Is there anything more mind-numbing than waiting for a video game to install? Just sitting there and watching the percentage counter slowly tick up – ugh.
However, Metal Gear fans may remember when series creator Hideo Kojima tried to make the experience a bit more interesting. Back in 2008, it was no secret that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots would be a taxing game for the PlayStation 3 to run.
Its visuals were highly praised and considered groundbreaking at the time. As a result, the game demanded an extended installation which lasted around 15-20 minutes before it could be played.
With Kojima, Konami, and fans recently celebrating 16 years since its release, former MGS4 players have been reminiscing about its unique installation screen. It featured Solid Snake (referred to as “Old Snake” in MGS4 due to his rapid aging) lighting and smoking cigarettes for the duration of the install.
Clearly designed with the intention of showcasing Old Snake’s excellent and detailed character model, the installation screen was a great way of building fans’ anticipation for the game’s visuals. As Snake smoked, hints and tips about the game and how to play it also appeared on screen.
A clip of MGS4‘s installation was shared on X by @airbagged, who wrote: “f**k it, here’s 16 minutes of old snake smoking while the game installs in real time.”
The post has attracted more than 13K likes at the time of writing and caught the attention of Metal Gear fans. @mgs2master2 responded “Games these days should do something like this.”, while @ALanbatal said “Ya know I’m sorta tempted to break out the old ps3 and play the game again after seeing this.”
Others, such as @THE_LROD34, were simply grateful for the trip down memory lane: “Damn, thank you for the nostalgia”, they wrote.
Some fans had more humorous takes on the installation screen: “lung cancer speedrun”, said @BaronOfZLand.
It goes without saying that it’s unlikely such a sequence would be made these days due to its blatant promotion of smoking. However, it was a unique way of making a mundane wait slightly more engaging – and it has been scarcely replicated since, if at all.
Do you remember the MGS4 smoking installation screen? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
