Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes review
I was very weary about getting this game. Don't get me wrong. I loved the Original Metal Gears on MSX (via emulator) and Playstation original, but MGS II: The Sons of Liberty nearly killed the series for me. For those of you who have missed out on that, MGS II featured a ton of cool new features. Smarter AI, new tactics, and much more difficult. You couldn't just kill enemies with a supressed Socom like you were able to in the first one. Great concept and design in that sense, but the game had other problems. First, were the characters. They sucked. Vamp, Ocelot, and Snake were the only really interesting characters. The rest just kinda were "meh." Second was Raiden. You played the entire second half as him, so that is why I put him as an entire different reason. Snake was a complete badass. He went in and did his job...all badass like. Raiden, on the hand, was a whiney little bitch who keeps crying to his girlfriend every 20 minutes. Like the best thing to talk to your girlfriend (Rose) about your relationship when you are on a covert op mission with a bunch of guards around searching for ya. And lastly, the story. This game was a sequel...but the game is exactly the same story line wise. And the game blantantly tells you that in the middle. I heard of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," that was fucking ridiculous. These problems ruined for me what could have been such a great game.
And Konami, with Silicon Knights, decide what was the best way to counter act a game with new features, but was too damn similar was recreate the exact with new features. Gee, I wonder why I wasn't really that impressed.
But because I am a whore, I decided to get the game anyways. And when the game first started, I happened to notice that the first area is exactly the same. I figured I would do my normal routine and get out in about 5 minutes. Right?
Wrong. The guard in the middle of the section noticed something strange, and I ended up having to hide. Had to think of a new path to take. Luckily, I was able to get through (in ten minutes...twice as long as my normal route in the original game.
So I get to the heliport. The spot lights are now different...and guess who got caught! The alarm is now like MGS II, in which, you get caught, the game goes in Alert mode, then to Evasion (enemies are on alert, but moving slower), then goes to caution (they are on alert, but no longer searching for you), and then to normal (attack team leaves, enemies return to their normal patterns). After I was miraculously able to hide (stress on miraculously), I found the rest of the area easy get through (it is just the spotlight that gave me problems).
Then you go to the DARPA chief, meet Meryl, guard attack...blah blah blah...then to Baker and Ocelot. The battle between you and Ocelot is not that hard. Some people were able to just chase after him and shoot, but I was not able to do it yet (haven't perfect the ability of firing while moving with the GC controller yet), but the first person mode made battle easier. Just wait for him to stop to shoot...aim...and fire before he shoots you.
So yeah, ultimately, this is exactly as Konami said it was going to be. Metal Gear Solid with Metal Gear Solid II's AI and gameplay. In some areas, it is harder (you now have to hide guards' bodies as you take care of them...and it might be better to knock them out with an M9 instead of killing them...since killing them with a gun will leave blood, which will alarm guards if they see it). In other areas, the game is easier (you can shoot the cameras and do head shots to do more damage). But the game is more challenging, and that is a nice welcome. My old school MGS skills helped me out a lot in this game, but put me in trouble for forgetting the MGS II elements.
As for the cinemas, well, the graphics haven't really changed all that much since MGS II. The models still look nice and all, no doubt about that, but still, games like Splinter Cell seem to look a little bit better (probably thanks to the whole dynamic lighting thing thanks to the emphasis of hiding in shadows in that game). And they are long. Very long. And also, the Matrix seems to play a huge inspiration for them now. You get the slower "bullet time" style effects during the cinemas, weird acrobatics, and some inhuman moves (the takes his sword into the ceiling, cuts a hole, and kicks the huge chunk of cement towards Snake, only Snake does a weird flip jump over it. But the game features most of the original actors and all the dialogue was re-recorded. Two characters, Mei Ling and Nastasha, lost their accents. And because of that...they sound...weird. Both don't seem to sound right in the game. Nastasha still has a small hint, but it barely registers. And I thought Mei Ling was annoying before, but now I found that her old voice was much cuter thanks to the accent. Eh, little peaves, so I really won't worry about it. They don't really retract from the full experience of the game, so lets not fully worry about that.
If you loved the series so far, you will love this game. Or if you loved the first game entirely and like the gameplay elements (not the story and such) of MGS II, this is also for you. It is nice to see all the characters again...and it is nice to actually play as Snake again. It feels a lot like the same, and yet it feels different.
I know I sounded a bit negative about this review mainly concentrating on some of the issues that got me nervous (same maps and such), but reality is this is a damn good game. I loved the first MGS but was disappointed by the second one. Made me a bit bitter, but after playing the game and getting those peaves I have mentioned above out of the way, I can still say I am a fan of Metal Gear Solid. I am pleased by this game. And more pleased with this one than MGS II.
4.5/5...since you know...while great, it is the same damn game...but a damn good one.
March has one main man this year...and it is Ryu Hayabusa. But it will be interesting to see if Solid Snake will come in second compared to Sam Fisher (whose game, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomarrow, ships next week for PC and Xbox. PS2 and GC versions of the game will ship in June). Too bad I will have to wait on that game. Unreal Tournament 2004 comes first.
Until next update or new game I play...
-Rune "If I can't kill it, I won't play or buy the damn game" Lateralus
I was very weary about getting this game. Don't get me wrong. I loved the Original Metal Gears on MSX (via emulator) and Playstation original, but MGS II: The Sons of Liberty nearly killed the series for me. For those of you who have missed out on that, MGS II featured a ton of cool new features. Smarter AI, new tactics, and much more difficult. You couldn't just kill enemies with a supressed Socom like you were able to in the first one. Great concept and design in that sense, but the game had other problems. First, were the characters. They sucked. Vamp, Ocelot, and Snake were the only really interesting characters. The rest just kinda were "meh." Second was Raiden. You played the entire second half as him, so that is why I put him as an entire different reason. Snake was a complete badass. He went in and did his job...all badass like. Raiden, on the hand, was a whiney little bitch who keeps crying to his girlfriend every 20 minutes. Like the best thing to talk to your girlfriend (Rose) about your relationship when you are on a covert op mission with a bunch of guards around searching for ya. And lastly, the story. This game was a sequel...but the game is exactly the same story line wise. And the game blantantly tells you that in the middle. I heard of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," that was fucking ridiculous. These problems ruined for me what could have been such a great game.
And Konami, with Silicon Knights, decide what was the best way to counter act a game with new features, but was too damn similar was recreate the exact with new features. Gee, I wonder why I wasn't really that impressed.
But because I am a whore, I decided to get the game anyways. And when the game first started, I happened to notice that the first area is exactly the same. I figured I would do my normal routine and get out in about 5 minutes. Right?
Wrong. The guard in the middle of the section noticed something strange, and I ended up having to hide. Had to think of a new path to take. Luckily, I was able to get through (in ten minutes...twice as long as my normal route in the original game.
So I get to the heliport. The spot lights are now different...and guess who got caught! The alarm is now like MGS II, in which, you get caught, the game goes in Alert mode, then to Evasion (enemies are on alert, but moving slower), then goes to caution (they are on alert, but no longer searching for you), and then to normal (attack team leaves, enemies return to their normal patterns). After I was miraculously able to hide (stress on miraculously), I found the rest of the area easy get through (it is just the spotlight that gave me problems).
Then you go to the DARPA chief, meet Meryl, guard attack...blah blah blah...then to Baker and Ocelot. The battle between you and Ocelot is not that hard. Some people were able to just chase after him and shoot, but I was not able to do it yet (haven't perfect the ability of firing while moving with the GC controller yet), but the first person mode made battle easier. Just wait for him to stop to shoot...aim...and fire before he shoots you.
So yeah, ultimately, this is exactly as Konami said it was going to be. Metal Gear Solid with Metal Gear Solid II's AI and gameplay. In some areas, it is harder (you now have to hide guards' bodies as you take care of them...and it might be better to knock them out with an M9 instead of killing them...since killing them with a gun will leave blood, which will alarm guards if they see it). In other areas, the game is easier (you can shoot the cameras and do head shots to do more damage). But the game is more challenging, and that is a nice welcome. My old school MGS skills helped me out a lot in this game, but put me in trouble for forgetting the MGS II elements.
As for the cinemas, well, the graphics haven't really changed all that much since MGS II. The models still look nice and all, no doubt about that, but still, games like Splinter Cell seem to look a little bit better (probably thanks to the whole dynamic lighting thing thanks to the emphasis of hiding in shadows in that game). And they are long. Very long. And also, the Matrix seems to play a huge inspiration for them now. You get the slower "bullet time" style effects during the cinemas, weird acrobatics, and some inhuman moves (the takes his sword into the ceiling, cuts a hole, and kicks the huge chunk of cement towards Snake, only Snake does a weird flip jump over it. But the game features most of the original actors and all the dialogue was re-recorded. Two characters, Mei Ling and Nastasha, lost their accents. And because of that...they sound...weird. Both don't seem to sound right in the game. Nastasha still has a small hint, but it barely registers. And I thought Mei Ling was annoying before, but now I found that her old voice was much cuter thanks to the accent. Eh, little peaves, so I really won't worry about it. They don't really retract from the full experience of the game, so lets not fully worry about that.
If you loved the series so far, you will love this game. Or if you loved the first game entirely and like the gameplay elements (not the story and such) of MGS II, this is also for you. It is nice to see all the characters again...and it is nice to actually play as Snake again. It feels a lot like the same, and yet it feels different.
I know I sounded a bit negative about this review mainly concentrating on some of the issues that got me nervous (same maps and such), but reality is this is a damn good game. I loved the first MGS but was disappointed by the second one. Made me a bit bitter, but after playing the game and getting those peaves I have mentioned above out of the way, I can still say I am a fan of Metal Gear Solid. I am pleased by this game. And more pleased with this one than MGS II.
4.5/5...since you know...while great, it is the same damn game...but a damn good one.
March has one main man this year...and it is Ryu Hayabusa. But it will be interesting to see if Solid Snake will come in second compared to Sam Fisher (whose game, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomarrow, ships next week for PC and Xbox. PS2 and GC versions of the game will ship in June). Too bad I will have to wait on that game. Unreal Tournament 2004 comes first.
Until next update or new game I play...
-Rune "If I can't kill it, I won't play or buy the damn game" Lateralus
VIEW 19 of 19 COMMENTS
stephaniemcgee:
why would it have been a weird moment for you? more exciting, i would think. we used that lab a few times during our trip cause we're total dorks and can't keep away from our stlpunk.com or other internet antics. too bad we didn't get to meet you too 
we'll be back though!
we'll be back though!
xatreyux:
lmao 30 hours? thats amazing...my friend jessica had a day like that but she had like 4 shots (and thats nothing to her) and she didnt remember the whole day...good thing i was with her....but seriously the whole day is a blank to her. we went to the paw shop twice, to her house 3 times then to everett and to hodgys twice and she doesnt remember one second of it lol