Solid Snake's Final Mission

Josh Lacey — Thu, 25 May 2006 10:15:13 -0700

The presentation of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots at this year's E3 further burgeoned interest in the wildly popular series, just as news of the previous installments in the Metal Gear Solid franchise have accomplished. Shown at the conference was an edited cut of the full fifteen minute trailer, and the full version can be found at the Kojima Productions E3 2006 site, delivering to fans a better impression of the scope of the game.

As has been revealed heretofore, we know that Solid Snake has reached a nearly geriatric state, as he displays an appurtenance of age with his grayed hair, and even is sporting a mustache. The trailer alludes to some contagion Snake has (perhaps the remnants of FOXDIE?) which is causing his body to rapidly degenerate, as we hear from a Naomi Hunter voiceover later in the trailer. Any who have followed the development of this game are also privy to the fact that the timeline here picks up some number of years forward from the end of Sons of Liberty, continuing with the saga of Solid and Liquid (now Liquid Ocelot) Snake. This belief is further substantiated as Snake mentions that "War has changed" since the "Manhattan Incident", an obvious reference to the Big Shell mission from Metal Gear Solid 2.

Indeed, it appears since the time of the Big Shell, war has succumbed to a paradigm shift, as "private military companies" of mercenaries now conduct war as something akin to a business transaction. The trailer displays a myriad of troops, tanks, and what appear to be metal gears lumbering through the streets of a war-torn city. As Snake narrates, we learn that Liquid Ocelet is at the head of a parent company for these organizations, and is striving to ensconce the idealized world originally envisioned by Big Boss, namely, "Outer Heaven".

Old Snake is then seen performing an austere salute at a grave stone (perhaps that of The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3?), only to be interrupted by a helicopter harboring Octacon and Colonel Roy Campbell. They inform Snake that Liquid Ocelot is in the Middle East, and is controlling a vast network of soldiers with every intention of inciting an "insurrection".

The trailer then transitions to Snake, disguised under a cloak, making his way through the aforementioned city, only to be attacked by the new metal gears. These versions are smaller in stature than the Rays from Metal Gear Solid 2, and extremely adroit, as they are able to place their two legs at unnatural angles to scale walls and the sides of buildings. Snake attempts to attack one with his assault rifle, but his shots are utterly ineffective against the metal gear's armor. Another one soon joins in the fray, and it is only through his new stealth suit's ability to blend with his environment, that he is able to avoid further detection and consequently lose the interest of the marauding metal gears.

Also presented is a montage of the cast members that will be reprising their roles from previous Metal Gear Solid games, including Naomi Hunter, Colonel Campbell, Meryl Silverburgh, and the much maligned and often disparaged Raiden. Meryl even appears to be caught up in what she calls the new "Foxhound" unit, which based upon previous Metal Gear Solid history could represent a substantial impasse to Snake on his mission. Campbell, in his brief section, mentions that the Patriots, a surreptitious organization that supposedly pulls all the behind-the-scenes strings in the MGS universe, is somehow involved in Liquid's plot.

In the next scene, a visibly weary and emibittered Snake laments how "war has changed" and this will be his "final mission", as he must erase his genes (this would imply Liquid will need to be dealt with accordingly, as he possesses the same genes). He then loads a single round into the chamber of his pistol, and places the muzzle firmly in his mouth, in what is an apparent act of suicide. In orthodox teaser fashion, we as an audience are left with maws agape as the scene cuts away into a red screen, providing a segue into a title screen for the game.

And for any of you still belaboring the inclusion of Raiden in this game, I implore you to watch the last two minutes of the full trailer, and witness the transformation he has undergone since his last appearance. Raiden has taken up the mantle of the cyborg ninja, and all which that entails and implies, such as having the ability to effortlessly obliterate a cluster of metal gears via inhuman acrobatics.

In summary, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has asserted itself in grand fashion, and instilled into the minds of gamers, just like the games that came before it, the incessant and insatiable need to purchase, and play this game.

Metal Gear Solid 4 - new metal gear

Josh Lacey — Thu, 25 May 2006 08:57:37 -0700

Metal Gear Solid 4 - Old Snake

Josh Lacey — Thu, 25 May 2006 07:28:12 -0700

Metal Gear Solid 4 - Meryl

Josh Lacey — Thu, 25 May 2006 07:26:57 -0700

Metal Gear Solid 4 - Raiden

Josh Lacey — Thu, 25 May 2006 07:25:10 -0700

Kojima is at it again...

Josh Lacey — Wed, 25 May 2005 21:39:08 -0700

For those of you holding your breath over the impending release of another Metal Gear Solid game, the time to exhale has come.

While the Konami booth did not present anything in the form of a demo or movie, they were handing out brochures giving away some tantalizing details about the development of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4, which will be a PlayStation 3 exclusive title.