I’m sure any amateur gamer has heard of the legendary, “Metal Gear Solid” series. In light of the upcoming release, “Metal Gear Rising”, I thought i’d take time out to identify why some gamers may have trouble accessing it. Now, hold a cross against my head and burn me to dust, but I didn’t play the fourth game. However, I’m a true fan of the story, and I definitely know what separates the clones from Snake; but partly because I’ve played every MGS game, barre the fourth, and am actually obsessed with Hideo Kojima. Trust me. I’m so dedicated, I made a carving of his bust…using my eyeball.

"Snake?! Snake?! SNAAAAKE!" - "What?!" - "Do you understand this story?!"

Anyway, my point is that those who haven’t played the other games will simple not understand the fourth. Yes, Yes: so there are elements that make it feature as a stand-alone game. However, not even I can tell you the entire story without sitting down over some steaming food rations, an edible snake, and a guard uniform complete with AK47 that-I-ran-around-for-hours-on-end-trying-to-get-because-they’re-in-different-parts-of-the-Big-Shell-and-I-could-have-been-doing-something-important-like- killing-the-Metal-Gear-or-making-noodle-

I digress.

It’s such a rich and diverse story that it appears the series has perhaps gotten too rich. I have a similar issue with TV shows, like Lost or Heroes. I miss a few perhaps, and suddenly I’ve lost the entire plot. For example, without playing Metal Gear Solid 2, you’re clueless when it comes to playing 4, because the story line is cut by the third instalment (including “Portable Ops” for the PSP. Get it? Portable? Ha!) Having spoken to people about the fourth game, I understand that it retains all the elements of a Kojima game, but also adds tactical logic, such as the automatic camo-suit…thing. This simply pushes MGS further towards it’s purpose: to be real.

Unfortunately, for those who are at this moment playing Forza in a lovely little mini, thinking: “I need a change”, they’re simply not going to be able to access this game with such ease. I’m sure Konami will attempt to fill the player in, but I just can’t see the new-age fan being fully satisfied that they know the majority of the back story, without playing the other games. I mean, I know someone who played Gears of War 2 only, and they had no problem finding what had happened in the first game. For the moment, we shall see what comes out: those cheeky Japanese haven’t announced what exactly the storyline will entail yet. All we can do is hope and pray that people who just want to play the latest game, can do so without being completely baffled.