The Shadow Moses incident: a legendary event in Metal Gear history where the world teetered on the brink of an international crisis. Terrorists threatened a nuclear launch if their demands were not met within 24 hours.
Solid Snake prepares for newest appearance in Metal Gear Solid The Board Game
Infiltrate the disposal facility, defeat the terrorists, dodge the cameras, and uncover the conspiracy while staying alive and undetected in this tactical espionage action first seen on PlayStation 1 in 1998! This gripping story, with state-of-the-art graphics for its time and reactive enemies, will make you sneak around and stay out of sight.
Play as government secret agent Snake, tasked with the impossible mission of regaining control of a nuclear weapons base from terrorists. Prevent a nuclear assault on the US Government at all costs and destroy the titular Metal Gear.
In this groundbreaking 1998 video game, locate your weapons, utilize your Soliton Radar system, and master equipment like the silenced pistol and Nikita-guided missile launcher.
Metal Gear’s Transition to Tabletop Board Game
However, in this rendition, as seen in the video games, you are not alone! Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game brings the much-loved stealth action franchise to the tabletop. This cooperative board game, produced and designed by Emerson Matsuuchi, features illustrations by artists Marco Checchetto and Kenneth Loh.
Take on the roles of Solid Snake and his allies, including Meryl, Otacon, and the formerly antagonistic Cyborg Ninja. Utilize their special skills to avoid detection by the Genome Soldier army and take down members of FOXHOUND in unique boss battles separate from the stealth mechanics.
For example, Cyborg Ninja Gray Fox starts the game with his iconic High-Frequency Blade, while Hal Emmerich’s “Otacon” has access to a unique Hacking deck exclusive to players who choose him.
IDW’S Version of Metal Gear Solid The Board Game
Produced by Emerson Matsuuchi and available via Cmon.com, other board game retailers, and CMON Games, this game was originally planned for release by IDW Games in December 2019, making it a potential Christmas gift for lucky MGS fans. However, delays and licensing issues halted production, leading to cancellation in February 2021. The revival project began in 2023, with a planned release last month, but retail sites like Zatu now list it for August.
The board game follows the iconic storyline of the original Metal Gear Solid video game, with players completing objectives to progress. It includes various miniatures for player characters, bosses, patrol units, cardboard boxes, tiles, character dashboards with instructions, equipment cards, and other necessary tokens.
Multiple campaign scenarios are included, each requiring players to complete specific objectives for victory. The game also features an A.I. system and sandbox-style gameplay, allowing players to approach missions in different ways and ensuring fresh experiences with each replay.
The Soliton Radar system, which allowed players to see enemy guards’ and cameras’ cones of sight in the video game, is replicated in the board game. Detection by a camera or guard triggers alert protocols, forcing players to escape and hide using covers, cardboard boxes, or crawl spaces.
Combat is resolved with dice rolls, providing a last resort when detected and offering a chance to fight through to safety.
MAKE WAY FOR THE BOSS ENCOUNTERS
The dedicated FOXHOUND boss stages look to be entertaining, featuring five members of FOXHOUND for you to try and stop, including the iconic Psycho Mantis, whose psychic powers and abilities you may remember. In the PlayStation game, you had to plug your controller into the second slot to try and stop him from probing your mind and reading your saved data.
The other villains you’ll encounter are just as they appeared in the classic PS1 epic: Revolver Ocelot, a gunslinging expert who shoots and spins his Single Action Army revolvers with ease while keeping you guessing his true motives; Sniper Wolf, who uses her expert sniping skills to target you from long distances; Vulcan Raven, the shaman equipped with a devastating minigun; and finally, Liquid Snake, the terrorist leader overseeing the demands to the US, culminating in a final showdown with Solid Snake.
In addition to these bosses, there also appear to be boss fights with the HIND-D helicopter and Metal Gear Rex towards the end of the board game experience.
Each boss comes with their own deck of cards and specific attacks for players to discover and exploit to defeat them.
COMMENCING THE MISSIONS
In addition to the Campaign story missions, the board game includes VR Missions, which can be played at any time with any number of players, offering a shorter experience than the lengthier campaign missions.
There are 14 unique stealth and Boss Missions in the campaign and 6 independent VR Missions included in the board game. Super fans could likely even create their own missions given enough time to understand the board game’s mechanics.
The average game time is 60-90 minutes, and up to 4 players can participate. The integral edition comes with a 13cm tall Metal Gear Rex model and a 109-page graphic novel illustrated by Kenneth Loh as a pre-order exclusive.
Pre-orders are currently available on the Zatu Games website with an expected release date of 1st August 2024.
This is all very exciting news if you’re a series fan and have experienced the history of video games. Even if you’re completely new to the world of Metal Gear Solid, this could be a great entry point. Remember, Snake, this unique board game is a top-secret black op! Only authorized personnel are privy to these highly classified details!
Follow Blooing on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok for more Tabletop news and reviews.