The most profound manipulation in the history of the Metal Gear Solid series came in the third game, Snake Eater. At the beginning of the game, Big Boss' mentor The Boss defects to the Soviet Union, and one of the key mission objectives of Operation Snake Eater ends up being to kill her, in order to prove U.S. innocence in the nuclear attack that took place at the end of the Virtuous Mission. At the end of the game, Snake reluctantly faces off against The Boss, and after a protracted battle in a beautiful field, he shoots her (a jaw-dropping moment which the player is forced to perform themselves). After Big Boss spends the night with Eva, he finds out that The Boss was in fact not a defector, but a spy deployed deep within Volgin's ranks in order to help the U.S. secure custody of the Philosopher's Legacy. Her final act, of allowing herself to be killed by Snake, ensured America's innocence, while her destiny was to die a traitor. Only Snake and a handful of others ever knew her real stature as a hero, a revelation devastating enough to actually make Big Boss cry. And so too did we. We already weren't mad about the idea of killing such an awesome soldier and Big Boss' former mentor, but we did it. When we found this out, the sour taste left in Big Boss' mouth was too felt in ours, one of exhausted devastation, even regret. What's more, it's even worse on repeat playings: we've all lingered long on that screen, wanting to not pull the final trigger. Did we miss any bosses you absolutely hated killing? Let us know in the comments!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
