N.B: This is part four of this guide; you can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 here.
To conclude this Obsessive’s Guide, we must cover two of the most convoluted titles in the Metal Gear saga. For many, these were where Kojima not only went off the reservation, but blasted into orbit, riding his multi-coloured unicorn of plot-twists and toilet humour. For me and a large number of the series’ fan base, however, following the crazy machinations of Mr. Kojima’s mind was a part of the whole experience – so let’s get to it.
For the final time, I will make crystal clear that this article will contain spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
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2007/09 – Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty [PS2]
After the Shadow Moses incident, Solid Snake and Otacon have now set up an NGO called Philanthropy – whose goal is to investigate new developments of Metal Gear. When Otacon gets an e-mail from what he considers a reliable source (more on this later), he tasks Snake with infiltrating a tanker which is covertly transporting a new version of the titular machine for the US Marines. However, in the middle of his operation, a group of Russian paramilitaries attempt to hijack Metal Gear RAY (an amphibious version) with the help of Revolver Ocelet (oddly, with his right arm in place). After incapacitating one of the Russian leaders, Olga Gurlukovich, Snake eventually confronts Ocelot. Revealing that his new arm is in fact Liquid Snake’s, and that his twin brother’s consciousness is able to wrestle control of Ocelot’s body at will, the gunslinger scuttles the boat and makes off with RAY. As the section ends, Snake is seen sinking to the bottom of the river.
Two years later, a clean-up facility named Big Shell has been set up at the site of the tanker sinking. However, a terrorist group calling themselves the Sons of Liberty (whose leader claims to be Solid Snake) has captured the US president and a number of other hostages and have holed themselves up in the facility. While a SEAL team have been sent in to rescue the hostages, an operative from the newly-reformed FOXHOUND is also sent in – namely Raiden (change-of-character-controversy-alert).
Raiden is aided by his commanding officer, Roy Campbell, his girlfriend/data specialist Rose and the last remaining SEAL, Iroquois Pliskin (who bears a striking resemblance to our previous, thought-to-be-leader-of-the-terrorists Snake). The first task they take on is the neutralising of the terrorist’s bombing threat. Using the expertise of bomb disposal expert, Peter Stillman, they defuse most of the bombs laid by one of the terrorist group, Fatman. However, they are unable to stop a large bomb going off, which kills Stillman but oddly does not cause the previously-threatened chemical spill that should have happened. Raiden is puzzled by this but regardless, defeats Fatman in time to save the rest of Big Shell.
With the help of another mysterious cyborg ninja, Raiden finds Richard Ames, a member of the President’s Secret Service. Like some other people you may remember, he drops dead of an apparent heart-attack, forcing Raiden to flee. Continuing his search for the President, Raiden is then attacked by the leader of the Sons of Liberty. However, Pliskin reveals himself to be the real Solid Snake so the man you have been confronted with is actually Solidus Snake. After destroying his Harrier Jet, Solidus makes his escape in the Metal Gear RAY that surfaces.
With the help of Snake and Otacon, Raiden eventually finds the President. Revealing that the Big Shell is actually an elaborate hiding place for a new Metal Gear known as Arsenal, the President also informs Raiden that the people behind all of this are actually the Patriots, remnants of the Philosophers from the previous games. They developed Arsenal to house a powerful, new AI called GW, which is capable of monitoring and controlling digital information. The last tidbit you get from the President is that Solidus Snake is actually the former POTUS, George Sears, another clone of Big Boss, whose goal is to destroy the Patriots. Revolver Ocelot suddenly appears and kills the president – confusing Raiden as they needed him alive to arm the nuke they were threatening to use.
With limited time, Raiden is ordered to disable Arsenal Gear. He rescues Emma Emmerich, Otacon’s adoptive sister, reliable source from the tanker section and creator of GW. Together, they attempt to destroy the AI module but Vamp, another member of the terrorist group, stabs Emma before she can complete the task. As she dies in Otacon’s arms, Snake and Raiden resolve to destroy Arsenal Gear in its entirety. The cyborg ninja turns up again, revealing herself to be Olga Gurlukovich and to be working with Snake. They seemingly turn on Raiden and knock him out.
Raiden wakes up in a very familiar torture chamber. Solidus Snake then reveals that he was previously Raiden’s superior officer – when he was a child soldier. These memories have been disturbing Raiden for years and now he learns that he is unwittingly a Patriot agent. After torture at the hands of Ocelot, Olga frees Raiden – informing him that she too has been forced to serve the Patriots as they kidnapped her new-born daughter. Raiden meets up with Solid Snake, who used Raiden’s capture to gain access to Arsenal Gear. With his CO acting very strangely, Otacon reveals that the Colonel is actually a construct of the GW supercomputer – which has been affected by the partial upload of Emma’s virus. Eventually cornered by Fortune, the last remaining member of Solidus’ team, Snake tells Raiden to go on while he battles the seemingly impervious woman. Raiden confronts Solidus, who sets 25 Metal Gear RAY units on him. When he is about to die, Olga reveals herself and protects him – as her daughter’s life depends on Raiden’s. After Solidus coldly kills her for her treachery, he wrangles Snake and Raiden, revealing his ultimate goal – detonate a nuke over New York to destroy all of the electronic devices there via EMP and create a new state, free of Patriots’ control.
Rather unsurprisingly, Ocelot too reveals that he is a Patriot agent, and that the entire Big Shell mission was an attempt to turn a given soldier (Raiden, in this case) into the next Solid Snake. After revealing her ‘luck’ was nothing more than tech the Patriots gave her, Ocelot kills Fortune and steals RAY again. Snake pursues him but Raiden is left to take down Solidus as Arsenal Gear crashes into downtown Manhattan. Raiden is forced to kill Solidus, as the Patriots threaten Rose and Olga’s daughter. Snake lastly tells Raiden that he and Otacon will search for Ocelot and rescue Olga’s daughter.
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2014 – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots [PS3]
Despite only a few years having passed, Snake has been ravaged by aging – a side-effect of his cloning origins. Given a new mission by Colonel Roy Campbell, he is tasked with assassinating Liquid Ocelot (catchy name) in the Middle East. Snake uses Otacon’s tech to infiltrate Liquid’s last known location. There, he meets up with Meryl again, who is now in control of her own unit, known as Rat. Eventually, he finds Liquid but not before he releases a signal that incapacitates all soldiers in the area equipped with nano machines, including Snake and Rat.
After cracking an encoded message, Naomi Hunter (from MGS) tells Snake and Otacon that she is being forced to do research for Liquid in South America and asks for Snake’s help. Snake finds Naomi, who delivers some bad news – not only is Liquid going to take control of the Patriot’s firearms control system, codenamed SOP, the FOXDIE virus inside Snake from the Shadow Moses incident will mutate inside him within six months, turning into a highly-contagious, deadly version of FOXDIE that will indiscriminately kill the entire population. Snake rescues the doctor with the help of Otacon and an arms dealer named Drebin. A cyborg ninja also intercedes, revealing himself to be Raiden.
Snake makes his way to Eastern Europe when he learns that a group there have the remains of Big Boss (Liquid needs this to gain access to SOP). Once there, the leader of the group, Big Mama (Eva from MGS3), reveals that she was also the surrogate mother to Snake and Liquid. While attempting to keep Liquid from Big Boss’ remains, Snake and Big Mama eventually learn that he no longer needs it as he has been able to take control of the SOP system already. Big Mama dies, Naomi is recaptured and Snake is just having the worst time ever!
Using a hidden camera on-board Liquid’s ship, Snake and Otacon learn that he needs a non ID-tagged nuclear warhead to destroy the Patriots. This leads Snake back to the Shadow Moses facility. After defeating Vamp there with Naomi’s help (though she has to sacrifice herself to do it), Snake and Raiden take on Liquid. He reveals Outer Haven, a massive submarine, which he attempts to use to destroy Snake but with the help of the USS Missouri and its captain, Mei Ling (a colleague from MGS), Snake and Raiden survive. However, Liquid has his nuke now and can deploy it at any time.
Using the Missouri as a launch pad, Snake, Meryl and one of her team, Johnny, catapult themselves onto Outer Haven when it surfaces. With the help of Otacon’s robot, Snake is able to upload a virus that disables not only Liquid’s programming that gave him control of the SOP system, but the SOP system itself. This brings the war economy to a halt and neuters the threat of global private military companies. Snake also finds Liquid on top of Outer Haven, fights him in hand-to-hand combat and eventually, defeats him.
After the battle, the other characters reconcile – all except for Snake. He is about to kill himself, fearing the release of the deadlier version of the FOXDIE virus. However, the seemingly indestructible Big Boss arrives to stop him. Big Boss explains that he, Major Zero, Eva, Ocelot and the rest of his original MGS3 team banded together long ago to set up the Patriots (as opposed to our previous version of events, with them being a follow-on from the Philosophers). Their goal was to create a system that would espouse The Boss’ values but as they gained power, Major Zero led the organisation into a more control-based philosophy – this stood apart from Big Boss’ dream of a soldier’s world. This eventually led to the war economy that existed until recently – which Snake was able to dismantle. Now free of their control, Big Boss reveals that Drebin was an agent of the Patriots who was able to treat Snake’s FOXDIE virus and stop it from becoming deadly to the entire world. But its original programming remains, therefore Big Boss himself finally succumbs to it.
As the game closes, Snake decides to live the rest of his life in peace and see what the future brings.
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There we have it – the conclusion to my Obsessive’s Guide to the Metal Gear saga. While I can most definitely be categorised as a Metal Gear obsessive, it should be clear now that this guide itself has only recounted a fraction of what this series is. I have not covered the fourth wall breaking in-jokes dotted through the games; the repeated gameplay mechanics like the famous cardboard box; or the continued digestive problems of Johnny Sasaki. Regardless, I hope you have enjoyed this taste of the wonderful world of Hideo Kojima’s imagination.
Tags: An Obsessive's Guide, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
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