by Nike Okami
Metal Gear Solid, directed by Hideo Kojima and developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, is one of the most successful and stylish franchises ever in gaming. However, come June 12th and it’ll all be over.No, the end of the world is not imminent (unless Jack Thompson takes a sudden interest in Patapon).
Metal Gear Solid 4 will be the series’ final installment after about 10 years of interactive story-telling, tense stealth segments and innovative boss battles. While hopes aren’t exactly dim about a comeback (after all, this is the same company who won’t let Dracula or their famed Castlevania franchise die), it’s safe to say that we’ll see the end of Hideo Kojima’s vivid, at times, insane, vision.
In this two-part countdown to MGS4, let’s take a look at the moments that shook Solid Snake, the world of Metal Gear and gaming itself as we knew it.
1. Psychic Showdown (and loss) with Psycho Mantis
It’s pretty much a given now that any thing remotely alluding to ‘cool’ or ‘freaky’ in Metal Gear Solid will talk about Psycho Mantis and his out-of-the box mind-games.
What still makes this boss-fight amazing even till now is (a) It used the technology of the Playstation, like force-feedback and plugging your controller into the second port to start the battle, to break the fourth wall (b) Your memory card was an open book to Mantis, and depending on how well you played Castlevania, that was either a good or bad thing, and (c) of all things he could have commanded Meryl to do, shooting herself was the least expected, resulting in a shocking game-over for those too slow to respond.
This Russian former KGB psychic may have been crazy, but he sure knew how to best mess with Solid Snake: Through the gamer himself.
2. Re-enter Raiden
That’s right. Re-enter. This pretty boy came into the MGS clique in the worst way possible: Replacing Solid Snake. People hated his whiny attitude and feminine appearance even when they enjoyed the next-gen gameplay of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
However, not even the worst Raiden-hater could have anticipated his re-introduction in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. With a new cybernetic suit, much like that of Grey Fox in the original MGS, Raiden single-handedly dismantled more than a dozen of the same Metal Gears that had Old Snake in hiding. Of all the things first talked about on the announcement of MGS4, Raiden’s return was one of the coolest.
3. The Betrayal of a Life-time
A key-point in Metal Gear Solid story events seemed to be that the hotter a female ally, the higher chances of her being a double-agent, either screwing you over (most times, only figuratively) or saving you at a crucial point in the story.
Naomi Hunter, Olga Gurlukovich and Eva are prime examples. However, it was McDonald Miller, Solid Snake’s ex-mentor, in Metal Gear Solid who would perform the ultimate turn-coat act.
After guiding Snake through every obstacle, gaining his trust when Naomi’s double dealing had him distracted, he helped Snake deactivate Metal Gear REX… only to actually have it activated.
Sure, you can’t call him a true double-agent. However, even if the ally was fake, the betrayal most assuredly was not, and this was only accumulated when the fake was antagonist extra-ordinaire Liquid Snake.
Having to face REX wasn’t exactly a blessing either, but at least it was alone, too.
4. When One is Just Not Enough
After trashing REX, gamers walked into MGS2, asking, “Who’s next?” First, there was the news that every nuclear capable nation on the planet had it’s own REX. Then, there was the unveiling of Arsenal Gear, a mechanical behemoth capable of producing the same Metal Gear RAY that could wipe the floor with the various REXs.
In fact, it was beyond simply capable, as seen when Raiden had to take on 25 RAY units, all by his lone metro-sexual self. Luckily, Olga and a successful virus transfer intervened to save him. That didn’t change the fact that no matter what difficulty you played on, one way or another, at least 3 RAY units had to be taken down. Now, in Metal Gear Solid 4, we have the climatic (or anti-climatic, you never know) fight scene between a Solid Snake-piloted REX and a Liquid Snake-piloted RAY. Konami should release a body-count on the number of Metal Gears slayed in this title.
5. Double Agent Boss
Just when you thought you saved the world, and everything you were fighting for was just, it all blows up in your face.
The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater had everything necessary to take on Naked Snake - which is obvious since she was his mentor, the one he looked up to. He walked into the mission and prepared to defeat a defector.
He left the mission with the truth: The Boss was a double-agent, who not only infiltrated Volgin’s forces to retrieve the Philosopher’s Legacy, an amount totaling $1 Trillion, but died as a traitor so that America’s innocence in Volgin’s earlier nuclear attack could be proved.
If anything was more painful to Snake than losing an ally to the forces of evil, it was losing an ally to the greed of one’s country. This was one of the first major lessons that would await the newly christened Big Boss, though the effects would be perceived only much later.
Stay tuned for part 2, where we capitulate more amazing events of the MGS series, some which baffled players as much surprising them.
Leave a Reply