Friday, March 4, 2011

Sons of Bastardry

Those who recall my original Hall of Shame post will note that one game mentioned was Metal Gear Solid 2. To me this is one of a handful of games listed in the Hall of Shame as a complete non-starter. Considering I have previously on this blog my admiration for Metal Gear Solid, this would be shameful to me.

Or is it?

Before I picked up MGS2, I was aware of the polarizing opinions of it: Some critics rated it highly whilst many players were both confused by the plot and aggravated by the presence of Raiden. That is a decent enough true but me, the warning enough was the original game getting a sequel.
For me, the ending to MGS1 bore a personal resonance: I completed the game at a low point in my life and seeing Snake achieve so much and then deciding to make the rest of his days count, struck a chord. Thus, I find it quite puzzling that Snake would agree to head back into the battlefield when his time on earth is determined with the FoxDie in his blood. Why would he do that? It seems a very regressive move after spending the entirety of MGS1 finding something worth living for.
And seeing an aged Snake head back to the battlefield in MGS4 is even more redundant. I can imagine Hideo Kojima would be delighted with the notion that a video game managed to establish such a personal connection with the player but such is the connection that seeing Snake going back to the action is more sad than inspiring.

That being said, the notion of having the lead for MGS2 being someone different has some degree of credibility but what is a Metal Gear game without it's iconic protagonist? A good excuse to kickstart a new franchise I'd think!

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