In this new segment we'll take a look at some of the game industry's most influential and popular game franchises. Today we focus on the Metal Gear Series.
During the early years of video game development for Konami (then called Konami Industry Co. Ltd) they had great success. Arcade hits such as Frogger, Scramble and Super Cobra were all shipped to the United States in the early 1980's, and all were very popular in the states. It wasn't until a few years later in 1982 that Konami of America, Inc. was founded (currently knows as Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.). A year later Konami began manufacturing and selling MSX games. MSX and eventually MSX2 were home computers developed in Japan and sold all over the world. MSX2 would be the home of the first game in the historic Metal Gear series.
In 1986 one of Konami's newest members by the name of Hideo Kojima joined the publisher as a designer and "planner" in their home computer division. At first Kojima was disappointed with his assignment working with the MSX platform, because he felt the Nintendo Entertainment System was superior. He was a rookie in the video game industry and his ideas were often overlooked. After working on a few small titles he finally got his big break. Kojima was asked to take over the project Metal Gear, and he never looked back. Kojima created the gameplay focusing on prisoner escaping and stealth combat.
Metal Gear was released in 1987 for the MSX2 in Japan and parts of Europe. The game centers around a special forces agent under the code name Solid Snake. In the game Snake is sent to the state of "Outer Heaven" to stop a nuclear walking tank known as "Metal Gear." The gameplay was all about avoiding enemies and sneaking around. A port of the game was later made for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This was just the foundation of the Metal Gear franchise story and gameplay.
Box art for the 1987 game Metal Gear
Because of the success of the first game, Konami choose to create a sequel, however they didn't involve Kojima in the development. Snake's Revenge came out on the NES, but wasn't up to par as the first one. Kojima was asked to created a true sequel and as a result returned to the Metal Gear story and developed and released Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the MSX2 in 1990. MG2 further evolved the stealth action from the first one. This time players had more options of gameplay. Snake could crouch, crawl into hidden places, use radar to see enemies and distract guards by knocking on different surfaces. Kojima took a break from the Metal Gear series and created numerous other games in the 1990's. It wasn't until 1998 that he made his triumphant return on Sony's PlayStation system.
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake released in 1990
In 1998 Kojima became an international icon in the video game industry with the release of Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation. MGS was the next installment from the first two games and featured 3D graphics and voice acting. It also had cinematic cut-scenes and a well developed story line of characters. Two years later in 2000 Metal Gear Solid (also known as Ghost Babel) was released for Game Boy Color and was an alternate sequel to the original Metal Gear. The game was set seven years after Snakes missions in Outer Heaven. It has been hailed as one of the best games for Game Boy Color receiving numerous "10 out of 10" ratings.
Metal Gear Solid for PlayStation & Game Boy Color
Shortly after in 2001 Kojima developed and released Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for the PlayStation 2. The game had amazingly detailed graphics and physics. The storyline was extremal complex and involved themes of manipulation, censorship and even the flaws of democracy. The plot centered around a group of terrorists known as "Sons of Liberty" who seize an offshore clean-up facility. They demanded the death of the President of the United States and threatened to cause environmental disaster by destroying the facility they captured. Playing as Snake, gamers had to infiltrate the facility and stop the terrorists. The characters were also very detailed and featured the series newest protagonist Raiden and antagonist Vamp. A year later in 2002 Kojima produced and directed Metal Gear Solid: Substance. Substance was a multi-platform (Xbox & PC) updated version of MGS2:SOL. It featured new game alterations including extra levels and 300 virtual reality training missions. Some missions were even in first-person shooter mode.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty & Substance
A few years later in 2004 Kojima returned to Nintendo and produced Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for Gamecube. It was a remake of the first MGS game on PlayStation. Then in November Kojima released Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for the PlayStation 2. Unlike the other games in the Meal Gear franchise, Snake Eater was set during 1964 in a Russian forrest, focusing on camouflaging and wilderness survival. The game's main protagonist Naked Snake attempts to rescue a weapons designer and destroy a super weapon in the making. Snake Eater was still all about stealth infiltration and featured comic relief humor. A year later in 2005 Metal Gear Solid 3: Substance was also released for PlayStation 2. Following the similar pattern of MGS 2: Substance it was an updated version. This time around Substance 3 featured an online multiplayer with tournament style game modes. Along with these titles, Hideo Kojima also created his own game development company named Kojima Productions to focus solely on creating games.
Twin Snakes, Snake Eater & Substance 3
Along with the platform games released in 2004 and 2005 Kojima produced Metal Gear Acid and Metal Gear Acid 2 for the PSP. These games didn't follow the typical Metal Gear style games, but were a turn based collectible card game. "Acid" stands for Active Command Intelligence Duel. Needless to say fans of the series weren't happy with the games and neither were the critics. They both received mediocre ratings and are the only card games in the Metal Gear franchise (thank goodness). A year later in 2006 the Metal Gear series was re-born on the PSP when Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops was released. Kojima wrote, and was the executive producer of the game. Portable Ops is set in 1970 in South America, six years after Snake Eater. Snakes former team FOX unit goes rogue and tries to kill Snake. The game has tons of action and an even more impressive story. In the end, Snake meets up with some of his former comrads and together they manage to defeat the top members of FOX unit. Like many Metal Gear games before, an online version of the game was released in 2007 called Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus.
Acid 1 & 2, Portable Ops & Plus, along with Kojima Productions Logo
2008 gave us arguable the most impressive Metal Gear game of all time. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (written, produced and directed by Kojima) received numerous perfect scores and "Game of the Year" awards. It has been hailed as Kojimas greatest game, being called technically flawless. Some even claim it is one of the best, if not the best game in our generation. Guns of the Patriots is set in 2014. The worlds economy is dependent on war fought by PMC's (private military companies). These soldiers are equipped with nanomachines to enhance their performance on the battlefield. The network that controls these nanomachines is called the Sons of the Patriots, and the games antagonist Liquid Ocelot is planning to hijack the entire system. It's up to (an aged) Snake to stop him. MGS 4 also has an online multiplayer with games modes such as deathmatch, stealth deathmatch and team deathmatch to name a few.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
The latest two games Kojima has been working on are Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (see our preview) for the PSP, and Metal Gear Solid: Rising for PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows. Peace Walker lets players commands once again, Naked Snake as you and the Soldiers Without Borders investigate a mysterious military force loaded with a bomb called Peace Walker. The game takes place in 1974 in the defenseless nation of Costa Rica. MGS: Rising is the first game in the series where gamers will play as Raiden. He appears in his cyborg-ninja state similar to what he looked like in MGS 4. As of today no details of the plot have been released. Knowing Kojimas previous work, it's safe to say this game will be incredible.
Peace Walker and Raiden in Metal Gear Solid: Rising
In the game industry the Metal Gear franchise is timeless. Kojima has created such an immersive and in-depth story for gamers to enjoy forever. Snake is an icon and he'll always be remembered as the face of Konami and the PlayStation consoles. Everything from the stealth and tactical style approach, to the comic relief. Metal Gear games have evolved over the years, yet still seem to capture our hearts over and over again. Konami should always remember that they are forever in debt to Hideo Kojima for everything he has done for the them. I just can't wait to see what Hideo has planned for us in the future.
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-KM
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