Today I had planned to do a massive blow out of some of my favorite video games, but I have been stricken with some sort of minor illness and I doubt that I will be able to get all that much typing done, at least not coherently. So instead I am just going to post a little bit about my favorite franchise: Metal Gear Solid. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Hideo Kojima, and I have called his masterwork the medium's most important body of work, rivaled perhaps only by what Miyamoto has done in the industry since the early days of Nintendo. The Metal Gear series is criticized for being overly convoluted, and while it is not without merit if you play the games and have a decent memory it is not more difficult to figure the series out than it is to come to a satisfying conclusion about The Matrix, Star Wars, or any number of literary compilations, like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, that develop their own universe.
But Kojima does more than develop a complex world, in fact he takes many cues from world history and conflicts to lay the groundwork for the Solid Snake universe. Kojima has the world, the plot, the characters to hold his story together, but the ballast is the thematic fortitude that is found in each individual entry as well as the series entirely. The series explores the ramifications of a completely technologically reliant world, the corruption of governments, and the meaning of being. I can remember first getting MGS for the first Playstation, and I hardly knew what I was in for. The way the game didn't place the focus on the gunning, but rather on the sneaking. The colorful bosses, the twisting script, it all converged in a beautiful display of creativity.
Then the second game came out on the PS2 and I found what I still consider to be my favorite game. Sons of Liberty has Kojima reaching beyond the disc in ways that even surpass the encounter with the beloved Psycho Mantis from its predecessor. Lines are blurred until we are no longer sure that we are playing a game, or where the game world ends and our world begins. The notable challenge to expectation is the inclusion of Raiden as the main character, or the heavy focus on his romance with Rose, but as the game builds Kojima further reveals his hand. As we watch the systems of the game crumble, we also see the illusions that the world has created for us crumble as well. It reaches, it makes us think, and it keeps it all in line with the rest of the fiction. What Kojima achieves is not only a marvelous balancing act, he finds awareness.
The following two games in the series, actually three since Peacewalker is meant to be MGS5 (though my PSP's memory stick is so small that I have not had the pleasure of diving in to the continued adventures of Big Boss), are also top notch, culminating in a climactic battle that is one of the series's best moments. And obviously these games would not be great if they did not have the gameplay to support them. The level design is pitch perfect, allowing players to decide how open or concealed they want to remain, and the controls are always tight because the action never gets too taxing even if you decide to go in guns ablaze in each area. It's fundamental game design perfected, the tricks are there, but you always feel free. And there are always Easter eggs tucked away to make the experience that much more complex.
I'm sorry I could not give the series my full attention. I hope, one day, to use the Metal Gear Solid series in my crusade for the academic recognition of video games's validity since it works one each and every level, but today is not that day. Still, Kojima's masterpiece, or pieces as the case may be, defines the power of games for me, and I can't wait to see how he continues the series. Or, you know, he could work on something else, but he seems to have unfortunately been pressured in to remaining attached to the franchise by various death threats from fans. Probably a good counter argument to the games as art debate as well in the way Kojima has been, seemingly, forced to extend a series instead of simply telling a story and moving on, but I would contend that claim.
Thanks for reading!
Tomorrow's Topic: Fears
Rich
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