Category Archives: Metal Gear Solid 3

Metal Gear Solid 3 for the PS2

Announcing A Stealth Game: The Kojima Code, Part II

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Giant Sequel to the Best Hideo Kojima Analysis in The World.

Over 350 all-new pages of world-class analysis by yours truly. Coming this Summer, on paperback, hardcover, and e-book, just like the first one!

For the first time ever, a deep dive into the most popular but critically overlooked game in Kojima’s career: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Not even my website has touched this gem with any depth before, but now you’ll get well over a hundred pages of dot-connecting goodness. The hidden meaning behind the game is guaranteed to surprise. I can honestly say that I didn’t even realize how amazing this game’s commentary was until I dug into it for this book, so you won’t want to miss out. It forced me to even go back to earlier games and notice things I’d never seen before.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots also gets the major spotlight treatment, taking this website’s famous analysis and taking it to the max. The true intention of the project is exposed, with many examples analyzed.

The Twin Snakes makes its appearance in the grand puzzle of The Kojima Code, and surprising contributions of smaller projects flesh out a pattern that perfectly builds on what the first book established. It stops before Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker but it is packed with insight that has far-reaching implications for the entire career of Kojima!

This book is a personal triumph. My writing style has gotten stronger, my topics more balanced, and my understanding of Hideo Kojima has expanded to a whole new realm of appreciation. You will absolutely think about his work in a new way by the time you’re done.

Buy it now:

Amazon  (link) (hardcover may not be available yet)
Barnes & Noble  (link) (hardcover available now!)
Kobo (link)
Smashwords (link)
Apple Books (link)

Lowering The Bar (Guest Article)

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This article was written by Jack Wade, who contacted me by email. Since I’ve written a whole book studying the careful forethought given to MGS2’s polarizing writing and design choices I find it invigorating to see a good old fashioned trashing of the man behind the legend. Although Jack clearly hasn’t read my book, which accounts for many of the strange disparities he points out about MGS2’s development, he makes a compelling case for not accepting Kojima as some literary genius — especially in the vein of the usual fanbase, who all seem to have blinders on when discussing the series. He casts doubt on the purported complexity behind it all. Since first proposing the VR Theory and fleshing out the metanarrative analysis of the series, I’ve watched the community slowly absorb the positive ideas I put forward about Kojima, but reject the unflattering side of the analysis. They don’t debate it, they just reject things they don’t want to hear. Ironic, of course. I much prefer people like Jack Wade, willing to step up and make the discussion more interesting.

There is no such thing as a clean and simple discussion of the Metal Gear series and it is the fault of a singular entry within it. Metal Gear Solid 2 had some of the most jarring idiosyncrasies, not just in its own world, but among fans of the franchise. If Metal Gear just skipped over MGS2, tweaked MGS4 to match the changes, and then proceeded normally, it would be another unremarkable series with a very high bar set by its opening iteration that just gets worse over time much like Deus Ex or StarCraft.

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The Ideology of Torture

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Mr. Sylazhov returns with his latest guest article the day before the release of Metal Gear Solid V, to examine the extremely important matter of torture, in both the real world and the fictional one Kojima uses to show his views.

The methods, reasons, and history of torture are discussed, along with a personal story that drives home the reality of the barbaric practices used by military and spy agencies around the world.  This article was finished quite a while ago, but I’m publishing it on the eve of The Phantom Pain to emphasize the seriousness of its controversial subject matter.

Warning: Some graphic content follows.

The Ideology of Torture

A personal, political, and philosophical study of torture in the MGS series and the real world

I would like to dedicate the following piece to the victims of
the dictatorship in my country, and to all victims of
political repression from any side of the political spectrum.

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Kojima and the Soviet Union

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The following guest article was written by a friend and author, Alexander Sylazhov, who you ought to remember fondly from his Big Boss as Che Guevara article; I titled that article in order to highlight one of my favorite aspects of it, but it certainly went well beyond that.  I’m deeply honored to be able to present his new article, which is the kind of analysis I would love to be able to do myself.  With the upcoming release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain less than a month away, this in-depth exploration of ideology, politics, and pop culture in the Metal Gear series is a fascinating must-read from a talented writer from a different side of the world.

Expect to see more from him soon, and please check out his science fiction novel series if you want to see more from him and support his work.

 

Kojima and the Soviet Union

An analysis of the political overtones of the MGS series and Hideo Kojima’s ideology

Flag-Pins-Japan-USSR

 

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Theory: Skull Face found in MGS3? Dr. Clark’s role in MGSV

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Skull Face and Dr. Clark

(The original picture — which I’ve edited to include names — and this theory, both come directly from this SnakeSoup post by member Gentapo, so give that guy credit (or ridicule) for connecting the dot.)

Below are my thoughts on its plausibility and implications.  I miss the days of longshot Metal Gear theories and rampant speculation, so now I’m going to indulge…!

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