Metal Gear Solid -- First Impressions Review

Category: games, shooters
Price: 7.99
App Store Link: [Full] / No Lite Version

Review: Initial Impression -- Like it... I guess

Recommendation: Not your typical MGS gameplay, but still a strong app. Basically it's a glorified "touch 'n' shoot" along the lines of Wild West Guns, Time Crisis, and Shooter. And the 12 stages available at initial release only take about 45 mins to play through. Unless you're a die hard MGS fan or a die hard touch 'n' shoot fan, the steep $7.99 asking price will probably be a major deterrent, making the game not worth the price.

Replay Value: Medium-low

This one is definitely going to cause some controversy over the steep 7.99 price tag. It would seem gamers are paying more for the name than the gameplay. In this advanced release, games are given 12 of the eventual 20 levels (still, thats not very many considering the first 12 only took about 45 mins to complete). In this "touch 'n' shoot" style game, players will control Old Snake. Gameplay is fairly simple; basically players sit behind a wall for cover, and then pop up to shoot enemies when the timing is right.

The game had some fun & clever features; using pinch to switch to sniper mode, for example, is an excellent mechanic, and the touch controls are well done. The detailed storyline is fun, but at $7.99, I think most players will expect cinematics, not large paragraphs of text. Unfortunately, on the whole, there isn't much here that gamers haven't seen somewhere else. Players really only have 2 weapons to choose from (though a power-up offers a 1-time use 3rd weapon) The majority of the missions are very easy, though some of the later levels do offer a significant challenge.

Once you've been the game, however, you unlock Survival Mode. In Survival Mode, your life bar does not reset at the beginning of each level, and once it's gone, you have to start from the beginning (i.e. no continues). Survival Mode will be the hardcore gamers' true test of skill, but that said, the replay value of the levels are pretty low, so I can't imagine many players overly excited to go through the game a 2nd or 3rd time. This becomes even more of a problem when trying to purchase unlockable wallpapers; earning the cash to buy these requires multiple play-throughs.

Overall, this game is fun and enjoyable for it's first playthrough--a whopping 45 minutes for 12 levels. Even when the developers add the additional 8 levels their promising, I can't imagine full gameplay being more than about two hours (at best). As one of the higher priced games on the App Store, I think Metal Gear Solid Touch may leave gamers disappointed with the brevity of the title . Unless you're a true MGS fan, you'd probably be better off steering clear of this title, and picking up a cheaper shooter with more content.

Click to Enlarge

Gameplay Video:

What we'd like to see in future updates: More content; more levels; more weapons; adjustable crosshair movement sensitivity settings; cinematic (or at least narrated text).

~M@