• BLOG
• ABOUT
• LECTURER
• OLYMPIAD
• S-PAPER
• PURE APPLIED
• MISC.
• CONTACT

I had a quick viewing of the new TGS 2007 trailer of Metal Gear Solid 4 and boy I was blown away. This game is gonna be hot, I thought to myself. The renderings of the characters are so life like and the gameplay dynamics seem to be highly interactive, realistic and at the same time fun.

Those who play Playstation will be familiar with the Metal Gear series. For the non-videogamers, or non-Playerstationers I should say, it is an award winning video game series created by Hideo Kojima which stars ultra cool Solid Snake, a spy operative of FOXHOUND, as he takes down a group of bada**es intending to rule the world with the use of a metal gear, which is a nuclear weapon capable walking mecha. Sounds like the world is going to end unless Snake can pull out the impossible – taking out everyone with the aid of only a sneak suit and his trusted SOCOM pistol. I like his chances. :-)
What I like about the Metal Gear series is that while it is an action game play of sneaking around and eliminating the enemy, the creator manages to weave such a great storyline into the game. A story that may seem trivial at first but soon escalates into a global scenario whose characters are soldiers, secret forces, dark ops, government, the economy and opposing countries. There’s also the element of discovering the past of the main character Solid Snake as to how he has evolved into a genetically enhanced soldier of the 21st century.

Different games of the series showcase a different metal gear. MG1 featured Metal Gear Rex, a highly mobile tank with massive weapons. MG2 featured Metal Gear Ray, an amphibious anti-metal gear way. MG3, which actually takes place before MG1, features the Shagohod, a highly maneuverable nuclear missile launching platform.

My favorite is the first one, Metal Gear Rex. With his robust legs, a radar shield on the left shoulder and a magnetic rail gun on the right, it looks downright deadly. Incidentally, this was the game that made me interested in mecha. See in the game there’s a short cut scene of Dr. Otacon explaining how he got involved in the Metal Gear project. His reason, he wanted to build mecha, bipedal robots, as seen from Japanese Animation.

From that moment one, I decided that if there is any opportunity to build mecha such like Metal Gear, I will be the quick to seize it. I simply marvel at all the ideas and precise calculations which goes into building a machine of that level. It is also exciting to work on such 'secret' projects.

I know for all practically reasons, the world does not need a nuclear capable weapon. But who says I can’t build one for defensive purposes like Metal Gear Ray. Having that goal in mind, I decided to purse Mechanical Engineering for my university. Then again, I thought to myself. Wouldn’t building a big machine like Metal Gear require skills in electronics too, or even mathematics or physics. I mean, there needs to be a scientific explanation as to how the rail gun functions.

And so, here comes my ideal educational journey. I’ll probably study mechanical engineering for my degree and then do a masters in physics. Oh wait, I would probably need to convince the US government that they need a machine like Metal Gear in their arsenal. So, I may also need a Ph.D in Political Science.