). A mercenary who is said to be Solid Snake's equal, he provides information about weapons and equipment, as well information about the members of Black Chamber.
- Brian McBride - Director of Operations for the CIA, Africa Affairs. He provides geopolitical intel bout Gindra.
- James "Jimmy the Wizard" Harks - A teen prodigy who is the head of Project Babel. He is kept alive by GLF for the purpose of completing Metal Gear, but is held captive after its completion.
[edit] Gindra Liberation Front
Also known under the acronym GLF. The organizations seeks to achieve sovereign power for the Boias, an ethnic group in Gindra. They're Snake's main adversaries in the game.
- The General - His real name is Augustine Eguabon. The leader of GLF.
- Sophie N'dram - The second-in-command in GLF.
[edit] Black Chamber
The boss characters of the game, Black Chamber is a former special forces unit with animal-themed codenames similar to FOXHOUND. They have a personal vendetta against Snake and Campbell, which is revealed through the course of the story.
- Slasher Hawk - An Australian Aborigine who is accompanied in battle by a hawk, a guardian deity in his tribe. He is armed with two giant boomerangs.
- Marionette Owl - A former serial killer endowed with owl-like nocturnal vision as a result of his unusual body chemistry. He attacks with his two bunraku puppets named Osan and Kohal, which he uses as decoys in battle.
- Pyro Bison - A pyromaniac armed with a flamethrower fueled with a specially prepared blend.
- Black Arts Viper - The leader of Black Chamber, who uses uses a prosthetic left arm. A boobytrap specialist who utilizes optical illusions.
[edit] Story
A new Metal Gear prototype codenamed "Gander" has been stolen by a separatist guerrilla group in the region of Gindra in Central Africa. The group, known as the Gindra Liberation Front (or GLF), plans on using the prototype as a means of achieving victory in an ongoing civil war. Solid Snake, the FOXHOUND operative responsible for the destruction of the original Metal Gear seven years before, is brought back from his retirement in Alaska, His mission is to infiltrate the group's headquarters Galuade, the fortress that was formerly Outer Heaven.
During the course of his mission, Snake teams up with Chris Jenner, a surviving member of the Delta Force that was sent before him to retrieve Gander. His main adversaries are Black Chamber, a group of mercenaries with abilities and codenames resembling those of FOXHOUND. In the end, he uncovers a conspiracy involving the GLF and US Government.
[edit] Production
The game was produced under the request of Konami's European division to release a Game Boy Color version of Metal Gear Solid.[1]
In the Japanese and European releases of the game, the CODEC frequency 140.07 (see James Bond) is included next to Shuyo Murata's entry in the credits. Calling this channel in-game launches Idea Spy 2.5, a comical radio play. Murata would go on to write a similarly styled extra in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, before co-writing Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and becoming co-director of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. In 2006, Idea Spy 2.5 was adapted into an actual radio drama streamed on Konami of Japan's website, with Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima playing the title role. Shuyo Murata also plays one of the boss characters. The full drama was released on CD in Japan on February 14th, 2007.
[edit] Reception
The game was very well received by the critics archieving an average of 96% at Gamerankings.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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