Interrogation

Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Interrogation may involve a diverse array of techniques, ranging from developing a rapport with the subject to outright torture.

Colonel Volgin
GRU Spetznaz colonel Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin was a renowned practitioner of interrogation via torture, during the Cold War. In August, 1964, during the time of Operation Snake Eater, Volgin tortured Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin and Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov in Groznyj Grad, as to who they had passed secret data on to. He proceeded to beat the two to death with his bare fists (Granin while in a metal drum), though unbeknownst to Volgin, Sokolov would survive.

After capturing CIA spy Naked Snake, Volgin put a plastic bag over his head and suspended him above the floor of a prison cell by his arms, before beating him and demanding to know what his mission was. When Snake refused to answer, Volgin doused him with water, removed the plastic bag, then administered him with high voltage electric shocks with his unexplained powers of electricity. However, this too failed.

Revolver Ocelot
As a member of GRU Spetsnaz, Major Ocelot often performed a variation of Russian roulette with his three revolvers in order to intimidate a subject. After suspecting that Tatyana was a spy, he used this method to test her loyalty, though he would have shot her had Naked Snake not intervened.

Witnessing Volgin's earlier torture of Snake left an impression on Ocelot, and he concluded that it was the "ultimate form of expression." He would later participate in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, becoming feared amongst the mujahideen as a sadist, for which they named him "Shalashaska." He also worked in the Soviet Union's concentration camps as a special torture advisor, and was known to have utilized the Lubyanka prison beneath KGB headquarters for training in interrogation of his victims.

In the early 2000s, he became FOXHOUND's interrogation specialist under the codename Revolver Ocelot. During the Shadow Moses Incident, he tortured both ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker and DARPA chief Donald Anderson in order to learn the detonation codes for Metal Gear REX. He broke Baker's arm and learned his code, though he deliberately killed Anderson since he recognized Ocelot's identity, covering it up as an accident. He later tortured Solid Snake regarding an alternative means of activating REX, also threatening to do the same to Meryl Silverburgh should he submit. He utilized a machine that administered electric shocks, steadily increasing the duration as each session progressed, though Snake refused to submit.

During the 2009 Big Shell Incident, Revolver Ocelot injected Emma Emmerich with truth serum in order to learn information relating to GW, so that Solidus Snake could activate Arsenal Gear. He also intended to torture Raiden after he was captured and brought onto Arsenal by Olga Gurlukovich, though Olga freed Raiden before he could do so.

Cunningham
Lt. Cunningham served as the interrogation specialist of the FOX unit. In November 1970, during the San Hieronymo Takeover, Cunningham tortured Naked Snake by electrocuting him with shock rods, as well as forcing his prosthetic leg down on Snake's groin, in order to locate the other half of the Philosophers' Legacy (which he and the Pentagon were led to believe that Snake stole at the end of Operation Snake Eater).

Following Snake's escape and subsequent recapture, Cunningham proceeded to remove Snake's clothes, tie him to a chair, and beat him as part of his interrogation, although Snake's prior experience as a FOX member made him resistant to physical torture. He then planned to inject Snake with a new model of truth serum to force him to reveal whatever he knew about the Legacy, with his commanding officer Gene reluctantly allowing him to do so, since he believed that the serum might break him before they gleaned anything useful.

After Snake was rescued by some personnel, who he had earlier recruited to help stop FOX, the group were ambushed by Cunningham and a unit of soldiers. Cunningham, persisting in his efforts to locate the Legacy, wounded two of Snake's companions by gunshot, in an attempt to make him speak, until Elisa intervened.

Peace Sentinels
During the 1974 Peace Walker Incident, the CIA Peace Sentinels tortured many Sandinista captives during their secret operations in Costa Rica, and succeeded in breaking some of them. Dr. Strangelove also tortured Naked Snake after his capture, utilizing electric stun rods, in order to learn more about The Boss's final mission in Tselinoyarsk.

Big Boss
Naked Snake, a.k.a. Big Boss, and his military forces would often use interrogation techniques for acquiring classified intelligence.

During the 1970 San Hieronymo Takeover, Snake's resistance soldiers interrogated high-level individuals, including a government official who had aided FOX in their rebellion, and a Soviet officer who manned the peninsula's missile silo, for information regarding the location of the silo and guest house, respectively, the latter of which was where Snake was being held prisoner. The resistance soldiers later interrogated a FOX soldier and a Soviet soldier, regarding a radio frequency to unlock a frequency-locked door at the peninsula, which contained supposed blueprints for the Saturn V rocket.

In November 1974, during the Peace Walker Incident, Big Boss interrogated a Peace Sentinel radioman at a shipping facility in Puerto del Alba, following a brief struggle. Pressing a stun rod to the man's neck, he learned that their shipments were headed for Mt. Irazu, though he was forced to shock the man into unconsciousness after he broke free. Though unable to learn the cargo's contents, Big Boss deduced that they were nuclear weapons, based on the presence of film badges in the facility, and the radioman's earlier use of the word "spears."

Solid Snake
During the Shadow Moses Incident, Solid Snake interrogated Hal Emmerich on Metal Gear REX, briefly grabbing him and lifting him off his feet when he claimed that REX was solely a defensive weapon. However, Snake stopped when he realized that Emmerich had been kept in the dark about REX's true purpose.

Solidus Snake
After the GW AI became affected by a worm cluster during the Big Shell Incident, Solidus Snake injected Raiden with truth serum and interrogated him on information relating to the Patriots, atop Arsenal Gear. Solidus held him above the floor and choked him with the "snake arms" of his powered suit, although he realized he would have more success learning the information from Raiden's nanomachines, inside his cerebral cortex.

Behind the scenes
The act of interrogation has appeared often throughout the Metal Gear series, both within the games' storyline, and as a gameplay feature utilized by the player. Interrogation first appears in Snake's Revenge, the non-canon sequel to the original Metal Gear.

Interrogation of the player
Interrogation of the main protagonist has featured in the series' canon storyline since Metal Gear Solid. Often the player's character is captured by the enemy and then subjected to interrogation via torture. Metal Gear Solid, Sons of Liberty, and Peace Walker, all feature an interactive torture sequence, in which the player must repeatedly press the action button to resist, or else die. Metal Gear Solid also features the option to submit, which results in an alternate ending to the game.

A button-prompt torture sequence was also to have featured in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but was not included in the final release. Additionally, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, features many instances of the main character undergoing interrogation, though none of these are interactive. Despite a similar button-prompt sequence appearing in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, it does not involve any interrogation. Interrogation sequences usually happen once before the player escapes or the scene progresses, with Metal Gear Solid, its remake The Twin Snakes, and Peace Walker being the exceptions, often having more than one consecutive torture sequence.

Interrogation by the player
The Truth Gas item in Snake's Revenge can be used by the player to interrogate enemy officers in the game. Interrogating officers helps to increase Solid Snake's Rank, and by consequence the size of his Life gauge and item carrying capacity.

The gameplay element of interrogation returned in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater as a component of CQC. In order to perform an interrogation, the player has to grab the opponent, and then press the action button while holding down the left shoulder button to have Snake start interrogating the soldier. The interrogation responses vary from: giving info about the location, the amount of soldiers present, or targets that can be destroyed; giving gameplay hints; requesting to be spared; demanding that they be killed; or even insulting the player. Afterwards, the player has the choice of either letting them go, throwing them to the ground, or slitting the throat. If the player performs CQC and interrogates a soldier while playing Snake Eater on the Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection, they will unlock a trophy achievement called "Tell Me Where the Bomb is!", a reference to Jack Bauer's methods of interrogation in the TV drama series 24.

CQC interrogation reappears in Portable Ops and Peace Walker, this time serving a role in the plot, in which the player must interrogate specific targets to advance in the game (although in Peace Walker, this is relegated to a interactive graphic novel cutscene). Although in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, there is voice acting in regards to the soldiers being interrogated, it is absent in Portable Ops and Peace Walker, with only a grunt or a scream being accompanied with text-dialogue.

In Portable Ops Plus soldiers will also give intel about their career. For example, the phrase "There is a faster way to drag soldiers," means that the subject's career is Rescuer.

Jungle

 * "When you walk on moist soil... Your footprints will..."
 * "In the jungle... Ammunition is valuable"

Crocodiles

 * "The crocodiles... are ferocious..."
 * "Crocodiles taste great"
 * "Throw a grenade into a crocodile's mouth"
 * "In the water, the crocodiles are tough..."

Hornets

 * "Watch out for hornets"
 * "There's a hornets nest around here"
 * "I shot down a hornet's nest around here..."
 * "Hornets... They're terrifying"
 * "The north crevice... so many hornets"

Dogs

 * "Dogs.. can't stand crocodiles..."
 * "What dogs really like... is animal meat"
 * "Dogs will pick up your trail... by smell"

Mountains

 * "On the mountains... chocolate chip camouflage would be effective"
 * "On the mountains... rations are... hard to come by"

Vultures

 * "Vultures... They feed on human remains. When you eat a vulture that has fed on a body..."

Scorpions

 * "Scorpions... they have lethal poison"
 * "If you get stung by a scorpion... use serum"

All areas

 * "Shooting Kerotan will..."
 * "Up ahead... Our numbers are strong..."
 * "Plants... Last a long time..."
 * "Fish... rots quickly..."
 * "Meat... tastes good... but rots soon"
 * "Fruit... is easy to get"
 * "Eat rotten food... stomach ache"
 * "Rations... don't go bad"
 * "Under the bed..."
 * "If the provisions storehouse is destroyed..."
 * "If you destroy the armory..."
 * "The armory... can be destroyed with TNT"
 * "In the provisions storehouse... there’s some good eats... a bunch!"
 * "In the darkness... If you light a cigar"

Dremuchij

 * "If you climb trees, there's fruit"
 * "Inside fallen trees..."
 * "At night, poisonous animals will..."
 * "In the south, the bottomless swamp..."

Dolinovodno

 * "If you fall off the rope bridge... you’re finished..."
 * "Under the rope bridge... Flatten yourself against the cliff wall, and proceed"

Rassvet

 * "We've got some guys in the grass"
 * "There are snipers up high.."
 * "In the swamp... Traps"
 * "Beyond the Swamp, there are mines"

Bolshaya Past South

 * "There are lots of traps around here..."
 * "Beyond the Swamp, there are mines"
 * "Watch your feet..."

Bolshaya Past Base

 * "The northeastern gun emplacement... Use the trenches."

Chyornaya Peschera Cave Branch

 * "In caves... Torches"

Exterior

 * "Get into the warehouse... from the stairs on the right."

Interior

 * "A little further ahead, the forest... is deadly"

Outside walls

 * "This facility... It used to be a cell"
 * "To open the door, you could call over someone with a key Soldiers with key... They should be just inside the door. To call a key holding soldier over, the CQC can be used to knock"
 * "Hidden by Grass... A hole in the wall"

Inside walls

 * "To the northeast... In the armory... There’s some ammo..."
 * "Under the truck... There’s some ammo..."
 * "From the Balcony... you can get out"

B1 East

 * "In this area, there is LIFE Medicine"
 * "The isolation cell guard... What an idiot"

B1 West

 * "The lab chief's room... is the furthest back"

Overall

 * The lab... it has two floors above ground... and one below"
 * "The chief's room... it's underground"
 * "If you're hungry... maybe you should try the second floor On the Second Floor... There’s some rations"
 * "If you can get down the northeast stairs... you'll find the jail"
 * "How about going to the toilet... relaxing a bit?"
 * "The open ceiling 2nd floor... hang..."
 * "Trying to Escape... You'll get put in an isolation cell"
 * "From the courtyard... you can jump down to the first floor"

East

 * "If you climb the tree behind the hut..."
 * "TNT, under the bed"
 * "A good sniping point... Up from the cliffs"

West

 * "Watch your feet... this area has traps"
 * "If you travel along the east wall"
 * "I don't know much about what’s north of here... It's out of my jurisdiction"

South

 * "To the west... an armory"

Overall

 * "Snipers are hanging out up high"
 * "Snipers like the grass"
 * "This place... gets a lot of rain"

Mountainside

 * "Inside the bunker... an item"
 * "The provisions storehouse... on the roof"

Mountaintop

 * "In the air raid shelter... a way out"
 * "Getting into the underground shelter, without a key..."

Groznyj Grad

 * "This area is huge"
 * "The armory... northwest"
 * "In the back of the armored truck"
 * "If you travel along the ditch..."
 * "Using the ducts... you can move safely"
 * "The Cell... to the east"
 * "The Provisions storehouse... Northeast"
 * "To the weapons lab main wing, they're a truck carry goods"

Sokolov

 * "We won't hand over Sokolov!"

Ocelot

 * "The Major He's looking for you"
 * "Major, He'll have his revenge"
 * "The Major would never lose to you!"
 * "That time... if only those hornets hadn't come"
 * "The Ocelot Commander... He likes quick draw gun duels..
 * "The north crevice... so many hornets"
 * "His revolver... reloading can be..."
 * "The Ocelot commander... He takes good care of his hat"

The Fear

 * "The fear... comes to eat... even spoiled and rotten food"

Flying Platforms

 * "Directly under the flying platform... Is it's blind spot"
 * "The flying platform's weakness... is its engine."
 * "The flying platform searchlights can be broken"

Soldiers

 * "A lot of us, we can’t swim."
 * "If our Radios are taken out... Our Contact Will"
 * "The Others... If you want to learn more, take a look at the Survival Viewer Map For details... Look at the Survival Viewer Map"
 * "After taking us out... leaving us alone will..."
 * "There are guys who know alert cancellation frequencies"
 * "Listening to the radio can be relaxing..."
 * "If our radio man is taken out... Contact will be..."
 * "One punch... to the groin"
 * "If right hand gets shot.. the gun"
 * "Even threatening... won't show their dog tags"

Scientists

 * "The Scientists... We don't get along."

Helicopter

 * "Helicopters... also if you have an RPG"

EVA

 * And then... when I was 17... ...35...26...34... ...Up up down down left right left right... I don't remember the rest...

Soldier responses

 * "I'm not talkin'..."
 * "I... Don't Know Anything..."
 * "I... Don't have anything..."
 * "You... Stinking American!"
 * "...you imperialist pig...!"
 * "You lousy... !"
 * "Bastard!"
 * "Just try and kill me"
 * "I'll Never conform... to the west"
 * "You... do have freedom?"
 * "The freedom of the west... Is it really all that good?"

Scientist responses

 * ""
 * "They... They are forcing me to work here..."
 * "Even in our country... We can research as we please"

Play tips

 * "During Polygon Demos... Zoom with the action button"
 * "On the radio screen... Hold down the action button to..."
 * "When "R1" is displayed in the polygon demo, press the first person view button to..."
 * "The Machine Gun... with the action button..."
 * "If you stay low... your hard to spot"
 * "By Stalking... You can find trap indicators"

Weapons

 * "In this area... There's a weapon"
 * "In the armory... There's an SVD"
 * "Grenades... Lying down will..."
 * "When throwing a grenade... If shot..."
 * "Guns can be fired... Even in water"

Camouflage

 * "In the water, water camouflage is most effective"

Traps

 * "Pass wire traps... by crawling"
 * "Shooting drums will..."
 * "If you shoot the barbed wire fence power source..."

Government official

 * "The warheads were brought to the silo located east of the ravine!"
 * "The guest house? It's across the rail bridge, near the sea."
 * ""A man with a revolver?" Yeah, he did talk to me. He mentioned a friend at the airport..."
 * "Who do you think you are!? Let me go!" (first time)
 * "Check the lockers at the security base... There's a radio frequency written there." (second)

Soviet officer

 * "They... They took some guy named Snake over to the guest house!"
 * "That reminds me. I saw a man twirling a revolver around in the urban zone..."

FOX soldier

 * "141.23..."

Soviet soldier

 * "The frequency... is 145.61!"
 * "14002..."
 * "14678..."

Other

 * "H-help meee!"
 * "Please don't kill me..."
 * "Kill me..."

Career-related

 * "There is faster way to drag soldiers"

Ramon Galvez Zadornov

 * "The butt... is another weak point.

Kazuhira Miller

 * "No skeletons in my...closet." (Note: The Japanese version of this line's translation was closer to "I'm not hiding anything!")