Never Played The Original PS-one Title?
---"This is the game that created stealth gaming as we know it. The emphasis is on avoiding the enemies to reach your objectives, though enemy contact is sometimes unavoidable and will result in some bloody gunfights. There are creative boss battles, each vastly different from each other. Simply put, this game never runs out of ideas to keep the experience fresh. Like the great "God of War" or "Zelda" titles, it's an epic game, but not so big that it's overwhelming it's got just the perfect balance of familiarity and discovery. The basic story is that six terrorists have taken over a nuclear weapons base in Alaska, and a retired covert operative named Solid Snake is sent to stop the crisis. Make no mistake, this plot is one hell of a labyrinth. This story goes from double crosses and political intrigue, to figurative subjects like the nature of love and the ethics of genetic research. Also, even though this is the third game in the 'Metal Gear' franchise, the game includes summaries of the first two 'Metal Gear' games. However, I hadn't played those, and found this game just as easy to follow. You will be doing more watching than playing, but both are experiences like no other. Give it a rental, as this game is only 8 hours tops, and see what you think."
{For more info, skip to the end of the review}
Already Finished The Original PS-one Title?
---"This game is identical to the original in almost every way. The levels design hasn't changed at all, although the graphics are much prettier. The written dialogue is pretty much the same, however the new voice-acting make it feel less forced. The cutscenes are the biggest change, as fight choreography and cinematography are given a breath-taking facelift. As many have said, the story from the first MGS merges with the gameplay of MGS 2: Sons of Liberty. Unfortunately, this makes the game much easier to beat, which is the only reason I'm giving this game an overall 4-Star rating. But that's a small price to pay, because this is a proper tribute to the PS-one classic's gripping story and innovative gameplay. In short, 'The Twin Snakes" isn't different enough in order to guarantee a purchase for the skeptical, but it's defintely worth a rental even if you've already beaten it."
FOR THE NEW PLAYERS
Original versions
"Metal Gear Solid" (PSone, 1999) and (PC, 2001)
"Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" (PS2, 2001)
"Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" (PS2, 2004)
"Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" (PS3, 2007 we hope!)
New versions of the old titles
"Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes" (Cube, 2004)
"Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance" (PS2/X-Box/PC, 2002)
"Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence" (PS2, 2006)
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Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes is the remake to Konami's Playstation smash hit Metal Gear Solid where we were reintroduced to our favorite super spy of the 1980's Solid Snake. In both the original and Silicon Knight's remake, Solid Snake is pulled out of retirement and sent to a nuclear test base in Antartica called "Shadow Moses" to stop a bunch of geneticly enhanced super soldiers from unleashing the new Metal Gear. Along the way Snake is going to meet up with some people from previous missions, make new allies, and unravel a conspiracy far beyond Snake's comprehention.Twin Snakes is straight up one of the most action packed games I played, even though you are supposed to rely more on stealth then fighting. However, you will find yourself taking on a tank with grenades, crossing a minefield, repeling down a wall while being fired at by a Hind chopper which you will later be shooting rockets at, fist fights, a massive firefight going up a large tower, and the most intense sniper shootout protrayed in any video game. Obviously you will be doing more than this, but I think I caught your attention by now =]
So the story is told, so how does the game play fair up? The basic idea behind MGS: TS is this: You run around using your enviroment to your advantage, such as pressing against a wall or crawling under a table, to avoid being seen. You have guns, like the SOCOM pistol or the FAMAS machine gun, but in all reality those are supposed to be used as a last resort. Anyway, when you approach a guard you can grab him and snap his neck, when he falls you can grab his body and hide it in a locker or other various areas. If you wish, you can go into first person mode, aim with your weapon and shoot out a camera or a guard in his head.. its really up to you. You get grenades too chaff (which jams electric devises) and stun (which knocks out enemies for a short period of time). Also, you can do a small melee combo, which at first, doesn't look like much but I guarentee you will use it almost constantly when in tight spots.
From the original, pixalated Playstation version, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes looks almost life like with fluid motions both in-game and in FMV sequences, realistic (for the most part) physics, and some of the best graphics I have ever seen thanks to Silicon Knight's hardwork and Nintendo's awesome Gamecube system. Everything looks magnificent, and at the same time, dark, lonley, and terrifying. The character models look so real its hard to tell if its simply a video game, and that goes double time for Snake & all the bosses he fights. The codec sequences seem a little corny, that same as it was back in the original, so that sorta sucks.. but oh well.
Musically speaking, this game has one of the best scores I have heard in a video game. It is just very catchy, and always adds elements to the atmosphere. Ontop of that, the sound effects are awesome as well. Each guard lets out a satisfying scream when he is either shot or beaten up, and the guns sound virtually like their real life counter parts. The voice acting is superb; David Hayter did an excellent job on Snake.. the same goes for the rest of the cast.
You can unlock things too, depending on what you do during the torture scene with Ocelot. If you give in and let Meryl die, then at the end of the game, Otacon will give you a stealth suit. If you insisted on enduring the torture to let Meryl live, then you are rewarded with a special bandana that gives you unlimited ammo. Also, if you take certain pictures with your camera you are given the chance to see the "ghosts" of the creators of the game in the pictures. There are other unlockables, but I will let you find them yourself.
But no game comes without some sort of flaw. Two major problems I have with MGS: TW is the excessive amount of talking (but thats found in EVERY Metal Gear game.. so we can't blame Silicon Knights) and in the movie sequences, Snake does almost impossible moves. For instance, when he first meets up with Meryl, she shoots at him with a FAMAS Snake quickly does a flip in matrix mode and the bullets miss him.. sort of lame.
To wrap it up, you need to buy & play Twin Snakes. It is, by far, the best Metal Gear game in the series. It is even better than the original.
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Ok. If you played the Original MGS you need to buy this now. There's added stuff and improved graphics. If your new to the Metal Gear stuff, just ask yourself "Do I like Stealth/Action Games?" If you answer yes...Buy it you fool! A MUST HAVE FOR THE GAME CUBE OWNERS!Honest reviews on Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
youll always have those that retest remakes of great classics, but why? the visuals of MGS1 for PS1 are poor..this is a full blown remake of Metal Gear Solid 1, one of the best MGS games, one of the best games of all time. Unless you are anti good graphics, or anti gamecube, you cannot pass this up simply put. Everyone should play this game once, this is the pinnacle of gaming right here. 5 stars.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
The idea of remaking one of the most beloved games of the 32/64 bit generation was bold, to say the least. However, with a Tri-Force of fantastic talent, the creative geniuses as Konami (Metal Gear Solid), Silicon Knights (Eternal Darkness), and Nintendo (video games as we know them) let their powers combine to recreate a masterpiece of both story and gameplay, even going so far as to draft an action movie director to bring the game's dramatic cinemas up to date. Many thought that, even with the obvious talent available, the taks of recreating the magic of Metal Gear Solid was too monumental to ever be accomplished. They were wrong.Popping the disk into my cubular Nintendo system and beginning the now-familiar quest to rid the island of Shadow Moses of those naughty super-terrorists proved to elicit the same magic that it did when I first played the game on the Playstation. The plot, the characters, the action, all were as great as I rememberd them, and even more so in places. With the help of new gameplay mechanics, re-directed cinemas, and a complete graphical overhawl, this game feels comfortingly familiar without being tired.
Firstly, the graphics are easily some of the best on any game released for the GameCube, or any game this generation for that matter. Throughout, they handiliy hold their own against the acclaimed Metal Gear Solid 2, and in some places (particularly when it comes to face detail, physics, and animation), they completely blow MGS 2 away. Gone are the clustered pixels that served for eyes and mouths in the original. In the place of the then-astounding but now-dated character polys are incredibly detailed models, each with texture, style, and a hint of humanity in their eerily realistic eyes. In addition, weather effects, like the snow in the opening of the second area, now look a hundred times better, with more detailed environments both inside and out. There are a few textures here and there that look a little blurry, but overall, everthing is crips, clean, and purddy as h*ll.
The newly redone real-time cinemas substantially add to the look of the game, both in quality and style. Even measuring them against the high standard set by MGS 2, these are true works of art that stand unequaled in their field today. The animation and detail make the viewer somtimes wonder wheather or not these are truly real-time, or instead are the more detailed (and more expensive) Full Motion Video scenes favored by the likes of Final Fantasy. However, all is done with the existing game engine, which stands as both a testament to the architecture of the engine that Silicon Knights built for this game, and the talented crew at Konami who made the cinemas.
The central figure of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is its story, as well it should be, as such a wonderful narrative rarely strikes the cinema, let along the world of video games. With its intricate turns, palpable emotion, stunning revelations, and numerous double-crossings, Metal Gear Solid's narrative had to be told well for both the veterans and rookies who would experience it. The new cut scenes do just that, making what was old new again, giving the familiar plot points a fresh coat of paint, as it were. Sometimes, new action scenes altogether appear, and are so gorgeously coreographed and stylishly presented that they'll have you muttering "Matrix-who?" on several occasions.
Finally, a game, no matter how good looking, lives or dies by its gameplay. The mechanics of Metal Gear Solid raised bars, set standards, and blew minds when they were first revealed in 1998, and it speaks of their quality that they hold up so well today. Solid Snake, super-spy extraordinare, must sneak into and through the nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses, and though he can handle himself in a fight, it's far better (and a good deal more fun) to slip past the guards unnoticed. That's not easy. They're smart, even more intelligent than they were in the first game, with better sight, hearing, and more thorough seaching methods. However, added to Snake's original move set are some actions that were first seen in Metal Gear Solid 2, such as hanging from ledges, aiming and shooting in first-person, dragging and hiding guards, and hiding yourself in lockers.
This is something of a double-edged sword as far as working the new gameplay elements into the title. Foremost, the lay of Shadow Moses hasn't changed much at all, making the inclusion of these new abilities rather questionable. Where would we use them. The answer to which is "Wherever the heck you want." Twin Snakes puts the power in the hands of the gamer to play the game how they want to, which is a refreshing change from the customary hand-holding and linear nature of the original. There are times when the game is made more difficult by these inclusions (particularly in the case of the new bullet-proof shield-bearing guards), but more difficulty in this case is welcome. The original game could be downright easy on the, even on the Normal setting, but even the Easy mode in Twin Snakes will offer a decent challenge to both rookies to the series and veterans of the original.
Last, but not least, is the soundtrack. This is a rather hot topic, as it were, as the main theme of Metal Gear Solid is unrecognizable in The Twin Snakes. Some purists would cry fould that such a masterpiece wasn't left alone. However, though its nostalgic value is missed, the existing music fits the new game's presentation like a glove, and stands toe-to-toe with its grandaddy in terms of quality.
All in all, this is the best version of one of the best games of a generation. It has aged spectacularly well, with both its narrative AND gameplay being as impressive today as they were in 1998. However, even this is not enough. We also have more gameplay, new cinemas to tell the fantastic story, and a general polish that makes a game six years old feel as new as it did when it was first released. That, ladies and gentlemen, is no mean feat.
With polish, detail, and gameplay that few games even today can boast of, Twin Snakes excels at its task and meets some high expectations, and starts the gaming year with a memorable "bang." This game deserves both respect and purchasing, and it deserves them now.
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