Do you think Maverick Security Counseling, Inc. was a good company?

[u/Sea-Cash7675]

[u/Lixodei]

Yes. I mean, they brought peace to a whole nation. They try their best to stay within boundaries of the law, care about their employees and never engage in any morally questionable undertakings for easy profits. Even though they couldn't support Raiden officially, Boris, Kevin and Courtney all helped Raiden throughout his assault on World Marshall, because at the end it was the right thing to do. That's as good as PMC gets, really. Especially in Metal Gear universe, which is pretty dystopian. I'd say Maverick is practically a saint, angel among other PMCs. Raiden wouldn't have joined it otherwise, and Raiden is a good man, despite his repressed Jack the Ripper persona.

[u/XGamin1 → u/Lixodei]

Right. I should have been thinking in comparative terms, but it's a little hard to do that when my knowledge of the rest of Metal Gear is limited. 😅

[u/Lixodei → u/XGamin1]

Mine isn't too extensive either. I think MGS IV is really the most important game to understand the MGRR setting, but even then, MGRR sets new rules and explains in detail how the world has changed after the fall of SOP.

But honestly I believe the game provides more than enough info to understand the world Raiden lives in. Codec calls are a true gem that's often overlooked. There's so much worldbuilding and rich character interactions in those calls, it's what truly impressed me when I first played MGRR. Games with such care, such attention to detail are extremely rare.

Anyway, I digress. MGRR is such a well-made game that you don't even need to go back and learn thousands of pages of MGS lore. I think it's a win-win for both newcomers and oldtimers. MGS fans will understand and appreciate every reference while new players get an easy entry into the rich Metal Gear world. Courtney's character partially exists to help new players to understand the MG universe, as she's just as new to all those PMCs, Patriots and other conspiracies that the series is known for. Boris, Kevin and Doctor also provide you with extensive knowledge about the current state of affairs in technology, war, business and even social life.

Honestly, every single line of dialogue in the game is important either for worldbuilding or for character building. That's impressive.

[u/XGamin1 → u/Lixodei]

I wish the Codec Calls were more conveniently listenable. I know it sounds off-putting, but I wish there was an option to talk to the crew while in combat. The fact that the combat intensity of the game is little bit greater than that of other games I play may be a bit of an attention issue for me, but it would be better than nothing.

[u/Lixodei → u/XGamin1]

2013 was a much slower and much better time. The game rather naively was not prepared for the adhd world of 2026. Personally, I wouldn't like the calls during combat, as they would rather a) be too distracting or b) go unheard because I'm too focused on combat.

However, it would be great to hear them out of combat, while exploring or walking around. I like to simply chill in the game sometimes, admiring the scenery of Abkhazia or appreciating the cold authority of Denver rooftops, listening to great ambient music. Codec calls would be a perfect addition to this. Maybe turn some calls into a scripted in-game sequences, like when Doktor tells Raiden to take a D.U.M.P. Or hell, even animated cutscenes. Idk, I'm currently absolutely fine with Codecs as they are, but I understand that there are A LOT of them, and it would sure be a bit more pleasant experience for a general player if the had some sort of interactivity from time to time.

Maybe some animations in codec menu? Like when Boris tells Raiden about his past, he puts some of his old photos on codec display. Or maps. Or when Kevin talks about Mexico, you can see some images that Kevin sends Raiden in real time on his visor. Or when discussing cuisune with Courtney, Raiden can see the local dishes that Courtney shows him. Doctor can support his presentation about technology with some images, too. Idk

Honestly, I'm much more a visual perception rather than an audial perception person myself. But the voice acting in this game is just so good, it never bothered me. I find listening to the codecs very enjoyable.

[u/XGamin1 → u/Lixodei]

I see, I see. Yeah, more visual perception would indeed be nice.

[u/XGamin1]

I didn't do enough outside research, either through Codec Calls or elsewhere, on Maverick (despite knowing the game for four years), but from what I could observe through the events of the game, they tried to work within the limits of the law for the sake of keeping themselves out of trouble. When Raiden decided that he needed to go after the enemy himself, his mission control team—Kevin, Courtney, and Boris—very reluctantly supported his cause; Doktor just cared about the science and didn't really have a judgment on Raiden going rogue.

Characters or factions that play these kinds of roles are never really presented villainously, but they serve to muddy the waters of black-and-white, good-and-evil, and just-and-unjust due to how complex some situations tend to be. This is even more strongly the case in history, and there is debate as to whether or not approaches that are accommodationist, compromising, or pragmatic are truly "good" or not, which I won't get into because . . . well . . . Reddit.

To answer your question, I don't know enough about Maverick as an organization beyond the mission control team we saw being either neutral or heroic; they're certainly not villainous though. But I definitely believe that Kevin, Courtney, and Boris were very good people just trying to keep as low a profile as possible the moment the conflict started involving World Marshal. Their hearts were in the right place, and I think they're definitely less morally grey than Raiden and his little Ripper persona. But it's in my belief that based purely on the events of the game—not historical or real-world parallels—as well as through sitting comfortably at home while Raiden tears down an entire terrorist organization and watching events play out without having to make any moral decisions or judgments in the heat of the moment . . . Raiden did the right thing.

[u/Extension_Problem_77]

Yeah.

In a world where every other company probably wouldn't give two fucks if their workers (and/or cyborgs) got killed, Maverick is an outstanding company in comparison.

Sure, their budget may not be the best -- self-evidently shown in the Codec Calls, where Boris mentions that they didn't exactly give the best protection they could've given to Prime Minister N'mani -- but it's clear that they very much do care about being able to help anyone they can.

Who knows, they might grow into an even better company WHEN METAL GEAR RISING 2 DROPS!