Metal Gear Solid North American boxart (source)

Metal Gear Solid is the third game released in the franchise and the first to feature Solid in the title. It was released in 1998 for the Playstation and is a sequal to the earlier MSX2 games. It was possibly the first game to feature a long and complex narrative that rivals most feature length films.

The Year is 2005, Solid Snake is forced out of retirement to undertake yet another espionage mission. He is sent to the remote island of Shadow Moses to stop the new incarnation of Foxhound, lead by his brother Liquid Snake. Foxhound is threatening to launch a nuclear device and Snake's mission is to investigate whether they have the capabilties to do so and stop him if they do.

Metal Gear Solid takes advantage of the Playstation's processing power and makes the switch from the 2d visuals of the older games to a completely 3d world. Snake must still travel through the game avoiding dectection, though he, and his enemies have a much greater range of moves and tactics at their disposal.

The game was an outstanding critical and commercial success.It was praised for it's deep and complex plot and well written dialogue. It received a Metacritic score of 94. Metal Gear Solid is responsible for bringing the stealth genre to the mainstream, and has influenced many similar games such as the Splinter Cell series and Assassin's Creed.