Before they co-created the hit web series Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?, Ashly and Anthony Burch were just a brother and sister who shared a weird obsession with Solid Snake and his 3D debut, Metal Gear Solid. And why wouldn't they? Hideo Kojima's 1998 game featured groundbreaking stealth mechanics, a gruff and hunky leading man, a brilliantly claustrophobic setting, tons of cinematic cutscenes, shocking fourth wall breaks, and terrifying bosses.

The only problem: The Burches grew up but their all-time favorite video game didn't. After nearly two decades, Metal Gear Solid's once-innovative stealth mechanics seem outdated, the cutscenes have lost some of their action movie punch, and the game's treatment of women is often out of touch. Witness a celebration/takedown of this landmark game with the combination of insight and hilarity that Ashly and Anthony have made their careers on.

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Ashly Burch is a voice actor and writer, and she speaks about representation and issues of gender and identity in the games industry. Anthony Burch was lead writer of Borderlands 2 for Gearbox Software and is currently a writer for Rocket Jump. 

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"HULK'S FAVE TAKE ON THE MIND OF KOJIMA." - Film Crit Hulk

"Metal Gear Solid is a great critical book about a game that the authors clearly love, and the switching of voices between Ashly and Anthony Burch provides a nice point and counterpoint that allows the text to disagree with itself fairly often. What emerges is some firm yet friendly back and forth analysis that opens up a canonical videogame further than it ever has been before." 9/10 - Paste 

"Ashly and Anthony Burch's work here is fascinating, thought-provoking stuff that has me considering the game in ways I hadn't thought of before. It also serves as a reminder that we can love something and be critical of it all at once." - Indie Games

"Exceptional book about an exceptional game. [...] The Burches take off their silken gloves and hack the game to pieces with their analyst hammer. With love." - Dome.fi

Excerpt: Kotaku

More Reviews: Goodreads