And if not that, then you're just lying through your teeth. And if not there, the first time you fought Psycho Mantis without knowing to switch control ports. Admit it: you know you were a nervous wreck the first time you realized that the guards could track your snowy footprints. It was the first game I could remember having to train hard to play, and it helped, but it was still tense.

From the way that it brought the backstory into the forefront, to the immersive nature of its story and gameplay, MGS is my absolute favorite PSone title. I still nailed a 3.5 for that semester, but I'd never advise student readers to follow in my footsteps. No game set that in stone nearly as much as Metal Gear Solid, which I mowed through as quickly as possible the first time because I so wisely started playing it just before final exams. Sterling: I'm probably giving away my age by waxing nostalgic about my college days throughout this feature, but it was the period that helped make me the game journalist that I am today. It was one of the freshest games of the PlayStation era and is still an absolute staple of nostalgic gamer's collection. From the cardboard box that Snake used to creep around to the cigarettes he smoked, it was the little touches that made it feel like something new and original instead of being simply a rehash that cashed in on the 3D craze. MGS managed to incorporate classic elements of the NES Metal Gear into the PlayStation's newer technologies and fleshed them out exponentially. The timing was certainly perfect for its release, as well children of the '80s who lacked the patience for stealth gaming adapted nicely as pre-millennial teens and adults. Elements of stealth gameplay that are now considered the norm, if not clichГ©, found their origins in Metal Gear Solid. Kojima's obsessive attention to detail, especially in regard to history, American military tactics, and weaponry, gave it a dose of realism to balance out a strange gallery of cartoonish bosses. Featuring some of the best voice acting up to that point, and state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, it stands as the pinnacle of multiple innovations in late-'90s gaming. Unlike other rehashes of NES third-party classics for the PlayStation generation, Metal Gear Solid took its 8-bit mythos and stretched it out into Hollywood-like proportions. Metal Gear Solid From the amphibious opening cinematic to the finale in the snowy Alaskan wilderness, Hideo Kojima's epic grabbed millions and never let go.

Top 25 playstation 1 games