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Metal Gear
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami NES Ultra Games
Designer(s)	Hideo Kojima
Release date(s)	MSX  July 12, 1987  September, 1987 NES  December 22, 1987  June, 1988  March, 1989 MS-DOS, Commodore 64/128  June, 1990  June, 1990 Mobile  August 18, 2004  2008 PlayStation 2  2006
Genre(s)	Stealth, Action
System(s)	MSX2, NES, MS-DOS, C64, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Mobile
Followed by	Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Series	Metal Gear

This is the first game in the Metal Gear series. For other games in the series see the Metal Gear category.

Metal Gear (メタルギア, Metaru Gia) (commonly abbreviated MG) is a stealth game designed by Hideo Kojima. Metal Gear was developed and first published by Konami in 1987 for the MSX2 home computer. The game is considered to be the progenitor of the stealth game genre, in which avoiding direct encounter with the enemy is emphasized over attacking openly.

The premise revolves around a special forces operative codenamed Solid Snake who goes into a solo infiltration mission into the fortified state of Outer Heaven to destroy Metal Gear, a bipedal walking tank capable of launching nuclear missiles from anywhere in the world.

The MSX2 version was initially released only in Japan and the Netherlands. A heavily altered port for the Japanese Family Computer and its western counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System, was released months afterwards. The original MSX2 version would be ported to mobile phones in Japan in 2004, followed by its inclusion in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PlayStation 2 in 2006, which led to a more mainstream English localization of the original MSX2 game in North America and Europe.

NES cover art.

GameCube cover art.

[edit] Plot

Translated from the Japanese MSX2 and Famicom version's manual:

"Near the end of the 20th century, a special forces unit was founded in secrecy in order to deal with local insurgency, regional conflicts, and terrorist activities. Its name is Special Forces Group FOXHOUND. The unit specializes in carrying out unconventional warfare by infiltrating into hostile territories in total secrecy which are too politically sensitive to intervene through normal military force. They are regarded as the modern day equivalent of ninjas."

At South Africa, 200km north of Garzburgh, lies Outer Heaven, a fortified military state founded during the late 1980's by a mercenary who was said to be a hero and a lunatic at the same time... Something was now amidst at Outer Heaven. A dreadful new type of weapon of mass destruction that could change the history of warfare was being developed. Gray Fox, a member of FOXHOUND, was sent to gather information on the new super weapon. However, contact with Gray Fox is lost several days later and his last transmission simply says "Metal Gear"... Could Gray Fox's disappearance be evidence of this new weapon?

Orders are given to FOXHOUND once again. This time, the infiltrator is Solid Snake, a rookie soldier who was recently enlisted into FOXHOUND. His objective is to ascertain the whereabouts of Gray Fox, uncover the true nature of Metal Gear and destroy it if necessary.

Alone and armed with nothing but a wireless transceiver, Solid Snake is sent to the battlefield for the first time. It is said that Outer Heaven has gathered many of the world's most elite mercenaries from several nations. Can Solid Snake truly carry out his mission?

"Solid Snake." The voice of Big Boss, the supreme commander of FOXHOUND, came out from the transceiver. "You're not in a field exercise, this is actual combat! I'll wish you good luck." He began hearing the sound of gunfire inside his head...

Table of Contents

[edit] External links

• Maps for Metal Gear at NESMaps