No name in video games is as well-known as Hideo Kojima — the mastermind behind Metal Gear Solid, Zone of the Enders, Death Stranding, and more. Kojima’s impact on video games as a whole can’t be understated, and that’s largely because of both the success and continued thematic relevance of Metal Gear. It’s easy to laud most of the Metal Gear games, but one entry that tends to be disappointingly overlooked is Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The brilliant PSP game was a profound prequel that enhanced the narrative themes of the entire franchise and paved the way for what would come in The Phantom Pain.
Peace Walker occupies an interesting place in the series, as it’s technically both a prequel and a sequel all at once, following Big Boss ten years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. After leaving the United States, Big Boss has starts his own mercenary outfit in Colombia. After a mysterious paramilitary group called the “Peace Sentinels” appears in Costa Rica, with an absurd amount of firepower, the Costa Rican government appeals to Big Boss to help solve the situation — before a new battle between the East and West powers of the world is sparked.
