I've played everything up to 5

its not so much praised for being full throated communist propaganda as much as for not being full throated imperialist propaganda. its leagues better than a james bond film because in MGS3 they explicitly avoid anti-communist or anti-soviet talking points, the BBEG Volgin is a rogue actor and the USA and international capital (in the form of the Patriots and the Philosophers Legacy fund) ends up being basically responsible for everything that happens. ANY other game in the same setting and themes would take the chance to be super anti-communist and anti-soviet.

MGS2 and 4 and PW are actually super based though.

You have people running around saying the series is anti-war or whatever the fuck. Maybe you can find some buried recordings with the characters talking about some CIA op to topple governments or something. It is not front-and-center.

MGS 4's theme is literaly about how the war economy has pretty much destroyed the world and created hell on earth for Private Military Contractors. This is hte continuation of MGS 2 where the "government" is controled by some shadow group that controls the media and manufactures popular consent, an explicit condemnation of US democracy and an exposition of the ties between ~~capitalists~~ the Patriots, the media and the MIC. MGS 2 successfuly predicts the modern internet almost 100% correctly.

The literal title refers to a WMD created by the US MIC to push MAD to the highest stakes even though Kojima himself explains way back in MGS 1 how the post cold war status quo lead to nuclear disarmament and an attempt to control nuclear proliferation. The existence of MG is a commentary on how the US ignores and sabotages their own foreign policy just out of psychopathy and capitalist greed. The fact he is Japanese serves as an even bigger factor given their national trauma. The fact is the US would do another Hiroshima under the right circumstances. Kojima definitely says paraphrasing Baker(MGS) "nuclear war is closer now than ever".

Of course Baker isn't correct, nuclear war isn't going to come from some random small country(DPRK, Iran etc), the point though is to observe he perfectly represents the delusion and obsession with maintaining hegemony and their superpower status. As he says "we need a weapon of overwhelming power", except they don't.

That is the politics of MGS, a small part of it even.

But that loser manchild of a fascist gamer meant "political" strictly defined as the modern american cultural war BS. You should be aware of Ocelot/Snake. That is what they fear. They're not talking about the finer points of the US military industrial complex lol.

Did you pay any attention at all to what was happening on screen at any point in the game

MGS3 really is just some cheesy James Bond installment (but with camouflage). Para-medic goes on a long winded discussion about From Russia with love when you save the game

And when you finish the game one time regardless of how you did, you unlock a tuxedo suit.

Still love the game, tho mgs2 had a better message because it was basically a dunk on the reactionary contraptions of American media and culture.

MGS 3 is not very "political" in the sense that you pretty much nailed it's politics on the head. A lot of the game was made in response to the backlash from 2 which is more super charged with the themes the series is known for along with 1. Peace Walker is straight up commie.

MGS2 and 3s plot getting told almost entirely within codex conversations does make following whatever political points they try to make pretty difficult

Conspicuous lack of mention of 2 here

MGR is the best game ever made and I refuse to tolerate this slander

If MGS isn't political, then why didn't we see Mei Ling's boobs?

Mono Godium Slutanmate