I am playing Metal Gear 4 on PS3. I have not played any of the previous games in the series and the plot is full of old references.
Can someone give a quick summary on what happened up to series 3?
metal-gear-solid-4-guns-of-patriots
I am playing Metal Gear 4 on PS3. I have not played any of the previous games in the series and the plot is full of old references.
Can someone give a quick summary on what happened up to series 3?
Best Answer
So, I'm going to write these in order of Metal Gear games (which is not chronological order) because I think that's the way he wanted the story told. I'm also going to start at Metal Gear, not Metal Gear Solid, because if you didn't play Metal Gear there is something wrong with you...
I'll also try to keep this brief
Metal Gear
The Protagonist (largely across the series) is Solid Snake. In the beginning you're the Rookie on a team called FOXHOUND which is headed up by a man known as BIG BOSS (these are all call signs). You're goal is to infiltrate a compound known as "Outer Heaven" which is run by a bunch of futuristic mercenaries lead up by the "Legendary Mercenary" (I assume that sounded cooler in Japanese). Your buddy Gray Fox went in before you but they lost contact with him so you have to get in, save him, and figure out his cryptic last message "METAL GEAR."
The game is actually a lot of fun but comes from the school of HARD where Mega Man 1-3 and Dwarf Fortress spent their formative years. Eventually you rescue Fox only to learn that Metal Gear is a giant Mech that can launch Nuclear Weapons. Everyone seems kind of hung up on the Nuclear part... You neutralize Metal Gear only to find out...
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
A group called Zanzibarland captures a scientist Dr. Kio Marv because he's solved the worlds Oil Problems (why is kind of silly). Solid Snake comes out of retirement (this happens a lot) and joins FOXHOUND again under Roy Campbell. You're to deal with Zanzibarland who you quickly find out is headed up by BIG BOSS; also he has another METAL GEAR model D.
Metal Gear Solid
FOXHOUND rebels and takes over a compound in the Alaska known as Shadow Moses. Once again Solid Snake has to come out of retirement to deal with the bad guys. Luckily this time BIG BOSS is actually dead, but unluckily they have a new METAL GEAR: REX. They also have a couple hostages including Roy Campbell's niece (I never was 100% why all of FOXHOUND except Campbell revolted). You sneak in and save the hostages, fight Revolver Ocelot, who seems to think this is the 1800s, get saved by a creepy Cyborg Ninja, who no one knows and may or may not be a friend and have a short love story with Meryl Silverberg (Campbell's niece).
All in all this game starts off sane and gets progressively less so.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
If you thought the plot to MGS was convoluted just wait... There are two stories in this game.
In the first story you're once again Solid Snake, only this time you're working for a renegade group going round and destroying METAL GEAR in third world countries with your buddy Otacon (one of the designers of REX). You find out the U.S. Navy is building anti-METAL GEAR METAL GEAR, called RAY, and instead of giving them a slap on the back you decide to sabotage the entire thing... You sneak on to an Oil Tanker, figure out how to fight (something you could barely do in the last 3 games), only to see Revolver Ocelot take over the ship with a bunch of Russians. Apparently, Ocelot thought it would be a good idea to replace his hand with your brother Liquid's and thinks he's Liquid now... well sometimes he does, it's weird. Liquid/Ocelot sinks the tanker and escapes with RAY.
The second story happens two years after the first. Apparently after the tanker went down they build a giant Oil Platform to cover up the whole METAL GEAR thing; and sure enough it gets taken over by terrorists known as The Sons of Liberty. The newest member of FOXHOUND Snake... I mean Raiden gets sent in to take then out and rescue the President. This is the first game where you don't play as Solid Snake. Now you might think: why not just send in Navy SEALs and let them take care of this? I guess they did that and it failed miserably. So bad there is only one left: Lieutenant Junior Grade Iroquois Pliskin who, for some reason, looks a whole lot like Solid Snake; go figure.
TRIVIA: Snake Plissken, played by Kurt Russel was the main character in the post apocalyptic movies: Escape from New York and Escape from LA.
Cyborg Ninja shows up again (despite dying in MGS) calling himself Mr. X and Revolver Ocelot/Liquid Snake has showed up for shits and giggles. You fight someone claiming to be Solid Snake (who Pliskin assures you isn't), who later turns out to be Solidus Snake (its like they're not even trying...), rescue the President, find out the whole oil platform thing is to hide ARSENAL GEAR which protects a super computer known as GW.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
After the cliff hanger at the end of MGS2, in true Metal Gear Solid fashion, MGS3 has nothing to do with it. Instead, MGS3 is a prequel. You're Naked Snake (see how hard was that) who was trained under The BOSS a hero of WW2 who also defects to the Russians. You infiltrate their base, learn about an Illuminati-esque organization The Philosophers who may or may not be dead, meet a young Revolver Ocelot, find out The BOSS didn't defect and is only on a mission, beat up everybody, save the world (but in secret), get dubbed the boss of all bosses: BIG BOSS, and finally get to have sex with a hot chick. Oh and Ocelot works for the CIA under the call sign ADAM... no clue why.
Honestly, it has almost nothing to do with the Plot, but it is one of the best games in the series (on par with MGS or the first story of MGS2) definitely worth playing, but completely irrelevant to the plot. I realize the "Philosopher's Legacy" (a giant pile of money) is supposed to bank roll the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo, but I could have done without that bit of fiction.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots
I have a confession, I never played MGS4 (or any other Sony Exclusive game after 2005, I might be vindictive), but instead watched the entire thing on Youtube. If you have 10 hours to spare its not a bad watch. As such, I can't really speak to the game play, but if MGS2 and 3 were any indication it was probably decent.
I've put the entire explanation in spoiler because the original asker wanted to know everything up to 4.
Ok, now reread the whole thing in Yatzee's voice (from Zero Punctuation).