Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Discussion Thread

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Seems GamePlay have sent out a pre-order early?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4fvLbROkVOk

PS, everyone could do this?

:laugh:

[CY:G]

Hahhaha, "with NET features"

[Lauguu]

WOoooW, nice fakie :D couldn't have done it better myself :p

[SojIrOu]

oh man another week to go. i'm going crazy already. its a good thing i ordered early. play-asia has just stopped pre-orders for the special edition (english) asia version.

that youtube video looks really fake. the cover of the game doesn't match the US version and the reflective side of the disc doesn't look dark grayish like a blu-ray disc.

[CY:G]

oh man another week to go. i'm going crazy already. its a good thing i ordered early. play-asia has just stopped pre-orders for the special edition (english) asia version.

Off topic, is your avatar from Samurai-X, "ruroni-Kenshin">???

[SojIrOu]

Off topic, is your avatar from Samurai-X, "ruroni-Kenshin">???

wow no one has ever noticed or asked me that since i joined the forum years ago. yes it is. it's seta soujirou or tenken no soujirou.

edit to previous post: i see its the european box art. guess that guy's a lucky *******

[Keito]

The only thing that is stopping me from swimming across the channel to you and punching you in the face Audio is the fact that I'll be getting one of <100 LE copies in the Netherlands XD

but seriously, have fun with it man! It will be my ultimate gaming experience, so I'll hope you will experience the same.

[Sethos]

Finally got to try the game and my god, right from the start the game contains tons of surprises.

You only play Old Snake for a good 15 Minutes before you start playing another, new character.

Snake is killed fairly early and you discover some pretty messed up thing about him :/

Meryl is also a traitor by the way :|

Yes, I'm a sad and bored individual, it's not true, relax :ninja:

[Jimmy0]

You have no idea how much I hate you right now Audio!

And Sethos - how did you manage to play the game? (Also don't you think some of that should go in spoiler tags, maybe?)

I think I am going to go into a little hole and cry for a while... :cry:

[Richard Hammond]

Finally got to try the game and my god, right from the start the game contains tons of surprises.

You only play Old Snake for a good 15 Minutes before you start playing another, new character.

Snake is killed fairly early and you discover some pretty messed up thing about him :/

Meryl is also a traitor by the way :|

Yes, I'm a sad and bored individual, it's not true, relax :ninja:

.....

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

You have no idea how much I hate you right now Audio!

And Sethos - how did you manage to play the game? (Also don't you think some of that should go in spoiler tags, maybe?)

I think I am going to go into a little hole and cry for a while... :cry:

:laugh:

Did you actually read what he wrote :|

[Jimmy0]

:laugh:

Did you actually read what he wrote :|

Not really, I sort of skimmed it because it looked like spoiler-ish talk. But if he's not being serious, then I will read it. :p

[Sethos]

I just had a scary thought, what if Meryl turned out to be a transvestite :rofl: - That would certainly boggle the mind.

[Jimmy0]

Ok ... I just read what you wrote. :p

Thank god for that, I nearly died a little inside. Damn you all! :laugh:

[Dirk]

What sucks is that the NA LE version of the game isn't that nice.

[richardsim7]

Audio, where abouts in Glasgow do you live? ;)

-Rich-

[Tech Star]

I can't wait! I put off re-buying a PS3 after I sold me 60GB just to get this. I am going to go to Costco on the 12th next week and buy the MGS4 bundle with the 80GB. :D

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Audio, where abouts in Glasgow do you live? ;)

-Rich-

I could supply you with those details, well kinda :p But I fancy the game for myself first of all :p

He doesn't live in the city though, quite a way aways actually lol

[richardsim7]

Well the closer to Edinburgh the better :D

-Rich-

[Digitalx]

can just imagine half of us outside his house being MGS4 hooligans for his game lmao

[DrunkenMaster]

I really can't wait to play this game but won't get a PS3 until Sept-Oct. Its going to be really hard to avoid all the spoilers I'm sure to come across on the internet.

I have a fairly good grasp of the plot (I've played all the MGS games incl NES ones) but I don't remember all the specifics enough to really explain all the complexities of the plot. I really want to benefit the most from playing MGS4. Anyone suggest a site with good summary?

[Digitalx]

I can write the summaries out if you want for games that are already out ?

[Digitalx]

1964 - Virtuous mission, Operation Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)

August 24, 1964. Thirty thousand feet above pakistan, a man launches himself from a special ops Combat Talon aircraft emblazoned with a US flag. It is the first HALO (High altitude, low opening) jump in history and the beginning of a covert virtuous mission.

Story:

Aided via radio by Major Zero, Para-Medic, and his former mentor The Boss. His mission is to rescue defecting soviet scientist Sokolov who is secretly developing an advanced nuclear equipped tank called the "Shagohod". Thing go to plan until The Boss defects to the Soviet Union and joins Colonel Volgins ranks and gifts him 2 of the Davey Crockett miniature nuclear shells. Sokolov is captured by the Cobra Unit and snake is badly injured after a CQB face-off with former mentor The Boss before defecting. This grants Volgin and comrades to leave with the Shagohod. Volgin detonates one of the shells to hide the theft and The Boss is subsequently blamed.

Having detected the US aircraft which deployed Snake flying over Soviet soil, the Soviet Union declares the United States responsible for the atomic attack, tipping both nations to the edge of a nuclear war. In a secret conference between US President Lyndon Johnson and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, a deal is hatched to prove the US's innocence and restore peace. The United States agree to stop Volgin's renegade faction, destroy the stolen Shagohod and eliminate the American defector, The Boss.

A week after being rescued from the region, Snake is redeployed into the Soviet jungle as part of Operation Snake Eater, to fulfill the United States' promises. During the mission, he gains the assistance of another American defector, ex-NSA agent EVA, who defected a few years earlier. After numerous encounters with the elite Ocelot Unit (led by a young Ocelot), and defeating every member of the Cobra Unit, Snake succeeds in locating Sokolov and the stolen Shagohod, only to be captured in Volgin's military fortress, Groznyj Grad. After witnessing the apparent death of Sokolov, Snake is tortured and has his eye injured when Ocelot shoots to kill EVA; Snake ultimately escapes.

When he returns to the facility to destroy the Shagohod, Snake learns of The Philosophers. Made up of the most powerful men in the United States, Soviet Union, and China, they are an Illuminati-like organization who control the world behind the scenes. However, after the end of World War II, they began to fight amongst themselves, and the organization broke down. The Philosopher's Legacy, a fund the organization had jointly amassed to finance their wars ($100 billion, about $1 trillion today when adjusted for inflation) was divided up and hidden in banks all over the world. Volgin had illegally inherited this money, and Snake learns that the US is attempting to retrieve it.

Snake continues his mission, destroying the facility and the Shagohod tank, while engaging Volgin, who is killed by a bolt of lightning during the battle. Snake and EVA travel to a lake, where a ground effect vehicle is hidden. Before they use it to escape the region, Snake confronts his old mentor, The Boss, whom he must kill to complete his mission. During this time a cut scene is shown stating that The Boss gave birth to a child (the father being The Sorrow) during a battle. Before this time however, during a radio call, EVA tells Snake that the reason Ocelot achieved the rank of major at such a young age was due to the fact that his parents were legendary soldiers. She also tells Snake that Ocelot's mother needed to cut Ocelot out during the birth, leaving a snake-like scar. This scar is seen on The Boss, which proves that she is Ocelot's mother. After an emotional battle, Snake overcomes his feelings and defeats her. He and EVA escape to Alaska, and spend the night together. During the night EVA disappears, and leaves behind a tape revealing herself to be a Chinese spy sent to steal the Philosophers Legacy for China. The tape continues, and EVA reveals that The Boss did not defect to the Soviet Union; rather, she was under orders to pretend to defect so she could infiltrate Volgin's ranks and find the location of the Legacy, which could be brought back to America. The final part of her mission was to sacrifice her honor and die at the hands of Snake, under the guise of a traitor, to prove the US's innocence in Volgin's nuclear attack from the beginning of the game.

Snake is awarded the title of "Big Boss" and given the Distinguished Service Cross for his efforts. Later, he arrives at an anonymous grave, The Boss', just one of thousands in the huge military cemetery he visits. Laying down The Boss' gun and a bouquet of lilies upon the nameless gravestone he scans the endless rows before him, salutes, and sheds a single tear.

After the credits roll, Ocelot is heard talking (a telephone conversation), and reveals that the microfilm containing the information on the Philosopher's Legacy given to EVA was a fake, that Ocelot himself was ADAM, that half of the real legacy is in the hands of the US Government thanks to Snake, and that he was working for the CIA.

1970 - San Hieronymo Incident (Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops)

It is the era of d?tente, The FOX Unit takes over Soviet Army base on San Hieronymo Peninsula and launches a rebellion. Big Boss, now retired from FOX is abducted and imprisoned by his comrades on the Peninsula. He escapes, forms his own units along with local soviet troops and sets out to put an end to FOX's rebellion. >

Story:

Six years after the events of "Operation: Snake Eater", portrayed in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Naked Snake's former team, FOX Unit, has broken their allegiance with the CIA and gone renegade. Snake himself is also targeted by the FOX Unit, which sent renegade FOX Unit soldiers to attack and capture him. The game begins with Snake being tortured and interrogated by one of the members of FOX, Lieutenant Cunningham, who's trying to locate the whereabouts of the missing half of the Philosopher's Legacy, with the United States Government having already acquired the other half of the Legacy from the Soviet Union at the conclusion of Snake Eater. Snake is imprisoned in a cell next to Roy Campbell, the sole survivor of an American Green Beret team sent in to investigate the base. Snake learns through Roy that they're on the San Hieronymo Peninsula, the site of an abandoned Soviet missile silo in Colombia.

The two escape and Snake makes his way to a communications base, where he attempts to contact his old CO, Major Zero. Instead, he is greeted by his old FOX comrades Para-Medic and Sigint, who reveal that Snake and Zero are being accused of instigating the revolt and that the only way for Snake to clear their name is to find and apprehend the leader of the rebellion, Gene. To complicate matters, Gene has also convinced most of the Russian soldiers stationed on the base to join their side by simply taking over the chain of command of a former Red Army unit, that was secretly stationed inside the Colombian territory. In order to complete his mission, Snake must persuade enemy soldiers to join his ranks because of the scale of his mission.

Snake and his squad defeat the top members of the FOX unit (if defeated by reducing their stamina to zero instead of their HP, some of the FOX members will join Snake's squad, this includes Null and Python) and eventually they make their way into Gene's guesthouse. Snake learns many things on his way. Cunningham was working for the Pentagon and wanted Snake to push Gene into launching a nuke to Russia to prolong the Cold War (so the Pentagon could keep their importance). Gene was actually aware of this plan the whole time from information from Ocelot. Gene really wanted to launch a nuke at America to destroy the Philosophers and to make his nation of soldiers, "Army's Heaven". Snake destroys an experimental model of Metal Gear codenamed RAXA and eventually defeats Gene, destroying the real Metal Gear itself afterwards. After Gene is defeated he gives Big Boss the funds, equipment, personnel, and all other information regarding Army's Heaven, telling him that one day, he will need to use them. On his return home, Snake is awarded for his actions and establishes FOXHOUND afterwards. In the end it is revealed Ocelot kills the DCI and takes the Philosophers documents to "end them". After the credits, Ocelot speaks with an unknown man on the phone. Ocelot speaks of using the Legacy to form the Patriots in place of the Philosophers. Ocelot actually wanted the trajectory data of the nuke to point to the DCI so he would bring the documents right to him. Ocelot requests Big Boss be able to 'join' them (he and the man on the phone) in their new endeavor - becoming the Patriots.

1995-1999 Outer Haven uprising, Zanzibar Land Insurrection. (Metal Gear & Metal Gear 2:Solid Snake)>

FOXHOUND, a new special ops unit led by Big Boss is dispatched to quell an uprising in the South African fortress state of Outer Haven. Big Boss sends a rookie, Solid Snake, on a mission to destroy Metal Gear, a nuclear armed bi-pedal walking tank developed by outer haven. After completing this mission, Solid Snake pursues the specter of Big Boss to Zanzibar Land.>

Story:

In the year 1995, 200km north of Galzburg, South Africa, lies Outer Heaven, a fortified state founded by a "legendary mercenary". Word had gotten out to the western world that deep within the Outer Heaven stronghold, a weapon of mass destruction is being constructed. Government officials order the high-tech Special Forces unit FOXHOUND to infiltrate the fortress, assess the situation and neutralize the threat. In his mission, FOXHOUND operative Gray Fox infiltrated the Outer Heaven stronghold. Days later, contact with Gray Fox is lost and his last transmission simply reads "METAL GEAR..."

Operative Solid Snake, FOXHOUND's newest recruit, is ordered by squad leader Big Boss to rescue Gray Fox and carry out his mission, "Operation: Intrude N313". Upon insertion into Outer Heaven, Snake makes contact with local resistance members Kyle Schneider, Diane, and Jennifer. Using all of his skills and the equipment he procured on site, he manages to rescue Fox. He learns from Fox that Metal Gear is the codename of a nuclear warhead-equipped bipedal walking tank, which can engage and dominate in all forms of combat as well as launch its nuclear warheads from any location. Outer Heaven plans to use Metal Gear to impose itself as the new world superpower.

In order to destroy Metal Gear, and topple the Outer Heaven mercenaries, Snake rescues the lead engineer of Metal Gear, Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, and his daughter, Ellen. Armed with information on how to destroy Metal Gear, his skill and indomitable spirit, Snake fights through the entire Outer Heaven force. He begins to notice that traps being set for him are too precise, and wonders how information on his activities is being tracked. Moreover, Schneider is ambushed by hostiles and is presumed dead after losing contact with Snake. One of the final hostages Snake rescues tells him that the mysterious "mercenary leader" of the entire base is none other than Snake's C.O., Big Boss, and that Outer Heaven is under his command.

Big Boss reveals himself to Solid Snake in the game's final battle.

Upon breaching the core of the base, Snake is able to neutralize Metal Gear before it reaches completion. As he makes his way out of the compound's basement, he is confronted by Big Boss himself; the corrupt leader had been using his connections within the U.S. government to steal military intelligence, establish his own mercenary force, and fund his activities. It was his aim to have Outer Heaven become the world's most powerful nation, able to bring even the western nations to their knees. He had the rookie Snake sent in, hoping to have him captured and feed the U.S. government misinformation, but had quite obviously underestimated Snake's capabilities.

Having lost Metal Gear and much of his force, Big Boss starts the self-destruct sequence for the compound, and promises he will not die alone; Snake will join him. An underground battle ensues, and despite injury, Snake defeats Big Boss and escapes the Outer Heaven compound as it crumbles in flames behind him. After the ending credits, a message from Big Boss is displayed saying that he will meet Solid Snake again.

By 1999, the Cold War had thawed, and nuclear disarmament by the major world powers promised a bright beginning to the 21st century. Despite this, all was not well in the world. A series of shocks to the oil market spurred the development of new high-tech energy sources, including fusion power. However, most vehicles still relied on oil for power.

Oil reserves were at a critical low, and the world community was prepared to take drastic measures, either by drilling into sand and shale for more oil, despite the difficulty -- or moving on to renewable fuels.

Such steps proved unnecessary when Czech scientist, Dr. Kio Marv, successfully bio-engineered a new species of algae, OILIX, that could produce petroleum-grade hydrocarbons with little expense and effort. Marv presented the algae to the World Energy Conference in Prague, and was on his way to a demonstration in the United States when he was kidnapped by soldiers from Zanzibar Land. NATO discovers that Zanzibar Land's leaders plan to hold the world hostage by controlling the supply of oil and nuclear brinksmanship, via a stockpile of nukes raided from nearby missile sites.

Solid Snake is brought out of retirement by FOXHOUND's new commander, Roy Campbell, and is sent to Zanzibar Land to rescue Dr. Marv.

On the course of his mission, Snake teams up with Holly White, a CIA operative posing as a journalist, and Gustava Heffner, an StB agent and Dr. Marv's bodyguard. He is also reunited with Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, the Metal Gear inventor from Outer Heaven, who claims to had been once again kidnapped and forced to work on another Metal Gear project (named Metal Gear D) for Zanzibar Land, as well as oversee mass-production of smaller, non-nuclear-equipped Metal Gear units. Snake learns from Dr. Madnar that Big Boss, Snake's former FOXHOUND commander, has survived and is the man in charge in Zanzibar Land.

Upon reaching the suspension bridge leading to the Detention Camp, Gustava is killed by a missile fired by Metal Gear D and Dr. Madnar is recaptured by the enemy. The new Metal Gear's pilot is revealed to be none other than Snake's former mercenary buddy Gray Fox. Determined to finish his mission, Snake fights against Zanzibar Land's elite mercenary force and manages to reach Dr. Marv's cell. Solid Snake confronts Gray Fox in one of the game's final battles.

Snake arrives too late, unfortunately, as he finds the corpse of Dr. Marv, who was unable to survive the repeated torture. Dr. Madnar is also there, who explains he was unable to save him. Just before Snake could retrieve the OILIX formula left by Dr. Marv, Holly reveals via a radio message that Dr. Madnar was not captured after all, but voluntarily resumed his work on Metal Gear and was personally overseeing its development. After the truth comes out, Dr. Madnar attacks Snake, but fails in killing him.

With the OILIX formula in Snake's hands, Snake is confronted by Gray Fox piloting Metal Gear D. After successfully destroying Metal Gear D, Snake finds himself in a minefield. The two engage in hand-to-hand combat against each other, and Snake eventually emerges as the victor.

Upon defeating Fox and retrieving the OILIX formula, Snake is met by Big Boss while trying to escape. Having lost his equipment and with no weapons at his disposal, Snake is forced to improvise using the only items he can find, a lighter and aerosol can. Fashioning a makeshift flamethrower, Snake defeats Big Boss for the second and final time. Snake and Holly escape together, and they deliver the OILIX formula to Campbell.

2005, Shadow Moses Incident (Metal Gear Solid)>

It is the dawn of the 21st century. The Special Forces unit FOXHOUND seizes control of a weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses, an isolated rock in Alsaka's Fox Islands. They present their demands to the government: hand over the remains of legendary hero Big Boss within 24 hours, or FOXHOUND will launch a nuke. In response, the government summons Solid Snake out of seclusion of Alaska's wilderness and sends him on a solo mission to infiltrate Shadow Moses.>

Story:

In 2005, FOXHOUND and a genetically enhanced Next-Generation Special Forces unit, lead an armed uprising on a remote isle in Alaska's Fox Islands called Shadow Moses. It is the site of a nuclear weapons disposal facility. They have acquired the nuclear-capable walking tank Metal Gear REX, and have threatened the U.S. government with a nuclear reprisal if they do not receive the remains of the "legendary mercenary" Big Boss within 24 hours.

As the game begins, Solid Snake, is dispatched at the request of Colonel Roy Campbell to penetrate the terrorist defenses and neutralize the threat. Snake is also ordered to locate hostages Donald Anderson, the DARPA chief and ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker. After finding the DARPA chief, he informs Snake of the new Metal Gear REX unit housed at the facility, but then suddenly dies of what appears to be a heart attack.[24] Snake then finds the other hostage, Kenneth Baker. Revolver Ocelot challenges Snake to a gunfight, which is interrupted by a mysterious cyborg ninja. Baker briefs Snake on the Metal Gear project and, like the DARPA Chief; he suddenly dies of a heart attack.

Snake then contacts Meryl via Codec, and agrees to meet her in the base's warhead disposal area on the condition that he contacts Metal Gear's designer, Hal "Otacon" Emmerich. Snake locates Otacon in his lab. The ninja reappears, and Snake realizes that it is actually his former ally Gray Fox, who he believed to have killed years earlier. Otacon agrees to aid Snake remotely, using special camouflage to procure information and supplies while he remains invisible. Snake meets with Meryl and agrees for her to accompany him on his mission. Meryl gives Snake a PAL key and they head for the underground base. Part way through the base, Sniper Wolf ambushes them, wounds Meryl, and captures Snake.

While imprisoned, Liquid confirms Snake's suspicion that they are twin brothers. Snake is tortured by Ocelot and the player can choose to give in to this torture, or not. Eventually Snake is able to escape.

Snake descends into the bowels of the Shadow Moses facility. He discovers that the DARPA Chief who Snake encountered was actually FOXHOUND member Decoy Octopus in disguise. Shortly after, Master Miller calls and reveals that Dr. Naomi Hunter, a support agent, has given Snake the genetically engineered virus "FoxDie" during his mission preparations, and is sending coded messages into the facility. Campbell swiftly orders her arrest. The virus, designed to kill people with particular genetic markers via cardiac arrest, was responsible for the deaths of Octopus and the ArmsTech president. Naomi contacts Snake and confesses that she joined the mission to sabotage it. But upon learning of Snake's own past, she no longer had the heart to kill him directly having reprogrammed the virus.

Infiltrating Metal Gear's hangar, Snake overhears Liquid and Ocelot preparing the launch sequence for Metal Gear REX. Thinking he is deactivating it, using the PAL key, Snake activates Metal Gear REX. Master Miller then reveals himself to be Liquid in disguise. He informs Snake that his entire mission was manipulated by the renegades to allow the launch of the nuclear weapon. Liquid explains that they are the product of the Les Enfants Terribles project, a government sponsored effort to clone Big Boss, that was conducted during the 1970s. Solid received all of Big Boss' dominant genes while Liquid received all the recessive genes.

Snake destroys Metal Gear REX and then defeats Liquid in a fistfight. He is then reunited with Meryl or Otacon, depending on the player's actions (see next paragraph). They escape, while being chased by Liquid, in a jeep. Liquid dies from the FoxDie virus. Colonel Campbell, briefly ousted from command of the mission, calls off a nuclear airstrike intended to obliterate the evidence of the day's events and officially declares Snake killed in action to stop the US Government's search for him in the future.

There are two possible endings, depending on the player's actions during the torture event. If the player gives in to the torture, Snake finds Meryl dead and escapes with Otacon. If the player does not give in to the torture, Meryl survives and escapes with Snake while Otacon volunteers to stay behind and sacrifice himself to help Snake and Meryl get out not knowing that the nuclear strike intended to hit the disposal facility would never come.

After the end credits the player finds out Snake is actually genetically inferior to Liquid and has an indeterminate amount of time left before FoxDie kills him. Ocelot is revealed to be a double agent for the President of the United States (Solidus, the third Snake). His intention were to obtain Baker's disk containing Metal Gear's specifications and deliver it to the President.

2007-2009 Tanker Incident, Big Shell Incident (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)>

In 2007, a tanker sinks in the middle of New York Bay. The disaster is orchestrated by Solid Snake, who is believed lost at sea along with the tanker...

Two years later, the floating Big Shell facility is constructed for the ostensible purpose of cleaning up the oil spilled into the water by the tanker. But the Big Shell is taken over by terrorist group called "Sons of Liberty". With the President held hostage, the government sends Raiden, a new recruit in the new FOXHOUND, to infiltrate the Big Shell.>

Story:

in 2007, two years after the Shadow Moses Island incident. Solid Snake and Otacon, now members of the NGO Philanthropy, are investigating the development of a new Metal Gear consistently described as being amphibious and having been designed as a counter-Metal Gear unit to "wipe the floor with all the other models" which have been built since Metal Gear REX's design was leaked. Shortly after Snake's arrival on the disguised oil tanker U.S.S. Discovery, a group of Russian terrorists under the command of Russian nationalist Sergei Gurlukovich attack the ship. After sneaking up to the bridge, Snake encounters Olga, Sergei's daughter, who has refused to leave the tanker despite being pregnant.

After he successfully tranquilizes her in combat, he sneaks his way down to the holds in order to record pictures of the new Metal Gear, RAY, an amphibious anti-Metal Gear prototype. Matters rapidly escalate as Revolver Ocelot betrays and murders Sergei Gurlukovich It is revealed that Ocelot has received a new arm following Metal Gear Solid, that of the late Liquid Snake, which via unknown means causes a change in Revolver Ocelot's demeanor and behavior, with Liquid somehow 'possessing' him. Under Liquid's control he sinks the tanker, and escapes with RAY before regaining command of his body.

in control of Raiden, supposedly operating under a reformed FOXHOUND two years after the Tanker Chapter on April 29, 2009. Initially referred to as "Snake", his orders are to rescue hostages, including the US President, from the terrorist group Sons of Liberty (backed up by the rogue anti-terror training unit, Dead Cell), who are also threatening to destroy the Big Shell Clean-Up Facility they have seized. Raiden infiltrates the Shell via sea while SEAL Team 10 enters by air. He joins forces up with SEAL Lieutenant Junior Grade Iroquois Pliskin and bomb specialist Peter Stillman to disable explosives planted on the Shell by Stillman's former pupil, Fatman, now a member of the terrorists. While Raiden successfully eliminates Fatman, Stillman is killed as a result of one of Fatman's traps.

With the assistance of a mysterious cyborg ninja calling itself Mr. X, Raiden locates the President, and discovers that the Big Shell is actually a disguise built right on top of a new Metal Gear. Known as Arsenal Gear, it houses a powerful AI supercomputer, "GW", capable of controlling information transmitted over the Internet. The President also claims the democratic process is a sham, and the true rulers of the United States are an organization known as the Patriots. Revolver Ocelot kills him soon after, and Raiden proceeds to his final objective: disabling Arsenal Gear and thus halting a nuclear strike. Pliskin, having revealed himself as the true Solid Snake, and Emma Emmerich, an Arsenal Gear engineer, assist Raiden in attempting to destroy the "GW" AI by uploading a virus. On the way to the computer room, Vamp attacks Emma. The virus transfer is still installed, but aborts partway through; Emma dies due to a fatal knife wound from the attack from Vamp. Snake and Raiden are left with no choice but to disable Arsenal physically. As Snake's partner Otacon escapes with the surviving hostages by helicopter, Mr. X returns, revealing itself to be Olga Gurlukovich, and knocks Raiden unconscious by hitting him in the back with her sword.

Awakening naked in an Arsenal torture chamber, Raiden is probed by Solidus Snake, the true terrorist leader. Solidus reveals that he once adopted Raiden, a former child soldier, as his son during an unspecified African civil war and that Raiden is now a Patriot agent. Olga, working as a Patriot double-agent within the Sons of Liberty, helps Raiden escape, and he locates Snake within Arsenal Gear. As they fight through the mammoth vessel, Raiden's commanding officer begins to act extremely erratically. It becomes apparent that the "Colonel" that Raiden has been taking orders from is actually a creation of the GW super-computer, pieced together from information about Colonel Roy Campbell coupled with Raiden's own expectations in order to manipulate him. The erratic behavior of the simulation is the result of the virus uploaded earlier beginning to damage GW's systems.

With Snake holding off a vengeful Fortune, Raiden is forced into battle with the battalion of 25 Metal Gear RAY units guarding the Big Shell. Olga intervenes to protect him, but is restrained by one of Solidus' robotic tentacles. Olga explains that 2 years ago, right after giving birth to her child, the Patriots took her away and have been holding her child hostage ever since. Olga continues to explain that the Patriots blackmailed her, ordering her to become a double-agent and make the S3 plan a success or her child would be killed. After explaining, Solidus shoots Olga in the head and throws her corpse out of the way. Her last words are: "Live, you have to!" The RAY units begin to malfunction, attacking each other and Solidus as the virus tears through the GW AI's program. Arsenal begins an emergency ascent, and Snake- now restrained by Fortune, Solidus, and Raiden are carried to the roof of the fortress as it surfaces. To Solidus' increasing rage, Ocelot reveals that he too is a Patriot agent, the entire episode of the day was a carefully coordinated attempt to reenact the events of the Shadow Moses Incident; what Ocelot describes as the 'S3 Plan', or Solid Snake Simulation, designed to turn Raiden into the perfect soldier. He kills Fortune and boards the prototype Metal Gear RAY stolen from the Tanker two years previous, and attempts to finish off the survivors of the exercise. However, Liquid possesses him, and announces his plan to hunt down the Patriots based on his host's knowledge. Setting Arsenal on a collision-course with New York, Liquid-Ocelot launches RAY into the ocean, followed by Snake.

Arsenal comes to a halt in downtown New York, launching Raiden and Solidus onto the roof of Federal Hall. Solidus reveals to Raiden his reasons for trying to steal Arsenal: a nuclear electro-magnetic pulse would take down Manhattan's digital infrastructure and allow Solidus to lead it as a republic against the Patriots, a nation of "Sons of Liberty". Likewise the Patriots, via another AI contact Raiden to reveal the truth of their actions, the AIs being programmed to becoming "digital censors", removing trite and needless information from the electronic world in what they call "Selection for Societal Sanity", or "S3 Plan". The information fed to Ocelot was another part of this plan. However, with such a control over the flow of digital information, they could as easily be manipulating perceived history for the Patriot's needs. Believing the only option available is to track down the Patriots using the information in Raiden's neural implants, Solidus offers his son one final duel.

Raiden defeats Solidus, and as crowds descend upon the wreckage of Arsenal Gear, Snake and Raiden meet one last time, where his mentor informs him that only he can choose what to believe in, and that he must pass on what he believes to be true. Having planted a tracking device on Liquid-Ocelot's Metal Gear, he and Otacon plan to follow him, and to hunt down the Patriots, whose details were hidden in the GW computer virus disc. As Snake disappears into the crowd, Raiden is finally reunited with Rose, on April 30, 2009 - the 220th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration as President of the United States, and the anniversary of Rose and Raiden's first meeting.

In a brief epilogue, Otacon and Snake discuss the decoding of the virus disc, which reveals that all 12 members of the Wisemen's Committee (the Patriots' high council) have been dead for approximately 100 years, and that one of them is a major sponsor of Philanthropy.

The story in chronological order so far for those who want it...

[Keito]

you win.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Well the closer to Edinburgh the better :D

-Rich-

Wrong direction :p