“2008 is 2 weeks old, and my recent busy-ness (today is the first time I was in school not wearing business formal / casual) has ironically got me all introspective…”

…was what I was typing before I chanced upon this clip, courtesy of my brother.

It’s ABSOLUTELY brilliant. The guy who plays Solid Snake does a really good job mimicking Snake’s actions; he moves exactly like Snake would. Brought a tear to my eye.

Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I am a rabid Metal Gear fanatic. I could rant on for hour after hour about how perfect every single Metal Gear game is; but beyond all that, the underlying message behind every Metal Gear game truly touches you deep inside, in the same way the Matrix movies do. The Matrix movies and Metal Gear, pioneers of bullet-time special effects and the stealth video game genre, respectively, are too often only remembered as such; look deeper and you’ll find deep, mind-shattering messages that slap you in the face hard and make you rethink the very meaning of life itself.

It is for that reason why Metal Gear II, arguably the worst game of the series, has probably the most special emotional connection with me, because of one special line, uttered by Otacon dealing with tragedy: “You can’t wait to be loved. You have to go out and find it… You can’t just wish for a happy family - you have to go out and make it happen.”

I played this game when I was in my early days of serving National Service, at a lonely and rather desolate point in my life. That quote gave me strength, and allowed me to find my place and grow as a soldier and a friend to those around me.

Until someone goes out to make a Metal Gear movie, however, the non-gaming world won’t get a chance to appreciate the unbelievable story and the great educational message that Metal Gear has for its fans, which is a huge pity. I read that a movie is in the works, but if they massacre the movie the way they did to Hitman, it would be a tragic waste.