Why millions of people love the 'Metal Gear' franchise

Few franchises make sneaking such a core component.

From its iconic cardboard box to its less iconic use of pornographic magazines, the "Metal Gear" franchise has always placed precedence on sneaking around bad guys over perpetrating physical violence.

Hilariously, newer "Metal Gear" games iterate on the cardboard box in ridiculous ways. In "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain," cardboard boxes come in a variety of... distracting types.

Of course, when all else fails, the various iterations of "Snake" — the game's main character/protagonist — are equipped for action.

The series even used a real-world term for its form of combat: "CQC," or "close quarters combat." It's the kind of combat you might associate with the Jason Bourne films, or even modern James Bond films.

The franchise is known for having a distinct style.

Though this is often associated directly with the tastes of series creator/overseer Hideo Kojima, the art of the "Metal Gear" world is really due to one man: Yoji Shinkawa.

The silhouette artwork that's become associated with "Metal Gear" over the years was pioneered by Shinkawa. He's also done work on many other series from "Metal Gear" franchise publisher Konami, from "Zone of the Enders" to "Policenauts."

The world of "Metal Gear" has always been an elaborate tapestry of stories interwoven with complex mechanical systems.

The series is seen by some as convoluted, or overdramatic, or overblown. Its mechanics get similar criticisms. But for the series' biggest fans, those arcane elements help make the franchise so appealing.

For a very brief taste, simply look at the various versions of "Snake." There's Liquid Snake, Naked Snake, Solidus Snake, Big Boss, The Boss, and Raiden. Those are all different people, some of whom you play as throughout the series, and some of whom look almost identical to each other.

If nothing else, the "Metal Gear" franchise is an homage to Kojima's favorite medium: film.

In "MGSV," Kojima even managed to get action star Kiefer Sutherland to lend his vocal talents.

Kojima's cited wide-ranging influences from the world of TV and film, from "James Bond" to "24" to "Dr. Strangelove." There's an entire entry on the "Metal Gear" wiki dedicated solely to Kojima's referential nature with the franchise.

Though the overarching beats of the "Metal Gear" story have to do with espionage and nuclear proliferation and mercenaries and the nature of war, the series isn't above making frequent poop jokes.

Seriously! It's a running gag!

Regardless of having positive or negative feelings associated with the series, it is undeniably unique.

Sure, there are other third-person action franchises ("Assassin's Creed" says hello). And plenty of those involve sneaking ("Assassin's Creed" continues waving). But none of those other games involve hulking metal robots (the titular "Metal Gear"), or global espionage, or nanomachines or... there are a lot of unique elements of the "Metal Gear" franchise.

There's also an overall style to the "Metal Gear" franchise that sets it apart. That style applies to its visuals, its storytelling, its gameplay, its soundtrack — everything. It's as if Hideo Kojima put his personal stamp on every piece of every game in the franchise. Early reports on "MGSV" say it's even moreso in the latest title than in previous "Metal Gear" games.

In one memorable scene from "Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots," Raiden demonstrates swift swordplay on a gaggle of massive robots. He's the one above, stabbing one of said massive robots in the head with a sword.

Even though there's so much for fans to expect and be excited about in a new "Metal Gear" game, there's also plenty of unexpected madness in each new series entry.

The series is known for long videos of character exposition ("cutscenes"). Kojima took longtime fans for a loop on his latest "Metal Gear" by putting exposition few and far between. Instead, he's hoping fans will create their own stories through gameplay.

In the image seen above, for instance, a player is dismantling a "Fulton Device" — essentially a hot air balloon that ferries away supplies for Snake to his home base. You can use it for anything from troops to supplies to random animals (apparently!).

The original "Metal Gear Solid" on the PlayStation 1 was groundbreaking for a variety of reasons. Perhaps most of all, though, it was known for being so, so far ahead of its time.

The original "Metal Gear Solid" that came out in 1998 broke expectations for what was capable on a game console at the time. It also played with gameplay conventions: One solution in the game involved the player physically removing a gamepad from the PlayStation 1, plugging it into the second player port, and defeating a boss as such (therefore getting past his "telepathic abilities").

If you look at the visuals of the original "Metal Gear" in 2015, they may not appear fantastic. But if you look at each of the games within the context of its time period, they're all quite striking.

The series became a visual masterpiece starting with "Metal Gear Solid" in 1998, and continues through to this year's "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain." It's a gorgeous game made all the more impressive by its breadth.

With "The Phantom Pain," the "Metal Gear" series may see its end insofar as Hideo Kojima is concerned — the game's publisher, Konami, is reportedly splitting with Kojima following the release of the game. It's anyone's guess where he goes next, but it's certain that wherever he goes won't be prepared for his overflowing creativity.