Cardboard Box

'' The Cardboard Box is one of the trademark features of the Metal Gear series. It is used to help hide the main character from the enemy, though it will not block enemy fire. Also, using it in the rain can cause it to deteriorate faster. It also lets you run up hills/stairs faster than walking up them. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Naked Snake holds a humorous position beneath the box, stationary, which appears childlike; his knees hunched to his chest and what appears to be a thumb in his mouth. This can be seen through quickly equipping and unequipping the cardboard box and paying attention to the way Naked Snake's position changes.

Most of them have a destination on the side of them. Wearing a cardboard box in the wrong place, being in a guards patrol route or running around while wearing a box will cause you to be spotted by guards. During modes of gameplay such as "Evasion" and "Alert", it is likely that a sentry coming into the path of the box will become inquisitive and investigate the cardboard box. Particularly during the "Evasion - Clearing" mode of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, sentries will commonly fire directly at the box or remove the box from the ground for inspection.

In Metal Gear Solid, climbing into the back of a truck and then equipping one of these boxes will cause a guard to turn up and drive the truck to the destination that is on the side of the box. In Metal Gear Solid 2 climbing onto the conveyor belts in one of the Struts will 'cause a similar effect, also during a conversation over the radio Olga admits to seeing a man (hinted to be Snake) hiding in a cardboard box running across one of the Shell connecting bridges. The player can see this for him/herself if, after meeting up with Pliskin and Stillman, heading directly north onto the Strut Connecting Bridge. If the player equips Raiden with any cardboard box and calls Snake a humorous conversation will ensue where Snake advises Raiden to treat his cardboard box with care, love and he talks about its importance. The same will happen in MGS3 except the conversation is between Naked Snake and Sigint.

The cardboard box can also be used in online play in Metal Gear Online, though it is almost useless since the player's name will appear over the box, causing that player to be spotted by his/her enemies, however it negated auto-fire from the opponent as well as providing cover behind crates to jump out and catch your opponent off guard.

In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, your team-mates will hide in one while your selected character is in the field. Dragging an unconscious soldier over to one and phoning a certain frequency will allow your team-mates to help you recruit that soldier.

In Guns Of The Patriots the Cardboard Box will make an appearance alongside a new, similar item, the Drum Can. In one trailer, the Box is used as a decoy for two GEKKOUs while Snake used his Octocamo to conceal himself. The box said "NO PLACE FOR HIDEO" on the side, an obvious reference to the series' creator, Hideo Kojima.

Other Appearances
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in addition to appearing as a trophy, all of Snake's taunts involve him hiding underneath a Cardboard Box, which he removes after a few seconds. Other characters can remove the box while Snake hides under it, then throw it at opponents. Hiding under the box will also cause the player number icon above Snake to disappear when in a multiplayer match. Snake also hides under the box twice during the course of The Subspace Emissary. The first time, Snake stows away on the Halberd by hiding within the Cardboard Box. The second time, Snake hides beneath his box upon seeing Lucario and Meta Knight approaching; however, Lucario uses his Aura powers to see Snake beneath the box and takes it off, surprising Snake (complete with an exclamation mark appearing above his head). Removing the cardboard box at the end of the taunt deals a minor amount of damage and knockback, making Snake's taunt one of the few that can double as an attack. Crazily enough, the damage dealt by the box this way will actually instantly break a smash ball if it manages to hit a Smash Ball as it flies by. Similarly, the box has enough knockback to instantly defeat an enemy on Super Sudden Death mode if Snake manages to hit them with the box.

The Cardboard Box also appears as a trophy in Brawl; its description is as follows:


 * A common, run-of-the-mill cardboard box that is somehow very effective at preventing detection by enemies. Hide inside it and enemies will walk on by. But put it somewhere too odd and you'll be discovered. You can move while in the box, but if anyone sees the box moving, you're in trouble. Both Liquid and Solid Snake have a deep affection for cardboard.


 * First Game: Metal Gear, 1987