First, a Happy Christmas to everyone.  Second, I was thinking that maybe I should be rewriting my 2006 Game of The Year listing to include Arthur Lee's Merry Gear Solid: Secret Santa.  It's freaken awesome, but those naughty, naughty children must die.  DIE, I SAY!!

It's really great

I love the spot-on parodies of Metal Gear staples, like Snake randomly repeating bits of dialogue.

"Twenty years??"

"... Airholes?!"  "... Wearing?!"

That bit had me laughing so hard, I spilt my eggnog all over my desk.

Ain't getting my MGS4 this year, but replaying Merry Gear Solid around the holidays more than makes up for it.  Such an ingenious bit of grid-based software, and worth it just to experience those spot-on Metal Gear-isms.   That dialogue about "seeing is believing" and "gravity" cracks me up every time. :p

And Frosty The Snowman and the MGS Main Theme; what a ridiculously awesome matrimony indeed.

This is not working on my 'Mac. So frustrated!

Christmas arrives late for me this year (or is it early?) -- in the form of the Merry Gear Solid sequel!  Seriously, how was I not following this when it was released last month? 

From earlier last year: "I’ve now completely outlined the plot, and I’ve begun work on the script," said [developer] Arthur Lee on his blog. "Fans of the Metal Gear Solid series won’t be disappointed, as I’ve made every effort to make the story and dialogue as convoluted and incomprehensible as possible."

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKzhnrEf9CE&fmt=18

Merry Gear Solid 2: Ghosts of Christmas Past:
"Outer Savin’, three years after the Secret Santa Incident.  We had classified information that a new Santa had taken power.  The whole thing was naughty… but our noses had been out in the cold too long."  Merry Gear Solid 2: Ghost of Christmas Past is the sequel to 2006’s Merry Gear Solid: Secret Santa. Set years after the events of the first game, Merry Gear Solid 2 sets Old Snake on an adventure to retrieve Santa’s Hat from an extremist group known as the Ghosts of Christmas Past. Using an array of new tools, and returning favorites, Solid Snake must infiltrate Outer Savin’ Mall and prevent the Ghosts from taking control of the SOC (Spirit of Christmas) System.

On top of which, Lee released a free download of the soundtrack, which appears to collect the entirety of the sequel's score.  I'm listening to it as I speak, and it's quite excellent.  Lee and McGraw take several popular pieces from the Metal Gear music series, and gives 'em a holiday-inspired spin.  "Do Not Push Start Till Christmas" is one of the best, a terrific mix of MGS4's Old Snake, Carol of The Bells, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and the Metal Gear Solid Main Theme.  "He Sees You When You're Sneaking" is an impressive sleigh bells driven cover of the original MGS1 Encounter, with underlying currents of Carol of the Bells.  Of Milk and Men weaves in Frosty The Snowman, sounding fit to be an appropriate accompaniment to a heavy-handed cutscene, and "Tarrah!!", one of my favorites, is a sweet fusion of MG1's Theme of Tara and Here Comes Santa Claus.  "Lonely Christmas Eve" caps off the score with a tongue-in-cheek vocal spoof of Harrell's Snake Eater and Natasha Farrow's Calling To The Night.

Can't wait to try out the game later tonight!

Just completed Merry 2.  It's much, much longer than the first game, with my end-of-game time clocking in at exactly three hours. (Thankful for the new Auto Save feature.)  Unfortunately, a lot of it was spent on tedious backtracking and item fetching, so it doesn't feel as lean in the gameplay department as the first.  Enemy formation generally doesn't change during these back and forth trips either, so it gets repetitive.

On the other hand, Lee holds to his promise of making "every effort to make the story and dialogue as convoluted and incomprehensible as possible."  In other words, it's 100% true to the Metal Gear spirit, for good or for bad.  I love how the story springboards off of MGS4, and there's several traces of continuity happening.  There's also a boatload of clever homages from the entirety of the series as well as other Kojima titles, which shan't be spoiled here.  I particularly like how the fourth wall is constantly being challenged and torn down, as perpetrated by the neat boss battles.  Kojima would indeed be proud.

It's the voice acting that really surprises, though.  Chase McCaskill makes for a really convincing Hayter impersonator.  Duncan Roberts, too, really nails Otacon's voice mannerisms.  Nice job, guys.

Stay for the credits.  Man, what a screwy, quad-crossing plot.  Love it.