Metal Gear (weapon)
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Metal Gear is the name for a series of fictional mecha in the eponymous series of video games. While each game has a new Metal Gear with a different role, they are typically autonomous nuclear launch platforms which the player must destroy in order to save the world and complete the game. Often (but not always), confronting the latest model of Metal Gear is one of the final challenges of each game.
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[edit] Metal Gear
Chronologically, the first Metal Gear built, constructed by the U.S. government in 1970. It is in the game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops for PSP. Its design, completed by Nicolai Stepanovich Sokolov, is based on the original blueprints created by Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin: Likely the reason its head resembles the later REX model's, as Granin's own design resembled Metal Gear REX more exactly. It has four legs (merely a step toward bipedalism -- which was an impossibility with the technology available at the time). Its nuclear function is to act as a mobile launching device for MIRVs. While therefore capable of making nuclear strikes against several targets at once, it has only limited range, and, unlike the Shagohod, cannot compensate for it with speed. Thus, it must be physically transported to a point within range of the target(s) first. This is accomplished by having the Metal Gear unit itself attached to the top of a rocket, launching the rocket, detaching it from the rocket at 3000 ft above the intended landing point, and having it parachute back down to the ground, before then launching its nuclear payload.
An experimental prototype model, codenamed RAXA (pronounced rah-sha) and outwardly identical to the final unit, was produced beforehand, intended for performance evaluation. Having been misled to believe it to be the complete (and only) model at the time, Big Boss goes to it, intending to sabotage and destroy it before it can be activated and used for any nuclear strikes. Once he arrives, however, it instantly becomes active, piloted by Colonel Skowronski, who has snuck in himself and intends to use it against Gene. Very soon after its activation, its incompleteness becomes quite apparent, as it suddenly shuts itself down while firing its machinegun. At Gene's command, though, Ursula awakens and commandeers Metal Gear RAXA herself, using her psychic powers to not only compensate for the malfunctions, but enhance its performance beyond even normal, causing it to move unlike a machine at all. Big Boss is forced to fight RAXA himself, by first targeting and disabling its four legs, but then it demonstrates an impressive capability for functioning even without them, using its "wings" and hover propulsion engines to drag itself about. Regardless, Big Boss still manages to destroy it, by attacking its missile tubes when they open up.
After enjoying a brief sense of victory, Big Boss is informed that Metal Gear RAXA was merely a test model, and then witnesses the real unit being transported via helicopter toward the base's underground silo complex. Ultimately, he is unable to reach the launch control room before Gene can begin the launch countdown, and must resort to trying to destroy the unit itself. While it is fortunately unmanned and already attached to the top of the rocket, and thereby effectively defenseless, it is, however, said to be invulnerable to conventional weaponry, thanks to its incredibly thick armor, and supposedly any assault on the rocket could cause the underground silo complex itself to be destroyed in the resulting explosion. Determined to save the world without any concern for his personal safety, Big Boss commits himself and attacks it with his RPG-7, while the Russian troops he has inspired over the course of the game help him out by firing their own weapons. Although the rocket is able to launch, it quickly becomes clear all the combined firepower damaged it sufficiently: After detaching from the rocket, Metal Gear begins to fall off course, resulting in its destruction once it crashes back down to the ground.
[edit] Metal Gear TX-55
The original Metal Gear (featured in the eponymous first installment), sometimes referred by its full codename Metal Gear TX-55 (or alternatively, TX-55 Metal Gear), is designed at Outer Heaven by the Eastern scientist Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar. Dr. Madnar is coerced into developing Metal Gear, after his daughter is held hostage for blackmail. Metal Gear's weakspot is its feet, which could only be destroyed by placing plastic explosives over them in a determined order. This Metal Gear is destroyed before completion; the final challenge in Metal Gear is instead a battle with Big Boss and a race against time to escape the self-destructing base.
The Metal Gear mecha does not appear in the NES version of the game. Instead, the player has to take out a Super Computer which controls Metal Gear prior to the final battle with Big Boss. In Snake's Revenge, the non-canonical sequel to Metal Gear, mass-produced versions of the original Metal Gear appear, alongside Metal Gear 2, its successor. The wreckage of the original Metal Gear itself also appears in Stage 11 of Metal Gear: Ghost Babel.
[edit] Metal Gear D
The Revised Metal Gear D appears in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. This version of Metal Gear is designed in Zanzibar Land again by Dr. Madnar, although this time willingly. This Metal Gear, armed with a vulcan gun, a light machine gun, and a six-missile pod, is piloted by Gray Fox as he raids nuclear disposal sites for Zanzibar Land. Despite its formidable armament, its legs are lightly armored; the player, as Solid Snake, must attack this weak point with grenades in a confrontation near the end of Metal Gear 2.
Smaller, non-nuclear-armed Metal Gears, referred to alternately as Metal Gear G or Metal Gear Gustav, were designed for Metal Gear 2, but were cut from the game due to time constraints. [1] They are mentioned in the game by Dr. Madnar as being under development, but not yet deployed.
[edit] Metal Gear REX
Metal Gear REX, designed by Yoji Shinkawa, is the model of Metal Gear that appears in Metal Gear Solid. It is characterized by a railgun that, as is revealed in that game, can deliver undetectable nuclear warheads to anywhere in the world. In addition to its railgun, REX differs from the preceding Metal Gear D in that its legs are heavily armored and reinforced, not vulnerable like its predecessors'.
The Metal Gear REX has near-impregnable compound armor, a pair of vulcan cannons, anti-tank missiles, and a free-electron laser, to protect itself from conventional forces. Its primary weapon, however, is a magnetic railgun capable of delivering an untraceable nuclear warhead anywhere in the world, without the propellant trail or launch flare that gives away the launch position of a traditional ballistic missile. Because of its sealed, one-man cockpit and thick armor, its sensors are concentrated in a radome on the left side of its body; this radome is very vulnerable to attack, and destroying it effectively blinds the REX, forcing the cockpit to open. In this state, the REX is vulnerable as its controls can be easily destroyed (In Metal Gear Solid, its designer, Dr. Hal Emmerich, states that this was intentional, declaring that nothing can be complete without a "character flaw").
In Metal Gear Solid, weapons company ArmsTech bribes DARPA chief Donald Anderson to get covert US government funding for development of Metal Gear REX, and sends a single prototype to be tested at a nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island. However, the Shadow Moses facility is taken over by the rogue special forces unit FOXHOUND, who then attempt to use it as leverage to extort the US government. Solid Snake infiltrates the Shadow Moses facility and, with the help of Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, the disgruntled designer of REX, and Cyborg Ninja, a mysterious infiltrator, eliminates FOXHOUND and destroys the Metal Gear REX.
It is revealed in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty that Revolver Ocelot, the sole FOXHOUND survivor, escapes with the blueprints for REX, however, and soon sells them onto the black market. As a result, variants of REX spread worldwide. The Metal Gear RAY is designed in response, to combat these variants of REX.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater fills in the background of Metal Gear REX. According to that game, the idea for REX originates with Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin, a Soviet weapons designer, who compares it to the theory of the missing link between apes and men. He shows Naked Snake his design drawings, which appear quite similar to Metal Gear REX, calling it the missing link between infantry and artillery. Infantry can go anywhere but is easily destroyed and carries limited firepower. Artillery can inflict and sustain far more damage, but is at the mercy of the terrain. In short, for a tank to be perfect, it needs legs. At the end of Metal Gear Solid 3, Ocelot reveals he stole these designs from Granin.
[edit] Metal Gear RAY
Metal Gear RAY, also designed by Yoji Shinkawa, is introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, but was previewed in an unlockable image in Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions. It comes in two variants: a manned prototype version, developed to combat derivatives of Metal Gear REX, and an unmanned, computer-controlled version, refitted to defend Arsenal Gear.
RAY differs from previous Metal Gears in that it is not a nuclear launch platform, but instead a weapon of conventional warfare, originally designed to hunt down and destroy the many derivatives of Metal Gear REX that became common after the leak of the REX plans after the events of Shadow Moses. It is designed to be even more maneuverable and flexible in deployment than the REX, and can operate both on land and in the water. (Underwater, it is propelled by engines of unknown form in its two bulbous "wings".) While RAY has a pair of machine guns and six missile tubes to defend itself from more conventional battlefield threats, its primary weapon is a high pressure water jet cannon, which can cut through heavily-armored foes, such as Metal Gear REX derivatives.
The Metal Gear RAY is more organic than previous models, both in appearance and in function. (The Konami mechanical designer primarily responsible for designing RAY, Yoji Shinkawa, ascribed this more-organic appearance to cross-pollination of ideas from his time spent working on Zone of the Enders.[citation needed]) The exterior is more organic; its streamlined shape helps to deflect enemy fire and allows for greater maneuverability both on land and in water.
RAY's interior workings are also much more organic. It has artificial fibers that contract when electricity is applied, much like natural muscle, instead of typical hydraulics; this pseudo-muscle tissue makes it very maneuverable. It also has a nervous-system-like system of conductive nanotubes, which connect the widely dispersed sensor systems and relay commands from the cockpit to the various parts of RAY's body, automatically bypassing damaged systems and rerouting to auxiliary systems when needed. Another feature is its blood-like armor-repair nanopaste, which is secreted from valves and coagulates wherever the exterior surface is damaged. Particularly unusual is its "face", with two "eyes" and a gaping "mouth", only seen when the head armor is removed.
[edit] Prototype version
Metal Gear RAY was originally developed by the USMC to locate and eliminate Metal Gear REX units and their derivatives. In the prologue of Metal Gear Solid 2 (the Tanker chapter), however, it is captured by Revolver Ocelot while being transported on the covertly refitted oil tanker Discovery.
This version is labeled "MARINES", has a cockpit (accommodating a single pilot) and a long tail. The RAY is an amphibious craft which allows for maneuverability in land and at sea: the long tail is intended for balance while making leaps or operating underwater. The entirety of the forward interior of the cockpit is a heads-up display, allowing the pilot to look around as if there were no obstruction between him and the battlefield.
[edit] Mass-production version
Later during the Plant chapter of Metal Gear Solid 2, Revolver Ocelot delivers the stolen prototype RAY to the Patriots, an Illuminati-esque organization secretly running the United States. Under their direction, the unit is redesigned for control by the AI known as "GW" in defense of Arsenal Gear. The Arsenal Gear has a force of these slave RAYs ready for immediate deployment against any possible threats.
The mass-production RAYs lack the tail of the prototype, have rounded knees and have only one sensory output or "eye" as opposed to having two like the prototype version, and are labeled "US NAVY".
There is evidence to indicate that these RAYs are less durable than the prototype version. For example, when Liquid Ocelot comandeered the original RAY, fire from weapons such as an M-203 grenade failed to damage it, meanwhile the leg and head of the Navy RAYs were able to be damaged by stinger rockets. They normally would defend Arsenal from outside attack and travel via the surrounding waters. Solidus however, had Raiden battle the Rays in their docking hangar as a test.
[edit] Related weapons
[edit] Arsenal Gear
Arsenal Gear (appearing in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty) is a submersible, mobile fortress developed by the U.S. Navy, with the ability to monitor, block, and tamper with internet communications in order to further the goals of the Patriots. It is a metaphor for the change of warfare in the last decades of the 20th century, from nuclear war to a war of culture, information, and espionage.
Arsenal Gear is hidden under the Big Shell, and is controlled by an AI named "GW", which was designed by Emma Emmerich (there are other AIs besides GW, as Raiden speaks with another AI named "JFK" prior to his battle with Solidus, but they are unrelated to this Arsenal Gear. The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 actually reveals that the Arsenal below the Big Shell is not the only one, and each Arsenal is run by its own networked AI system).
Arsenal Gear is massive, large enough to house - and also require - a significant force for its defense. The exterior is shown when Raiden and Solidus are heading for Federal Hall and see it speeding under many bridges before it crashes. The Arsenal Gear hidden under the Big Shell has an unspecified number of "Tengu Commandos", soldiers clad in bionic exoskeletons and armed with P90 submachine guns and high-frequency blades. It also has a squadron of 25 mass-production Metal Gear RAYs, each of which is under the direct control of GW, the AI controlling Arsenal Gear.
During the Big Shell incident, Raiden is actually being manipulated by GW, Arsenal Gear's AI, but, as Emma Emmerich's virus slowly destroys GW, Raiden is able to enter Arsenal Gear (from the Big Shell, the facility Arsenal Gear is hidden under) and uncover the many layers of deception concealing the true meaning behind his mission to the Big Shell. Revolver Ocelot, being controlled by Liquid Snake via transplanted arm, directs Arsenal Gear to crash into Manhattan Island at the end of Raiden's mission, but its ultimate fate is yet to be revealed.
A scene which was cut from the final version of Metal Gear Solid 2 shows Arsenal Gear crashing through and destroying several buildings in Manhattan Island. This scene was later removed due to the attacks on September 11th.[3]
[edit] Shagohod
The Shagohod (Russian Шагоход, "step-walker", occasionally referred to in English as "The Treading Behemoth") featured in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, while not a Metal Gear variant per-se, has a similar design and role. Rather than a bipedal mecha, it is an unconventional tank, armed with an intermediate-range ballistic missile it can propel to intercontinental ranges. Like the various Metal Gear variants, it can be crewed by a single pilot, although it has a station for a copilot.
The Shagohod has an articulated body, split into two parts. The front part has a pair of Archimedes screws on hydraulic legs, which pull the bulky rear portion, suspended on a hovercraft-style air cushion. While this is an unusual mechanism for propulsion, far more unusual are the Shagohod's rocket boosters. With a sufficiently large flat piece of land (such as a highway or landing strip), the Shagohod can fire its rocket boosters to build up speed (up to more than 480 km/h or 300 mi/h) before firing its primary weapon, a nuclear-armed intermediate-range ballistic missile. In doing so, it serves as an additional stage for the rocket, allowing it to strike at targets nearly anywhere in the world. The Shagohod also has parachutes in the back to help in slowing it down after a rocket-boosted missile-launch.
Besides its single SS-20 "Saber" IRBM (which has to be reloaded after firing), the Shagohod has defensive weaponry, including three machine guns to defend against aircraft and infantry, six surface-to-air missiles to protect against aircraft, and a 100 barrel volley gun to defend against armor.
The Shagohod is not a precursor to the Metal Gear series of mecha, but instead a parallel development; it is developed by Dr. Sokolov at a secret base in Tselinoyarsk. His peer, and self-proclaimed rival, Director Granin, conceives of the Metal Gear at approximately the same time, but Colonel Volgin favors Sokolov's design over Granin's, and funds the production of a prototype. This is possibly due to the fact that, though a walker like Metal Gear would ultimately prove to be a far more versatile system, the Shagohod was only an unusual combination of technologies that already existed at the time-tanks, ground effects, IRBMs, and booster rockets, as opposed to an unrealized idea requiring years or even decades of research.
The Shagohod prototype is destroyed by Naked Snake during Operation Snake Eater. However, in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, the Shagohod's design is incorporated into the development of Metal Gear RAXA.
[edit] GEKKO
GEKKO, derived from the Japanese word gekkô (月光) or "moonlight", is the codename of the new generation of mecha that Solid Snake must face in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. They appear to be mass produced and used as war machines in battle.
Although not a literal Metal Gear[4], the top half of this mecha is reminiscent of the Metal Gear REX design while the organic legs are somewhat similar to that of Metal Gear RAY. It is unmanned and uses two large cameras as its "eyes", one mounted on its head, the other at the front of its hip assembly. New features include a small robotic tentacle used to pick up small objects or grab targets. The GEKKO is incredibly agile and maneuverable, thanks to a pair of flexible limbs that can act as either legs or arms. It can pick up a man and throw him hard enough to penetrate a brick wall, deliver a kick that can reduce a truck to scrap metal, climb walls, crouch to enter buildings, run at speeds equivalent to a motor vehicle, and leap huge distances through the air.
Similar to combat against traditional Metal Gear models, Snake will most likely need heavy firepower to actually destroy one. A quick blast with an assault rifle may cause one to trip if shot in the legs, but they appear to be well armored and quite dexterous - the mecha can quickly regain its footing even if tipped onto its head. They make their presence clear by making animal noises to psychologically affect other characters and the player. They feature characteristics that are biomechanoid to some degree, as they have been shown to "bleed" from severe wounds (even from seemingly mechanical components). In addition, they expel an unknown liquid waste while roaring savagely in certain situations.
[edit] Non-canonical models
These models are not part of the mainstream Metal Gear series continuity, either because they appear in a non-canon game (Snake's Revenge, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel and Metal Gear Acid) or because the game in which they appear isn't a Metal Gear game at all (Snatcher).
[edit] Metal Gear Mk. II
Metal Gear Mk. II is the robotic "navigator" assigned to the protagonist of Snatcher, JUNKER operative Gillian Seed. It was developed by JUNKER mechanic Harry Benson, who based his design on the TX-55 model. It is programmed with an A.I.-based personality that adapts to Gillian's personality and serves as a comic relief in some of the more tense situations. It is equipped with a plasma screen monitor which doubles as a video phone, various types of sensors for forensic analysis and a manipulator for extracting small objects. The character's voice was provided by Mami Koyama in the Japanese versions of the games and by Lucy Childs in the English-language Sega CD version.
An even smaller version of "Mk. II", Metal Gear Mk. II Petit appears in SD Snatcher. It is size of a palm, and mainly serves to recap the player's experience gained after battle.
In trailers for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, a similar robot of the same name appears. This Metal Gear Mk. II is similar (albeit a bit more angular in appearance) to the Snatcher version, and is controlled by Otacon, who uses it to deliver ammunition and advice to Solid Snake. By the end of the first trailer, Snake and Otacon engage in a conversation concerning the Cell processor, the CPU used in the Playstation 3. Otacon explains that the MK. II is equipped with one, and "Is the key to winning the console war" as he demonstrates with a small clip from the upcoming PS3 title, Killzone.
[edit] Metal Gear 2
The Metal Gear 2 from Snake's Revenge, is the TX-55 successor in that game. Not much is known about its specifications other than it's described as "seven times more powerful than (the original)" by one of the prisoners. During Operation 747, Big Boss plots to launch several nuclear missiles on key locations of the world, starting with New York City, Tokyo and Moscow.
[edit] Metal Gear GANDER
The Metal Gear model in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. Metal Gear GANDER is the result of the U.S. Army's "Project Babel" after the U.S. Government procured the data from the original prototype in Outer Heaven. It is stolen by the Gindra Liberation Front and taken to their fortress of Galuade (the former Outer Heaven). Its armament consists of two nuclear warhead-launching rail guns (similar to Metal Gear REX), two vulcan cannons, six guided missile pods, two automated flying attack pods, a pair of spread fire cannons, and a close range flamethrower. Its most powerful weapon is its satellite-based data link system that allows it to launch nuclear missiles anywhere in the world. This system consumes too much power and requires an entire power plant to function properly. The design is based on one of Shinkawa's unused Metal Gear REX concepts.
[edit] Metal Gear Kodoque
The Metal Gear model in Metal Gear Ac!d and Metal Gear Ac!d². Its named is derived from the Japanese word "Kodoku" or "Isolation". One of the larger Metal Gear models, Kodoque has two armor-like plates on each of its arms that come equipped with a remote control missile launcher. There are four slots for missiles on each arm, coming to a total of 8 missiles at one time. When not being used, these arms can form a protective cocoon around the Metal Gear. It also comes with a beam cannon near the legs, and can fire a plasma shot from its head when both arms are destroyed. This beam can be interrupted if 4 rods in a control room are destroyed.
The inside is also different from Metal Gears: It comes equipped with a control room, and has sentry bots for security. It also has multiple controls when compared to previous Metal Gears having a cockpit.
After the Lobito Incident, Kodoque's wreck was salvaged and brought to the SaintLogic facility. It was kept in the 4-story Metal Gear Prototype building, which is destroyed by Snake and Venus.
[edit] Metal Gear Chaioth Ha Qadesh
Metal Gear Chaioth Ha Qadesh is the Metal Gear model which appears in Metal Gear Ac!d². The name Chaioth Ha Qadesh is derived from the Keter, a high level in the Kabbalah, a mystical system within Judaism. The name refers to a group of angels, called The Holy Living Creatures (Chayot Hakodesh in Hebrew). Originally designed as a way to control Model 3 test subjects, Chaioth Ha Qadesh uses the EGO (Enhanced Governing Organization System) Operating System to control various modified soldiers and guard robots. SaintLogic developed the Metal Gear for that purpose, but Dr. Thomas Koppelthorn stole Chaioth Ha Qadesh as a means to get revenge for his wife Lucinda and kill all involved in the Praulia Massacre.
Like other Metal Gears, Chaioth Ha Qadesh can fire a nuclear missile from any area of the world to its target. However, one difference is that it mainly uses Neutron Bombs as its main weapon, and also contains the data on all test subjects in the SaintLogic institute. It has a missile launcher on its back, and can fire bullets from the Vulcan Cannons on each of its arms. It also has a slot on the top for launching energy that can cause any equipped cards to be destroyed. Metal Gear Chaioth Ha Qadesh uses nano chip expansions so the player can see what cards the Metal Gear has and will use.
[edit] References
- ^ Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake MSX2 User's Manual
- ^ Revealed in Making of the Hollywood Game a making of game released with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- ^ Hideo Kojima. (2002). The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 [Playstation 2]. Konami.
- ^ EGM E3 2006 Hideo Kojima Interview Scan. Metal Gear Solid The Unofficial Site (2006). Retrieved on 10 November 2006.
