To My Old Flame, Metal Gear Solid.
When I started playing the Metal Gear series, I thought I had found the perfect game. It was deliberate, interesting, and full of surprises. I started playing the series when Metal Gear Solid came out for the Playstation. I had heard of the NES version before, but it didn’t interest me. Metal Gear Solid had moments that define a genre, little touches that made me love it. There’s nothing quite like tapping on a wall to get the attention of a guard then sneaking around the other side to choke the life out of said guard. It had its hokey moments, but you let those things pass when you’re in love. MGS2 came along and the cracks in our relationship started to show. Extended Cinemas; long, pointless, boring conversations about nothing, guys peeing on me. I looked past these things saying “Hey! It’s post-modern! Doesn’t anyone get that?” I didn’t really believe this. The MGS series was a star, and didn’t need me anymore.
I didn’t bother to pick up MGS3 when it first came out. MGS2 left me feeling betrayed, and I didn’t trust the series. When my roommate picked up a PS2, I decided to give it a try. I don’t know if it was my lowered expectations, or just because I missed my old buddy Snake, but it was love all over again. We were tramping through the jungle, choking guys like crazy, laughing as we sniped soldiers in the back of their skulls. Past transgressions were all forgiven while I ignored current problems and looked forward to the next time we could meet.
As soon as Metal Gear Solid 4 was announced I thought to myself “Well, I guess I’ll have to buy a Playstation 3.” That’s exactly what I did. I had heard about the long cinemas, the stilted, ridiculous dialogue, and the poorly placed humor, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was the gameplay. Snake was back and it would be awesome. Turns out Snake was back, but he was on the couch watching a movie, ignoring me. It took me a while to realize this, but when two long cinemas bookend 4 seconds of gameplay, that kind of thing creeps into your mind. It’s as if lessons learned from that first mistake were CQC’d right into the dirt. The gameplay is still enjoyable, but there’s so little gameplay. I guess I wouldn’t mind so much if the cinemas were entertaining, but they aren’t. Maybe if they always served to advance the storyline I would be more forgiving, but they don’t. What really kills me about the cinemas is how they could have been part of the game. Hideo Kojima and crew know how to do this. They do a great job with a very tense sequence where you’re riding on the back of a motorcycle. The camera is swinging around, you’re shooting everything that moves, it’s wonderful. The whole game could have been this way. It wasn’t. Kojima is a great visual director. The game looks great. the cinemas are well edited and well timed. There’s just very little content. In the beginning I would have forgiven these things, these confidence destroyers. It’s a good thing this is Snake’s last outing, because if it wasn’t, Metal Gear and I would break up. I’d want to still be friends, but we all know how that works out. Maybe if they make a Metal Gear Solid 5 I’ll see it at a friend’s house. I’ll say hi, and ask what it’s been up to. We’ll chat for a bit and try to catch up. However, the whole time I’ll really be wondering what Mario is up to nowadays.