FA-MAS (FA-MAS rifle)

A French bullpup assault rifle featured as a usable weapon in the 1998 stealth-action game Metal Gear Solid and its related releases.

Action

Games

1998–2002

Years

Platforms

About

In Metal Gear Solid (1998), the FA-MAS is a fully automatic assault rifle equipped with a laser sight, utilized by both Solid Snake and the Genome Soldiers. It serves as the primary automatic firearm available to the player, found in the warhead storage building. The weapon also appears in related promotional and demo releases, including the Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions Demo CD.

Within the Metal Gear Solid franchise, this bullpup firearm represents a mechanical milestone for the stealth-action genre, introducing tactical shooting elements that balance firepower with noise discipline. Firing the weapon alerts nearby enemies unless players utilize specific stealth strategies, making its deployment a calculated risk during infiltration missions. In the original Metal Gear Solid (1998), players can execute a run-and-gun technique by holding down the crawl button while firing, a crucial mechanic for surviving intense scripted ambushes.

The weapon's presence extended across several promotional and utility releases of the era. On the Metal Gear Solid SharkByte Memory Card (1998), specialized save data allowed players to bypass standard progression to access the rifle immediately with modified parameters. It also served as a key gameplay showcase in early hands-on samplers, including the Metal Gear Solid Demo CD (2002) and the Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions Demo CD (1999), where its inclusion demonstrated the game's physics, recoil, and projectile tracking to audiences prior to full release. This weapon established the template for how assault rifles would function in subsequent stealth-action titles.