Monday, May 14, 2012

Top 50 Video Game Moments: Number 10

We're finally here. Top ten. I think I'm going to start it off with a classic.

Metal Gear Solid. A certain psychic dude in a gas mask. Let's do this.


That hallway, that music. Everyone who has even passing interest in the MGS series knows how this one goes. You walk into the room, Meryl goes goofy and starts coming on to you while a strange gas mask clad dude floats mid-air behind her. Once you knock the girl out, the real fun starts.

As a series, Metal Gear SOlid has always loved taking the fourth wall and smashing it to pieces. It's never been done better, or been more integrated into gameplay than it is in the Psycho Mantis fight. First, he reads your mind, commenting on the methods you've been using during the game. Then he reads your memory card to find other Konami games, which he then calls out in game. He also makes your controller move - while specifically telling you how he's demonstrating his telekinesis by making your controller move.

HOLY CRAP. HOW DID YOU KNOW?!

Then the actual fight begins and *surprise surprise* the freak is untouchable. No matter what you do, putting a mark on him is practically impossible. It's the definition of a computer cheating, with an actual storyline dictated reason. How do you defeat such a menacing enemy?

Unplug the controller and place it in the second port. Psycho Mantis suddenly becomes fallible, and before too long, he's dead - but not before giving the fourth wall one last nudge.

Yeah, that's right...the other port. Surprise, bitch!

3 comments:

  1. That is sweet. Now, how do you figure out to plug your controller into the other port?

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  2. He alludes to it a couple times during the fight. Then your support team calls you up a couple times, and implies it, then keeps calling and placing stronger hints. Eventually they all but just tell you to do it.

    I figured it fairly quickly, but on the second playthrough I tried to kill him without using the second controller (I wasn't able to), your team starts to get humorously obvious about it - sort of like "how dumb are you??"

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  3. PSYCHO MANTIS! Some of the villains from MGS are all time awesome. Or at least seemed that way the first time thought. Of course, Mantis was the best of em.

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