Here are the 15 greatest moments in Sonic the Hedgehog history!
Ever since it debuted during in the MSX/NES days, Metal Gear has been the ultimate series for stealth action. Whether you were playing as Solid Snake or Big Boss, there were plenty of great moments throughout.
In time for next week’s release of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, we have the 15 greatest moments in MGS history.
When Metal Gear Solid 2 dominated E3 without even being there
At the 2000 Electronic Entertainment Expo, all eyes were on Konami’s booth, as the company showed a new trailer for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty on its big-screen every hour, on the hour. People were so excited this easily trumped the rest of the show.
When Psycho Mantis messed with your head (Metal Gear Solid)
When Metal Gear Solid arrived in 1997 for PS One, it came with a fair share of surprises – among them the vile Psycho Mantis. This freak popped up out of nowhere and not only taunted you at every turn, but even messed with your head by reading your memory card. In fact, the only way to beat him is to change controller ports. Weird…but definitely memorable.
When killing Ocelot created a time paradox (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
There’s a great chance to kill the dreaded Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Doing this creates a time paradox, since he’s so pivotal to future games. Someone even yells at you, “Your future will be changed!” Hey, maybe it’ll be a better future, right? No? OK, we’ll wait to kill him.
When you faced The End for the first time (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
There are many great boss fights in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but the one featuring The End trumps them all. This old, crusty sniper is no fool, and can easily pick off Big Boss if he’s out in the open. This results in a long strategic battle where you must find the right opportunity to snipe him. If that’s not your bag, move the PlayStation 2 clock forward a few days, and he’ll simply die of old age.
When you faced off against the Metal Gear robots
Over the years, the franchise provided a number of great Metal Gears to face off against. The original MGS had the powerful REX; Metal Gear Slid 2 brought in both the Ray and the Arsenal Gear; and Snake Eater managed to throw the armored Shagohod at you, with ballistic missiles in tow. Many of these units posed a big challenge, though we’re still trying to figure out the purpose of the Gekko.
When you realized enemies can track your footprints (Metal Gear Solid)
One key feature to Metal Gear Solid’s tactical action is that enemies aren’t as dumb as they appear. Sure, they might miss an explosion every once in a while, but it’s after looking over the perimeter and wondering where a fresh set of footprints came from – instead of blindly walking over them – when you realize this game is different from other stealth titles.
When you had to look at the game’s packaging for a Codec (Metal Gear Solid)
Â
In what has to be one of the most brilliant packaging moves available in the video game, Metal Gear Solid forced you to physically look inside a game case for a Codec midway through. Upon being requested to find it, you had to look at the back of the CD case (with the image that reads “Meryl…” and grab the Codec.
When Hideo Kojima appeared in his own game (Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker)
Every once in a while, a developer will put him or herself into a game, just as a nod to the fans. That’s exactly what producer/director Hideo Kojima did in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. To locate and add him to your team, find the truck with the license plate 63824. You’ll find Kojima in the back and extract him to Mother Base.
When Mario provided Snake with a surprise health boost (Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes)
The GameCube port of Metal Gear Solid came with its own share of surprises, including an appearance by Nintendo staple characters Mario and Yoshi. After battling the mysterious Ninja and wandering around Otacon’s office, you’ll come across Yoshi and Mario statues. Shoot them both for a little surprise – as well as a 1up health boost from the helpful plumber.
When Metal Gear Solid became a two-man show (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)
Most people think that Snake is the only star of the Metal Gear Solid games. Not necessarily. In Sons of Liberty, Kojima introduced a new protagonist by the name of Raiden. When first introduced, he’s not entirely up to fighting form, since he’s…naked? However, in following games, he’s awesome – especially in Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. Speaking of which…
When Metal Gear Rising Revengeance blew our minds
When Hideo Kojima announced Metal Gear Rising, it was conceived as a slice-and-dice Kinect powered game. After that, the project disappeared for a while, only to reappear a few years later as an action title developed by Platinum Games, the same studio behind Vanquish and the Bayonetta adventures. Focusing more on hardcore action, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance arrived in February 2013 – and delivered a fun, if short, spin-off from the Metal Gear Solid franchise.
When Zero returned out of nowhere (Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots)
Â
Metal Gear Solid fans know that Zero plays a pivotal role in the storyline, but few expected him to show up like he did in Metal Gear Solid 4. In a scene following Meryl and Akiba’s wedding on the tarmac, Snake is shown standing over a grave in a cemetery when Big Boss appears, pushing a man in a wheelchair – Zero, who’s still alive. His reappearance startled many.
When you got detected for the first time and tried to lose the guards (Metal Gear Solid)
Everyone is familiar with the red exclamation point in Metal Gear Solid, right? It’s a staple that indicates that a guard spotted you. The first time you discovered this in Metal Gear Solid, it was a thing of beauty, as you scrambled to hide while the guard was in hot pursuit, with the music getting more intense. If you were good enough, you could shake his pursuit, leaving him perplexed. Until the next time, that is.
When you tried to survive the torture scene (Metal Gear Solid)
One of the tougher moments in the original Metal Gear Solid was having to survive torture from Ocelot. Snake finds himself strapped into a device, experiencing huge amounts of pain. He must endure, since submitting results in Meryl’s death. This is still a brutal scene to this day, because the slightest mistake restarts the torture. Argh!
When you crawled around in a cardboard box the first time
Everyone remembers the first time they put a cardboard box over Snake and crawled around to evade guards. It’s hilarious and somehow effective. For good measure, the oil drum in Metal Gear Solid 4 was an ideal hiding place, though a bit more obvious.
Here are the 10 greatest Metal Gear bosses, and how to beat them!
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes releases on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this Tuesday.
Published: Mar 14, 2014 08:20 pm