GamEater

Solid Snake vs. Sam Fisher

Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell, two video game series you HAVE to play in order to say you know what tactical stealth shooters are all about, two great games with extremely complex gameplay, interesting storylines and, most of all, charismatic main characters. That’s right, Solid Snake and Sam Fisher, two guys you don’t want sneaking up behind you, two guys that could kill you in several different ways, one cooler than the other, without you even noticing they were close by. I think we can all agree they are both as cool as ice, but of course the natural question emerges: who is the coolest?

This is a tough one, I mean, personally I like them both, although I know Snake long before Sam, when Splinter Cell came out, the cool, middle aged soldier made quite an impression and in time I’ve grown quite fond of him. So I say, if we’re going to do this right, let’s start at the beginning, let’s start with their names:

While Solid Snake might sound a bit childish to some of you, I must admit that the first time I heard it I thought it was awesome, maybe it was because I had just seen Escape from LA with Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken. And even now, the name still sounds cool and I think it suits him perfectly, I can’t think of a cooler one anyway. Now Sam Fisher is a completely different story, perhaps his creators went for a more realistic approach, trying to make him seem like a real human, with a real name, but still it’s totally boring. James Bond, Jason Bourne, they all have that “je ne sais quoi” about them, but Sam Fisher sounds like an accountant’s or a clerk’s name, there’s nothing special about it, so I think it’s fair to say Snake has the cooler name.

Now let’s talk appearance:

Now this is a hard one isn’t it? To be honest I think they dress pretty much the same, camouflage being the word that describes all their wardrobes. Now their physical traits, again, hard, Snake seems much faster, a little younger (I’m talking about the first three MGS games, not Guns of the Patriots, so don’t go laughing), he’s more handsome, with the long brown hair, that rigid beard and the voice…that voice would make any woman melt. Sammy isn’t less cool or anything, he’s just a bit…different, he’s a tad older than Snake, more serious looking, again I think his creator wanted to make him more realistic, he’s (in my opinion) better built than Solid Snake, and the new look fits him perfectly, if there’s ever going to be a Splinter Cell movie, Bruce Willis would be perfect.

Gadgets:

These two boys couldn’t complete all those dangerous missions without some help from their old friend technology, so it’s time to see which of them has the cooler gadgets. They both have night vision goggles,(but Sam’s look way cooler, they’re practically his trademark), flares, microphones for listening in on conversations, trusty lock picks, camera jamming items, different types of grenades and mines…one thing Snake’s got that could make Sam Fisher jealous is his motion sensors, now that really comes in handy. You might say: yeah but Sammy has his optic cable, and you’d be right, but while it’s a more realistic gadget it’s not as useful as the motion sensor. Now one department in which Snake clearly outmatches Sam is the weapon department, although he can pretty much handle anything you can throw at him with his silenced pistol and his machine gun, would have been nice to give Sam Fisher access to more weaponry. Now Snake on the other hand has plenty of weapons, from trusty knife to rocket launcher, our hero packs enough heat to go against an entire army.

Killer moves:

This is mainly MGS 3: Snake Eater versus all the Splinter Cell games, because that’s the only game in which Snake does CQC. And even though he has some cool moves, he’s got nothing on “Death from above” Fisher. Any man that can hide above or on a ceiling ready to snap someone’s neck gets my vote any day. These moves alone are enough of a reason to try Splinter Cell.

Charisma:

This is an important factor in comparing the two, for me anyway, because when you’re dealing with this much testoron, charisma plays a great role. Their actions, the way they talk, their cool in the most desperate situations, their masculine looks, all add up to make them both very charismatic. But if I were to choose between the two, Solid Snake would be my first choice, his voice and the macho looks really make him stand out.

So, in conclusion, Solid Snake is cooler than Sam Fisher, but as you can see it’s all very close, it depends very much on which game you like more. If you’re more on the fantasy side you’ll enjoy MGS and its cool villains and Metal Gear tanks, and if you prefer a more realistic, modern tactical stealth shooter, Splinter Cell’s the game for you. Personally I recommend you try them both and pick your favorite hero yourselves

For more on Solid Snake versus Sam Fisher check out eBaums World and Rotten tomatoes forums.

October 10th, 2007 Posted by Spooky | Action-Adventure | 6 comments