10 Gaming Franchises That Suffer From Extreme Over-Complication
2. Metal Gear Solid
If you bought an Xbox 360 instead of a PS3, you lucked out in that you didn't need to see Metal Gear Solid temporarily jump the shark. Guys, lets face it, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a mess. It exists in a reality very few people can relate too, features a complicated and overlong plot about various AI systems that control the world, has a soda-pop drinking monkey and a supporting character with irritable bowel system. To call Metal Gear Solid 4 tonally uneven is like calling Yokozuna 'a little chunky'. Metal Gear Solid IV also had the problem of attempting to tie up all the loose ends from Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, putting a supposed end-cap on the franchise and trying to leave fans satisfied. And in a way it did. For fans who followed the franchise from Metal Gear Solid's Alaskan base to Metal Gear Solid 2's big shell and Metal Gear Solid 3's Russian jungle (there are no jungles in Russia), Metal Gear Solid 4 was a conclusion that made a point to pay off all the loose threads the previous games left dangling, but at the expense of pacing, accessibility, and plot cohesion. Lets also remind ourselves that Metal Gear Solid was a franchise that started out as a decently grounded in reality sci-fi military espionage tale - sort of like a more serious take on the stuff in the James Bond flick Moonraker. Yes there were fantastical elements like psychics and keys you had to melt in order to fit into certain locks, but largely the first Metal Gear Solid was restrained enough to be somewhat believable and allow players to meditate on its themes. The franchise then went on to include a roller-skating bomber, Liquid-Ocelot (the result of Ocelot replacing his severed hand with Liquid Snake's) which in-turn allowed Liquid's spirit to posses him, an incredibly expensive conspiracy designed to recreate the events of Metal Gear Solid, a group of all-seeing 'Patriots' who controlled how the world worked...despite being dead for years, really gross, sexually-offensive boss battles that resulted in enemies springing from their mechanical bodies in their underwear and being shot multiple times until they died 'for real', and, oh yeah - a little girl trying really hard to make good eggs. Metal Gear Solid is the definition of overcomplicated. It is impenetrable and confusing and so tied up in its own continuity it never stops to catch people up in a way that isn't ham-handed, awkward, or an exposition dump. There's also the question of how seriously the game wants players to take it. In Peace Walker you gained the ability to literally balloon people out of the Cuba via the Fulton Recovery System - and its a huge part of the game. But when it would have come in handy in the most recent Ground Zeroes game it's no where to be found. Ultimately Metal Gear Solid is a series where you need to start at the beginning or find yourself confused and disinterested in a story that was once the shining example of cinematic storytelling, but is now it's an utter mess.
