April Fools is over but somehow Solid Snake and Psycho Mantis are now selling Fords

Snake buys a car

The fan-made recreation of Metal Gear Solid called Shadow Moses may have been taken away from us, but here's a “solid” second choice: Snake, Colonel Campbell, and Psycho Mantis extolling the many benefits of Ford's fine line of automobiles. Checks calendar. Nope, that was last week. What the what?

The videos, spotted by GameInformer, look to me like the sort of thing someone might throw together as a gag: “Nothing sells like Snake!” or something to that effect. But they're both listed on the official Ford YouTube channel, and they both appear to be played entirely straight. The Ford Focus SE comes with a rear-view camera as standard equipment, the Colonel explains, and Psycho Mantis knows how much you like the 2017 Ford Fusion Titanium's SecuiCode keyless entry system and optional power moonroof.

I don't know what to say. I can't decide if this is a brilliant bit of marketing, or an appalling treatment of a storied franchise by a company that's been left rudderless by the departure of its creator. Either way, it's pretty weird.

Snaaaaaaaaaaake! And, also, Konaaaaaaaaami!

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.