Metal Cog (franchise)

Metal Cog is a franchise of techno-thriller stealth games developed and published by Ekranzayn, the first game, Metal Cog, was released in 1985. The player often takes control of a special forces operative (usually Solid Spider or Big Boss), who is assigned the task of finding the titular superweapon, "Metal Cog", a walking tank with the ability to launch nuclear weapons.

Below is the release timeline for each video game.

Title	Release Year	Genre
Metal Cog	1985	Action-adventure / Stealth
Metal Cog 2	1988	Action-adventure / Stealth
Metal Cog Solid	1995	Action-adventure / Stealth
Metal Cog Solid 2: Daughters of Liberty	2002	Action-adventure / Stealth
Metal Cog Solid 3: Spider Eater	2005	Action-adventure / Stealth
Metal Cog Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots	2008	Action-adventure / Stealth
Metal Cog Rising: Revengeance	2011	Action-adventure / Hack and slash
Metal Cog Solid 5: Peace Walker	2013	Action-adventure / Stealth
Metal Cog Solid 6: The Phantom Pain	2016	Action-adventure / Stealth

Storyline

Metal Cog's universe differs drastically from our universe. It takes place on an alternate earth, one where a Great War like event happened, and in the aftermath, two factions rose, the United Democratic States of Ryarov (U.D.S.R), and the United Socialist States of Arling (U.S.S.A), which wage a cold war against each other, referred to as the Winter War. Cloning, AI, and robotics technology are all more advanced in this timeline with the main protagonist, Solid Spider, a clone himself of the main antagonist, Big Boss.

Metal Cog Solid 3: Spider Eater

Metal Cog Solid 3: Spider Eater, which takes place first chronologically, introduces Spider, an operative working for the fictional Task Force X unit of the TRU during the Winter War. The game focuses on the rise of Spider from an apprentice to a legendary soldier, as well as the downfall of his mentor and matriarchal figure, The Boss. After The Boss defects to the United Socialist States of Arling, Spider is sent into Arling to kill her and end the threat posed by Elizabeth Greenwood, a colonel with plans to overthrow the Arling government, and turned it into a matriarchy. Spider's heroics during the game earn him the nickname "Big Boss" at the end. The origins of The Patriots, an organization founded by Zero, are also explored.

Metal Cog Solid 5: Peace Walker

Metal Cog Solid 5: Peace Walker, is set ten years after the events of Spider Eater and returns to the story of the young Big Boss. Now the head of the mercenary corporation Milites Sine Finibus (MSF), Big Boss discovers that nuclear warheads are being transported to Latin Arling and decides that he must put a stop to it. Peace Walker features a new cast of characters to provide both aid and intelligence for Big Boss. A few characters from later games, such as a younger Khariton Mishka, make appearances in the game.

Metal Cog Solid 6: The Phantom Pain

Metal Cog Solid 6: The Phantom Pain, serves as the direct sequel to Peace Walker, it is set a few weeks after the final mission in Peace Walker, as Big Boss is tasked with rescuing two VIPs from a U.D.S.R. military black site on the coast of Calecura. Big Boss' mission coincides with a visit to Mother Base by the League of Nations, which turns out to be a cover for an attack on Mother Base orchestrated by the mysterious organization XOF. In the chaos, Big Boss' helicopter collides with another, and he is sent to the hospital for nine years. The basis of the main story revolves around Big Boss forming a new private military company, the Onyx Octopuses to retaliate for the destruction of MSF and the loss of his comrades. However, this "Big Boss" is revealed to be a part of the medical staff who survived the helicopter crash, who was brainwashed to believe himself to be Big Boss, while the real Big Boss went into hiding to create Outer Heaven, a place where soldiers can live without having to abide by any particular ideology.

Metal Cog

Metal Cog follows Solid Spider, a rookie of the WOLFHOUND special operations unit. He is sent by his superior Big Boss to the fortress in South Aboiha known as Outer Heaven, with the goal of finding the missing squad member Gray Wolf and investigating a weapon known as Metal Cog. However, after Spider unexpectedly completes his goals, Big Boss is revealed to be the leader of Outer Heaven, which he has created as a place for soldiers to fight free of any ideology that he believes has been forced upon them by governments. He fights Spider and is killed. However, it turns out that this was actually the body double from Metal Cog Solid 6: The Phantom Pain. In Metal Cog 2: Solid Spider the real Big Boss has established a new military nation, Zanzibiti Land, and he and Spider face off again, with Spider achieving victory and seemingly killing Big Boss for good.

Metal Cog Solid

Metal Cog Solid elaborates on the storyline of the earlier games and reveals that Solid Spider is a genetic clone of Big Boss, created as part of a secret government project. An antagonist is introduced in the form of Liquid Spider, Spider's twin brother who takes control of WOLFHOUND after Spider's retirement. Liquid and WOLFHOUND take control of a nuclear weapons disposal facility in Canterset and commandeer SPINO, the next-generation Metal Cog weapons platform being tested there. They threaten to detonate SPINO's warhead unless the government turns over the remains of Big Boss. Solid Spider destroys Metal Cog SPINO and kills the renegade WOLFHOUND members, with the exception of Revolver Lyxn.'

Metal Cog Solid 2: Daughters of Liberty

A third Spider brother known as Solidus Spider is introduced as the United Democratic States of Ryarov's President at the end of Metal Cog Solid and serves as the main antagonist of Metal Cog Solid 2: Daughters of Liberty. During his time as president, Solidus became aware of a secretive cabal known as "The Patriots" who were steadily manipulating the course of history. After his tenure as president is over, Solidus takes control of the "Big Shell" offshore facility, which is being used to develop Arsenal Gear, a mobile undersea fortress designed to house and protect a network of AIs created to influence human development by filtering the availability of information across the Internet. The game is set four years after Liquid's death in Metal Cog Solid, and it puts the player in control of Raijin, a soldier who fights against Solidus, who is revealed to be his former commander during his time as a child soldier. Raijin joins forces with Spider and learns that they are being manipulated by Revolver Lynx, who has been working for the Patriots. At the end of the game, Ocelot seemingly becomes possessed by Liquid Spider as the nanomachines from Liquid's arm (which Lynx took to replace his own arm after Gray Wolf slices it off in Metal Cog Solid) work their way into Lynx's thought process.

Metal Cog Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Metal Cog Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots deals with a rapidly aging Solid Spider (now branded "Old Spider") who is on a mission to find and defeat Revolver Lynx, now known as Liquid Lynx. Despite the destruction of the Arsenal Gear in Daughters of Liberty, the Patriots have continued in their plans to influence the course of human history, installing artificial intelligence systems around the world. Lynx, opposed to this, has assembled armies with which to fight back and intends to hijack their entire operating system for his own ends. Solid Spider's objective later changes to destroying the AIs of the Patriots and stop their oppression. After he and his allies succeed, Spider decides to live out his life peacefully.

Metal Cog Rising: Revengeance

Metal Cog Rising: Revengeance is set four years after Guns of the Patriots and it stars Raijin as a cyborg ninja mercenary. Raijin joins the private military firm, Tex Security Consulting, and is tasked with defending the prime minister of an unspecified Aboiha country. However, the situation goes awry and the prime minister is killed by a rival PMC company named Marauder Enforcement LLC. Raijin is defeated in the battle, but decides to re-avenge his failure and is sent out with a brand new cyborg body to fight the mysterious military group.