Shadow Moses Island

Shadow Moses is an island that is part of the Fox Archipelago lying south-west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea. A nuclear weapons disposal facility located on Shadow Moses secretly doubled as a massive weapons development complex.

History
Shadow Moses was formed by the eruption of the active volcano Old Moses on the island of Unimak, one of the Fox Islands at the eastern end of the Aleutian chain.

The nuclear weapons disposal facility on the island was built at the beginning of the 21st century. Officially, it was made to temporarily store nuclear warheads, but in reality, it was owned and operated by a dummy corporation of ArmsTech, for the development of Metal Gear REX. Shadow Moses itself was too small to accommodate a runway, and was thus inaccessible by airplane. The island was furnished with its own power plant and foundry to make it self-sufficient.

In 2005, Shadow Moses was the location of a top secret test launch of a new type of stealth nuclear warhead, conducted by ArmsTech and DARPA and overseen by FOXHOUND and the Next-Generation Special Forces. However, shortly thereafter, FOXHOUND rebelled against the U.S. Government, holding DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker hostage, and hijacking Metal Gear REX and its nuclear armament. Ex-FOXHOUND operative Solid Snake was sent in to deal with the terrorist threat and defuse the situation. The island facility was nearly destroyed by an aerial nuclear strike issued by Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman in order to keep the incident out of the public eye, but the orders were rescinded when Houseman was arrested at the last second. This became known as the Shadow Moses Incident.

Post-Shadow Moses
Following the incident, the island was placed under the control of the military (actually, agents of the Patriots), in order to conceal the events that took place there. They also captured anyone who even dared come near the island, and presumably killed several of the prisoners. At one point, they captured journalist Gary McGolden who traveled to the island in order to verify Nastasha Romanenko's account of the Shadow Moses Incident, in her book In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth. However, their attempts at interrogating him, regarding his sources, were foiled when Solid Snake returned to the island to rescue him. Afterwards, the island was completely abandoned (presumably because of McGolden's article), and remained untouched for seven years.

In 2014, Solid Snake returned to Shadow Moses after discovering Liquid Ocelot intended to steal the railgun from REX. This was because it was not under SOP control and could launch a stealth missile at a satellite in space which housed JD, the Patriots core AI. Once again infiltrating the base, Snake fought his way through numerous Dwarf Gekko and Gekko, and fought and defeated Crying Wolf. Snake made his way to the underground supply tunnel and found REX, but the railgun had already been taken. He then encountered Vamp, and managed to temporarily strip him of his immortality, giving Raiden a chance to kill him. REX's hangar became the final resting place for Vamp and Naomi Hunter, and with hordes of Suicide Gekkos pouring in, Snake and Raiden managed to escape in the re-powered Metal Gear REX. Snake and Liquid then ended up fighting at Shadow Moses' port, with Solid Snake operating REX and Metal Gear RAY being piloted by Liquid Ocelot.

Military Hardware (as of 2005)

 * M1 Abrams tanks (2)
 * Jeeps (2)
 * Transport trucks (3)
 * Metal Gear REX

Areas



 * Cargo Dock
 * Solid Snake used the elevator from here to get to the heliport in 2005.
 * Heliport
 * Solid Snake climbed through a Ventilation shaft to enter the Tank Hangar.
 * Tank Hangar
 * Holding Cells
 * Armory
 * Canyon
 * Nuclear Warhead Storage Building
 * In 2005 Snake was unable to use weapons in this area due to the presence of the nuclear warheads. However, by 2014, weapon usage has somehow become possible here.
 * Lab
 * Commander's Room
 * Cave
 * Underground Passage
 * Medical Room
 * Communications Towers A/B
 * Snowfield
 * Blast Furnace
 * Casting Facility
 * Warehouse
 * Underground Base
 * Control Room
 * Supply Route
 * Supply Port

Differences between Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
In terms of layout and environmental inclusions, Shadow Moses appears nearly identical to the versions in Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, but with some notable differences.

Certain areas of the island are inaccessible in Metal Gear Solid 4. These areas are the Dock, Holding Cells, Armory, Commander's Room, Cave, Underground Passage (remains of this area can still be seen in the Snowfield), Inside the Communication Towers, Cargo Elevators (which Vamp sealed) and Warehouse.

Metal Gear Solid 4 establishes both the original Metal Gear Solid and The Twin Snakes canonical as elements from both versions are present in this version. Examples include the audio flashbacks taken from The Twin Snakes, which used re-recorded voice acting, whereas Snake's image flashbacks are from Metal Gear Solid, including Snake's dream sequence.

Heliport:
 * Snake infiltrates the island via a small passage through the rock wall in Metal Gear Solid 4. In Metal Gear Solid and The Twin Snakes this passage doesn't exist but there is a large piece of the wall missing where it's supposed to be, indicating that it may actually be there.
 * The metal barricade that was previously attached to the western edge of the helipad is now an independent structure. Accordingly, the barricade is now longer, making the elevator, and the stacked crates that Snake hid behind in his previous infiltration, inaccessible.
 * Because of the aforementioned barricade being lengthened out, there is now a small gap in-between the barricade and the helipad. Due to these two structures being connected in Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes, this gap was not present in those games.
 * Certain structures have been re-scaled from the original verisons for the sake of realism. For example, the actual helipad is, proportionately, almost twice the size as in previous games and the freestanding walls that extended out between the western storage rooms have been shortened in length.
 * The small storage rooms west of the helipad now include ventilation ducts.
 * The ducts used to enter the Tank Hangar have a slightly different layout.
 * There are now step placements leading onto the helipad, whereas Metal Gear Solid had two large steps and The Twin Snakes had four steps.
 * The surveillance cameras are disabled because of the power cut and some of them have broken off their placements.
 * The columns around the upper ventilation duct are different.

Tank Hangar:
 * The front hangar door has been opened up. In Metal Gear Solid and The Twin Snakes it was locked and Snake had to take a ventilation duct to get into the tank hanger.
 * There are no surveillance cameras in the Tank Hangar and Dwarf Gekko are now attached to the walls where the cameras were.
 * The stairs in the Tank Hanger are now closer to the main doors and are a different model.
 * The upper ventilation duct exit has been destroyed.
 * The M1 Tank's cannon has been turned to the side.
 * The other M1 Tank from the original has been removed. Note, this was not the tank that pVulcan Raven used against Snake, as the other tank was still present in the hanger after this battle, while the tank Raven used remained in the canyon.
 * Some of the small rooms that previously required a keycard are now permanently open.
 * The elevator can't be used due to the control panel for the elevator having been damaged somehow.

Canyon:
 * There is a small passage in the rocks that doesn't appear in the other versions.
 * In The Twin Snakes, there is a duct that runs across the ground which is not in Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear Solid 4, though it is likely that this would now be snowed over, explaining its absence in Metal Gear Solid 4.
 * Raven's M1 Tank is not there. It was presumably removed by the Genome Soldiers after Snake had destroyed it. In Metal Gear Solid, the Tank is not present if Snake goes back through the area after retrieving the Nikita), while in The Twin Snakes, the wreakage remains there for the duration of the game.

Nuclear Warhead Storage Building:
 * The gun cameras that were on the front door in Metal Gear Solid and The Twin Snakes are no longer there.
 * The elevated platform now has supports below it. In Metal Gear Solid it is fixed to the wall with no supports at all, in The Twin Snakes it has a small support where it meets the floor.
 * Around the corner from the elevator there was a crate that is no longer there.
 * The steps to the upper level are different (the same steps used in the Tank Hangar).
 * The western wall is a reflective surface, Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes features a matte, non-reflective wall.
 * There are no surveillance cameras in the missile hangar anymore.
 * Strangely, Snake can now use all of his weapons on the first floor of the building. This would seem to imply that the warheads have been removed from the missiles here, but the missiles appear to be untouched, appearing here in the exact positions as in Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes. Furthermore, it was stated that the island was left basically untouched/abandoned after the original incident (apart from the Patriot agents, who appear to have done almost nothing to the island), so unless the warheads were removed sometime during the original incident, they should still be in the missiles. However, it should be noted that Snake's actions, in this regard, are no longer restricted by nanomachines as they previously had been.

Lab:
 * The glass separating the elevator and the control panel is smashed.
 * The glass separating the elevator and the control panel now extends from ceiling to floor, where it was just a windows on Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes.
 * The Air Cleaners now have rectangular holes, originally they were circular.
 * There are no remains of the soldiers that Gray Fox killed 9 years before, though stains and bullet holes remain. Their bodies were likely recovered by the Patriots' "clean-up crew."
 * The large dent in the wall where Gray Fox kicked an enemy soldier into it is now on a different part of the wall.
 * The supercomputers in Otacon's old office now have transparent covers and a green illumination.
 * The small control panel on the wall just before the electric floor (the one that deactivates after the main panel is hit by a missile) is not there.
 * The gun cameras that were in this area are gone.
 * Desks and equipment in the west office (where the Nikita missile went through) are now moved around and the computers are smashed on the ground.
 * The PlayStation Devkit that was originally on one of the desks is gone.

Snowfield:
 * Snake enters this area through a large door connecting the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building to the Snowfield. This door was locked previously. This entrance also allows access to the full Snowfield, as only part of it was accessible originally, during the second battle with Sniper Wolf.
 * The Underground Passage where Snake fought Sniper Wolf (and where Meryl was shot) for the first time is now filled with snow, but still recognizable as the edges of the wall along with the alcoves can still be seen, but are damaged and uneven.
 * The cargo truck that was parked near the storerooms is no longer there.
 * In Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes, the area where the player fights Sniper Wolf for the second time was completely enclosed off from the rest of the snowfield. However, in Metal Gear Solid 4, parts of the wall seem to be missing, although it is likely that the constant exposure to winds could cause segments to fall down and become buried in the snow.
 * The wreckage of the Hind D that Liquid Snake used against the two F16s and Snake in 2005 can now be seen where it crashed in the Snowfield during 2005 after the battle with Solid Snake.
 * Liquid Snake's parachute, which was previously visible on a tree near the Hind D wreckage, is gone (although this could also possibly be explained by the heavy winds in this area).

Blast Furnace:
 * There are no gun cameras in the entrance room and the crate can no longer be crawled under.
 * There is a large control unit on the deck of the Blast Furnace, which is not there in either Metal Gear Solid or The Twin Snakes.
 * The railings in the area are a different, more realistic decaying model.
 * The molten metal is gone (it appears to have been intentionally drained out of the furnace).
 * There is an elevator in the west corner (this doesn't exist in Metal Gear Solid or The Twin Snakes) which leads to a previously unseen area called the Casting Facility used as an alternative route to REX's hangar because Vamp sealed the Cargo Elevator entrance door. It is possible to see the shafts and mechanics of the Cargo Elevators in this area.
 * The overall layout is similar but slightly different.

Underground Base and REX's Hangar:
 * The small hatch Snake crawls through from the Casting Facility is entirely absent in the original. In The Twin Snakes, there is a hatch but it is higher up on the wall.
 * The floor traps are open and serve as the spawning point for the Dwarf Gekko.
 * The gun cameras are out of service due to the power cut and there aren't as many as there were before. In Metal Gear Solid, there were approximately 30 or more gun placements on the walls. In The Twin Snakes, there are only 4, guarding the corridor to REX's hangar.
 * The water has stopped.
 * The camera in the corridor just before entering REX's hangar (which captures Naomi and Vamp entering the hangar) was not there in Metal Gear Solid or The Twin Snakes.
 * The lighting in REX's hanger has been completely changed from Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes. The lighting is now more bright, causing the area to appear in an almost orange color, as opposed to previous games where the environment was more darkly lit, and accordingly, the area appeared more of a gray color.
 * The door used to escape the Supply Route when piloting REX is seen in both Metal Gear Solid and The Twin Snakes but is inaccessible (Snake refers to it as "the door in front?" when questioning his escape in Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes). In Metal Gear Solid 4, it is revealed that it leads to the Port area, which was not seen originally, though the ending cutscene in The Twin Snakes shows structures in the background similar to those seen in the Port, it is likely that this is in fact the Port as it would only be located a small distance down the same coast as the exit of the Supply Route.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl


Shadow Moses Island, specifically the Helipad area, also appears in the Nintendo fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When fifteen battles have been fought on this stage, Solid Snake will challenge the winner of the previous battle. Upon his defeat, he will become a playable character.

During battle, a searchlight will hover over the walls of the battlefield; if it spots a character, a red "!" will appear over their heads, along with the trademark alert noise. The two searchlight towers, however, can be destroyed if attacked long enough, although they will restore themselves after a short period of time. Occasionally, Metal Gear REX, Metal Gear RAY, or two Gekko will appear in the background, though not affecting the fighters. Snake can also use his codec on this stage to contact Colonel Campbell (or, in the case of Luigi, his Patriot doppelganger), Mei Ling, and Otacon (and on one occasion, Slippy Toad from the Star Fox series, if Snake is fighting Falco) and gain intel regarding his opponents. If he is knocked out, however, the person on the other frequency will treat the situation like a traditional Game Over in the Metal Gear Solid games.

Hideo Kojima worked on the development of Shadow Moses.

Behind the Scenes

 * Otacon mentions that there is a mess hall in the facility, but it is never seen in-game. Also, none of the other scientists that worked on the base are seen in-game either although Snake mentions them while talking to Jim Houseman. The novelization reveals another building with smokestacks as being the location where most of the hostages were being detained. Gary McGolden's article: The Shocking Conspiracy Behind Shadow Moses, also reveals that a weather station is located on the island.

Trivia
PC game map author Gabe Gonzalez has created a Shadow Moses map for the game Left 4 Dead. There are no actual Metal Gear characters or sounds, but virtually every detail of Shadow Moses is intact. Players can go to such areas as the Cargo Dock, Heliport, Tank Hangar, and the Holding Cells. In the second floor basement, players can place propane tanks by the hidden walls and blast them away.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear Solid
 * Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl