Metal Gear Solid Touch Review
I can still remember playing the original Metal Gear and really liking the fact that you just couldn’t shoot your way through every mission. And it’s certainly not just me, the game is very popular. MGS has made people hide under a box, came up with a strange turn-based card version, thrown in time shifts and other bizarre plot twists, and yet, continues to draw in fans.
In fact, Snake is basically the Madonna of the video game world. He’s always changing, but always with great quality and, even though there will be some critics, Snake always lands on his feet and the fans love it.
The latest change for the Snake, or should I say “Old Snake”, is his launch onto the App Store. Metal Gear Solid Touch is another departure from what we’ve seen in the past from Konami, but like every other change, it’s a fun game and there are plenty of good reasons to embrace the change.
Before things get too crazy, it needs to be known that MGST is much closer to a Time Crisis type game than anything you might be expecting from this series. Snake won’t be sneaking up on anyone, but he will be doing a lot of shooting and that’s still a good thing.
But while I say it’s “like” Time Crisis, there is more to it than just the basics. There is much more control in this game than you might expect. Using touch control you drag the cross hair over a target, then a simple tap of the screen fires a shot. And it’s good to know that your touch is not “on” the cross hair. Wherever you touch, the cross hair moves and it’s easy to see your target at all times. It works very well and actually becomes quite fun.
Switching weapons is also easy. To go into sniper mode you just pinch the screen and bring up a close up. Pinch it back in and your back to your trusty M4. For a straight shoot ‘em up game, the controls are not only more involved than other games of this genre… they’re infinitely better.
MGST also has a nice storyline going through it. Sure it’s Metal Gear Solid 4, but for those who don’t have a PS3 it’s a chance to see what’s new with their favorite characters.
Graphically the game works very nicely. The backgrounds are all rich and the characters pop out clearly. Sound wise the game is also top notch and the shots ring out from your speakers.
Replay factor is one thing that most people will be wanting in a game like this, especially with the price tag. I can tell you that I think it’s there, but it depends on the type of person you are. When you complete a level you are given a score for that level and a codename. That codename is basically your grade and if you are the type that isn’t satisfied until you get a great grade (“Fox” in this case), you’ll be playing through levels again and again to improve.
You also earn Drebin Points (DPs) after completing a level (the better you do the more DPs you get) and you can exchange them for MGS wallpaper. There are 15 different styles in the current version. MGS fans might find it worth the price just for that… or they might just grab them from the internet.
The game is a little short on substance and time. An hour with the game and you can make your way through the current levels. More levels are planned in an update, but that’s still not going to take it up to the type of game play (time-wise) fans are used to having in a Metal Gear game. And the action can get a bit repetitive since you’re pretty much just shooting people in different settings.
But I think people need to step back when they’re looking at this game. Compared to other MGS games it might seems a little light. But compared to Time Crisis or Duck Hunt (for some reason people keep comparing it to Duck Hunt), the game is head and shoulders better in terms of control, looks, sound, replay… Heck, in terms of everything.
No, it’s not a real FPS, and, no, there is no stealth factor you’re used to seeing, but it’s still a very fun game. And in the words of my 13-year-old son, who has played every MG game several times over… “It’s Awesome!”.
Once again, Snake has shed his skin and given us a different version of himself. This time it’s a wonderful shooter with fast play potential and a chance to have some fun with characters we love. Metal Gear fans will find plenty to like in this game and at the end of the day… that’s what really counts.
The Good
It’s Metal Gear Solid, On The Go!
Control Is Very Nice For A Shooter
Graphics & Sound Are GreatThe Bad
The Game Isn’t Long Enough
Price Will Be A Factor To Many
Can Get A Bit Repetitive
Related posts:
- Rogue Touch Review
- Touch KO Images and Gameplay
- Review: Reiner Knizia’s Samurai Delivers Solid Strategy Game in an Elegant Presentation
Category: Games
Congratulations to “Catango” You have been selected as the winner of the free application contest from appVersity.com
For those of you not familiar with the free Premium code give away contests we have here please visit this url and start winning free apps today! You would be crazy not to!
http://www.appversity.com/featured-articles/appversity-gives-away-free-apps/
looks awesome!!!
Just a lower asking price and i’m sure this will be high on the top paid apps.
I think many people can’t look past the Metal Gear name. If you look at the game itself, it looks like an amazing game. If it had almost any other name,it would not be getting so much criticism. I want this game!
i played some metal gear’s on my pc
they make of course a lot of fun
when i heard metal gear will be released for itouch i was very happy
i thought it is some kind of brothers in arms
then i saw some videos and i was just dissapointed
you just stand at one place and shoot….
great shooter but i dunno if the graphics are that well beacuse its maybe only a picture …
i would like if you could walk .. and not only stand at one place ..
but its cool
played it on the iphone of my mate
hope i win
looks pretty sweet
wow now that looks like a fun shooter good graphics good controls and it metal gear as well
this game looks amazing, the graphics are very similar in style to the ps3 version and ive been waiting almost a year for this game to come out. the only downside of this game is that its a it short and expensive, but other than that its a winner.
seems a bit expensive for tap to shoot, ill have to wait for a price drop
It looks very cool, but the steep price may cause people to wait and see.
The graphics are awesome! It is a wild game!
Thanks for the review!
yea this definitely looks like a more sophisticated touch-to-shoot. It would be an upgrade for me from Time Crisis Strike. 7.99 is pretty steep for a game with a short storyline though.
i dunno, i just kinda find it funny that everyone (including me) is freaking out about an $8.00 game, when i will happily drop that much for a movie ticket
I think the thing is all movie tickets are priced the same, while on the App Store, sometimes 99 cents can get you just as much fun for $5 or $10, so that part matters.
Hmm. Not sure what to think on one hand this looks like a way to scrap cash from the MGS name or a testing of the waters so to speak. Im not sure why they didn’t just port over ACID or ACID2 it would have been a GREAT iPhone game and not some point and shoot!
I might buy it when it’s $1.00
i think this will sell well based on the fact that it is MGS alone. Doesnt seem like an amazing app though. It does seem high quality for a touch to shoot, but its expensive and not a true MGS game.
I have to admit: I’ve never played any metal gear game, ever. So as a noob this actually sounds pretty good.
The hope is that they add additional levels in the future because right now, the initial impressions is that it’s pretty light.
Graphics look excellent, and it’s probably just “another tap shooter”, but it is MGS!
I’d check it out…
i love playing mgs on my plastation but this seems like a real letdown. While it does seem like a high quality tap to shoot game, $7.99 is alot and its really not in the classic mgs mold. A good looking game in its own right, but a seeming letdown in terms of MGS.
the fact that you can have a scope view is amazing! also, i dont mind that the game is a little repetitive.
Though it looks repetitive, I will love to try it because it is a shooter game. I played counterstrike on pc and love it.
I love counterstroke and still play it today
I’ll wait for a big price drop or hopefully I’ll be lucky in the drawing for the code.
*crosses fingers*
The game does look fantastic, and I love Metal Gear games to death, but the price is pretty ridiculous. I am dying to play this game now, and I definitely can’t be spending that much for an app. With that much money I would just buy an album or something instead. I am dying to play it and all and hope I can get it sometime, but I don’t think I’ll ever be paying that much for a single app. I dunno if it is worth it, but it does look like a fun game. Hopefully a friend gets it so I can play the game sometime.
ok first of let me say i have been waiting to get this app and now with this givaway i can!!! but how do you get these huge companies to give you codes?
I’ll admit that the price will have some thinking about buying it, but I will say that I bought the game to do the review and I have no regrets on it. It will be interesting to see if they do a price drop on it. For me I always look at a game that’s $5 or more and ask myself if I’ll spend more than three hours of time playing it. MGST will probably it right about that time without the coming update, so I’m not going to get way more than my monies worth out of it, but I’ll get at least that and my son is very happy I got it, so that’s a plus.
One thing I forgot to put in the review is that you get to shoot at little bonus things. If you shoot a duck when it appears you get some life back and when you hit the frog you can get a rocket launcher.
And when you take your finger off the screen Snake ducks down for cover (though it won’t protect you from everything). That bit is pretty close to time Crisis.
Sorry to forget adding those bits. I was trying to get the review out quickly because I knew you’d all want to know…
Bob
Now we have a pretty touch-to-shoot game in the app store
Hopefully the promised free upgrade later will male the game much more appealing. I’m a little hesitant, because of the controls, was hoping more for a BIA styled game.
This game looks to have incredible amounts of polish in it. I’m more of a pick up and game type of person, I don’t spend longer than 10 min playing on my iTouch at any one time, so this game looks fantastic to me. However, price is a factor and I wouldn’t spend $8 on a game unless I’m absolutely sure I’ll love it.
wow….if the price was lower i would have it already
nice graphics. But repetetiveness is not a plus. Too pricey i think. I cant believe you got a promo. Nice review.
This game should not have Metal Gear Solid in its name. The graphics however looks stunning…