Metal Gear Solid by Raymond Benson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Metal Gear Solid
Book Review: Metal Gear is Well-Suited for Books
Summary: 3 Stars
But this isn't so great. I can't help but wonder how or why this Raymond Benson was let to do the novelization of Metal Gear Solid. Obviously no one ever told him the old adage "show, don't tell" because he does a lot of telling. And some of my favorite moments of MGS:TTS were omitted (though I'm not sure if the book is based on the original MGS or the remake. If it was based on the original, this could be okay.) I have no idea why Ocelot got a prosthetic arm in this novel, though, since he wasn't supposed to until MGS2.
The novel goes through the actions of the game to almost exact detail except for a few points. Many choice lines were kept from the original script or changed around only slightly. And the boss battles were changed to be slightly more realistic (Snake obviously couldn't hold fifty Stinger missile projectiles or an entire arsenal as he snuck around. He only uses the SOCOM, PSG-1, various grenades, and the Nikita and Stinger).
But it's not really as dramatic. There's little sensory detail. Little description. A lot of it is "Snake did this" "Snake did that" and such. A few things were added like scenes on the submarine and in Master Miller's house and the begining of the book, which is nice. And there was a small tidbit added during a section of the game that referenced an event in one of the early MGS4 trailers, which was neat.
It's not bad, really. I'm a big Metal Gear Solid fan and liked it. But I'd only read it again if I were for some reason unable to play the game. The game's just better. Many of the most dramatic and emotional scenes from MGS:TTS were made a bit bland and some of the most exciting ones were toned down, which is not okay.
It's as three-stars as you can get. It's... solid... enough, but it's not good literature. I'm working on a few novels and I don't consider myself a "great" writer, but I think I could have done a bit better of a job writing this than Mr. Benson. Which really says a lot.
Buy it if you're a big Metal Gear fan. If you want a military-sci-fi story with an intruiging plot but not much else, it might be good for you. But if you're wanting to get into the Metal Gear series or want to see the story in its best form, pick up Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. It's way better and can be picked up for less than $20 and a GameCube for less than $100. If you think it's not worth it, you're wrong--the game just is that good--good enough to warrant buying a system just for it.
But I hope if there are more Metal Gear novel adaptations to come, someone else comes forward to do them. Sorry, Raymond Benson, but you have more to learn.
Note: Something weird I noticed, too. SPOILERS. If you haven't played the game or read the book, don't continue reading this. I found it odd that Master Miller gave Snake their secret code to switch channels with the suggestion he change cigarette brands. Because Miller couldn't have known about that, being Liquid in disguise. Is this a slip or something the author didn't think about? Or did I miss something?
Book Review: More Liquid than Solid
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, I want to say, this review is coming from a die-hard fan of the Metal Gear Solid series. This Raymond Benson novelization of the hit PS1 classic, Metal Gear Solid, has its ups and downs, but for the most part, does not give the original material enough credit.
It seems to me that the heavy, mature elements that were so beautifully interwoven in the narrative of Metal Gear Solid, the PS1 game, is missing here. Actually, much of the dialogue is, in my opinion, stupider. Very much so, it seems as though Benson "dumbed" it down, perhaps to cater to a wider audience.
Aside from the cheesy dialogue, Benson, for the most part, does a good job of showcasing the original material. This is a must-have book for any Metal Gear Solid collector, and it is pretty cheap. Look out for the book based on the 2nd game, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, to hit bookshelves soon!
4/5
Book Review: Not so solid...
Summary: 2 Stars
I got this for my birthday as a gift after wanting it forever. Once I picked up and started to read even within the first few chapters I was greatly disappointed. Two big flaws bothered me throughout the book which were he either changed things (mostly for the worse) or made Snake or other characters say or do things TOTALLY out of character.
In the book when Snake is "sneaking" and by sneaking I mean going Rambo all over the place. He's suppose to slip in unnoticed yet the author has him killing off every guard left and right. Sometimes it seems or a lot of times the author writes Snake going out of his way to kill guards which is totally out of character. Plus some of the cheese ball lines Snake delivers either make me cringe or laugh they are so bad, such as Snake yelling, "Merry Christmas" and then punching both guards in the face, knocking them out. Then having the nerve to write in, "Oh I forgot to mention, Christmas came early this year."
It's very weird, as by the time you get to the tank hangar he's killed like 6 or 7 guards. And when they mention another intruder (aka the cyborg ninja) that did 3 guards and is using stealth, Snake thinks to himself *What, I've killed more than 3 guards must be another guy*, which is poor writing and logic, because they only could have found 3 bodies, it would have been better if he only did one guard in or none.
Another line worth mentioning that is so out of character and just sounds ridiculous is when Snake says to Colonel over codec after meeting Meryl: "Your niece is one wacky babe." Word for word, I groaned...And literally smacked my forehead it was so bad.
The writing I just felt overall wasn't very good or flattering to the subject matter. The way the author describes things was very strange and not very in depth. The way he relates Snake and Liquid's fight on top of REX to a boxing match was just plain bad among others. Also the unnecessary changes like the heliport being inside? Why? What did we gain from that alteration? Or having no catwalks in the REX hangar, or the rex fight not taking place where it did in the game. The way he finds the cigarettes on site instead of smuggling them in in his stomach. Little things like that make me as a huge MGS fan upset. And they overall make the book that much weaker. I'm not sure the author did his homework. The only thing I wanted to do after reading this was to show I could write a better novel.
I recommend steering clear or reading only if you want to see how badly the great story of MGS could be written.
I wanted to slap myself in the forehead most of the time or rewrite what I was reading. As a long time MGS fan I was greatly let down. The only thing good about this book is when you are done with it.
Book Review: Not to Good
Summary: 3 Stars
I have never played a MGS game, so I went into this book knowing nothing about the series after reading the book (which took me under 4 hours) I decide that the plot is the only thing good about this book, the only character that I cared for was Solid Snake who learns that his mission to overthrow the coup at a nuclear disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island is being controlled by unseen forces and not all is that it seems; Its very intriguing to see him try and found out who the unseen forces are and when you found at it comes at a shock. But besides the plot surrounding solid snake this novel falls apart especially with the cheesy humor ,dialog and characters that the author puts in the story. Also there are very unoriginal ideas in the book like soldiers that have cloned genes which makes them super soldiers(I think that's in every video game and scfi movie), a robot ninja, and of course the whole twins with dark secrets and power. Overall I give this book a 3 out of 5 it was a good try but the god awfully characters that plaque Japan games tear apart this book. On that note I would actually recommend buying a used copy the plot with Solid Snake is worth all the dumb junk.Book Review: Nothing new here
Summary: 2 Stars
Raymond Benson is the author of several James Bond film novelizations and the Splinter Cell novels.
Metal Gear Solid is a scene-for-scene novelization of the game for the Sony Playstation. Every turn, every boss fight, every enemy that is in the game appears in this novel. And that's it. There's nothing added except for a few 3-5 page chapters of events that weren't seen in the game. But I found these chapters rather boring and generic.
Being a fan of the Metal Gear franchise, I was hoping for something more than this book provides. I've played through the game many times, and I found myself bored with this book since I knew the game very well.
The dialog in the novel is sometimes word-for-word from the game. Most of the time, however, follows the game's script but says it in a different way. It is similar to how two different people would translate something into English from another language. The original dialog sometimes made me cringe. For example, at the very beginning when snake is about to follow Liquid Snake up the elevator, he takes out two guards:
"'Merry Christmas,' Snake said as he delivered two powerhouse punches, left and then right, into the guards' faces. The soldiers plopped to the floor. 'I forgot to tell you - Christmas is early this year.'"
What kind of random line is that? It sounds like something a 6th grader might write in a creative writing class. Also, it reminds me of comic books from the 1940's.
If you haven't played Metal Gear Solid, don't even bother with this book. The story and characters in the Metal Gear games are "way out there". I can imagine someone reading this book without prior knowledge of the game and being extremely confused and turned off by the story.
But if you are a diehard fan of Metal Gear Solid, then pick this up. But be warned, there is nothing new here. I felt this was nearly the same as watching a playthrough of the game on Youtube. I was bored most of the time.