Let's get back to my original rant before I got sidetracked and decided to wish death and mayhem upon certain retarded individuals.

Shook and I bought Metal Gear Solid the other day. It was number 3, I think. Not too sure since I was never that impressed by Metal Gear Solid to begin with.

So yesterday, when I went to Shook's house, the first thing he asked was if I want to watch the longest cutscenes ever. Being of a curious nature, I naturally said yes. So he played the game for me.

Now, at the same time, I brought KFC for him and Yodie. So he lets the cutscenes play while I sat down, arranged myself, arranged the chicken for Yodie, organised her and the chicken so that the right stuff goes into the right end of her, feeds her a whole breast of chicken, watch her walk away then tried to get her back again to continue eating. Through all this...throughout the entire Yodie drama, the cutscene is playing. One cutscene.

The furthest Snake went was to hunt a snake in the bush. This means he is already in the midst of his mission. His top secret, stealth, we-shall-deny-all-knowledge-of-your-existence-should-you-get-caught mission. And what happens in the middle of his mission? His current boss decieds to brief him. About his equipment, his defenses, his mission. And then who else gets on the link but this female called Para Medic! And they go through what I can only call a long-distance sexual tension (not!) with lots of hints and double entendre. And to add to it all, his previous boss (a female) comes on the comlink and they go through this entire drama of why she left him, why he did what what he did, his idea of a soldier's duty, her idea of a soldier's duty. And they finish it off by saying it was good to hear each other's voices!

I was "What the...?!"

One thing I do know is that no matter what mission you get, the briefing is BEFORE you go out into the field. Any briefing done in the field is if the incident happens then and you need an update. Next, who has ever heard of having a heart-to-heart moment while in a mission?! Shouldn't that be for the debriefing? Or even the psychiatric counselling after a particularly hazardous mission? Or even later at the bar? Definitely not while you're in enemy territory!

Now, for as long as I can remember, everyone has always likened Splinter Cell to Metal Gear Solid. I am a fan of Splinter Cell. I like slow, stealthy games where I can take time to look around and hide in the shadows. Sam Fisher is my idol. So, naturally, I compared Sam Fisher to Snake. Now who did I find wanting? Well, duh! Sam leaves Snake so far in the dirt that Snake won't know what hit him!

If you play Splinter Cell, you get the training courses at the very beginning under the tutorial! The moves are precise, the briefing is straight to the point and business is business. Communication is short and no touchy-feely. In Metal Gear Solid, the mission is the tutorial and, in all honesty, it's like watching Desperate Housewives in camouflage.

Someone once said Metal Gear Solid should be made into a movie. I think they made it already and far better. I call it Commando. I know there are talks of making Splinter Cell into a movie. I say 'Go for it!'. They just need to make sure the guy they pick to play Sam Fisher is as impressive as Micheal Ironside.

However, to be fair, I have the feeling that people who like Metal Gear Solid probably don't like Splinter Cell and vise versa. It's sort of like how people who like playing Counterstrike will not enjoy Medal of Honour and how people who love Medal of Honour would find Counterstrike a little dumb in comparison. I think that sums up what I feel about Metal Gear Solid.

But hey! If you're Counterstrike kind of guy and think Metal Gear Solid is the greatest game ever made, go knock yourself out on it. I just think Sam Fisher makes sense and he knows what he's doing.