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 Solid Snake: Through the Years
Snake's character design has evolved a lot over the years, reflecting both his increasing age and Metal Gear's changing aesthetics. The first mission in Outer Heaven saw a green Snake, one not entirely accustomed to the rigors of battle. He was the essence of the soldier, but not much else. Snake didn't gain most of his now-trademark personality until later in the series.
By Metal Gear 2, Solid Snake had ended his regular military career, but his duties were far from over. He was a grizzled soldier in 1999, but check out his facial expression in the codec screen - he doesn't exactly look confident about his mission. Regardless, Snake had matured.
Metal Gear Solid takes place in 2010, and by that time Snake had become a little haggard and worn. He obviously had plenty of fight left in him, though. Prior to the release of MGS, Metal Gear had been out of gaming's collective consciousness for several years, so this is the version of Solid Snake that most people call to mind when they think of the character. MGS Snake is much darker and more brooding than his previous incarnations, and his facial features have changed.
In the Metal Gear timeline, the Game Boy version occurs well before the PlayStation game, but in this feature we've placed it afterward to stress that the first Metal Gear Solid was the game that introduced Snake's current look, since he looks almost identical on the Game Boy Color. Apparently, Snake got a serious makeover (and maybe a face-lift) sometime between 1999 and 2002.
After the initial shock of MGS2's splendor, as seen in the original trailer and in subsequent MGS2 movies, you may wonder, "What's with the mullet?" Yes, Snake is now sporting that most hated of hairstyles, but apparently it won't detract from his ability to kick ass. Perhaps the game will feature a pivotal scene in which Snake sheds his locks... or maybe not. Anyway, he hasn't really changed much at all since MGS. We'll be seeing him again soon.
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