1. Fission Mailed (MGS 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAaLGiiQCxo This may very well be the most WTF moment that's ever happened in a video game. MGS 2's plot at times could be ridiculously convoluted (even by Kojima's standards) and a little bit hard to believe. It seemed to be a sequel lost in the shadow of its predecessor and just couldn't break away from its formula of weird bosses, clones and cyborg ninjas. It's as if there's a glitch in the Matrix, and it's not until Raiden gets to Arsenal Gear that you realise why. It isn't real. The entire game has been orchestrated by the Patriots to test their ability to manipulate events and human behaviour under the ruse of simulating Shadow Moses to create a soldier as great as Solid Snake. And so, when a virus is partially uploaded to their GW A.I., the entire game begins to come apart at the seams. Game over screens appear at random and the Colonel loses his mind, spouting nonsense about needing scissors and ordering you to turn the console off. Why? Because he isn't real either. Some people felt betrayed when they realised they wouldn't be playing as Snake for the majority of MGS 2, when all released media prior to its release implied this was the case. Kojima had manipulated digital information to us just as the Patriot's had to Raiden. The entire game plays on our expectations. We want to play as Snake, but we get Raiden instead and are forced to watch Snake be effortlessly badass from a distance. We never even questioned the existence of the Colonel because we expected him to be there telling us what to do. The same goes for the shark-jumping boss designs and the main antagonist that manages to have an even sillier Snake-based codename than Liquid Snake. This is why the Arsenal Gear plot-twist caught us by surprise. It got all of us. Hideo Kojima may very well be the best prankster in the history of the universe. What are some of your favourite moments from the Metal Gear Solid series? Sound off in the comments below!
Philip Haynes
Contributor
When I'm not playing games, I'm probably either writing about them somewhere or singing stupid songs inspired by them. Or eating pizza.
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