10 Video Game Characters Stolen Straight From Hollywood

8. Solid Snake - Snake Plissken (Escape From New York)

Kratos American History X
Goldcrest Films/Konami

Possibly the most definitive and shameless video game rip-off of a famous movie character is  the great Solid Snake, who is so blatantly inspired by Snake Plissken that 'Pliskin' is even a codename that Solid uses for himself in Metal Gear Solid 2 - subtle, eh?

Not that Hideo Kojima ever admitted it, claiming simply that the name refers to some mumbo-jumbo about how snakes are quiet and how 'Solid' makes him sound tough (and the face is from Christopher Walken, apparently). Whatever, Hideo, no one's buying that. Just look at the picture - they look near-identical, and if there was to have been a Metal Gear Solid movie in the 80s, then there's no doubt that Mr. Russell here would have been the man for the job.

John Carpenter even said that CanalPlus, who own the rights to Escape from New York, considered suing Konami for the likeness, but chose not to because Carpenter met Kojima and thought he was a 'nice guy'. Awww...

Contributor
Contributor

Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.