MGS is an action game at heart, but it is an action game with an amazing cinematic experience built around it. You play Solid Snake a tough-as-nails agent who has been sent in to single handedly take a down a group of terrorists who are threatening the US government with blackmail. Snake arrives at the terrorist's Alaskan hideout armed only with a packet of smokes and a bad attitude. Nearly half of MGS takes place in story sequences which are non-interactive. As the game progresses the player assumes the role of Snake more and more and this adds to the games strong plot based cinematic story.

The story progresses in two ways, through dialogue only sequences which take place on Snake's radio or through in-game cutscenes. For the most part these sequences work very well and add a lot to the story but at times they can drag a little. Some of the characters tend to deliver rather long-winded monologues explaning the justification for their actions but this is a minor flaw.

Thankfully these sequences are interspersed with the brilliant action component of the game. You view Snake from a top-down perspective as he goes about his business of infiltrating the terrorist hideout. The view can be switched to first person to peer around corners and when Snake backs up against a wall it automatically switches to a view where Snake can see what lurks around the corner. In the top right hand corner of the screen there is a radar which highlights the position of guards and security cameras. This can be used to plot the best route to avoid enemy contact. Avoiding this contact is a necessity, if the enemies locate Snake an alarm sounds and he is rushed by enemy forces. Usually the only course of action if this occurs is to hide and wait for the alarm to finish and for the guards to return their duties. Obviously terrorists have a very short memory.