Part 33: Metal Gear 2 Part Fourteen: Tactical Elevator Action

Metal Gear 2 Part Fourteen: Tactical Elevator Action


Now that we have a hang glider, all we have left to do is run back to the Tower Building, go to the twentieth floor, and jump. This shouldn't be difficult.


Thankfully, the one real guard in this room didn't respawn. I hate cheap alerts.


I like that this door is double-wide on both sides of it. It makes no real difference, it's just the kind of corner that got cut on this type of thing all the time in old games.


The jungle maze is still here, and it's still a bore. Just for fun*, I took a longer route through this time.

_*Nope.


Desert? Check.


Mines? Check. Who keeps re-mining this place? Is there just one negligent soldier who gets there, sees all the mines are gone and says "guess I forgot to do that this morning" and doesn't think anything of it?


You know what I forgot about? Squeaky sand.


Unfortunately, there's no truck riding or anything that makes this travel shorter.


In evading the Tower Building guard, I find this man. What's he guarding?


A hidey hole, looks like. I was short on B1 and B2 rations at this point, and of course this guy drops a B3.


Ah, vents! Haven't seen vents since the start of the game!


In the vents is a ration.


B2: just what I needed. I suppose I could have crossed a loading screen to respawn this and farmed for it like that, but .



The vents spit Snake out under this truck. If you go in this way, you'll pop out in front of the guard and be seen.


Here we are, at the Tower Building!


And the first thing I have to do is hide and wait for the guards to pass by. I don't care much for the spiral room.


The elevator we need is the one halfway 'round the spiral. If you'll recall, this elevator goes straight to the twentieth.


Before I get on the elevator, I equip my SMG and bulletproof vest, because I am a very paranoid person. You never know with an elevator.


Hit the button, and away we go!


Doo de doo, goin' up to floor twenty.


Fifteenth floor, almost there. This is a slow elevator.


Nineteen! Soon we can see a whole new building!


And then the elevator suddenly stops! Snake gets a call here, but I can't get a shot of the little flashing indicator when I want it.

Who could be calling here?



: Snake! Grey Fox here...
: Fox!
: It seems you have ignored my suggestion. My friendship with you ends here...

That's pretty passive-aggressive of you, Fox. What's next, a sticky note on the door that says "this is a no Snake zone get out of here Snake I don't want to see you"?

: This elevator will be your coffin...

If we're here for a few hours, yeah. You really just gonna tie up this elevator for hours just to kill Snake, Fox?

: What!!

What do you mean, "what"? You're going to die, dumbass.

: I sent the hit squad trained solely for close quarters. Send them my regards...

No matter how good those guys are Fox, an elevator is an awful place for a gunfight. You are a strange man who makes bad choices. Was I wrong in thinking that red thing on your forehead is a bandanna and not a head wound?

Grey Fox is the most active antagonist in this game, but some of his choices make me wonder about him.



Snake tosses out a threat, but Grey Fox couldn't care less. Let's take a look at our villain, shall we?


Since Snake met Grey Fox in Outer Heaven, and Big Boss disappeared straight into a grave at the end of Metal Gear, when did he and Snake have time to be friends? And why does he "own a 'FOX' title"? Did he just grab it at the FOXHOUND burgers and ranks stand or something?


Oh, I guess these guys want me to pay attention to them. Whatever guys, I'm trying to figure out what Grey Fox's deal is.

A top-secret team commanded directly by the President.

So Grey Fox is the President? ...Wait, President of what? Zanzibar Land? The Ultra Box commanding committee? Zanzibar Land gift shop appreciation society?

Consider yourself lucky to be cooked by us!

Red Blaster wanted to cook Snake, too. Why does everybody want to cook Snake? Are these "Sons of Liberty" Snake Eaters?


Anyway, once they're finished telling Snake about how they'd like to make him hot, the Ultra Box guys (is Ultra Box a collective noun, or singular?) jump in the elevator to shoot at him.

Let's call Kessler.

: Ultrabox...close-quarter assassination squad. Formed by former SAS, GSG9 and UDT members. All professionals. Kill without blinking an eye. Don't fight them all at once. Your best option is to take them out one by one. ...Over.

"All professionals". Good to know, since they've all jumped into an elevator and started shooting at the middle of it. I'm glad to know that they should have known better when they kill each other in the crossfire. Kessler is right, though, and there is a certain way to move to minimise the danger from Ultrabox, which makes this fight a lot easier. See if you can spot where I figure this out in the video.

What else do we know about Ultra Box/Ultrabox?

What velocity? The elevator is stopped!

Oh, whatever. Just watch me kill them.


These guys have a lot of health, and there's four of them in a tight space. A good weapon here is the SMG, but you need to make sure you're using the vest and watching your movement.


Kill two of the Ultra Boxes, and two are left...


...Then one...


...Then they're all dead, and leave behind Card 7. Why were they carrying an ID when they don't need it to operate this elevator and it certainly wouldn't help Grey Fox any for them to have it? Who knows!


After the Ultra Boxen are dead, the elevator starts plummeting. I suppose this is how they use the velocity of elevators?


Nope, the brakes kick in just as you're going to hit the ground and die. Par for the course in Zanzibar Land.

NEXT TIME, ON METAL GEAR 2:






ACTUALLY NEXT TIME, ON METAL GEAR 2:

Stairs.