Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes Preview

Developer	Silicon Knights
Publisher	Konami
Genre	Tactical Espionage
Release Date	11/5/03

One of the most influential videogames of all time makes a triumphant return; and it's only on Nintendo's GameCube.

In 1998, Metal Gear Solid was released for the PSone. What we knew as games was turned upside down, and for the first time in years, gamers had a legitimate example of how games can be art. MGS went on to be one of PSone's top sellers and virtually guaranteed more success for Sony's PlayStation.

In 2001, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was released upon the masses, and once again, millions fell pray to Hideo Kojima's story-telling charms (despite the fact that the game disappointed on a few levels). An Xbox version was ported over in the form of Substance, and the PS2 even got the enhanced title. But Nintendo consoles didn't see any of these.

Maybe it's a situation where good things come to those who wait. All we know is that it may be the Cube that gets the best Metal Gear version of all. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is essentially a modern build of the original MGS classic on the PSone.

The Twin Games
Now, there will immediately be gamers who will cry "rehash!". The same was said when Capcom released their remake of Resident Evil. It is true that The Twin Snakes isn't entirely new. But in no way is it a rehash of any kind.

Using MGS2's engine, The Twin Snakes is being rebuilt from the ground up on Nintendo's Cube. There is no porting going on here. Everything save for the origins of the engine, are being integrated with the GameCube's strengths in mind. That said, Twin Snakes looks badass already.

Silicon Snakes
What is indeed very interesting is that it's not Hideo Kojima's team that is developing the game, but is instead Canada-based Silicon Knights (Eternal Darkness). These fine folk know the GameCube hardware as good as any of Nintendo's internal teams, and since Kojima admits that his team has no GameCube experience, it only makes sense that the development duties be handed off to someone worthy of such an endeavor.

And, if there is to be a third party to enter the mix, it may as well be the company behind the host platform, right? Indeed, Nintendo will be on board to support the two teams through any roadblock they may encounter, and also to offer the expertise of GameCube-to-GBA connectivity (which obviously means that yes, there will be such connectivity implemented into The Twin Snakes. Codec or Radar, maybe?).

There is Nothing That These Two Can't Accomplish
Hideo Kojima sees The Twin Snakes as an opportunity to experience the best of both worlds. Players will be able to play through MGS1's story with the added gameplay refinements of MGS2.

Players will be happy to see the return of the hiding of bodies, and the ability to shoot in first-person. Snake will be able to hang from ledges as well, meaning that most likely, some environments will support the idea of such abilities and take advantage of them accordingly.

At the same time, Snake will also be able to do everything he could do in the original MGS, like hiding beneath the tanks, and crawling through ventilation ducts. And even better is the fact that all of this can be done while playing through the more popular of the two stories.

Snake's added abilities also means that enemies have to get tougher too. Not only will intelligence be increased, but so will the numbers, and just like MGS2, these soldiers can take advantage of the riot shields.

Kojima admits that aside from the slick new graphics, there will be no drastic changes to the original game's formula, though he does say that there will be a few problem areas addressed; elements that received a lot of complaints after MGS's original release. Japanese film director Ryuhei Kitamura is being brought in to direct the cinema sequences, and all of the dialog is being totally revamped; with no Japanese voices being recorded at all. And while Kojima pondered the idea of doing the codec images with polygons like MGS2, he ultimately decided on the use of illustrations, feeling that they represent their own appealing aspects.

The team is considering the addition of VR missions to go along with the package, but as of now, Kojima isn't sure if their will be time to implement them. Let's hope, eh?

Remaking a Masterpiece
Doing a remake can be like wielding a double-edged sword. On one hand, players who refuse to take off the rose-tinted glasses won't have to now. They will be able to relive the glory of the original MGS in a shiny new package that is new and improved. But on the other hand, the game's most memorable events likely won't hit veteran players the same way now that they already know the outcome. Hopefully, the teams take a cue from Capcom's Resident Evil remake and insert plenty of new surprises and areas to mix it up.

But then, if you were told that MGS: The Twin Snakes is the combined efforts of Konami, Silicon Knights, and Nintendo, would you doubt them?

We thought not.

Preview by Brendon Hivner