[bad karma]

Metal Gear Solid in 1998 came around at just the right time for me. It was exactly what I needed at that time and have been hooked on the series ever since. I'll never forget the first time playing it. I was so into it, the sneaking around was so intense. I remember someone else being in the room watching me play it, they asked a question or something, and I was so into the gaming moment that I answered with a whisper ( so the Genome Soldiers wouldn't hear me ). There are so many moments of that game that have stuck with me all these years. The last words of the Foxhound members were quite something. I'll always remember the first time I killed Sniper Wolf, and after watching Greyfox tear up that hall full of soldiers, I was so scared to go and fight him. I could go on forever talking about how great that first game is.

Of course I was pissed when after an hour of MGS2: Sons of Liberty I was no longer Solid Snake but some new punk named Raiden. I got over it though.

Next for me was MGS3:Snake Eater. Again, the right game at the right time for me. It was everything I needed it to be. One of the the greatest scenes in the entire series comes from this game. "Life's end, isn't it beautiful ? It's almost tragic .... ". I think you all know what I'm talking about.

I skipped over the Acid series and Portable Ops, no PSP, but I did watch Peace Walker on youtube. Again, I feel it was what it needed to be. Big Boss's story is so interesting to me.

MGS4 was awesome. The whole game from start to finish was the perfect ending to the series. The return to Shadow Moses and hearing that beautiful MGS1 song again upon approach was just epic.

Collectable wise, back in the day when I was ready to dump loads of cash into a Metal Gear collection there really wasn't much available. There still isn't much available. If they ever were to make a complete line of figures, playsets, and vehicles in the GIJOE scale ( 1/18 ), I would have several of every character and vehicle and armies of every troop type for every game. This will never happen though, unless the series gets developed as a weekly animated show geared towards kids so as to drive sales of the figures.

As for making custom figures, I've been gathering parts over the last 2 years to make every character, vehicle, and troop type. And the dream project for me would be to dedicate a garage or very large room to recreating the entire facility on Shadow Moses Island.