Video game discourse currently sucks. Sure, it wasn’t always stellar, but I was pretty sure I remembered a time when I both looked forward to talking about new games and reading the reactions to new titles on the Internet. Were those fake memories? Was the Internet always this insufferable?
It’s November 2001, and kid me was trying to catch a break from the daunting escalating political and military turmoil contaminating all TV by playing the just-released Metal Gear Solid 2. I had the best time. When turning to the Internet, however, I came to the surprising realization that most didn’t share my opinion.
Despite its massive technical achievements, MGS2 took many narrative risks that didn’t sit well with fans. With its 25th anniversary on the horizon, let’s see how different the backlash to then-biggest game on the PS2 felt.
Twitter user José Mellinas very nicely compiled some of the angriest reactions from when Limp Bizkit and Nu-Metal in general were like gospel for gamers, and, surprisingly, they’re pretty reasonable.
The most immediate point of contention for MGS2 is that even though the promotional materials pointed at it, we do not play as Solid Snake for the vast majority of the game.
I love how, even though people are pretty disappointed at getting stuck with someone other than Snake, the harshest they go is to say Raiden, the replacement, is uncool and, in the absolute most vitriolic moment, “girly.”
Back then, players commented that they felt cheated, whereas nowadays I can only imagine them accusing Kojima of committing treason against gamer nation.
Nowadays, Saros gets targeted by a coordinated AI-slop-fuelled hate campaign because it is “woke.” And by woke, I mean a British actor of Indian descent plays the main character.
And sure, MGS2 would’ve caught less crap because it isn’t a woke game. And by not woke, I mean it’s a game starring capable white male protagonists in a world featuring enough American militarism and enough anime aesthetics to keep most right-wing grifters from noticing the myriad surprisingly nuanced, deep, and history-vindicated anti-capitalist commentary.
I didn’t require 25 years to realize why so many people had problems with MGS2, and I’m sure most of its early detractors also found a lot to love shortly after the first impact. A lot of that was made possible through conversation. If you were there, I’m confident you can easily entertain the possibility that MGS2 is simultaneously the dumbest and smartest video game of all time.
If you’re a younger gamer, however, what you just read might sound utterly nonsensical. That’s in large part because Kojima, yeah, but also because people don’t know how to discuss video games anymore. And, worse, the powerful people who got that ball running and have convinced so many to search for their enemies below, definitely not above, don’t want that to change.
Interestingly, one game predicted a lot of this a very long time ago. Wanna guess which?
If you’re looking for a 25-year-old game to play and perhaps learn some lessons from, this is absolutely it.
