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Metal Gear

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For the original video game titled Metal Gear, see Metal Gear. For the titular weapon, see Metal Gear (weapon).
File:Mgs logo.gif
One of many logos; used in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and its sequel. The typeface is Helvetica Ultra Compressed. There is a new logo for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
From top to bottom, Big Boss, Liquid Snake and Solid Snake, three of the central characters in the Metal Gear series.

Metal Gear (メタルギア) is a hugely successful and critically acclaimed series of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. In the series, the player takes control of a Special Forces Operative (Solid Snake in most games) repeatedly facing off against the latest incarnation of the eponymous superweapon, "Metal Gear"; a bipedal walking tank with nuclear launching capabilities. The series is famous for its lengthy cinematic scenes and intricate storylines as well as its exploration of the nature of politics, warfare, censorship, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, loyalty, reality, subjective vs. universal "truths" and also other philosophical themes. The acronym for the series, MGS (Metal Gear Solid) is also an acronym for its central themes: "Meme", "Gene" and "Scene".[1][2]

Games

The original Metal Gear debuted on the MSX2 computer in 1987 in Japan and Europe. This was one of the first games in which using stealth was emphasized over direct confrontation with the enemy, a young Hideo Kojima's response to the shooting-based game designs which prevailed at the time. Many of the series' trademark aspects were already present, including the wireless communicator used by the player's character. The game was later released in North America, Europe and Japan on the NES/Famicom, selling over a million units.

A sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, was released in 1990 for the MSX2 in Japan only. Metal Gear 2 made numerous enhancements and additions to the game, including a deeper and more developed storyline, along with significant improvements in gameplay and AI. Many of its gameplay and plot elements were later carried over to its sequel Metal Gear Solid, though Metal Gear 2 itself was not officially released in Europe or North America for 15 years until it was included in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, but it has been largely copied since its official release in 1990 being also translated to English and Brazilian Portuguese by enthusiasts.

The Metal Gear series made a comeback in 1998 in the form of Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation, which adapted the gameplay of its predecessor Metal Gear 2 in 3D graphics. While the first two Metal Gear titles were moderately successful, Metal Gear Solid was a huge hit, selling over 6 million units.[3] This paved the way for similar stealth-based games and at the same time, established Metal Gear as one of Konami's hallmark series.

Metal Gear Solid was followed by a sequel Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, which sold over 7 million units.[3] Metal Gear Solid 2 was followed by Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in 2004, which was a prequel to the original Metal Gear, and sold approximately 3.75 million units. Both games provided further enhancements to the Metal Gear gameplay and expanded the scope of the Metal Gear storyline. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, an interquel set between the events of Metal Gear Solid 3 and the original Metal Gear is currently available for the PlayStation Portable.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is currently in development, with the tagline: "No Place to Hide." It is to be produced by Kenichiro Imaizumi and Hideo Kojima with Kojima also reprising his role as director along with co-director Shuyo Murata. The game will feature the return of a number of characters from Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

Main games

Fictional chronology
in Metal Gear

The series consists of the following titles (in order of original release) in its official canon:

  1. Metal Gear (MSX2/Famicom/NES/C64/PC/Mobile Phone, 1987)
  2. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX2/Mobile Phone/PlayStation 2, 1990)
  3. Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation, 1998)
  4. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PlayStation 2, 2001)
  5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PlayStation 2, 2004)
  6. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PlayStation Portable, 2006)
  7. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3, June 12, 2008)

Supplemental editions and remakes

Since the release of Metal Gear Solid, there have also been various "special edition" products, with additions, improvements, or brand new content. In Japan, the initial versions of the Metal Gear Solid titles usually feature the original Japanese voice acting, while the updated versions (Integral, Substance) contain the English dubbing from the North American version in their place. An exception was made with the Japanese version of Subsistence, which kept the original Japanese acting.

Additionally, the first Metal Gear Solid has been remade twice: First in a Konami/Silicon Knights co-production titled Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (2004), a GameCube exclusive. This featured fully re-dubbed English voices, many new gameplay features, updated graphics similar to those of Metal Gear Solid 2 and all-new cutscenes, directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, best known for the Japanese cult action movie, Versus.

The second "remake" is actually a conversion of the comic series produced by IDW Publishing & Ashley Wood, titled Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel (Metal Gear Solid: Bande Dessinée in Japan) and was released in 2006. Not a game in the traditional sense, it is comprised of scanned images from comic with added animations and sound effects. The player can scan objects featured in the artwork, which are then saved to a database. A trailer of the game has been posted on Kojima Productions' official website. A similar remake for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty based on the comic adaptation by IDW Publishing & Ashley Wood is being developed as Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel 2.

The updated versions (and what they're updated from) are:

On March 18, 2008, Konami released Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection combining Metal Gear Solid (PS1), Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (PS2), and disk 1 of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2) in one omnibus compilation package to give players a chance to go through the first three Metal Gear Solid games before Guns of the Patriots is released.

Other ports and versions

Shortly after the release of the original MSX2 version of Metal Gear, Konami released a port of the game for Nintendo's Family Computer in Japan and its western counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was the first Metal Gear game released in North America. The NES version was made without Hideo Kojima's involvement and contained several considerable changes, including different level designs and the removal of the Metal Gear mecha. Hideo Kojima has been quoted[citation needed] as saying the NES/Famicom port of Metal Gear was changed quite a bit from the original MSX version. The NES version was the basis of two North American computer ports released in 1990, one for the IBM PC and the other for the Commodore 64. There was an ad for a port of Metal Gear for the Amiga by Ultra Games, but it was never released. The Famicom version was also released for the GameCube in emulated form as part of a Japanese bundle of The Twin Snakes.

In 2000, Konami released a version of the original Metal Gear Solid for PC ported by Microsoft Game Studios. This port was actually based on the Integral re-release and contained both the original game and the VR Missions disc. Metal Gear Solid was planned to be ported to Game.com, but was cancelled.

In 2003, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance was released for the PS2, Xbox and PC.

In 2004, mobile phone ports of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 based on the original MSX2 versions were released in Japan; they feature (among other changes) new game modes and items. Ports of these two versions are included in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. The original MSX version of Metal Gear was offered as download in emulated form for PC in Japan only. This was for their i-Revo services and was an exact copy of the Japanese MSX version.

Non-canonical sequels and spinoffs

In addition to the core titles listed above, a number of Metal Gear related titles have appeared through the course of the series that don't follow the main continuity.[4] The name "Metal Gear' is mentioned in Kojima's other work such as Snatcher and Policenauts, though this is an entirely different series.

The first of these titles was Snake's Revenge, a 1990 NES game that intended to be a sequel to the original Metal Gear. The game was produced in Japan and made specifically for the western market (a Japanese version was never released). Although Hideo Kojima was not involved in the production of the game, Kojima has stated that he liked the game and that it served as his inspiration for Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (which supplanted Snake's Revenge as the canonical sequel). Snake's Revenge was adapted into an LCD handheld game by Tiger Electronics.

The next non-canonical Metal Gear title was Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, a Game Boy Color game released in 2000 and retitled Metal Gear Solid for its English language release. This game uses the storyline of Metal Gear as a backstory (while ignoring the events of Metal Gear 2 and Metal Gear Solid), picking up seven years after.

In 2004, Konami released Metal Gear Acid for the PlayStation Portable. Acid is not a traditional stealth game like the other Metal Gear titles, but instead is a strategy game which combines the stealth elements of the series and card-based interface. A sequel, Metal Gear Acid 2, was released in 2005 in Japan, and 2006 in America and Europe.

Cameos

Every so often characters, areas and music from the Metal Gear series appear as special characters in other games.

Tone and themes

Although the series has a war setting and is of the action genre, and thus contains large amounts of (occasionally graphic) violence, it has an underlying tone of pacifism. This is reflected throughout the series which has dealt with such themes as the futility of war, the stupidity of nuclear deterrence, the dangers of nuclear weapons in general, the psychological effects of warfare on children and adults, the concept that enemies are only enemies in relative terms, and motivations behind the different lifestyles people choose. This tone and some of these themes reflect the mindset of a large amount of the Japanese cinema made since the Hiroshima bombing of 1945. Another recurring theme is the negative portrayal of centralized governments as seen in MGS2: Sons of Liberty.

The original Metal Gear, which was released in 1987 during the Cold War, dealt with the manipulation of soldiers by politicians of the East and West, countered by the concept of "Outer Heaven", a country without politics. Its sequel Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which was released in 1990 at the end of the Cold War, expanded on this with themes regarding political intrigue, battlefield ethics, military history, and the negative effects of warfare.

A common recurring theme throughout the series is the protagonist's mentor betraying him. It begins with Solid Snake being betrayed by Big Boss in Metal Gear then Gray Fox in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and again by Master Miller (Who is actually Liquid Snake) in Metal Gear Solid. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Raiden is coaxed into completing his mission by the "Colonel" who turns out to be nothing more than an A.I. being controlled by the Patriots. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the protagonist, Big Boss (under the codename of Naked Snake), is at first shown to be betrayed by his own mentor, The Boss. However, it is revealed at the end that The Boss was actually fulfilling her own duty by letting herself be killed by her own disciple, Big Boss.

The overarching theme of the Metal Gear Solid series is that of the "gene, meme, and scene" and how people are affected by these factors according to the game's producer Kojima — Metal Gear Solid deals with genetics and the moral implications of genetic engineering, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty deals with how identity can be affected by the philosophies of one's society (a 'meme') and the effects of censorship on society, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater deals with how the time and place one lives in (a 'scene') affects their identity and how politics change along with the times.[5]

The longest running theme of the series is the continued manipulation of soldiers by politicians, countered in the series by a concept called "Outer Heaven". The original main villain, Big Boss, attempted to establish a purely military nation run by mercenaries solely for mercenaries. The succeeding games' villains felt they shared this ideal, coming up with new ways to create this so-called country without politics. Recently, the series has shown Big Boss in prequel games as the protagonist: a mercenary that is continually manipulated and forced through subsequent tragedies for political gain.

"Outer Heaven" has been attempted in many forms. Big Boss attempted to build his ideal state in Southern Africa in Metal Gear and in Central Asia in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Liquid Snake spoke of turning a remote Aleutian island into a sovereign mercenary state in Metal Gear Solid. Solidus attempted to free Manhattan from "the Patriots" or "the La-li-lu-le-lo" in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, "Outer Heaven" is a parent company for private military companies that employs thousands of soldiers without a country.

While every attempt to secure an "Outer Heaven" immediately results in violence, the series balances the argument with politicians continually throwing mercenaries and soldiers to the wind for personal or political gain. In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, several protagonists from Metal Gear return as antagonists after being betrayed by their governments. In Metal Gear Solid, the game's protagonist is purposely infected with a bio weapon because he was expected to fail as well as repeatedly lied to about the nature of his mission. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the main protagonist was raised as a child soldier and inducted into a non-existent covert ops group complete with artificial intelligence stand-ins for commanding officers and loved ones. The prequel game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater shows Big Boss and his mentor's dialogue over the subject of loyalty to a fickle and temporary government while carrying out missions that only benefit politicians at the cost of a soldier's mind, body, heart, and future.

Adaptations to other media

Novelization

A novel based on the original Metal Gear was published in 1989 as a part of Scholastic's Worlds of Power line-up of novelizations created by FX Nine based on third-party NES games. It was written by Alexander Frost. The Metal Gear novelization is not based on the game's actual storyline (as Kojima was not involved in the production of the book), but rather on Konami of America's reinterpretation of the plot (as depicted on the game's manual). The book takes even further liberties by giving Solid Snake the name of Justin Halley (refuted by Metal Gear Solid) and by changing the name of Snake's unit from FOXHOUND to the "Snake Men". Since the books were aimed at younger readers, Snake doesn't kill anyone and only uses his handgun once to destroy a lock and the book's cover was airbrushed to remove Snake's gun. The novel also provided gameplay tips within its own narration.

Radio drama

A radio drama based on the original Metal Gear Solid aired in Japan from 1998 to 1999 as part of Konami's syndicated clud DB program. Directed by Shuyo Murata and written by Motosada Mori, the serial lasted over 18 weekly installments spanning three story arcs. The entire series was available on two separate CDs (currently out of print).[6][7]

The series serves as an alternate continuation to the events of Shadow Moses, with Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Mei Ling and Roy Campbell going on further missions as FOXHOUND operatives (Mei Ling and Meryl are depicted wearing a BDU and a sneaking suit respectively), although the stories are not considered part of the mainstream Metal Gear canon. The Japanese voice actors from the game (Akio Otsuka, Kyoko Terase, Takeshi Aono and Houko Kuwashima) reprised their roles for the series, while new characters are introduced as well.

Comics

A comic book adaptation of the original Metal Gear Solid was published by IDW Publishing in 2004. It was written by Kris Oprisko and with illustrations by Ashley Wood. The series is comprised of 12 issues and has been collected in two trade paperbacks as well as a single hardback collector's edition.[8] A comic book adaptation of Sons of Liberty has also been published by IDW, written by Alex Garner with illustrations by Ashley Wood.

Toys

In 1999, McFarlane Toys, with the collaboration of Konami, launched a series of action figures depicting key characters from the original Metal Gear Solid video game.[9] In 2001, following the success of the first series, and with the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, McFarlane Toys and Konami combined their efforts to produce a line of action figures depicting Sons of Liberty's main characters. Each character has a piece of Metal Gear Ray, so collecting the entire set is essential to build the entire robot. [10] Konami's website also displays a twelve inch Solid Snake action figure-by the Japanese high-end figure company, Medicom Toy-as he will appear in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, with white hair and moustache, wearing his new Octo-Camo suit and digital eyepiece. It is not clear when this latest model will be made available.

Film

In May 2006, Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima announced that a film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid was in development. The film was purported to be in English, though a release date was not yet established.[11] Kojima also announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo later that month that he had negotiated a contract with a party in Hollywood to adapt the video game into a film.[12]. Kojima also considered Alaska as the site of the film production, due to the game's setting in the state.[13]

David Hayter has submitted his take for the movie but executives have passed on his script.[14]

Producer Michael De Luca has expressed interest in having Equilibrium director Kurt Wimmer write the script for the movie.[15]

Characters

Main article: List of Metal Gear series characters

The main focus of the first two Metal Gear games for the MSX dealt with rivalry between protagonist Solid Snake, a rookie member of FOXHOUND, and antagonist Big Boss, who is initially introduced as the commanding officer of FOXHOUND in the original Metal Gear, but is later revealed to be the leader of the South African fortress of Outer Heaven. In the following game, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Big Boss returns, taking control of the hostile nation of Zanzibar Land in Central Asia, confronting Snake for the second and final time. Supporting characters during this period includes fellow FOXHOUND agent Gray Fox and Metal Gear designer Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, both of whom were on Snake's side during the first game, but became antagonists in the second.

Metal Gear Solid elaborates on the storyline of the early games, by revealing Solid Snake's heritage as a genetic clone of Big Boss, created from a secret government project. Here we are introduced to a new antagonist in the form of Liquid Snake, Snake's long-lost twin brother and leader of FOXHOUND after Snake's retirement. A third Snake brother also exists in the form of Solidus Snake, who is first introduced as the US President in the end of MGS and serves as the main antagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Several notable supporting characters are introduced during this period, including Russian cowboy Revolver Ocelot, who serves as an evil henchman to both Liquid and Solidus, but is revealed to be a mole (and the main representative) of an organization known as The Patriots, Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, Metal Gear REX designer, who becomes Snake's sidekick and forms the Anti-Metal Gear organization of Philanthropy with him. Other notable characters include Roy Campbell, Snake's former commander from MG2, and his niece (and possible daughter), Meryl Silverburgh, who is based on her namesake from Policenauts. Raiden, whose role as the surprise protagonist of MGS2, is considerably one of the most controversial characters in the series. The upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, will feature the return of several characters from the first two MGS games.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which is chronologically the first game in the series, introduces a younger version of Big Boss during the Cold War, who goes by the codename of Naked Snake. The game focuses on the rise of Naked Snake from apprentice to legendary soldier, as well as the downfall of his mentor and mother figure, The Boss. The origins of the Metal Gear mecha, The Patriots and FOXHOUND are all explored in MGS3. The game also features a younger version of Ocelot, where his origin as a triple agent for the KGB, GRU and CIA is explored. The recent Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, serves as a direct sequel to MGS3 and features some of the same supporting characters.

A motif in the Metal Gear Solid games is the presence of a specialized team of commandos with unique abilities that serve as the bosses in each game. Starting with Solid Snake's former unit, FOXHOUND, followed by Dead Cell and the Cobra unit in Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater, respectively. Portable Ops parallels Solid Snake's confrontation with FOXHOUND by having his genetic progenitor, Naked Snake, confront his own former unit FOX. In Guns of the Patriots there is new Special unit called Beauty and the Beast unit. Their names are reference to the names of FOXHOUND members from Metal Gear Solid.

A recurring theme amongst the bosses of Metal Gear Solid is that they adopt a name in the form of "The Sons of...". Liquid Snake referred to his army on Shadow Moses as the sons of Big Boss, due to everyone possessing genes from Big Boss's remains. Solidus Snake labeled Dead Cell and the Gurlukovich mercenaries under the unifying name "The Sons of Liberty", to fit his goal of liberating a city from the Patriots. Though it was not mentioned as much in Snake Eater, the Pain and Colonel Volgin use the name "sons of the Boss" in conversations with Big Boss, referring to those who were trained and have fought alongside the Boss. However, now that the Boss team in MGS4 is all female, it would seem that this theme is nolonger applicable.

Another motif is the presence of a Ninja-like character, starting with Black Ninja/Black Color, pesudonym Kyle Schneider, one of Snake's contact's in the original Metal Gear. The Cyborg Ninja is featured the original Metal Gear Solid, and revealed to be none other than Gray Fox, Snake's former war buddy turned enemy. The identity is later adopted by another character in Sons of Liberty. The tradition of Ninja-like is continued by Null (who is revealed to be a younger Gray Fox) in Portable Ops and even Raiden himself (who now dons a Cyborg exoskeleton) in Guns of the Patriots. The character of Black Color (Black Ninja in later revisions) in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was a precursor to the modern Cyborg Ninjas in the Metal Gear Solid games.

Storylines

The storylines for each game are listed in chronological order.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Main article: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Set in 1964 at the height of the Cold War, this game follows Naked Snake - Later known as "Big Boss" - into the Soviet jungle to recover a scientist who has been working on a new type of tank that can fire a nuclear missile. It is heavily influenced by the style of James Bond movies, from the love interests to the classic visual style of the opening credits.

Snake Eater provides closure to many hanging plot points raised in other MGS titles. For example, the role of The Philosophers in the series' narrative is explained, as well as details of Big Boss's character arc. The game made several references to actual events in the series' past, and provided a background to the mysterious Revolver Ocelot, first introduced in Metal Gear Solid.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Main article: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

In 1970, six years after Operation: Snake Eater, features Naked Snake (known as Big Boss) now that he has split away from the FOX unit. Para-Medic informs Big Boss that his former FOX unit comrades have started a revolt, and that Big Boss himself is now being charged with treason. Snake will have to fight his way through a number of heavily guarded compounds and take out a number of renegade FOX agents and recruit a group of soldiers to assist him which will then form a precursor to the FOXHOUND organization. At the end of the game, Big Boss' motives for making Outer Heaven are also explained, as well as some background about the foundation of The Patriots. Also, some light has been shed on the mystery of the sons of Big Boss near the end.

Metal Gear

Main article: Metal Gear

In 1995, 200 km north of Galzburg, the South African nation of Outer Heaven is held by a mysterious mercenary. Word had gotten out to the western world that deep within the Outer Heaven stronghold a weapon of mass destruction was being constructed. Government officials order the high-tech Special Forces squad, FOXHOUND, to infiltrate the fortress, assess the situation and neutralize the threat. Known as "Operation: Intrude N312," FOXHOUND operative Gray Fox infiltrated the Outer Heaven stronghold. Days later, contact with Gray Fox is lost. His last transmission reads, "METAL GEAR..."

Another operative, the rookie Solid Snake, is ordered by FOXHOUND leader Big Boss to find the missing operative Gray Fox and carry out his mission. Upon infiltrating Outer Heaven, Snake discovers the advanced nuclear weapon system Metal Gear and learns from its imprisoned creator how to destroy it. Snake succeeds after a series of grueling battles with the mercenary forces which defend Outer Heaven and the sophisticated electronic defences surrounding Metal Gear itself. It is then that he meets the man who rules Outer Heaven: FOXHOUND's own commander, Big Boss. Big Boss activates the destruct sequence for the fortress, but is defeated by Snake who escapes as the base crumbles behind him.

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Main article: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

By 1999 the Cold War had thawed, and nuclear disarmament by the major world powers promised a bright beginning to the 21st century. Despite this, all was not well in the world. A series of shocks to the oil market spurred the development of new high-tech energy sources, including nuclear fusion power. However, most vehicles still relied on oil for power. A breakthrough solution is presented in Prague by Czech scientist Dr. Kio Marv: a type of algae which can produce petroleum-grade hydrocarbons. However, somewhere between the (presently known as) Czech Republic and the United States, he is kidnapped by forces belonging to the heavily fortified nation of "Zanzibar Land."

Solid Snake is sent in to rescue the scientist. He discovers that the nation's leaders plan to hold the world hostage through both the oil supply (now tied inexorably to Dr. Marv's research) and nuclear weapons (through a new form of Metal Gear). The man in the seat of power in Zanzibar Land is none other than Big Boss, and his newest lieutenant is Snake's old comrade Gray Fox (who supposedly dies in a fistfight in a mined room). While Snake succeeds in destroying Metal Gear and bringing down Big Boss, he finds the blood of his best friend on his hands. Upon completing the mission, Snake leaves the military and disappears into the Alaskan wilderness to seek peace in isolation.

Metal Gear Solid

Main article: Metal Gear Solid

Sometime in February 2005, Solid Snake is forcefully called out of retirement by his old commanding officer Roy Campbell and given a new mission. Apparently, the Special Forces unit FOXHOUND and the Next Generation Special Force were conducting a training exercise on Shadow Moses Island in Alaska's Fox Archipelago when the unit suddenly revolted against the U.S. government. Their demands include the remains of the legendary mercenary Big Boss, and they threaten a nuclear strike within twenty-four hours if their demands are not met. Snake is given two objectives: first, to infiltrate the nuclear weapons disposal facility and rescue DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and Kenneth Baker, the President of ArmsTech. Secondly, he must stop the terrorists from launching a nuclear strike. Secretly, this is also to prevent FOXHOUND from making away with the first (known) American Government backed Metal Gear but eventually Snake uncovers this.

Solid Snake defeats or otherwise neutralizes most of FOXHOUND and the other terrorists in battle, with the exception of Revolver Ocelot, who flees; and Decoy Octopus, who dies of what appears to be a heart attack while disguised as DARPA Chief Donald Anderson. During his mission, Snake discovers that both he and the commanding officer of FOXHOUND -- and mastermind behind their betrayal -- are genetic duplicates of Big Boss. He duels his biological brother, Liquid Snake, who mysteriously dies at the heat of their battle in the same manner as Decoy Octopus and Kenneth Baker, seemingly of a heart attack. It is revealed that Snake's mission was a ruse, and he was intended as a vector to carry an experimental virus, FOXDIE, into the facility and unknowingly kill off specific targets. Following their escape from the facility, Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh and Hal Emmerich are declared as dead. The remaining survivor, Revolver Ocelot, is revealed retrospectively as a double agent working for President George Sears, for whom he retrieved the specifications for the Government-backed Metal Gear REX.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Main article: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Tanker Chapter

Metal Gear Solid 2 opens on the George Washington bridge in New York City, on the night of March 22, 2007, two years after the events of Metal Gear Solid. Solid Snake, now a member of the NGO Philanthropy, is investigating the development of a new Metal Gear, consistently described only as having been designed to "wipe the floor with all the other models." Snake's mission (planned by Snake and Otacon) is to take pictures of the new Metal Gear prototype and release them to the media, hopefully resulting in anti-Metal Gear sentiments from the public. The new Metal Gear model is being transported for testing by the U.S. Marines following the proliferation of Metal Gear REX's blueprints. Shortly after Snake's arrival to the oil tanker Discovery, a large group of Russian terrorists hijack the ship. These troops are later identified to be under the command of Sergei Gurlukovich, the GRU commander to whom Liquid Snake was scheduled to sell the plans for Metal Gear REX after the events of Metal Gear Solid. After sneaking up to the bridge of the ship, Snake must fight off Olga Gurlukovich, daughter of Sergei. After achieving victory, Solid Snake steals his way down to the holds in order to record pictures of the new Metal Gear. However, he finds that the hijacking troops have intentionally not attempted to take over the holds yet - with good reason. The holds are filled with armed Marines, and attacking would result in a huge fire-fight. The Metal Gear in question is found out to be Metal Gear RAY, an amphibious prototype. The mission rapidly goes from bad to worse as Revolver Ocelot appears in the holds, murders Sergei Gurlukovich, triggers bombs that had been planted all over the tanker, thus sinking it, and steals Metal Gear RAY. His words are that he is "taking it back," for the Patriots.

Incidentally, Revolver Ocelot is sporting a new right arm after his heated conflict with Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid; it is revealed that the arm is that of the late Liquid Snake when the arm (which seems to have Liquid's personality contained in it) takes over Ocelot's mind just as he is getting in to Metal Gear RAY.

Plant Chapter

The player finds himself in control of Raiden, supposedly operating under FOXHOUND two years after the Tanker Chapter, April 29, 2009. His mission is revealed to be to rescue the U.S. President and other hostages from the "Big Shell" facility off the shoreline of New York City from the anti-terrorist group Dead Cell, who are calling themselves the "Sons of Liberty" and claiming to be led by Solid Snake. Raiden enters through an oil fence while SEAL Team 10 enters by air as a distraction from Raiden's infiltration. During Raiden's mission he meets with the self-proclaimed Lt. Junior Grade Iroquois Pliskin as well as Peter Stillman, a bomb disposal expert that was brought in with the SEALs; and a cyborg ninja imitating Gray Fox's ninja persona but calling himself Mr. X.

It is revealed that the Solid Snake leading Dead Cell is in fact Solidus Snake, a third clone from Big Boss, the cyborg ninja is Olga Gurlukovich, and that Iroquois Pliskin is the real Solid Snake in disguise. It is later revealed that the Big Shell (and the sinking of the oil tanker) was merely a cover-up for the development of "Arsenal Gear", an amphibious mobile fortress defended by a fleet of mass-produced, unmanned variants of Metal Gear RAY as well as a large payload of missiles. Through meeting with Emma Emmerich (Otacon's step-sister), Raiden discovers that Arsenal Gear was secretly built as part of a conspiracy by the Illuminati-like "Patriots" to further their control over the public interests. It carries a neural network of supercomputers facilitated by several AIs, two of which are named "GW" and "JFK", which is designed to monitor, block, and tamper with Internet communications, in order to further the totalitarian agenda of "The Patriots." By the end of Metal Gear Solid 2, all of the members of Dead Cell except for Vamp, as well as several characters introduced throughout the story, are dead and Liquid Snake's personality seems to have completely assumed control over Ocelot, and the new nickname of Liquid Ocelot. Few of the questions raised by the original Metal Gear Solid are answered, and Sons of Liberty brings up even more. The game ends on April 30, 2009.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Main article: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Set in 2014, five years after the "Manhattan Incident" (the events of the Plant chapter from Metal Gear Solid 2) and fifty years after the chronologically earliest game MGS 3, Metal Gear Solid 4 portrays a world where the restriction of military intervention on foreign soil has eased, fueling the need for private military companies (PMCs) to fight proxy wars for business purposes - a lucrative, yet troubling development that becomes the pillar of the world's economy. The five largest of these PMCs are owned by a single mother company named Outer Heaven, which is operated by the main villain, and evil Liquid Ocelot (Leader of Outer Heaven) and his right-hand man Vamp, whose intentions seem to be creating another vision of Big Boss's dream, this time calling it "Outer Haven". Amassing a modernized army that contests that of the United States, Liquid prepares to launch an armed insurrection against The Patriots. In order to prepare for the assault, Liquid is trying to hijack a revolutionary system that controls the nanomachines inside each PMC soldier's body called "SOP" ("Sons Of the Patriots" system) (The U.S. Government required that all soldiers under PMC control be injected with the SOP system after the Manhattan Incident). The soldier's 3rd generation nanomachines are based on the design of the first nano-generation that consisted of the FOXDIE virus, therefore Liquid has subsequently kidnapped its original creator Naomi Hunter to find out how the system operates. With the world once again in crisis, a rapidly aging and disillusioned Solid Snake (now going by the codename "Old Snake"), with the help of Otacon, Drebin (a suspicious arms dealer who mods the PMC's ID tagged weapons), FOXHOUND Rat Patrol Team 01 (now under the command of Meryl Silverburgh and acting under orders of the U.S. Army CID), and Raiden (now a cyborg ninja) is deployed into the Middle East by his former C.O. Roy Campbell (who is working for an organization of the U.N.) This will be Snake's final mission, and Snake must terminate the cold-blooded Liquid Ocelot.

Ryan Payton has mentioned that the fight between Raiden and Vamp in the E3 2007 trailer was in fact taking place in South America, and that the scene with Metal Gear REX and Metal Gear RAY was taking place in a location familiar to Metal Gear fans.[16]

Soundtracks

See also

References

  1. ^ "コナミE3プレスカンファレンス レポート その2「METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER」". Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  2. ^ "PS2 Preview - 'Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater'". Worthplaying. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  3. ^ a b ContactMusic staff, ed. (2004). "Metal Gear Solid®3: Snake Eater Exclusively for PlayStation 2". contactmusic. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Gamespot staff, ed. (2006). "Metal Gear Saga Q&A - The Inside Scoop". GameSpot. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Hideo Kojima, ed. (2005). "HIDEOBLOG 2005.09.26". HIDEOBLOG English. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ DRAMA CD メタルギア ソリッド　Vol.1 Accessed on August 3, 2006 Template:Ja icon
  7. ^ DRAMA CD メタルギア ソリッド　Vol.2 Accessed on August 3, 2006 Template:Ja icon
  8. ^ "IDW Publishing: Metal Gear Solid". IDW Publishing.
  9. ^ "SPAWN.COM >> TOYS >> GAMES AND ANIMATION >> METAL GEAR SOLID". TMP International, Inc. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "SPAWN.COM >> TOYS >> GAMES AND ANIMATION >> METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY". TMP International, Inc. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Tom Bramwell (2006-05-02). "Kojima confirms MGS movie". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Tor Thorsen (2006-05-10). "E3 06: Live-action Metal Gear Solid movie confirmed". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Metal Gear Solid : The Movie". JeuxFrance.com. 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Stax (2007-05-14). "Metal Gear Solid Movie Exclusive". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ EXCL: Kurt Wimmer Adapting Metal Gear Solid? - ComingSoon.net
  16. ^ "i-revo The KP Report Session 060 マイポータル". Retrieved 2007-10-08.
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