Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Story

Four years after the events of San Hieronymo, Big Boss, who prefers his original name Snake, and Kaz Miller have formed the small mercenary group Militaires Sans Frontières on the Colombian coast. They are approached by Ramon Galvez Mena, a professor at the University of Peace, and his student Paz Ortega Andrade. Galvez is trying to hire MSF to investigate an army that has discreetly occupied parts of Costa Rica. Snake refuses because he thinks Galvez is a KGB agent, but is convinced when Paz plays him a recording of The Boss. When Snake arrives in Costa Rica, he begins to suspect that the mysterious army has brought nuclear weapons. With the help of the Sandinista Liberation Army, he tracks a shipment to a research facility deep in the mountains. His suspicions are confirmed when he witnesses Hot Coldman, a high-ranking CIA agent, announce his intention to fire a live nuclear weapon as part of a project code-named "Peace Walker." Snake betrays himself to Huey Emmerich, one of the Peace Walker's designers, who agrees to help him stop Coldman. Following Huey's instructions, Snake sets out to find Dr. Strangelove, the designer of the Peace Walker's artificial intelligence, in Costa Rica. He finds out that Strangelove built the Peace Walker's primary control systems on The Boss's personality. She wants to know if The Boss really defected to the Soviet Union or if she died in a covered-up mission, and tortures Snake to get information. Snake escapes custody and unsuccessfully attempts to destroy the Peace Walker, a four-legged nuclear launch vehicle. He chases the Peace Walker across the Nicaraguan border to an American air base on the shores of Lake Cocibolca. When he discovers that the base is manned by Soviet soldiers, Snake infiltrates the facility and confronts Coldman. Coldman reveals the purpose of Peace Walker: he believes that nuclear deterrence is a flawed theory, relying on humans to retaliate in the event of a nuclear exchange because, in his opinion, they are unwilling to destroy their own race. As an impartial artificial intelligence, Peace Walker would guarantee retribution, and Coldman intends to fire a warhead to prove it. Suddenly, the facility is overrun by Soviet soldiers, led by Galvez, who identifies himself as Vladimir Zadornov. Zadornov wants to hijack the Peace Walker for the Soviet Union, but the standoff is interrupted by the arrival of the MSF and Sandinistas, giving Snake enough time to destroy the Peace Walker. After the battle, Zadornov is captured and Coldman is mortally wounded. While dying, Coldman activates the Peace Walker's data uplink and convinces NORAD that the United States is on the verge of a Soviet nuclear strike. Snake contacts NORAD and tries to convince them to stand down, but senior members of the armed forces refuse and plan a retaliatory strike. Faced with an imminent nuclear strike, the Boss personality takes control of the Peace Walker's damaged artificial intelligence and drowns it in Lake Cocibolca, severing the connection and ending the threat. Some time later, Zadornov repeatedly escapes from the MSF, raising Snake's suspicions that someone has betrayed her. Paz turns out to be a traitor and uses Zadornov's escape attempts to gain control of the Metal Gear ZEKE, a walking tank designed by Huey to protect the MSF from foreign interference. As an agent of Major Zero - now under the name "Cipher" - Faz gives Snake an ultimatum: he is to deliver MSF to Cipher and become his deterrent or she will fire a nuclear warhead at America, at which point she will be branded a nuclear-armed extremist sect and the world will unite in her hunt for MSF. Snake prevents the launch by crippling ZEKE, and Paz is thrown into the sea. In the aftermath, Snake reconciles with his memory of The Boss and takes on the title of Big Boss as he rallies the MSF soldiers to prepare for a fight for their survival, declaring that they live in the "Outer Heaven."