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There's a fascination in being a secret agent. Something that perhaps started from the stories of espionage between secret agencies of one nation against another. In truth, Metal Gear Solid is a series that focuses on infiltration, and effectively completing a mission.

However, it's much more than that. Metal Gear Solid games tend to touch sci-fi, paranormal, fantasy themes even, letting the player to have a broad exposure to many subjects. One solid example is secrecy in Metal Gear Solid, in Metal Gear Solid 2 is about information, data and its gathering, Metal Gear Solid 3 tackles a more cold war theme about weapon advancement, and loyalty, Peace Walker about nuclear deterrence and Metal Gear Solid 4 is more akin to the grand awaited finale to an action-packed story filled with many interesting characters that can only be compared to hollywood due to its focus on cutscenes. (Which people criticized for taking up plenty of the game, but that's another story)

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain features a battle-scarred, rough-looking, and vengeance-driven Big Boss. Since the events of Ground Zeroes— where Mother Base has been destroyed, all the great feelings that came from building it in Peace Walker, gathering many people under your wing, and driven by the same goal; freedom, a place to be, is slowly destroyed. It can only be compared to taking a great painting and desaturating it, and then staining it with blood and images of horror.

There's quite a theme. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes actually also covers rape in one of its darker shades. Of course, such a sensible subject was met with plenty of criticism. After all, it's not that easy to portray such a traumatizing event, but at the same time avoid the player from dropping the controller from mere disgust.

Did anyone ever want a game that traditionally featured a darker theme return to its origins? Metal Gear Solid was quite dark as a game, but the mood became brighter in the following titles. When someone is met with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is met with not only questions— as Kojima enjoys pitching different theories and fantasies, but surprise.

Surprise of a character's deep change. Personalities change over the year. Some events make us better people, other events... Make us worse. Big Boss, Kazuhira Miller, and Quiet are actually examples of such dramatic personality changes. How is it to play a game which over the years featured characters whose personalities were one way, but due to the events in the story they changed?

Quiet was met with the most criticism out of those three. The reason is that she's a female, but also goes around with her torso exposed. Personally, I don't see an issue. She's not a “babe” kind of character, which is shown easily from the trailer, but there is a solid point in that; if Kojima Productions doesn't give a proper and cohesive story about her personality, and clothing choice then it will only add validity to the idea that she was made that way to appeal to the male audience.

Returning to Big Boss, he now trains children to war which he only did that a little in the past, but now he does it actively, and is unending loyal to his fallen comrade-at-arms. His lust for vengeance against Cypher slowly takes over, turning him, his loyal friend, Kaz, and all of Mother Base into devils.

The intent was to show such a dramatic change. To let the player play as the villain. Effectivelly and practically from what one can witness from the game's release material, Big Boss is the anti-hero of the story, including all the main characters that are featured.

Being a villain can be enjoyable, but only if the right triggers are pressed towards the player. Someone who blatantly becomes “the bad guy” without a reason, or expresses emotions, feelings and thoughts that have no reasoning behind them will not be a fun character to play as. Instead, one with a story, and reacts with emotion, feelings and proper dialogue is likely to be successful in delivering the message.

What do you think about characters changing personalities in games? How do you think that a change in personality affects your enjoyment of a character such as Big Boss?

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Food for Thought is a series of critical outlooks on games written by Isara exclusively for Sep7agon.net. Metal Gear Solid, Konami, Konami.jp, and the Konami logo are trademarks of Konami in Japan and other countries.

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I agree that Kojima makes most of his characters look great, handsome and even sexy regardless of their gender. The issue comes on how much of their appearance, however, is applied to their character. Someone might view a bare-chested Big Boss who fights a crocodile as a male power ideal, but what about a bare-torso female sniper?

Yeah, people's minds jump directly into the conclusion that it's probably just another incentive for the male audience, and maybe, it is in a manner. On the other hand, what does it mean for us to be in a world where a female character without her torso being covered gets more controversy than a warmonger training children to war?

Maybe we aren't there yet, to separate between multiple layers of dark things. Perhaps, most people online are simply afraid of the many fears they experience every day. The combination of those fears, the anonymity and the possibility to speak to an audience, maybe, and just maybe lets certain people point fingers as they grab onto the trigger and send accusations without solid facts beneath their thoughts.

I don't blame people for thinking that about Quiet, or for not giving enough attention to Big Boss training children into soldiers. Everyone has a diverse opinion and view, but my point is that such an opinion shouldn't be used to pass judgement on a title, but only used to expose your personal feelings on it.

Of course, in your case you are not passing judgement, but just the other day someone confessed that Quiet's character as far it was shown during the different trailers and official material made them avoid, if not hate the game itself.

Meanwhile their opinion has a true place, it's the act of passing judgement on a game based on different settings and characters without effectively knowing about what on goes into the game itself. Probably, when the game will be released, another wave of controversy-- of people who probably never played, nor experienced the game in one manner or another will follow as they figure out some key plot elements that are not exactly the happiest things that can happen to any character, from rape, to murder and betrayal.

On the other hand, those who will experience the game and will express their feelings, the emotions they felt including disgust will be able to understand why they felt that way, and why exactly it bothers them, without relying on some sort of personality cult revolving about a blogger and simply agreeing with them.

I don't like when people just nod off and agree with me and go off repeating my opinion. I want people to think, to reflect on what a game made them feel, what they think about certain moments, or even the most random things such as the way the main character moves, or whether that the game world feels real or not. That's why I have started doing "Food for Thought" articles.

Reviews simply give an opinion. I want to give my opinion, but based on that I want people to think the same points I went over through, so I can exchange them, so people can exchange opinions and have a mature discussion. At the end of the day, some will disagree, but there is nothing to lose in such an exchange. There are only the rewards to reap.

In my opinion, if anyone is going to complain about the sexualiziation of a female character from Kojima, than they must clearly not be familiar with his portrayal of rugged, muscular, also overly sexualized male characters.