Why Raiden Makes MGS2 A Masterpiece [METAL GEAR SOLID 2 RETROSPECTIVE]

"Did you say NERD?"   / futurasound     / futurasound   In this, part 4 of my MGS2 Retrospective, I make the case for why Raiden was actually, contrary to popular sentiment, necessary for Sons of Liberty. We discuss a whole lot here, from Paul Auster's story "City of Glass", to American culture and the Ethos of the Information Age. 0:00 - Intro 1:15 - From 'GENE' to 'MEME' 3:46 - From 'TANKER' to 'PLANT' 13:05 - Summary, "City of Glass" by Paul Auster 19:41 - "Peter Stillman", the disappearance of 'truth' under the 'snowstorm' of data, and the burden of finding something for yourself to pass on 21:11 - "Turtles [and Snakes] all the way down" 22:22 - Codons, introns, and exons [as a metaphorical mechanism for 'truth' and 'digital selection' of memes, what to pass on] 23:00 - The "Half Truths" of MGS2, in both the mechanics and the narrative 24:33 - Context gets "drowned" by the deluge of information 26:35 - How every character in MGS2 is trapped in a yesterday that may have never existed 30:07 - Raiden, The Hidden Fortress, and the key concept of Context 31:54 - How Raiden solves the problem inherent to all video games 33:17 - Addressing one of the biggest criticisms of Raiden 33:56 - What Raiden symbolizes 39:38 - How Raiden's character arc provides MGS2 with its heart & soul 50:24 - The monologue from Otacon that sums everything up