Hold up

A hold up is a type of ambush where the attacker aims a gun at the target before they can get their own gun out. The target is then forced to surrender as they would be shot otherwise. The use of the word "Freeze!" when holding someone up is not uncommon.

Methods
There are three methods where a soldier can be held up. One of which is for them to hold up both hands in surrender, and, if the person holding them up has his/her gun pointed at the held-up soldier is held up, the soldier will beg for mercy and then shake his/her body to let loose any equipment of his/hers. The second method is, if the soldier is on the ground, the soldier places his/her hands on his head, and if pointing a gun at his/her head, they'll shake his/her hips to let go of any equipment belonging to them. The third method is to for the soldier to, if standing, freeze up in shock, and get down onto the ground to put his/her hands on his/her head.

During the Virtuous Mission, the KGB, and later the Ocelot Unit surrounded as well as held up Naked Snake and Sokolov, although the former group ended up killed by Major Ocelot, and with the latter group; Snake seized the opportunity to knock them all out when their leader, Major Ocelot's Makarov jammed due to his attempting to use a Middle-Eastern loading technique.

During Operation Snake Eater a week later, after Snake (while disguised as Major Raikov) CQC-slammed a privvy Colonel Volgin at the West Wing, confiscated Volgin's Makarov PM and attempted to hold him up with it as a means to escape until The Boss intervened.

The Militaires Sans Frontières, the private military group of Big Boss, frequently did hold up drills at the Bosque del Alba/Puerto del Alba areas, the Bananal Fruta de Oro area, and the Mine Base area on unsuspecting enemy personnel.

Meryl Silverburgh ended up holding up Solid Snake twice, the first time when she mistook him for Liquid and likewise thought he killed the DARPA chief Donald Anderson, and the second time for fun in the ladies' room. Later, Solid Snake ended up held up by several Genome soldiers and Sniper Wolf after attempting to enter the tower upon defeating her in a sniper battle that resulted in Meryl being injured.

During the Tanker Incident, Solid Snake held up Olga Gurlukovich shortly after her contacting her father, Gurlukovich Mercenary leader Sergei Gurlukovich.

Two years later, during the Big Shell Incident, Raiden held up Peter Stillman after he mistook him for a bomber at work on Strut C.

Johnny Sasaki held up Snake when he arrived to meet up with the leader of Rat Patrol Team 01, although he ended up overpowered until the rest of the team backed him up by holding Snake up before Meryl, their leader, realized that he was actually Snake.

Behind the scenes
Hold ups are often used to gain extra equipment from guards. Snake can leave with the guard still standing there as long as he does not see Snake leave. Guns without ammo can also be used for a hold up. The ability to hold up enemies first appeared in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Upon downloading the trophy patch, doing this in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will result in the trophy "Hands Up!" being unlocked. Earlier, the HD version of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater had the trophy/achievement "Like He Just Doesn't Care" if the player holds up a regular enemy or "You Snooze, You Lose" if holding up The End.