While at one point I considered myself a dedicated gamer, a lack of time has pulled me from the medium. For the past five years I’ve probably completed one game a year, and to dedicate the remnants of my hobby, I’ll throw up a review with each game completion.

Everyone keeps dying on the player, but it’s almost like they expect it.

As argued by key characters of Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, if you’re born a fighter, you expect to die on a battlefield. It’s in one’s genes. Fate is written in stone, life is nothing more than a waiting line for destiny.

Behind the military espionage and untrustworthy government officials, Metal Gear Solid is a story depicting the struggles with one’s own genes. Some people are naturally stronger, some naturally have better vision, and some have recessive traits compared to others. Metal Gear Solid questions how much those genes should impact one’s character.

Genes in this case can mean many things. Genes can mean DNA, as shared between the game’s main character, Solid Snake, and his nemesis, Liquid Snake. Or the term can apply to one’s upbringing, such as the battled areas of Russia, or growing up with a murderous brother.

Clearly being born into certain traits affects a character, but the villains in Metal Gear Solid have all thrown in the towel to their already decided fates. When Sniper Wolf, a Russian sniper who obsesses over her subjects until their death, is killed by an opposing sniper rifle, she accepts her death as an escape from her destiny. Holding her rifle with her dying breath, she says she can finally stop killing — not because of her own will, but because her own death forces it.

With death near, Psycho Mantis, a psychic known for torture, asks for his breathing mask to be removed, so that he can finally take in the Earth’s fresh air. By removing his mask, he’s also removing his costume as a villain. Underneath is a frail aging man, lying in his own blood. After a few breaths Mantis dies, having waited too late to take off his mask and form his own destiny.

The heroes in the story are the ones who take control of their paths. Hal Emerich Otacon, the doctor who engineered the nuclear tank Metal Gear, spends his life living in numbers, only to abandon them when he discovers his machine will be used in nuclear war. In one of the game’s endings, Hal sacrifices his life for the team, making a personal decision to stay behind and ensure a safe escape for the player. Hal rewrites his story by choosing to become a hero for the hero.

Both Solid and Liquid Snake share the genes of one of the world’s most feared killers, yet Snake fights for the end of nuclear war, and Liquid strives for world domination. Clearly you’re free to write your own path regardless of your genes.

In the game’s final moments, after the credits and soundtrack complete, the vast space of Alaska is shown as Solid Snake looks at his dogs as he bobsleds through the snow. The voice over says “Live life,” and not a gun, bullet, or blood spot is visible anywhere on the screen.

Metal Gear Solid was first released on the original Playstation in 1998. This review is based off the re-released version for the Nintendo GameCube, which features new character and level models, surround sound, and enhanced gameplay. The revised presentation makes this cinematic game shine. However, the enhanced gameplay features make the game a little easier, such as the new first-person aiming mode which lets users shoot cameras, rather than forcing them to hide from them. The controls also didn’t adopt perfectly to the new platform, so expect some frustrating sneaking missions as your character gets caught due to character movement into unexpected locations.