I’ll be away at a conference next week, so there won’t be a newsletter issue at that time.
For that reason, I made this week’s issue extra special for ya!
What I’m making
The time has come. One week from today, I’ll be on stage for my very first Los Angeles live podcast recording. My pal Molly McAleer and I have invited some friends to talk pop culture of the week plus do a recap of a classic episode of Vanderpump Rules!
If you’re not in Southern California, please consider joining the Vanderpump Robs Patreon. It’s the number one way to support this project.
What I’m playing
I did it. I beat Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. This was the first Metal Gear game I ever played as a kid, and boy did all those memories of hooking up my Xbox to my family’s tube television just come flying back.
This means I’m only a couple games away from completing my mission of playing through all the Metal Gear games in chronological order. If you want the overview of all the games I’ve completed so far, please revisit my newsletters from January 13, 2024, January 27, 2024, February 24, 2024, March 2, 2024, and March 16, 2024. Now, let’s recap the new story:
Metal Gear Solid 2 follows the story of Raiden, a new character, as he navigates a complex web of political intrigue, conspiracy, and philosophical themes.
The game begins with our friend Solid Snake infiltrating a tanker in 2005 to discover the Marines’ new Metal Gear swimming tank. After some devastating explosions, we jump to 2009 and follow Raiden, a young and inexperienced member of the anti-terrorist organization known as FOXHOUND. He goes on a mission to invade the Big Shell, an ocean clean-up facility that has been seized by a group of terrorists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty.
Led by a mysterious figure known as Solidus Snake, a former member of FOXHOUND, the Sons of Liberty demand a ransom and threaten to destroy the facility with a new type of Metal Gear weapon — Metal Gear RAY (this one can swim) — if their demands aren’t met.
Raiden soon discovers that things aren’t as they seem. He is guided through his mission by Colonel Roy Campbell and his support team, just as Solid Snake was in the previous game. But Raiden’s reality unravels as he realizes he’s being manipulated by an artificial intelligence system called the Patriots, who control every aspect of society from behind the scenes.
Raiden learns that the Big Shell incident is actually a cover-up for a larger conspiracy orchestrated by the Patriots to control the flow of information and manipulate public opinion. The Patriots’ ultimate goal is to create a system of control known as the S3 Plan (“Selection for Societal Sanity”). Raiden himself is a pawn in this plan, designed to replicate the experiences of Solid Snake from the first game.
Ultimately, Raiden faces off against Solidus Snake and defeats him in a climactic battle in the middle of New York City.
Click the button below to view my progress live or see any videos of my espionage journey.
Next up is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. It takes place in 2014, but I need to purchase a Playstation 3 in order to play it!
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - 2018 [Playstation 3]
Support my work — click one of the below buttons!
A special shout-out
A couple weeks back, I was on an episode of
’ podcast, You Are The Genre. Please check it out and subscribe to Tim’s newsletter, .A photo of Elvis
Thanks for reading!