Submitted by: Shinigami

"Metal Gear Solid" (PlayStation, Released in 1998)
This game begins with the retired special agent codenamed Solid Snake being sent on one last mission at the request of his old colonel, Ray Campbell. The threat is coming from a secret weapons base in Alaska on a remote location, called Shadow Moses Island. Apparently, a group of terrorists are holding the weapons base hostage inorder to get some nuclear weapons for their own needs. The alleged terrorists are a group of specialized agents, like Snake, that once worked for the United States government, recently turned rogue for a reason that comes later within the story.
SPOILERS!!!!!!!!! Essentially you find out the reason for them taking over the weapons facility is to steal a Metal Gear that is being developed. A Metal Gear is a bipedal robot that is man-controlled that is very devastating and often contains nuclear weapons, thus making it a very very dangerous enemy.
They are known as the FOXHOUND unit, and it consists of different members that you fight in the form of boss battles throughout the game. The leader of this rogue FOXHOUND unit is codenamed Liquid Snake, the twin brother of Solid Snake. The game is a mixture of stealth (being able to sneak behind enemies and take them out quietly, or walking around hidden under boxes) and action. You can choose to be sneaky, or go guns ablazing. Its entirely your preference on how you want to play, which is a big fun point of this series.

"Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" (PlayStation 2, Released in 2001)
This game takes place after the original MGS, and is split into two parts. The first part is you taking control of Solid Snake once again for a while on a tanker that is under suspicion of carrying a new type of Metal Gear. Snake is sent in to investigate. The second part's protagonist is a young new agent codenamed Raiden. He is sent on his first mission to investigate a terrorist group that has taken an oil plant, along with the President of the United States, hostage unless they receive their demands. This game continues the story of the Metal Gear Solid series and is very confusing unless you are familiar with the story.

"Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" (PlayStation 2, Released in 2004)
Okay, this game is a PREQUEL to the Metal Gear Solid series. It takes place in the 60's, with the protagonist being a young, new agent codenamed Naked Snake. This game virtually links the previous games together and MUST BE played in order to understand much of everything. In order to avoid spoiling the series for you, I will leave it at that. However, this game expands on the series tremendously. Wherein the first two games, it was primarily in a closed off, urban environments, "Snake Eater" entirely takes place within this vast jungle. Because of this there are new game mechanics added to make it much more fun. First off, there is now a camoflauge system. You can find new camo patterns while progressing through the game, and change them at anytime within the start menu. Camoflauge has an extreme effect on how you play this game: There is now a "Visibility %" so to speak. At the top right of the screen there is essentially a percent that shows the chance of you being spotted by an enemy. Therefore if you are wearing a "Fire Camo" and are lying on the grass trying to hide, chances are your % will be very low and you will be spotted instantly. However, if you are wearing a "Moss Camo" and are doing the same, your % will be much much more higher, and you will not be seen as easily. This adds a lot of depth to the stealthiness of the game.

"Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" (PlayStation 3, Released in 2008)
Solid Snake is back in his final mission to stop Liquid. He comes across many familiar faces throughout the journey, and he is sent to many different places throughout the game. I cannot really reveal anything else about the story without spoiling. Anyways, this game is on the PlayStation 3, so the graphics are beautiful, and the gameplay is better than ever. This is a definate choice to own if you have a PS3 and have already play the rest of the MGS series...One of my favorite games, period.

and finally... "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes" (Gamecube, Released in 2004)
Basically a remake of the first Metal Gear Solid, but now on the Nintendo Gamecube. Graphics are exponentially better, and a few things have been changed. First off, some of the cutscenes from the first MGS have been changed slightly, making it more actiony, but if you have not played the first then you will not notice this at all. Secondly, the game mechanics have been improved greatly as well. In the first for the Playstation, you were not able to aim in first person, but in this one you can. This makes shooting and aiming much more easy and is less frustrating. I honestly prefer this version of the original, and recommend it to those with a Wii or Gamecube!