Cardboard Box
From the Metal Gear Wiki
The Cardboard Box is one of the trademark items of the Metal Gear series. It is used to help hide the main character from the enemy or surveillance cameras.
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[edit] Uses
Wearing a cardboard box in the wrong place or running around while wearing a box will raise a guard's suspicions, while being in a guard's patrol route or being discovered by troops clearing an area can lead the soldiers to expose Snake. 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. In the "Evasion - Clearing" mode, soldiers are liable to fire directly at the box or remove the box from the ground for inspection. Sometimes, moving around in a cardboard box in front of a guard will make a guard shoot at it. If the player stops moving, the guard may lose interest and resume his patrols.
Cardboard boxes may be destroyed from too much gunfire or physical assault. Wet cardboard boxes will break apart faster.
- In Metal Gear, Snake could use the cardboard box to avoid detection from surveillance cameras and guards;
- In Metal Gear 2, Snake could transport himself around Zanzibar Land by climbing on to conveyor belts while wearing a cardboard box;
- In Metal Gear Solid, climbing into the back of a truck and then equipping one of the three boxes will cause a guard to turn up and drive the truck to the destination that is on the side of the box. Obviously, it also still functions as a disguise;
- In Metal Gear Solid 2, climbing onto the conveyor belts in Strut E has a similar effect as the trucks in MGS1, although there is no writing on the box; the player must make his/her best guess as to where the box would be sent based on its appearance (for example, a box meant for holding food would be sent to the Kitchens in Strut C);
- This also works in a similar fashion in Metal Gear Solid 3 with the trucks around Groznyj Grad;
- In Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, Snake had to use three different colored boxes on a color-coded conveyor delivery system to get to different areas of a building;
- In Metal Gear Online, the cardboard box can also be used for surprise attacks. If the player's stamina is low, getting in a cardboard box and staying still will heal it. In the original included with Subsistence, the box served little purpose as the player's name would still appear above it. This was fixed in MGO's latest incarnation, with the player names removed when in a box, and other boxes scattered around areas to give the camouflage some value. It is also used for "box dodging." This allows the user to dodge headshots if it is equipped very fast while running, then removed in less than a second after its been equipped; When you catch fire, equip this nifty item to immediately extinguish it.
- In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, team-mates will hide in one while the selected character is in the field. Dragging an unconscious soldier over to one and phoning a certain frequency will instantly transport the fallen soldier to the truck to quicken recruitment efforts;
- In Metal Gear Solid 4 the Cardboard Box makes an appearance alongside a new, similar item, the Drum Can. When hiding in the box, Snake's Psyche will heal quicker than usual. In Act 1 of Guns of the Patriots, the new "era" of MGS is symbolized by Snake's usage of it as purely a distraction rather than a disguise, actually using his OctoCamo to hide elsewhere. Writing on the box reads "NO PLACE TO HIDE" and "NO PLACE FOR HIDEO".
[edit] Trivia
- In the Plant chapter of Sons of Liberty, Olga recalls seeing somebody running across a bridge wearing a cardboard box. If the player, after meeting with Peter Stillman, goes directly outside to the D-C Connecting Bridge, a knocked out guard and a man running in a cardboard box can be seen. The box can also be destroyed by shooting at it, something which will be later mentioned in a conversation with Pliskin. If Raiden finds his own cardboard box, Pliskin will tell him to "treat it with love";he'll also comment "Y'know,I've lost a couple thanks to you" if the player has already shot Snake in Cardboard Box on CD Connecting Bridge prior to the convo.
- Saving the game in the Plant chapter with a cardboard box equipped in Sons of Liberty will result in a conversation in which Rosemary gives ridicule to Raiden for wearing "that stupid box" and again when the B.D.U. is worn.
- In Snake Eater, calling Sigint whilst having the box equipped will result in an amusing conversation from Naked Snake.
[edit] 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. Hiding under the box will also cause the player number icon above Snake to disappear when in a multi-player 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
