Post by Valas Hune on Aug 4, 2006 12:42:28 GMT -5
Courtesy of Wikipedia...
The 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. This was due to the MSX hardware's limitations when it came to handling more conventional action games. 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 carried over to its sequel Metal Gear Solid.
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. While the first two Metal Gear titles were moderately successful, Metal Gear Solid was a huge hit, selling approximately 6.6 million units[citation needed]. 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.[citation needed] 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[citation needed]. Both games provided further enhancements to the Metal Gear gameplay and expanded the scope of the Metal Gear storyline.
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 Ken-ichiro 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 several characters from Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, an interquel set between the events of Metal Gear Solid 3 and the original Metal Gear, is also currently in development for the PlayStation Portable.
[edit]
The main games
The series consists of the following titles (in order of release) in its official canon:
Metal Gear (MSX2/Famicom/NES/C64/PC/Mobile Phone/PlayStation 2, 1987)
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX2/Mobile Phone/PlayStation 2, 1990)
Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation, 1998)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PlayStation 2, 2001)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PlayStation 2, 2004)
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PlayStation Portable, 2006)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3, 2007)
[edit]
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 coproduction titled Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (2004), a GameCube exclusive. This featured fully redubbed English voices, many new gameplay features, much better graphics 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.
The updated versions are:
Metal Gear Solid: Integral (PlayStation/PC), 1999)
Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (PlayStation, 1999)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Xbox, 2002; PlayStation 2/PC, 2003)
The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 (PlayStation 2, 2002)
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GameCube, 2004)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PlayStation 2, 2005)
Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel (PlayStation Portable, 2006)
[edit]
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 as saying the NES/Famicom port of Metal Gear was changed quite a bit from the original MSX version. It was made without his direction and he, himself, finds the game to be rather challenging.[citation needed] 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 for Game.com, but was cancelled[citation needed]. A version of bleemcast! was made, allowing Metal Gear Solid to be played on the Sega Dreamcast.
In 2002, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance was ported from the PS2 to the Xbox (although, the latter was released first in North America and Europe). In 2003, it was then ported to the 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.
[edit]
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.
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.[1]
Snake's Revenge (NES, 1990)
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (Game Boy Color, 2000)
Metal Gear Acid (PlayStation Portable, 2004)
Metal Gear Acid 2 (PlayStation Portable, 2005)
[edit]
Cameos
Every so often characters, areas and music from the Metal Gear series appear as special characters in other games.
Beatmania (PlayStation, 1997) (MetalGear Solid Remix)
Konami Krazy Racers (Game Boy Advance, 2001) (Cyborg Ninja & Comms Tower (MGS))
Evolution Skateboarding (Playstation 2, 2002) (Solid Snake, Raiden, 2 Soldiers & The Big Shell)
Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 (Playstation 2, 2004) (Snake Eater Theme)
BeatmaniaIIDX (Mobile Phone, 2004) (Featuring MGS3 theme)
boktai 2: Solar Boy Django (Game Boy Advance, 2004) (Solid Snake)
DreamMix TV World Fighters (GameCube, 2005) (Solid Snake)
Ape Escape 3 (Playstation 2, 2006) (Mesal Gear Solid - Mini Game with Pipo Snake)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, 2007) (Solid Snake)
[edit]
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, and the concept that enemies are only enemies in relative terms. 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.
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 soldier's mentor betraying them. 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's in reality Liquid Snake) in Metal Gear Solid. Similarly 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, a young Big Boss (Under the codename of Naked Snake) is betrayed in a different fashion compared to Solid Snake and Raiden were in previous games. His mentor, The Boss, defects to the Soviet Union and constantly hinders Snake's progress throughout the game only to reveal in the end that she was merely completing her own seperate mission and was willing to kill her own student to complete it hence, betraying Snake.
The overarching theme of the Metal Gear Solid series is that of the "meme, gene, 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. [2]
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 employ 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 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 taken from being 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 soldiers minds, bodies, hearts, and futures.
[edit]
Adaptations to other media
[edit]
Novelization
A novel based on the original Metal Gear was published in 1989 as a part of Scholastic's Worlds of Power lineup 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.
Continued below...
The 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. This was due to the MSX hardware's limitations when it came to handling more conventional action games. 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 carried over to its sequel Metal Gear Solid.
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. While the first two Metal Gear titles were moderately successful, Metal Gear Solid was a huge hit, selling approximately 6.6 million units[citation needed]. 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.[citation needed] 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[citation needed]. Both games provided further enhancements to the Metal Gear gameplay and expanded the scope of the Metal Gear storyline.
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 Ken-ichiro 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 several characters from Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, an interquel set between the events of Metal Gear Solid 3 and the original Metal Gear, is also currently in development for the PlayStation Portable.
[edit]
The main games
The series consists of the following titles (in order of release) in its official canon:
Metal Gear (MSX2/Famicom/NES/C64/PC/Mobile Phone/PlayStation 2, 1987)
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX2/Mobile Phone/PlayStation 2, 1990)
Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation, 1998)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PlayStation 2, 2001)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PlayStation 2, 2004)
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PlayStation Portable, 2006)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3, 2007)
[edit]
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 coproduction titled Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (2004), a GameCube exclusive. This featured fully redubbed English voices, many new gameplay features, much better graphics 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.
The updated versions are:
Metal Gear Solid: Integral (PlayStation/PC), 1999)
Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (PlayStation, 1999)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Xbox, 2002; PlayStation 2/PC, 2003)
The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 (PlayStation 2, 2002)
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GameCube, 2004)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PlayStation 2, 2005)
Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel (PlayStation Portable, 2006)
[edit]
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 as saying the NES/Famicom port of Metal Gear was changed quite a bit from the original MSX version. It was made without his direction and he, himself, finds the game to be rather challenging.[citation needed] 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 for Game.com, but was cancelled[citation needed]. A version of bleemcast! was made, allowing Metal Gear Solid to be played on the Sega Dreamcast.
In 2002, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance was ported from the PS2 to the Xbox (although, the latter was released first in North America and Europe). In 2003, it was then ported to the 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.
[edit]
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.
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.[1]
Snake's Revenge (NES, 1990)
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (Game Boy Color, 2000)
Metal Gear Acid (PlayStation Portable, 2004)
Metal Gear Acid 2 (PlayStation Portable, 2005)
[edit]
Cameos
Every so often characters, areas and music from the Metal Gear series appear as special characters in other games.
Beatmania (PlayStation, 1997) (MetalGear Solid Remix)
Konami Krazy Racers (Game Boy Advance, 2001) (Cyborg Ninja & Comms Tower (MGS))
Evolution Skateboarding (Playstation 2, 2002) (Solid Snake, Raiden, 2 Soldiers & The Big Shell)
Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 (Playstation 2, 2004) (Snake Eater Theme)
BeatmaniaIIDX (Mobile Phone, 2004) (Featuring MGS3 theme)
boktai 2: Solar Boy Django (Game Boy Advance, 2004) (Solid Snake)
DreamMix TV World Fighters (GameCube, 2005) (Solid Snake)
Ape Escape 3 (Playstation 2, 2006) (Mesal Gear Solid - Mini Game with Pipo Snake)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, 2007) (Solid Snake)
[edit]
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, and the concept that enemies are only enemies in relative terms. 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.
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 soldier's mentor betraying them. 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's in reality Liquid Snake) in Metal Gear Solid. Similarly 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, a young Big Boss (Under the codename of Naked Snake) is betrayed in a different fashion compared to Solid Snake and Raiden were in previous games. His mentor, The Boss, defects to the Soviet Union and constantly hinders Snake's progress throughout the game only to reveal in the end that she was merely completing her own seperate mission and was willing to kill her own student to complete it hence, betraying Snake.
The overarching theme of the Metal Gear Solid series is that of the "meme, gene, 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. [2]
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 employ 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 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 taken from being 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 soldiers minds, bodies, hearts, and futures.
[edit]
Adaptations to other media
[edit]
Novelization
A novel based on the original Metal Gear was published in 1989 as a part of Scholastic's Worlds of Power lineup 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.
Continued below...