MGS4 is so unapologetic and it's a roller coaster of emotions.

In its highs, MGS4 represents the best the saga has to offer, in its lows it's just oozes things Kojima loved and he couldn't resist to put in the game even if detrimental.

A flawed masterpiece for sure, it has some bad things going for it: the level design of the ship level, the trailing mission, some lackluster boss battles, etc.

Even when considering these things, I really love this game.

This and Death Stranding are the definitive unfiltered Kojima experiences.

does anyone think kojima really needed to justify the original mgs trilogy? the chronology between the games is there, but the actual on-going narrative shifts significantly to suit the nature of each game. sewn together by thematic musings yet environmentally distinct, those games crafted their own internal worlds to convey the kinds of story they wanted to tell. video games have traditionally favored self-contained works given both the density of any given game and the need to make any entry a boarding point for new fans, which makes mgs4 all the more puzzling. in likely the only time kojima was truly convinced that he was ending the series, he attempted to string together literally every plot point leftover from prior games into a single nonsensical story as if that's what the series needed. as if some hackneyed sense of closure for each and every character could somehow weave its own web of meaning instead of stumbling so heavily over its own feet.

believe or not it's truly an "everyone is here" moment. meryl? back as a grizzled vet, far from the fresh recruit she was in the first game. olga gurlukovich's daughter kidnapped by the patriots? living with otacon aboard his plane/house/thing. EVA, last seen escaping with the philosopher's legacy in the mid '60s? she's here with her own resistance group and she has virtually no backstory as for why. the guard who shits himself in mgs1 and 2? he gets a name! so many characters from those first three games tumble back into view that it strangles the new additions to the franchise. weapon launderer drebin and his cola-swilling monkey companion rarely solidify their presence beyond justifying the new weapons system, and in particular drebin's suit coat and baggy camo pants locks this into being easily the most 00s mgs ever got. the other new players - the beauty and the beast unit - may be easily the least interesting boss set in the franchise (not that pw or V even really attempt one), especially with drebin's trauma porn backstory dumps for each one. virtually no agency beyond just fusing previous ideas together into some new package. a bit of a microcosm for the rest of the game!

indeed, mgs4's mechanics falter immediately from refusing to build on mgs3's foundation in favor of blending various bits from it and the various third-person shooters from its orbit. this was a post-gears world after all, and a post-modern warfare one as well. the core conceit of mgs4 lies in recreating perpetual war and placing the player as a third party within it, uninvolved in the conflict and attempting to remain unobtrusive. from the moment snake enters the bombed-out ruins of a middle-eastern city it becomes clear that the nature of the classic mgs stealth gameplay has changed. while some soldiers patrol previously-cleared areas, the vast majority of their forces press on towards the front against hostile militias. getting noticed has negative consequences per usual, but in the midst of already-heavy fire simply eliminating a guard and returning to the shadows rarely results in a reset or any major setbacks. in fact, assisting the militia from behind their lines will result in them viewing you as an alley and ignoring your trespassing. in this way the game pushes the player towards more traditional cover-TPS gameplay, with stealth more of a tool than a central gameplay mechanic. while avoiding detection may result overall safer gameplay, it is generally to your benefit to pick off enemy soldiers regardless, and in some instances the combatants are so distracted by the ongoing battle that sneaking past rarely poses an issues. this initial chapter does feature the most raw stealth sequences of the entire game, but juxtaposes this against a straight-forward combat encounter with the haven troopers (otherwise known as the FROGS), which kill the pacing just like similar segments such as the elevator fight from mgs1.

these latter warfare mechanics present themselves more heavily in the game's second chapter, which takes place in south america. should the player squint, they may be able to trick themselves that they're playing a gussied-up version of snake eater thanks to the similar methods of crawling through tall grass in the wetlands that seem particularly useful here. when not in combat, snake has a couple new options for tactical disposal of enemies. the one I found most useful was the metal gear mk ii; this petite cameo from snatcher can roll up on unsuspecting enemies and electrocute them for easy takedowns so long as you yourself aren't caught controlling it like a sitting duck. unfortunately as this chapter rolls on it leans even further into neglecting the stealth altogether, with setpieces such as the mansion really making it clear that getting caught simply doesn't matter in a warzone. at the same time this is the chapter where I really started enjoying the combat for what it was. via drebin snake can purchase weapons at will from a menu outside the purview of the patriots, and ammo refills are easy to buy as well. fooling around with weapons such as the automatic sniper rifle or the nonlethal air shotgun honestly made up for the lack of usual MGS-gameplay. it's evident that kojima was chasing trends with this style, but I can't say he didn't manage to make it work.

which makes the third chapter (and indeed, the rest of the game) all the more perplexing. the setting shifts to eastern europe, where snake must trail local revolutionaries back to their base through dimly lit cobblestone streets. a far cry from the earlier segments though certainly not as bad as it could be. the interesting twist here is that your targets are themselves sneaking around soldiers under the banner of the patriots, and occasionally snake needs to step in to tip the scales in the resistance's favor. discretely handling these close calls for the resistance makes what would otherwise be purely tedious at least somewhat interesting. the second half of this chapter is effectively a protracted light-gun sequence (there's one in the second chapter as I recall), which certainly is an mgs staple but perhaps could have been not been featured so prominently here. virtually no traditional mgs action happens in this chapter, portending the shift the rest of the game takes.

the fourth chapter features a return to shadow moses... at this point the game hits a particular low. the various gekko machines are your main foes for most of these chapters, making the actual "stealth" simply tossing chaff grenades and running like hell. other than plenty of winking otacon conversations about the events of the first game, I could not tell you really what the actual structure of this level is beyond these perfunctory sneaking sections and a deluge of boss fights towards the end. in this latter half of the game boss fights begin dominating the runtime, and overall I can't say most of them are particularly great. having replayed mgs2 and 3 recently I'll admit that a lot of "classic" mgs boss fights are not particularly interesting (notable exceptions include vulcan raven, fatman, the end, and the boss), and mgs4 really has no key fight to really claim as a standout. crying wolf and vamp in this chapter stand out as some of my least favorite fights in the game -- crying wolf may be the most tiresome sniper fight in the series -- while the penultimate fight of REX vs RAY at least gets major points on pure fun factor. it's more of a setpice than an actual fight, but the carnage is so enthralling and the following outer haven reveal so iconically silly that I can at least point to it as one of my favorite parts of the game.

the final chapter launches snake into the maw of outer haven in order to reach the patriot AIs at its core. the opening area here features one of the largest stealth areas in the whole game, and unfortunately it closes out the typical mgs gameplay for the entire game. my first steps here were fraught with danger however; the stark metallic ship deck features little natural cover or hidey-holes for snake to inhabit. thankfully kojima included a salve: the octocamo. in his attempt to rectify the tedious camo swapping of mgs3, snake here receives a high-tech suit that adapts to his environment like a chameleon (or uh, an octopus). on solid backdrops such as the cool gray of the ship, snake receives such a high camo index that enemy soldiers (the FROGS in this instance) will not be able to recognize him as an intruder even when directly examining him, allowing the player to headshot tranq them at point-blank range. abusing this mechanic while also disposing of the gekkos via the nerve bundle on the side of their organic knees makes this section a cakewalk, assuming that you can maintain your composure when said gekkos tip and spin around on the floor, mooing incessantly.

in the closing scenes snake proceeds to muddle through the screaming mantis fight and wade through hallway after hallway of the obnoxious dwarf gekkos until finally crawling towards the core. in the microwave corridor approaching the AI core, snake crawls on hands and knees basking in the radiation while scenes from his allies valiantly fighting play around him. this wonderful scene and the subsequent climatic battle with liquid ocelot manages to salvage some of the pain of the prior hours. as each subsequent classic mgs theme plays, you truly get the sense that in some ways this could have been a perfect "dream match" blend of mgs staples old and new had it not been burdened by simultaneously serving as the ultimate ending to everything the series had been leading towards.

the feature-length epilogue finally draws these threads to a close centered around a truly ridiculous data dump from a somehow-alive big boss regarding his long-term proxy war with major zero and cipher. while enjoyable in its own way ("snake lived a hard life" still hits really hard), it's clear that whatever rich thematic base that kojima intended for this game has been utterly smothered by too much explaining. too many events that happened off-screen that someone needs to relay to snake, too many double-crosses and twists, and far too many random old elements dragged out far past their expiration date. where are the stakes for snake's mutated FOXDIE virus housed within his cells when you know it won't amount to anything anyway, just like it did at the end of mgs1? why cry for raiden convulsing from needing dialysis for his synthetic blood when you know he'll just show up as a deus ex machina again later? does ocelot's endgame reveal about liquid's consciousness inside of him really enlighten us about his character or flesh out his flimsy rationale for anything he does over the course of this game?

in a series coated in ruminations on legacy, mgs4 seems the most focused on the legacy of the series itself. snake's decaying body, unraveling from his imperfect artificial conception, may be the most evident symbol that metal gear's golden era had passed by. david hayter renders his voice in a particularly uncomfortable gravely tone over the course of the game to the point of smushing his capability to effect anything but a monotone. there's a particularly poignant moment where aboard the USS missouri snake drags on a cigarette, sending him into a heart-wrenching coughing fit that leaves him bent on the floor in near-syncope. his existence may truly be an affront to God (portrayed in the game as hideo kojima himself, unironically (or maybe with a tinge of irony)).

but beyond this seeming need to break out of the restrictions of metal gear, there is little to gleam from mgs4's text that isn't muddled by the overwrought web of plot points. the war economy is profitable but bad? very true, but pretty much on the level of mgs1's "nuclear annihilation is bad" moral. and much like the ultimate verdict on whether love can bloom on the battlefield -- snake intones during mgs2 that his whirlwind romance with meryl wasn't built to last -- mgs4 doesn't seem very intent on exploring anything it brings up. that worked for mgs1, but mgs4 has nearly 10 hours of cutscenes; twice as long as mgs2 or mgs3. I have a tolerance for metal gear's cheese, but mgs4 really strained me with just how much needless fluff, bug-eyed callbacks, and empty soliloquies it crammed into the chassis of a game that wasn't up to snuff to the series' earlier outings. for how bombastic of a finale this was supposed to be, it's easy to also see how the formerly-innovative mgs resorted to trend-chasing with this entry. shoving a pointless psyche meter in the game or the usual exclamation point guard reactions doesn't change the fact that mgs4 is just another third-person shooter. even when it succeeds at slotting into that classification, it spends the second half of the game grasping at other styles in an attempt to differentiate itself with poor results. there's so much love here, but it still disappoints.

that is, other than the saving grace that is johnny sasaki. what kojima intended to show with this character is redemption for those who have previously failed and embarassed themselves... [the essay continues on from here for another nine paragraphs]

"MGS2 is the smarter game, but MGS3 is the better game." - my art teacher

Can't think of a better way to put it. I don't think this is as thematically rich an experience as 2, but I believe it's a much more emotionally rich one. Truth and lie, friend and enemy, us and them, all lines are blurred throughout the entire game, which leads to one of the most impactful climaxes to a story I've seen. Outside of that, the game itself is a very fun experience, with many different ways to think outside the box to solve your problems; my personal story is using a shaky rope bridge to drop a body off the side by running past it.

There's a sad irony to the fact that a nearly 20-year-old game this linear allows you to experiment and find your own solutions to a degree that many modern games boasting the same don't even come close to.

If Metal Gear Solid 2 was about escaping an all encompassing system, Metal Gear Solid 3 (aptly subtitled "Snake Eater”) is about being completely absorbed into it.

The theme of "Scene" permeates this game throughout the whole of its run time, entrenching characters in it, people expected to play their roles. Spy, lover, traitor, patriot, soldier. All of these are roles that people in the game take up to manipulate the main character, Naked Snake. Unlike Jack, the tragedy isn't in the total control the manipulators have, but rather in who the manipulators are and how they go about it.

Ocelot plays the role of an incompetent and brash child, but underneath all of that he's the exact same man we've known him as before. A cunning manipulator, never on any of the sides actively involved, his true allegiance being in the shadows.

EVA builds Snake up in her manipulation, so he can be knocked right back down at the end of it all. It doesn't matter that she failed, what mattered was that she took Snake's emotions and crushed them. She shaped herself and her story in ways to appear alluring or sympathetic to him, all because she desired the Legacy. Her manipulations are such that every line she says has to be brought into question. Was her story about learning of other countries real? Was her name real? Was her love real? The game never answers any of these in the moment, leaving her as a player that joined the stage out of nowhere, and left the stage just as suddenly.

The biggest manipulator however, was The Boss. She speaks in riddles to Snake, forcing him to decide between nationalism and the people he loves, ultimately pushing him to killing her. She unequivocally betrays him in this entry, leaving him truly alone. "There can be only one Boss."

Two of these three manipulators were also meant to be Snake's allies. ADAM and EVA, allies to the Snake. But, both manipulate him and each other, while he remains oblivious until the credits roll, an inverse of Genesis (as EVA states in her ending monologue). He is the first protagonist to be manipulated and then never confront those controlling him. He doesn't get to hear the Secretary of Defense explain what's happening, he doesn't have a long sit down with the Patriots, both before the concluding battle. He finds out and is left only able to mourn.

This isn't where SCENE ends though. I've only touched on the manipulation aspect, but the theme permeates nearly every aspect of the game, the game becoming almost playable theater. Zero and Para-Medic will constantly allude to films relevant to Metal Gear as a series- espionage films and monster films. Musical motifs are lifted from films of this variety, the cinematography leans heavily into more "cinematic" language (a constant throughout the Big Boss games for good reason), Ocelot will challenge you to a classic Western inspired Mexican Standoff in the middle of your duel.

But, this theme goes beyond references, and bleeds into the narrative. Your manipulators are actors, as are the other characters in this narrative, albeit unwittingly. It's fitting that this is the first "Solid" game to have a torture sequence that you don't get to play- why would you? It's all theatre, you don't mash the play button when James Bond gets tortured, do you?

The ultimate revelation in this theme is that nothing Naked Snake did was in his control. He played exactly to the system's commands, and he is speechless (literally) when he learns of just a hint of the manipulations. The Philosophers stand in for the Patriots, and Naked Snake constructs a "Solid Snake Simulation" program in the heart of Russia- one designed to create a new "Boss". The allusions to Metal Gear Solid 2 right from the opening ("Virtual mission?") almost tell you immediately what's going to happen.

The idea of the game projecting ideas to you immediately exists beyond there though. It plays with your expectations, but if you controlled them every twist would be incredibly obvious. Just because Ocelot is younger doesn't mean he can't be just as devious- he's here for a reason. EVA is suspicious, but the game gets you caught up in this comfy 60s spy thriller feeling, never letting go, so her over the top sex appeal flows right past the player. Of course The Boss is a bad guy, I mean, didn't Big Boss betray us only a few decades after this? But, Big Boss kept his antagonism in the shadows, while The Boss both demands better of you, as well as questions your own judgement.

The truly bitter note the game ends on though, is the scrolling text before the credits. Brought back after Metal Gear Solid 2 discarded it, we receive some additional history lessons, but this time they're on the history of Metal Gear rather than our own world. In it, we get to glimpse the events that occurred after Metal Gear Solid 3. The Philosophers become The Patriots, SIGINT joins ARPA, Para-Medic goes further into the medical field, Zero disbands FOX. But, after that, we get FOXHOUND, and the game ends on the beginning of the Les Enfants Terribles project, a project that would go on to echo the tragedy of The Boss and the Snake, where a new Snake is sent by his government to take down the war criminal, Big Boss.

A new stage for the same show.

If Metal Gear Solid is my gold standard for story driven games then Metal Gear Solid 3 is my platinum. A story so incredibly deep, unpredictable, thought provoking, and moving, confronting you with ideas like should you be loyal to your country or to those you love, what is a soldier’s place in war, the changing of the times, today’s ally becoming tomorrow’s enemy, and if our borders really matter, is there such thing as a truly timeless enemy. You’ll go from silly and campy to struggling to hold tears back. Every character is interesting and memorable. The backbone of it all is this fascinating relationship between Snake and The Boss. The final 20 minutes of this game are the peak of video game writing, hands down, nothing comes close.

The game as well is so mechanically in-depth, it’s insane. Trading MGS1 and 2’s arcadey kind of stealth for something more slow and methodical. This isn’t your Assassin’s Creed or Dishonered type game where you’re an unstoppable predator, completely dominant over your enemies. Here you’re one lone, undergeared, overmatched guy who’s dropped into no man’s land and have to grunge your way through using nothing but your skills, your smarts, and whatever tools you’re resourceful enough to procure on site. Your movement is more limited, making it harder to go through guns ablazing. Enemy sightlines are longer, but you can counter that with the new camo system. You have a lot more to pay attention to with all the survival mechanics, yet you also have more to take advantage of in the environment, you can drop a bee’s nest on a group of enemies, throw a snake at someone. The enemy AI as well is more advanced. They check out suspicious activity more easily, they cross paths more frequently, breach and clear rooms to try and flush you out, all of this is amplified during caution phase, which lasts much longer in this game. The game is ingeniously designed to get you anxious, prey on your impatience, yet every system feeds into the next, every mechanic has a counter, you have such an open ended amount of options for getting through every situation and that extends to the scripted sequences like the jailbreak, or the BOSSES. The bosses throughout Metal Gear are some of the most creative and stimulating in any series, but even with that in mind, none quite go as hard as the bosses in Snake Eater. If you were to ask me to name off my favourite bosses in any game, there’s at least three bosses from this game I’d be hard pressed to mention and you can be certain The End would make the top 3.

The game is so thorough, thoughtful, clever, challenging, innovative, well rounded, fun, it’s nothing short of a masterpiece, one of my favourite games of all time. Never again will I be able to climb a ladder and not hear the Snake Eater theme.