By: Joe Dodson Posted on June 12, 2008

　　Few series are as primed for a primer as Metal Gear. Since its beginning two decades ago, Hideo Kojima's creations have taken more surprising twists and turns than a snake in a spin cycle. On top of that, the last game in the series to hit store shelves, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, was a prequel; it's been seven years since a Metal Gear Solid game actually dealt with Solid Snake's timeline!

　　Of course, Franchise Player is here to help you slip seamlessly into Snake's skin with a brief rundown of the story, character dossiers, and a glossary of terms. Also, be sure to check out the video for a brief review of the series' central themes; though faces, names, and even decades have changed from one game to the next, these have always remained the same.

　　X-ray specs reveal bony facts, and that is precisely what this solid eye of a feature intends to do for you. But is this the work of a trustworthy and socially awkward gaming journalist or the diabolical machination of an AI construct intended to bend your memories to its wicked will? Only one thing is certain: It is full of codes. But are they the truth or lies in disguise?

　　

The Story

The story of Metal Gear is extremely simple. OK, that is definitely a lie. But for the sake of sparing you several thousand words (that you'd be better off playing through anyway), it will be put as simply as possible. The overarching conflict in the Metal Gear Solid games is between a man named Snake and a war machine known as Metal Gear. Now, you might argue that the conflict is really between Snake and the villains who seek to use the walking tanks for world domination. But one could counter that the destructive spirit inspiring all of these evil-doers is the omnipotent, missile-launching Metal Gear. It drives them as much as they drive it.

　　And what drives Snake? Loyalty? Love? Duty? Or is he just following orders? Rather than psychoanalyze him too much (although we see that he likes Castlevania!), let's briefly go over the story so far. The Metal Gear timeline actually begins in Metal Gear Solid 3, where Naked Snake is trying to save the world from his former mentor, The Boss, and a sociopath named Volgin. Naked Snake succeeds only to discover that The Boss wasn't bad after all -- she was ordered to die a traitor. Even though Naked Snake earns the title of Big Boss for his heroics, it seems clear that the death of The Boss has broken his heart. Between this and the original Metal Gear, two things happen: Big Boss decides following orders isn't all it's cracked up to be, and three children are cloned from his genes. One of those becomes Solid Snake.

　　This brings us to the first Metal Gear, which came out for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. Solid Snake is working for Big Boss as an agent of an organization known as FOXHOUND. Big Boss orders Snake to destroy a Metal Gear (big scary walking tank) and rescue another agent named Grey Fox. Things go well, until it turns out that the Big Boss is actually the bad guy in control of Metal Gear. He only put Solid on the case because he thought his lack of experience would blow the mission. Instead, Solid blows up the Metal Gear. In Metal Gear 2, Big Boss returns with Grey Fox at his side, but Solid Snake defeats them both and stops Metal Gear yet again. Metal Gear Solid takes place after these events, when another one of Big Boss's cloned kids, Liquid Snake, reforms FOXHOUND and takes over a nuclear facility on Shadow Moses Island. Snake shows up, finds out he has a bad virus, fights a ninja, blows up Metal Gear, punches out Liquid, and rescues a girl soldier named Meryl.

　　In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, a previously unheard of agent named Raiden attempts to rescue the president of the United States from a group known as The Sons of Liberty. Things get hairy, though, when it turns out that the President is also a clone of The Big Boss. His name is Solidus, and he has rocket shooting tentacles and a sword. Solidus reveals to Raiden that he is the leader of the Sons of Liberty and that the world is actually controlled by illuminati known as the Patriots. Also, he's Raiden's father. Kind of. Meanwhile, Liquid Snake's severed right arm somehow manages to take over the entire body of a gunslinger named Revolver Ocelot, which he uses to carjack a Metal Gear prototype and escape.

　　And now, in Metal Gear Solid 4, you reassume the role of Solid Snake as he attempts to prevent Liquid Ocelot from taking over the world with a huge mercenary army. Unfortunately, you're dying from early onset old age, and you're full of nano machines that probably aren't under your control.

　　

Characters

Solid "Old" Snake

　　Role: Grim hero

　　Secret Weapon: EBN YGA

　　Mullet: Ready for action!

　　Solid Snake is the rapidly aging protagonist. He's gritty, tough, and possibly, the single greatest warrior on the planet, but he doesn't take himself too seriously. He swears he isn't a hero; he suspects he's really just an old, obsolete gun; and he isn't above hiding in a cardboard box when faced with a dangerous situation. However, with his solid eye and silver hair, he's never looked more like his father, The Big Boss. Will the resemblance become more than skin deep? Will Snake go bad--just like dad--or was Big Boss really the villain he seemed?

　　Liquid Ocelot

　　Role: Crazy old villain

　　Hates: High fives

　　Also goes by: Shalashaska

　　Not familiar with this portmanteau of Metal Gear characters? You may recall that, in Metal Gear Solid, there were Revolver Ocelot and Liquid Snake. One was a cocky, pistol-shootin' son of a gun, while the other was a genetic supersoldier with an inferiority complex and rakish accent. Then, Revolver Ocelot lost his arm and Liquid Snake lost everything else. So they thought, "Hey, I need a right arm, you need a body, let's get together!" Though it sounded like a mutually beneficial relationship at the time, it soon became apparent that there was more ill will in Liquid's pinky than in Revolver's entire being. And so, Liquid took over Revolver's body, becoming his own right-hand man.

　　Big Mama

　　Evil: Nah

　　Va-va-voom: Maybe 40 years ago

　　Aging: Violently

　　Even though she goes by a different name, her chest is still the same. She's Eva; Big Boss's former romantic interest and a sneaky double agent. It also seems likely that she's Solid Snake's mother, when you consider the kinky wrestling match she engaged in with Big Boss, not to mention the fact that she's called Big MAMA. But other than that, little is known about her true character or role in the series. It's likely that much will be revealed, but given her age, hopefully not too much.

　　Meryl Silverburgh

　　Loving her is: Torture

　　Father: Roy Campbell

　　Turn-offs: Psychics, sniper fire

　　Meryl was the disarmingly vulnerable soldier you protected in the original Metal Gear Solid. She is now a member of the glamorously titled Rat Patrol Team 1, which uses a nanotechnological network to share senses and boost coordination. The weird part is that the people Meryl shares her senses with are two guys. Exactly what that means is unclear. Did they all gain her distinctive walk? Does she now like sports? If she kisses Snake, can the others taste the Fixodent? Hopefully, not all of these questions will be answered in Metal Gear Solid 4.

　　Raiden

　　Role: Unning-ray ag-gay

　　Job Description: Flips out, kills people

　　Rival: Vamp

　　Raiden was the androgynous protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2 and will don the ninja suit in Metal Gear Solid 4. It also looks like his rivalry with Vamp will be rekindled, as the two met in Metal Gear Solid 2 for one of the most homoerotic battles in video game history. In case you don't remember, Vamp is a bisexual vampire with a knife codpiece. In his boss fight, he'd jump around and try to impale Raiden's shadow with his knives until you shot out the lights and fought him in the dark. Both return in Metal Gear Solid 4, though this time, Raiden can meet Vamp's blades with a big sword of his own.

　　Otacon

　　Role: 01101110011001010111001001100100

　　Loves: Anime

　　Designed: Metal Gear REX

　　Hal "Otacon" Emmerich isn't the most interesting character in the Metal Gear Series, but he is one of the most helpful. Not only will he explain how everything works in Metal Gear Solid 4, but he's also Snake's constant companion; so together, the two work out all the twists and turns in the plot. Come to think of it, he's the last person you'd expect to be a secret bad guy. Therefore, he's probably the worst of them all. You just don't know it yet.

　　

Terms

FOXHOUND--In the beginning, there was the Fox unit, but it went bad. Then, The Big Boss created FOXHOUND, but it also went bad. Then, Liquid Snake took over FOXHOUND in Metal Gear Solid, and you know how that went. Now, the unit has been reestablished in Metal Gear Solid 4, and it seems like it's probably good again, but who knows how long that will last?

　　The Patriots--Allegedly an order that secretly controls the American government, the Patriots are also known as the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo. By the way, doesn't La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo seem like the worst name for a secret and shadowy organization ever? Once you hear it, you can't stop saying it. How can that remain a secret?

　　Metal Gear--Ostensibly, these are big mechs that can shoot nukes anywhere in the world. However, when you consider the AI construct from Metal Gear Solid 2 and the presence of the Sons of the Patriots nanomachines in Metal Gear Solid 4, the stage is set for Metal Gear to mean something much more ominous. Don't fear the beast without, fear the beast within.

　　Foxdie--Naomi Hunter, who will appear in Metal Gear Solid 4, infected Snake with this disease in Metal Gear Solid. Now, it appears to be finishing Snake off. If it succeeds, he will ironically die of premature old age.

　　That’s all for this edition of Franchise Player. If you really want to dig deeply into the nuts and bolts of Metal Gear, you should consider playing back through the first three. Then again, we won’t blame you if you just can’t wait to get your hands on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

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