My 100 Most Favorite Video Games of All Time #87: Metal Gear Solid

Anyone who has played Metal Gear Solid (MGS) felt their pulse quicken upon seeing that this was my choice for this column. As someone who has repeatedly stated that he doesn't find a story important in video games, this must seem like an odd choice ... and it is ... because the story is what makes it so damn good.

My first exposure to the MGS universe was seeing an ad for the Nintendo game in a comic book. The ad laid out all the gear you could use. It made the game seem pretty interesting, but when I got to actually play it I found that it was not all that great. So when MGS came out for the PlayStation I was hesitant. Then I started reading reviews ...

I don't know what it was about what I was reading, but the game sounded like something I needed to try out. I actually sounded kind of, I don't know, epic? It turns out it was.

Sure, the game has its ridiculous moments. Hiding in cardboard boxes that you carry around with you? Whatever. Ketchup that fools guards into thinking it is blood? Not likely. But those moments that stretch credibility were actually few and far between. All the other stuff was kind of brilliant. Taking on a sniper. Going up against a psychic warrior of some sort that read the games on your memory card. Finding new and interesting ways to use the items in your inventory. Discovering secret codes on the back of the game case. Sneaking through hallways avoiding the usual fights. It made for an immerse experience and had a story that felt like it mattered. Take that all together and it made Metal Gear Solid more of an experience than a game. And it is one of the few where I think the story does actually make the game better. I can't say that about many games, but I can say it about this one.

My 100 Most Favorite Video Games of All Time #88: Doom

DOOM. How could it not be on the list? It was the game that changed all games and solidified first-person shooters as a force to be reckoned with in the gaming world.

The story involved ... well, forget the story. Who cared about the story? All you needed to know was that you were an unnamed space marine (or soldier, or whatever) who was battling demons in what looked to be Hell. That's it. 3D graphics, creepy looking environments, chewing noises ... all of that worked to immerse you into this world you had never been to before and it worked wonderfully. The game was a huge hit and spawned several sequels; novels, which I never read; and two films, which I never saw. Why did I avoid them? Again, who cares about the story? I just wanted to shoot demons and blow them up. I think those who try too hard to throw a story onto a game are usually misguided at best, and this was one of those cases.

I did, however, play a few of the sequels, and found them to be much of the same. None of them were able to match how groundbreaking that first game was, though. And that speaks volumes to the developer, Id. This was gold straight from the box, and sequels in no way made it better, but nor did they dilute what the first one brought to the table.

It's been years since I've played it, but writing about it makes me want to pick it up again just to see how it holds up, but being currently addicted to Marvel Puzzle Quest makes that unlikely to happen any time soon.