Metal Gear Solid

Kojima Productions has announced that today, on March 30, 2012, 18:00:00 (JST), the servers for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and Portable Ops Plus will be closed, making it no longer possible to play the PSP titles online.

On June 12th 2012 the servers for Metal Gear Online, which came with each copy of Metal Gear Solid 4, will be shut down as well.

Source: Portable Ops Official Site

UK retailer Zavvi.com has lowered the price of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Limited Edition even further. Now you can get the PlayStation 3 version for £49,95, and the Xbox 360 version for £39,95. This is respectively 20 and 30 pounds cheaper than their original launch price (about £70).

The Limited Edition comes with the game itself, a steelbook, an artbook and a t-shirt. For photos of the package and the contents, go here.

Source: Zavvi.com

Among Metal Gear fans this has been a subject of much debate: how does the 2004 remake of Metal Gear Solid, called The Twin Snakes and released on the Nintendo Gamecube, compare to the original PlayStation version released in 1998? Opinions on this matter are very divided. The goal of this article is to break down the games and as unbiasedly as possible compare the different parts.

As expected, when comparing it with The Twin Snakes, there are some parts that are better in the original and some parts that are better in the remake if you ask me. It’s not as black and white that one is better than the other on all fronts. The differences are pretty small to begin with. Of course, in the end it’s all a matter of taste, and there is no absolute way of telling which part of which version is better.

The Twin Snakes has more gameplay options, such as first person aiming, a tranquilizer gun and the ability to drag bodies and hide them in lockers. But those things aren’t really missed in the original, since the gameplay and environment is built perfectly around the existing mechanics. One complaint people have about The Twin Snakes is that the added gameplay mechanics feel unnecessary or even somewhat damaging to the game, since the game was designed around a lot more restrictive controls and options. This is a criticism I can certainly understand. It’s proven by the fact that in Metal Gear Solid, I really didn’t miss the gameplay mechanics I was so used to from playing The Twin Snakes, and beforehand I actually feared it would be difficult to switch to having more limited options. But the game is designed so well that the restrictions really don’t matter. Obviously, Metal Gear Solid was (literally) made for the PlayStation controller, with which it works very well and intuitively, and everything feels logical. More so than with the Gamecube controller. It works well with the latter one, but still not as good as on the PlayStation. One example is using your CODEC, which on the PlayStation goes with a single press on the select button, whereas the Gamecube controller requires you to press start and A at the same time. Not a big deal, but it feels a little less intuitive.

Of course there’s a large difference in graphics. The most important one for me is the fact that characters in The Twin Snakes have lip sync and facial expressions, as well as more lively animations. The environments in Metal Gear Solid as opposed to the original are often a lot darker, with more shadows and a less clean feel than The Twin Snakes. But I can see why people would prefer this, since it gives of a somewhat different atmosphere and makes the game a little more ‘scary’. It creates a certain moody and ominous atmosphere that fits the game very well. Some aspects are obviously dated, such as the large pixels and stiff animations, but once you’re sucked into the story and the world, you forget about all of that and it doesn’t matter anymore. So actually, the graphical difference was not the most apparent difference for me.

One of the most talked about difference is in the department of story and voice acting. The script is almost entirely the same, with some minor differences, which in The Twin Snakes are supposedly more close to the original Japanese script. Which one I prefer depends on what part I’m talking about, it’s not clearly one game over the other. For Vulcan Raven’s death scene, for example, I prefer The Twin Snakes script (‘The path you walk on has no end. No matter how far you go, or how many corpses you crawl over, the killing will never end. It’s a future without hope’ compared to ‘The path you walk on has no end. Each step you take is paved with the corpses of your enemies. Their souls will haunt you forever. You shall have no peace.’ in the original). But I prefer the original for Gray Fox’s line (‘every time I looked at her, I saw her parents eyes staring back at me’) as opposed to (‘I trembled with fear’) in The Twin Snakes. In the original it is more evident what he means. Also, when Meryl gets shot she says ‘war is ugly, there’s nothing glamorous about it’ in the original, and in The Twin Snakes ‘nothing comes out of war’. Here I prefer the original as well, again because it’s more direct and more clear what she means. But the differences are far and few between (they probably are only noticeable to those who are very familiar with the script), so it’s not clearly one game that is better than the other here.

The voices were re-recorded entirely, and for some characters there is a clear difference, whereas for others the difference is barely noticeable. Examples of characters that are pretty much the same are Solid Snake, Campbell and Otacon. Some characters, like Liquid, sound the same but pronounce things differently (with different emphasis on words). The biggest differences are the voices of Gray Fox and Psycho Mantis. Gray Fox has a different voice actor in the original, but here I prefer The Twin Snakes, where I find the voice more fitting. Psycho Mantis has the same voice actor, but he sounds a lot more messed up in The Twin Snakes. For this character I prefer the remake as well. But for Sniper Wolf I would say the original is better, her voice sounds more broken in her death scene. Mei Ling and Naomi have accents in the original, which were removed in The Twin Snakes. I also prefer the newer versions, it doesn’t make much sense for them to talk like that since they both grew up in America, and Naomi sounds more like she does in MGS4. People often complain that she sounds more lifeless in The Twin Snakes, but in a way, her voice is fitting for her role in the game, sort of bitter and devoid of emotions, with her only goal of taking revenge on Solid Snake.

Another difference is the music. One of the decisions I don’t like about The Twin Snakes is the fact that they removed Enclosure, especially during the death scene of Sniper Wolf. Having said that, The Twin Snakes has a great soundtrack itself and most of the music that was replaced or added is great (such as the ‘Naomi song’ that was also used in MGS4, I don’t know the name of the track in The Twin Snakes but in MGS4 it’s called ‘Atonement’). Another example is, again, Vulcan Raven’s death scene, which I feel has better music in The Twin Snakes.

Of course The Twin Snakes has the infamous ‘Matrix’ scenes, in which Snake is performing all sorts of acrobatic moves. I’m not a fan of those myself since they feel too over the top for the character, especially the rocket jump during the Hind D fight. For Gray Fox however, the new choreography is very fitting and it makes his character even better. Some scenes also have improved camera-movements, with the most notable one the death scene of Vulcan Raven, which I feel is more powerful in The Twin Snakes due to the cinematography. Because of the crooked camera angles you can see Snake isn’t just walking away, but Raven’s words actually affect him. Also the fight between Gray Fox and REX is great to watch. All in all, a little more time is taken for the cutscenes, which is probably also thanks to the more powerful hardware. But not all scenes are improved, aside from the over the top moves of Snake there’s also the already mentioned Sniper Wolf death scene for example, which was better in the original.

One thing that is noticeable about Metal Gear Solid is how well it stood the test of time. Not once did I have problems with playing a game from 1998, while in the gaming industry quite a lot has changed during that period. The gameplay works so well, and the visuals are so consistent and good that it doesn’t matter at all that this is a 13 year old game. Another reason might be the great sound (music, voice acting, sound effects) that really doesn’t feel aged. You immediately forget that you are playing a fairly old game. It goes to show how much this game was probably ahead of its time.

Having played both versions I still think The Twin Snakes is a good remake. It’s not meant to replace the original but as an additional game, and very welcome for those who missed the original. The director, Kitamura, initially wanted to make the cutscenes very similar to the original, but Kojima himself said the he should put his own style into them. So this is how The Twin Snakes should be seen, not as a replacement of the original, but an addition, a retelling of the story. However, aside from a few differences it’s actually still a very faithful remake. Some things are better in the original, other things are better in the remake. The important thing to realize is that there doesn’t have to be a ‘winner’ here, they are both great games that can introduce people to the series.

One of the most wanted hypothetical Metal Gear games among fans is a remake of the original two games, which came out on the MSX. The games were released in 1987 and 1990, and take place in 1995 and 1999. They are about Solid Snake infiltrating Outer Heaven and defeating Big Boss.

In his recent Q&A session that took place in Washington DC the day before the GameFest interview, Kojima was asked by journalists wether he has plans to revisit these classic games, now that the series celebrates its 25th anniversary. However, it doesn’t seem that Kojima is planning to remake the games at this point.

He explained that we’ve come a long way since these games came out, and looking back, a lot of things in the plot don’t make sense anymore. He would also have to change a lot of things to bring it up to todays standards.

Kojima concluded that if he had to redo the original Metal Gear games, he feels that he would have to rewrite their entire stories. And that’s something he’d rather not have to do.

It seems that fans don’t have to expect these remakes anytime soon, but who knows for sure what the future holds.

As for a remake of Metal Gear Solid, Kojima said he would want it to be on the scale of MGS4. However, he doesn’t have the time to make it himself, but is always on the lookout for someone else that could perhaps help him with it. From these words, it seems that a remake of MGS is more likely than a remake of the original games, for now.

Source: Inside Gaming Daily, Metal Gear Solid Aimgehess

Issue number 216 of UK’s longest running PlayStation magazine Play came out, and in the magazine is a preview of what’s to come next month. Featuring prominently on the page is an artwork of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, as well as the promise of world exclusive and ‘stunning new details’ for the game.

What is it exactlty that Play has to tell us about the game remains a mystery for now. Issue 217 will be on sale April the 12th.

Source: Spaziogames, Play Official Website

During his visit at The Smithsonian Museum of Art, Kojima gave a few scarce new details about Project Ogre. He said the game is dealing with a few delicate issues and taboos (making it likely that Project Ogre is in fact the Taboo Game he talked about a few years ago). He did say he still want to keep the game fun to play, so he isn’t sure how many of the issues are going to be in the final product, but bringing them to the forefront is something he strives for.

Kojima also talked about a trip he made to a military base in San Diego to test a shooting simulator, but wasn’t ready to reveal more about it.

Another thing he talked about during the Q&A was that the game isn’t planned for the Wii U. Since the device has a unique interface and a different way of interacting with the player than the other systems, Kojima said that if he were to make a game for it it would have to be something unique.

He did make clear that despite this, the FoxEngine isn’t hardware specific and is a flexible engine.

Source: ShackNews

Today, Metal Gear Rising director Yuji Korekado has been busy shooting another motion capture scene for the game. This time it was an action scene that required the actors to be attached to wires, in order for them to be able to perform acrobatic maneuvers.

Thanks to the help of an expert in stage combat, the team was able to pull off the over the top moves Platinum Games wanted without any serious injury.

After they completed shooting, the action director presented a bouquet to the actor.

It seems that we can not only expect over the top gameplay for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, but also cutscenes in this style, as is expected from cyborg ninjas in this series.

Source: Yuji Korekado’s Twitter

Yesterday was the public conversation with Hideo Kojima at the Smithsonian Museum for American Art. The day before that, he held another interview for the press, and one of the things he said should put people’s worries of the almost 50 years old game designer retiring any time soon to rest.

When Eurogamer asked him how he sees himself in 25 years, he made clear he has no intention of ever stopping with developing games. Whether he will still be making Metal Gear games in 25 years, or wether Konami will still be around, he can’t say. But the legendary game designer sees himself still making games by that time, and intends to keep creating them until the day he dies.

Source: Eurogamer

Hideo Kojima just finished his interview that was being held at GameFest in light of the Art of Video Games Exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum for American Art. The whole conversation took about an hour and can be viewed here, or a summary of it can be read below.

The interview was being conducted by Chris Melissinos, the museum’s guest curator. Kojima Productions’ staff member Sean Eyestone acted as a translator.

First, they talked about the start of Kojima’s career and his influences. The first game Kojima remembers playing is Pong, or maybe it was a Japanese variant of it. However, Space Invaders is the first game that really pulled him in and he played a lot.

Kojima explained that originally he wanted to become movie director, but didn’t have access to the necessary equipment, so he started writing novels instead, as that was something he could do on his own. That’s when the Famicom released. Kojima became addicted to it right away, and he felt the potential hidden in this new medium. He then got the idea to use this as a way to tell stories, in stead of movies.

The interviewer asked about the anti-war and nuclear proliferation themes that permeate the MGS series, asking Kojima where it comes from. Hideo Kojima explained his parents were born in 1930s, and they experienced air raids on Tokyo. The anti-war sentiments influenced Koijima, and he wanted to carry over this message into his games.

Kojima also addressed the advantages of video games over other forms of story telling. How would it feel if you could actually interact with environment instead of just looking at it, like in movie? Wondering about these things was the starting point of Kojima’s design philosophy.

The influence from the movies didn’t come as much from the setting or story, but more from his desire to recreate the situations of those movies. Like in The Great Escape, the tension you feel while watching it, what would it be like to be actually there? As another example he took a vampire movie, where the characters are fending off vampires until the sun rises. This kind of feeling is what he wanted to recreate with Boktai.

The interviewer also asked Kojima what qualities a good game designer needs, according to him. First of all, Kojima said a designer needs to have a curiosity. He needs to have a lot of different interests, and be willing to try new things. Also, since games run on technology, he must have an interest in the latest technological trends. But aside from the technical aspect, he must also have a cultural interest, and interest in the latest visual trends, stories, music, and such. Lastly Kojima mentioned that a good game designer needs to have a spirit of wanting to give something to someone, to share an experience, and to think about how you can make other people have fun. And be willing to sacrifice himself in order to achieve this, in a way.

Kojima was also asked what games had most profoundly impacted him. First of all he mentioned Super Mario Bros, and said that without that game, he probably wouldn’t be sitting here. Another game that impressed him and stood out to him when he entered the game industry, was polygon based game called Another World (Out of this World in America). According to Kojima, this game did a great job of conveying the creator’s style.

The next aspect the interviewer asked about was about balancing commercial interest with creative desires, and how to maintain this balance. Kojima answered he would like to use all 24 hours in the day for creating games, for the creative aspect of it. But in order to create something great, you have to create an environment that makes this possible, that’s why he decided to become a producer.

Now he has the power to do what he wants to do (budgets, hiring people, deadlines). But to become a producer you have to know business, be organized. But the role of producer is only to facilitate creativity. That’s the priority.

Because Kojima has said in the past he doesn’t consider games to be art, in light of the current exhibition the interviewer asked if he still feels that way about it. According to Kojima games do have a place in the art world, and the synthesis of parts can be perceived as art. But as opposed to for example a painting, with games the creator doesn’t have full control over the message, he can’t push his views completely on the viewer. Kojima sees his job as to take the various parts (music, light), combine it as a whole and present it to the player, who then becomes part of the art. So in a sense you could say it’s art, but not the traditional kind.

Next, the interviewer asked how Kojima felt about the future and the progress made in the industry. Kojima answered that he thinks interactive entertainment will not go away, there will always be demand for it. Technology is always evolving, and interactive entertainment will evolve with it.

It will also become much wider in society, for example in the medical field. Video games could be at the forefront of technological advancement in a way. Kojima feels that the future is bright.

After the interviewer was done with his questions, he asked Kojima some questions that were submitted by fans.

How does it make you feel to know that your games are inspiring future film makers and game designers?

Kojima answered he found this idea to be very exciting, and feels it is an honor. Since he was influenced by movies when he grew up, he feels like it’s come full circle, almost like it’s sort of a destiny.

Would you consider making a movie of your own?

Kojima said he would love to make a movie someday. But it wouldn’t be Metal Gear Solid, because that’s designed as a game. For a movie he would have to come up with something else, that’s better suited for the specific medium. If Metal Gear Solid would become a movie, he would have someone else write a new script, specifically as a movie. Kojima concluded saying that he is working on something, and hopes to have something to announce in the near future.

What character from MGS do you identify with most?

Kojima jokingly said that he answers this question differently every time it is asked. Yesterday when someone asked it to him, he said Otacon. But now he went with Snake. He continued to talk a bit about the character’s evolution throughout the years. At first Snake didn’t really speak, because the game didn’t have voices. This changed when MGS1 came out. Then, from MGS1 to MGS2, he also got facial expressions, which were made even richer with MGS4, in which they could even have an old looking Snake with a wrinkled face. So the character got more expressive with every game, which is why he is so well suited for games.

How do video games enable richer stories?

Introducing story in action game is a difficult task, and game creators struggle with that balance. But the pay off is much greater, because you are interacting and can express things you can’t with movies or novels. Because the player experiences the events himself, he feels emotions for the character. Allowing the player freedom is also important, so the key is balance: illusion of freedom, but also story. That’s what Kojima said to be aiming for in his next game. He has a reputation for long cutscenes, but he’s experimenting with new ways of telling a story, and for the next game will use a little less cutscenes, but there will still be a narrative.

What is it that fascinates you about western politics?

Kojima explained he was raised under influence of western culture, constantly being exposed to it through tv shows and movies. Detective shows and sci-fi shows influenced him. Most Japanese children want to become Japanese police officer, but Kojima wanted to be a murder investigator, and work for the LAPD when he was a child. Of course he was also influenced by Japanese culture, but more than half of his influence was from outside of Japan, through movies and music. He also feels his sense is more international, not specifically Japanese. The Metal Gear games are set in America because he wants to tell a grand, epic story, and therefor doesn’t want to limit himself to a small country like Japan as a setting.

What was your shining moment of accomplishment in 25 years of MGS?

Kojima responded that he debut of MGS1 was the point everything changed in his career. He became an international success, and his name became known In Japan, North America and Europe. It was a new era in his life.

This year marks 25th Anniversary for MGS, and Kojima said he wants to make it one of the best years for him. He is working on something right now that he thinks will be the shining moment of his career, or of his life.

After this question the interview was over, and the interviewer handed Kojima a book dedicated about the Art Exposition, and the audience got the opportunity to receive an autograph.

Source: Smithsonian Museum for American Art

Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum