He had played plenty of games like this before. At first glance, it screamed classic lone-wolf power fantasy: the rugged hero loaded with weapons, storming straight into the enemy camp, bullets flying, explosions blooming behind him, and then heroically rescuing Paz and Kike in one flawless sweep. Wasn't that the standard Hollywood blockbuster formula?
Gun in hand and confidence surging, he raised the binocular system and carefully observed the distant camp. He studied the terrain, memorized patrol routes, and pinpointed enemy positions. After a few seconds of silent calculation, he stopped hesitating and strode forward boldly.
A sharp burst of gunfire echoed across the compound as he dropped the soldier at the top of the sentry tower.
"This shooting feels pretty good," he muttered in surprise. "Way better than the gunplay in Resident Evil."
The recoil pattern, the bullet trajectory, the crisp sound design, everything felt tight and responsive. But the moment the gunfire rang out, the BIGBOSS he controlled was instantly exposed. Alarmed shouts erupted from the camp as patrol units began sweeping the area.
Reload. No hesitation. No retreat. No matter how impressive the AI was, they were still just NPCs… right? He prepared to eliminate the soldier who had spotted him when, suddenly, the entire screen shifted into slow motion. Several white indicators flashed, marking enemy positions in real time.
"Huh?" His eyes widened in delight as time stretched thin. The cinematic flair made him feel invincible.
Then the slow-motion effect faded, replaced by frantic NPC calls for reinforcements. He aimed, fired, adjusted, and fired again. When the last marked soldier collapsed, he cautiously guided BIGBOSS forward, hoping to scavenge ammunition from their bodies.
"This game wouldn't suddenly go hardcore on me, would it?" he muttered, crouching to loot.
But to his surprise, there was barely any ammo to collect. Searchlights snapped toward his position. Multiple squads converged, boots pounding in unison.
"My god! Why are there so many of you?!" At least a dozen soldiers advanced together in tight formation.
Minutes later, staring at BIGBOSS's bullet-riddled corpse on screen, he slumped back in his chair, lips pursed in disbelief. In Metal Gear Solid, John hadn't drastically increased the difficulty on normal mode. The AI wasn't brilliant, and player detection ranges were relatively forgiving. Stealth was clearly the most efficient and logical approach.
But it wasn't the only approach. John never wanted to lock players into a single solution. If your skill was high enough, you could attempt a full frontal assault. It just wouldn't be easy. The difficulty scaled sharply, supported by a dynamic AI system, not quite like the adaptive system in Resident Evil, but one that evolved behaviorally.
In the later full version, Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain, that adaptive system would become even more aggressive. Rely too often on the balloon extraction system? Enemies would grow suspicious and start shooting balloons out of the sky. Favor stealth? Bases would increase camera density and tighten patrol rotations. Prefer charging headfirst with heavy firepower? AI troops would respond with heavier armor and advanced countermeasures.
Players couldn't simply brute-force the game forever. Strategy mattered. Adaptation mattered. This wasn't just a "run forward and watch cutscenes" experience; it demanded thought. And right now, Ezekiel faced a very practical question: How was he supposed to charge through an entire military base with barely any bullets?
Reloading his save file, he abandoned the reckless assault. This time, he followed the system's guidance and slipped quietly into the shadows. When he crept up behind a lone soldier, a prompt appeared. He tapped the attack button repeatedly.
To his astonishment, BIGBOSS unleashed a smooth, stylish CQC combo, fluid takedowns chained together seamlessly, ending with a dramatic slow-motion finishing blow and a cinematic close-up.
"That's cool!" Let's be honest, aside from certain obvious visual attractions, nothing grabs a player's attention more than executing stylish, high-impact moves. The visceral feedback was deeply satisfying.
In Metal Gear, the CQC system was undeniably a standout feature. Much like memorizing combos in a fighting game, players could chain different inputs and positions into dynamic sequences. It wasn't button-mashing, it was rhythm and control.
Piece by piece, through radio chatter, environmental clues, and unfolding dialogue, Ezekiel gradually pieced together the narrative structure of the game.
At first, after locating the arsenal, he'd fantasized about staging a dramatic one-man assault, rescuing the target in a blaze of glory, a Hollywood rescue scene worthy of slow-motion explosions.
But after two waves of reinforcements, including armored vehicles, he quickly revised his opinion. Alright. This is your military base. You win.
Reloading again, he silently destroyed surveillance cameras with a silenced pistol before dropping flat and crawling across the ground like a snake. Fine. Let me clear the story first. When I start a second playthrough, I'll wipe you all out.
On normal difficulty, the AI was manageable. With careful timing and a bit of patience, Kike slipped past patrol lines and reached the mission objective. Following the prompts, he successfully rescued the target and extracted them via helicopter.
As for the other prisoners in the camp? He ignored them. The big picture came first. Save the priority targets now. Come back later.
At the results screen, he stared at his final rating: A Rank. A line of deductions caught his attention. Kill penalty: –3000 points.
"So killing reduces score? They really don't encourage all-out assault, huh?" He nodded slowly. If he wanted top rankings and achievements, stealth and minimal lethality were clearly rewarded.
Still, that didn't mean he'd give up on revenge. Once he finished experiencing the full story, he fully intended to begin a second run, this time to reclaim his dignity. He refused to believe there wasn't a way to bulldoze through the entire base in one unstoppable rampage.