The Snake and the Ocelot: Snake Eater part 2

Snake wakes up the next morning to EVA warning him that the Reds are coming.  She hops into a trap door beneath the bed and notes that Ocelot is leading these soldiers.  Since this game isn't about cover based shooting, the possibilities of how to dispatch the enemies are pretty widespread.  This was at a point when military games weren't merely whackamole in gritty dystopian environments with steroid space marines grunting and sawing each other in half (no hard feelings, Cliffy).  Snake has access to a shotgun and a machine gun at this point as well as the gun he got from EVA, just so long as he remembers to equip the said weapons.  He has probably found a fair number of grenades at this point and could also resort to sneaking up and getting them with his knife, which if difficult but doable.

I chose to jump into the trap door and then when they went into the room doing all the proper breaching procedures and stuff, I went outside and cleared them out from the back ducking in and out of cover with a shotgun (it's still not really the same as cover based shooting because they recognize their advantage in numbers and can quickly turn the situation around if you don't think on your feet).  As far as stealth goes, I have nothing against the Splinter Cell games, but they don't really let me do this.

For those who know my common greeting gesture, it comes from this.
Not exactly the best character to borrow anything from, but whatever.

After dealing with all these guys, EVA (w/ motorcycle helmet on to hide face) is being held at gunpoint by Ocelot.  Ocelot does everything to get Snake's attention to show him his "cool new revolver."  He also keeps Snake at a distance so that Snake doesn't beat him in CQC again.  Snake doesn't have to attack Ocelot in combat, because he knows he can just attack Ocelot's ego.  Snake tells him that the revolver is a nice gun but more for gun shows and collectors and not for durability or use in war.  Ocelot gets upset about this and tries to shoot Snake only to realize he's out of ammo.  Snake points out that the Colt Single Action revolver holds only six bullets while the Makarov holds eight.  This exchange gives EVA enough time to take down Ocelot and then back flip off of his face with her motorcycle.

With Ocelot's ego thoroughly destroyed, he runs off to get better with guns and probably get more cheerleaders since Snake killed them all.  EVA takes aim at Ocelot, but Snake tells her to let him go since he's still young and stupid (and in all the non-prequel titles).  She then does some crazy motorcross stuff to get back to the Soviet base in time so that Ocelot doesn't blow her cover upon realizing that she would be missing.  Her psychology when driving is discussed much further down the road, but basically she loses all inhibitions when driving which usually results in her doing death defying acts.

So why does Ocelot suck so much?  He's supposed to be this special forces guy leading an entire squad and yet he and his team get defeated again and again by a single soldier.  Well, to be fair, I don't know much about higher ups in the military.  I've never been on a battlefield, or in a military base, and I've never seen the few soldiers I know in action.  What my best guess is at Ocelot's deal comes from the philosophy of the samurai.  This is a military game made in Japan.  It's bound to show up sooner or later.

Snake is an honor bound soldier.  He almost fits the mold of the legendary heroes of Japanese folklore perfectly.  He is well trained, completely loyal to his country, and has a deep bond with his mentor.   Like many of the samurai of legend, who by social order only held the title of samurai by representing and protecting a shogunate or in this case country, he is put at odds with his own understanding by being forced to challenge his teacher who has deserted the land she was sworn to protect.  Through all of this, he faces almost mythical adversity in the members of the Cobra unit which finally comes to a climax in his upcoming battle with The Boss.  Despite the challenge against everything he thinks he understands, he doesn't compromise his ethics or his place as a soldier.

Ocelot is pretty much the antithesis of everything Snake is.  His rash behavior and massive ego are considered two of the greatest vices a warrior in Japanese culture and folklore could have.  Everything he does is very showy, and it has proven and will continue to prove to cause nothing but trouble.  The fact he keeps failing suggests he has been taught how to fight and not how to be a soldier on the deeper metaphysical level.  It's apparent at some point between MGS3 and the rest of the Metal Gear series this changes as he becomes worthy to be the major antagonist of the series.

It should also be noted that rivalry is a huge trope in just about every story coming from Japan in the 20th century.  For further reading refer to Ash and Gary (or Red and Blue), Goku and Vegeta, Yugi and Kaiba, Takumi and Keisuke (if you're a hipster), Kamina and Kittan, Mega Man and Proto Man, X and Zero, Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog, Raiden and Vamp (also from MGS), Godzilla and King Ghidorah, Ryu and Ken, Raiden and Shao Khan (different Raiden), and the list goes on and on.  To be honest, I'm shocked I could list that many.