On Friday I was debating getting Metal Gear Solid : Twin Snakes on the Nintendo Gamecube but I decided to take it safe and rent it first.
This is a remake of the Playstation One game but with modern graphics and animation. This games greatest strength is also it's biggest short coming since it is a remake it does not offer much new in the way of story or gameplay. Despite some new cut scenes and cool new graphics it comes off more as a Director's Cut than a brand new game.
I know this is going to come off as blasphemy but I do not think that Metal Gear Solid was the best PSOne game ever made. I think that Castlevania Symphony of the Night is the best PSOne game ever made but Metal Gear Solid is in the top five.
This game is just as hard and challenging as it first was in the mid 90s and it might be hard to pick up for casual gamers. However that being said this game series is attributed with creating the whole concepts of covert stealth action in modern games. The cinematic cut sequences are much more dramatic in this game and are the bit over the top some times. The cinematic sequences were directed by Ryuhei Kitamura who also made the quintessential Samurai/ Gangster Zombie Film Verses. The graphics still have the same Konami feel and it is indistinguishably Metal Gear Solid but they are much more polished and take advantage of the much higher polygonal budget and powerful graphic effects of the Nintendo Gamecube. This is Silicone Knights, and Konami's retelling of a classic game.
This is a very good game and while it is not Metal Gear Solid 3 : Snake Eater it is pretty good and is worth picking up if you are a fan of these games but since it is a carbon copy remake of the Metal Gear Solid game on PSOne it does not impart a sense of urgency. I think I am just going to wait until I find a good deal on this game used or wait until the price comes down.
The entire concept of a remake of a game is an intriguing one. I can think of a dozen or so classic games that deserve to be remade on modern hardware. While it is almost blasphemy to remake classic movies since Video games are tied to the technically limitations of the hardware I do think that they can be remade to newer hardware and still remain true to the original incarnation of the game.
A remake of this game has got to be a pretty great sight to see. I have the PC version of the classic on my laptop, and I still often find myself playing the game and the VR missions wherever I go. The real masterpieces don't always need updated graphics.
I do believe that Metal Gear Solid (PS1) is on of the top five best games ever made, and this is coming from one of the biggest RPGers around. However, I'm not really that inclined to play it all that quickly. For the simple reason that I played the original, and beat it numerous times, I don't wan't play the same game altered. That's not to say that I'm not going to play at all, Just not in the near future.
> This game is just as hard and challenging as it first was in the mid 90s
Maybe I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm finding it (well, the stealth parts at least -- no comment about Ocelot) more difficult than it was. If you get discovered, the guards are far more relentless than they ever were in the original. Not to mention, they tend to find you more easily now.
Anyway, still a great game. The added challenge helps reinforce the need for good stealth.
I hope they release Bionic Commando on the GBA SP. That was one of the greatest games ever.
-Dave
Ooops. I posted in the wrong place. Sorry.
-Dave
I actually strongly disliked MGS when I played it back on the PSOne...but my tastes have changed significantly since then (back then, I just didn't have the patience for a stealth-oriented game) so I'm probably going to pick this up at some point.
That's an interesting point you make about game remakes justified by former technical limitations. I find the whole trend (especially this game and the Resident Evil remake for the Cube) facinating. If you haven't already, I've got my impressions posted at:
http://www.ironcladgusto.com/2004/03/game_metal_gear.html
played through the game last week.
kinda funny that all my memories from the psx-version still are all there - just like yesterday.
what I liked: 1st persion view ist much better but the controls could have been better.
it's embarrassing how short the game gets when you know all the stuff (and play on easy the first time through).
all in all a solid 8 / 10 effort from the Silicon Knights whose guys did the fantastic ETERNAL DARKNESS game.
BTW: could you post a review for the MGS3:SE?
paragraph 4 -> "Silicone Knights"
I just can't get enough of those knights ^-^
how you can save in metal gear solid of playstation 1