War As A Video Game | Metal Gear Solid 2 Analysis (Ep.3) | State of the Arc Podcast

State of the Arc Podcast

Two years after the sinking of the USS Discovery, with Solid Snake confirmed dead and framed as the primary suspect, new FOXHOUND recruit Jack (codenamed Raiden) is sent to infiltrate the off-shore decontamination facility known as Big Shell, constructed shortly after the sinking of the Discovery, which, according to the government, spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into the New York Harbor. Raiden is given orders to rescue the President of the United States and other hostages from the Sons of Liberty, a terrorist group who have seized control of Big Shell. The terrorists demand 30 billion dollars and claim that if this demand is not met, they will destroy Big Shell, igniting the oil spill in the harbor and burning the chlorides used for cleanup, creating high levels of dioxins that would wipe out the bay’s ecosystem and become the worst environmental disaster in history. Meanwhile, US Navy Seal Team 10 carries out its own rescue mission, which is quickly thwarted. After coming face to face with Vamp, one of the terrorists with the Sons of Liberty, Raiden meets Iroquois Plissken, a surviving member of SEAL Team 10, who takes him to Peter Stillman, an explosives expert who reveals that Fatman—his former student now with the terrorists—has rigged Big Shell to explode. *Quick Note* One extra point to add about the conversation regarding Plissken and "spoilers" is that my first time playing the game--just a month ago for this series--was the Substance version, and then again with the latest HD collection release on PC. Because of this, I didn't see how the original Sons of Liberty release asked players whether they had played the first game or not. If you say that you have *not* played the original, you skip the Tanker sequence and would not have that part of the story for context as you meet Plissken, nor would you recognize the legendary Solid Snake if you were to see him face to face. This definitely changes things, and even in the game's latest release, you could skip the Tanker sequence and go straight to Big Shell. Still, I'm not sure why you would do that, and so under the context of the modern gaming landscape, and considering we have already covered Metal Gear Solid 1 on this podcast, it seems silly to pretend we don't know what's going on with Plissken. I appreciate your understanding.