Metal Gear Solid series

Since the announcement of the HD Collection coming to PS3 and Xbox 360. I was definitely excited to hear Peace Walker getting a console port. I have always been a fan of Metal Gear Solid since it came out in 1998. Yes I will say that Hideo Kojima (creator of the MG and MGS franchise) is a genius. I never played the original Metal Gear series beside the NES port, which was okay for the most part. With MG: Rising dawning to a release date I could not be more excited for MG franchise.

When I played MGS way back on the Playstation, it was one of the first game I got emotionally attached to. The soundtrack was phenomenal. Especially  this song when the game ended. It is a beautiful masterpiece of a game and worth any gamers attention. I felt that the characters as ridiculous as some were, were actually believable. When I started to get older the more I appreciated this game. Solid Snake is one of the best characters ever concieved. The game takes place in Alaska on a base called Shadow Moses. I really like that it was one of the first games I played where you had to actually be sneaking instead of gun blazing. The boss battles were epic. One of my favorite boss battles in this game was against Frank Jaeger aka Gray Fox which was turn into a Cyborg Ninja. This boss battle was truly unique in a way of not using weapons. The more the battle went on, the more crazy Ninja got. When you finally find out who he is, it is quite shocking. Well it took me a lot of time to understand who he was when learning more about the series. It was the boss battle that stuck out to me in the game. Another boss battle was Psycho Mantis because it was the first game to mess with me. Especially when he reads your memory card and had to make you switch player controller ports due to him knowing your every move. It was definitely a unique play through. Just goes to show you Hideo knows how to make a damn good game. Metal Gear Rex was a battle that had me literally stunned. It was one of my first battle against a colossus. I also like the fact it was one of the first game to do two endings (well the first one I ever played).I want spoil anything but when you get to the torture chamber sequence the choice could alter the ending. It is truly one of the best game ever made and still holds up pretty well to today's games. The remake "MGS: The Twin Snakes" for the Gamecube was really a flawed remake to the modern audience. I played through it and did not feel what I felt with the original due to the dramatic change to music and voice actors. I did not go for the "Matrix" slow motion cliche cutscenes either. It was a nice way to get new fans but I just did not like it.

When the PS2 dawned and countless people waiting for a sequel to MGS, including me. When it was announced and a demo came with Zone Of Enders (which is another awesome game) a lot of people bought the game just for it. I never did get it because I wanted the full game. When it finally came out I was ready to dive into the next chapter. The game was awesome and at the same time it really confused the hell out of me. New additions were added to game play, which added a first person aiming mode. Which was a awesome touch and help to see where enemies were. As all the people who first played the game, I was surprised to see that you would be playing a new character named Raiden. I do agree with people that he was completely underwhelming to play as and he was a wuss. The bosses in this game were definitely a pack that I liked. I like Vamp up until to point he got annoying because he kept coming back.... Solidus final battle was really fun to play through and showed that fighting without guns was still fun as playing with them. But all in all the second chapter to the series was still awesome. After I finished the second I was wonder where the series would go next.

Found this while looking for a pic of Volgin

The next entry really made me surprised because it was a prequel instead of a sequel to MGS 2. MGS 3: Snake Eater was set in the Cold War era and you played Big Boss. Solid and Liquid's father which was discovered in MGS. This game tried a different style of sleath and that is survival. Killing and eating animals to keep your stamina up. I found the game very challenging than the other entries. I did like discovering the past of Ocelot and finding who Solid's father was. The boss battles were crazier than ever. Note to people playing through try not to kill too many enemies. When you get to The Sorrow you will have a long walk through that river.....I should know. I did like the main adversary, Volgin. He was a actual bad ass and kick the living shit out of Big Boss. He kept saying Kuwabara sometimes. When he said, that I think of my favorite character from Yu Yu Hakusho (popular anime). The game had it all, action, suspense, romance, and a lot of other stuff that made this a great time to pick up on the series.

We all knew the MGS was not over and it was still left with what is the future of Solid Snake. The answer would be the PS3. I was pissed to know that I would probably have to wait to dive into the next game due to the insane price of a new PS3 back in 2006. When the first big trailer was shown of MGS 4: Guns of the Patriots you knew people would be blown away. A big surprise to learn was that Solid Snake has aged quite a lot and I was wondering what the hell was going on. After playing through the game, I have to say it definitely was on par as one of the best damn games I have ever played. I know people grip about long cutscene's but it is what makes the experience much more playable. Like a big action movie sort of speak. I still not giving much away on Snake's final chapter. But I will say you will be visiting Shadow Moses again. It was one of the moments I was left just mesmerized and almost about to cry. Because I remember when I first played MGS and it played that song I posted (which made it a sadder journey). Hideo Kojima was a pure genius to make people feel emotions when the go through Shadow Moses for one last time. The boss in this game were just on the borderline of pure insanity. Another thing I want to show off is one of my favortie parts of the game. This takes place on Shadow Moses after obtaining Metal Gear Rex (the MG in the first game) and facing off againist MG Ray (from MGS 2). The battle is pretty epic.  Some other thing that I was glad that they improved on was Raiden character. He was no longer the wimpy sidekick type character, he was full blown war machine. Altering his body into a cyborg (sort of like Ninja in MGS). The last thing I wanted to say is that it definitely answers a lot of burning questions and also raises some other ones. But it was a awesome and sad closing for the mullet bond hero. After finally finishing up the MGS saga. I have to say I am proud to be a gamer. These games pushed a limit of interaction and action (for me) to whole new level. With great characters and memorable lines, cliche plot points, and boss battles that are always a great time to play through. If anyone asked me what would be my most cherish memory in gaming. It would be the entire MGS saga. These game will stand the test of time, and hopefully bring more people into playing. I want to do a more detailed input on MGS 4, but I would just say play through the entire series then come back to me.

With the future of MG games looking bright I can help to see what is next. MG: Rising is looking really great and I want to see how Raiden has become more of bad ass instead of the character he was in MGS 2. I really am looking forward to HD collection and hopefully it will bring more fans into the series. I give my thanks for Hideo Kojima for making such a great series like other countless fans we thank you for making games that stick with us for a long time. Thanks for reading. I know I did not cross a lot of ground with the post but I wanted to give a taste of what made this series special to me. I did not talk about the spin off games of the main saga because I wanted to talk about the main series. I hope many play the series after reading this. Again thanks for reading.