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Metal Gear Solid 3 | Metal Gear | Metal Gear 2 : Solid Snake | Metal Gear Solid | Metal Gear Solid 2
Metal Gear Solid 3
001:METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER
The Genesis of the Metal Gear Saga
Narrator
Metal Gear a fearsome, fictional weapon that threatens the world with nuclear holocaust serves as both the basis and the title for one of the most celebrated franchises in interactive entertainment.
The creation of director Hideo Kojima, the Metal Gear Saga spans five groundbreaking games and a series of spin-offs that have combined to sell tens of millions of copies worldwide.
Since its debut in 1987, the Metal Gear story has spawned a rich and unforgettable world full of facinating characters, epic conflicts, and futuristic themes.
But as Kojima and his team began preparations for the third game in the Metal Gear Solid series Snake Eater the clock was turned back in time giving gamers a glimpse into this saga's genesis.
Released in North America and Japan for the Playstation 2 console in 2004 and in Europe the following year, Snake Eater was met with enormous commercial and critical acclaim.
Critics and fans alike applauded the game for its unique, survival-based gameplay, stunning visuals, and powerful narrative.
Set in the jungles of Russia, Snake Eater reveals a formative chapter in the life of Big Boss, father and later, foe of series protagonist Solid Snake.
The year is 1964, and international spies have replaced infantry soldiers on the invisible battlefield known as the Cold War.
Kojima
It was in the years 1963 and 1964, with the assasination of President Kennedy and the Vietnam War, when America gradually fell into a dark time in its history.
I chose this period because it provided a rich backdrop for MGS3.
Narrator
In the 11th hour agreement between the United Statesand the Soviet Union, the U.S. government hoping to abate the Cuban Missile Crisis negociates the return of Soviet scientist Nikolai Sokolov to the Communist bloc.
Crucial to shifting the tides of the Cold War, Sokolov is the targe of a former Special Forces agent assigned to bring him back to American soil.
That agent, a Green Beret named Jack, is codenamed Naked Snake.
As with every installment in the series, Kojima populated Snake Eater with a colorful cast of characters.
While the early appearences of the treacherous Revolver Ocelot was sure to please fan, no character played a more pivital part in Jack's story than his mentor The Boss.
This mysterious woman warrior symbolized one of Snake Eater's most essential themes; maternity.
Kojima
At this point in my career, I had made enough games about paternity.
This time around, I wanted to explore "maternity."
So I needed to develop a mother-like character who could play this role.
Therefore a female character was decided upon one that would later evolve into The Boss.
Narrator
It's through this mother-son relationship that Snake Eater's narrative shifts from a straightforward, 60' style spy caper into a intricate tale of love, loyalty, and the call of the mission.
But defining the unusual relationship between Jack and The Boss would prove to be a challenge...
Kojima
She was a mentor, a lover, and much like a mother to Snake... they had a very complicate connection.
But I knew that I would have to emphasize the maternal aspect more than anything.
So when designing The Boss, I imagined a mother with one breast out, feeding her child a kind of mother-son nuance.
So even with her breast exposed she would enter battle.
When I first designed her, in the area around her chest she had a tattoo of a snake.
So, when firing a gun, her breast would shake, making the snake look like it was laughing.
There would be this legend; that when you saw the laughing snake, your life would soon be over.
Narrator
Even though Kojima's initial concept was discarded, she remains a truely unforgettable character.
In more ways than one the boss defined Jack who would go on to best her in battle and assume her title.
Jack would eventually resurface as the mysterious antagonist of the next chapter of the Metal Gear Saga.
