10 Video Games That Were Never Better Than Their First Levels

Hideo Kojima has never been a man for convention. His beloved baby, the Metal Gear Solid series, famously tempers its super serious themes with the silliest and most hilarious moments. Remember climbing that nigh-endless ladder in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater? Of course you do.

One of the greatest and most controversial tricks Kojima ever pulled was that bait and switch with Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2: Guns Of Liberty. As we all know, Solid Snake is the star of the Metal Gear show.

The gritty anti-hero with the voice gravellier than several bags of gravel is the face of the series. In the second game, he returned as the protagonist (for a time), the character players controlled in that dramatic opening sequence aboard the tanker. Snake (aided by Otacon) was tasked with investigating a possible new Meta Gear that was in development.

This sequence is Metal Gear Solid at its best. The tight, confined hallways, the roaming guards and the new mechanics (such as collecting dog tags from guards Snake had successfully ‘held up’) made fans feel right at home.

All too soon, though, we discover that this section of the game is simply the prologue, and that the vast majority of the game played out in the Big Shell. New FOXHOUND agent Raiden is the star of the show from then on, and things were never quite as compelling.