Impressions: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Metal Mario · 02-05-2004, 03:16 PM

*Source: IGN

I'm only about two hours through the game now, mostly because I've spent the majority of the day processing movies and screens, but I'm having a lot of fun. Twin Snakes begins in the same way and follows the same storyline first featured in the original game. Solid Snake, a rough, gruff operative, is sent in on a stealth mission to infiltrate an Alaskan nuclear missile facility overrun by terrorists. He's supposed to rescue a DARPA official, but the game's unpredictable plot takes you much deeper into the enemy's hideout, where you'll learn that a plan has been hatched to use a high-tech military machine, the Metal Gear, to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting. It's up to you to kick ass and take names, as it were.

If you've never played Metal Gear before then you should know that this is one of the most stylistic franchises around, and the GameCube update stays true to that. The music is gorgeous. The voice work is very well acted, for the most part. And the cinematography and choreography are second to none. Konami actually enlisted the services of Japanese film director and writer Ryuhei Kitamura to create stunning new versions of the old cinematics complete with acrobatics like something out of The Matrix movies. It all looks fabulous. The improvements are immediately noticeable. Not only are the visuals far more detailed -- Snake is now high-polygon, features crisp facial textures and a bandana complete with swaying cloth physics, for instance -- but the presentation is more polished. In the original game, Snake swam realistically underwater, but in the GCN build the character also twirls around as he makes his way through it. It's not a drastic change, but it's noticeable -- and it's a cooler. In the PS1 build, Snake jettisons through seawater in his one-man capsule; in the GCN update he also avoids underwater lasers. Get the point? These are just some of the minor differences.

The major differences become apparent after the cut-scenes are over and the gameplay starts. Just as in the original game, Snake is moved around with the analog stick. There are two degrees of digital control: walk and run. He can move left and right, forward and backward with very few limits. If you press the character against a wall he'll position his back to it and when he does the camera changes views, zooming inward on the action. This allows Snake to shimmy along walls, which gives him a view of potential enemies without giving himself away. It's pretty standard stealth stuff by today's standard, but Metal Gear invented it back in the day. The GCN version is different in that -- by holding the L and R buttons, Snake can peek his head out and look to the left or right of a wall. He can likewise do this when he's in the middle of a wall, just to see what lies up ahead to the left or to the right. It's very effective. Hit the Z button and the hero will go into first-person view with full analog control; no limits to where you can look around. It's a very nice option, especially since Twin Snakes looks so good. Hit the X button and the character will duck and crawl, essential for maneuvering underneath objects. Tap the B to punch, punch and then roundhouse kick enemies. Y button is used for most actions, like opening doors. And A button shoots Snake's weapon or triggers his explosive. The setup initially takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it everything seems to work well.

Snake can now shoot down enemies in first-person view. I like this addition a lot as it's very useful. No more aiming in third-person and hoping that you got your guy -- instead, just point and shoot, done. In addition, the character can knock out and drag enemies along, open and hide inside lockers, and hang from ledges -- all not possible in the original title, but in Metal Gear Solid 2 for PlayStation 2. You could really call The Twin Snakes a combination of the two games as it employs the story and level design of the first game mixed with the abilities and graphic beauty of the second.

There is a lot of humor mixed into the adventure. In one cut-scene, the camera centers on a guard going to the bathroom. In another, a man lies naked on the ground with his buttocks censored by a pixelated bar. And some of the dialogue is downright priceless.

On the technical side, I'm mostly very pleased so far. The game is gorgeous. Superior detail. Amazingly realistic character models, fluid animation, big worlds overflowing with crisp textures, excellent lighting and particle effects and unparalleled storytelling sequences. Really, these are fabulous. There are some crazy new water reflections and transparencies. Without giving too much away, one character, a ninja named Gray Fox who can turn transparent, features some of the best refraction effects I've seen in a game. All of the atmospheric elements, from snow and rain to fire and smoke, look outstanding. And the game even runs in progressive scan mode. The only downside is that the framerate appears to be unstable, even in this late build. It slows a bit here and there in outside areas, but usually stays at 60 frames per second in indoor environments.

I'm not finished with the title, but I hope to be so by tomorrow. Still, I can safely state that anybody who has never played Metal Gear before will likely receive Twin Snakes as something of a treasure. And anybody looking for a title with a 'solid' blend of action and story will be thrilled.

Metal Mario · 02-06-2004, 03:57 PM

*Source: IGN

Konami, Nintendo, and Silicon Knights have all introduced new extras -- references, if you will -- to the GameCube action-stealth offering which help make it unique. While many of these additions may go unnoticed by the untrained observer, we think that Konami, Nintendo and Silicon Knights fans alike will be very pleased. We've listed just a few examples below.

Twin Snakes is set to the backdrop of an Alaskan facility that has been overrun by terrorists. There are many rooms in this giant industrial base and a select few of them house some very special references. There are pictures of Hideo Kojima, who created Metal Gear; Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo fame and Denis Dyack, president of Silicon Knights, which co-developed the title. But that's just the beginning.

One of the characters in the game, a fellow named Hal Emmerich, is more or less the man in charge of the Metal Gear project. His office is home to an intense battle between Snake and Ninja. But it's also the keeper of several Konami, Nintendo and Silicon Knights items. Emmerich explains to Snake that he is a huge fan of anime, and as he does so a cut-scene kicks in which shows actual footage of Konami's ZOE: Anubis shooter for PlayStation 2 mixed with actual anime. Kojima fans will love it.

After the battle, Snake is free to explore the room and this is where a number of other references are revealed. A computer rests atop a desk and on its screen is the GameCube boot-up interface. Next to the computer sit both an indigo colored GameCube and a Wave Bird. (The console does not appear to be wired to any monitor or electrical outlet, but we'll forgive the designers anyway.) Snake can pull out one of his guns and blast the computer monitor away, at which point the screen will fizzle with electricity and break apart. Pump a few shots into the GameCube and it'll take bullet damage and jump into air upon impact.

Just across the room atop a broken set of computers sit Yoshi and Mario figurines. Both can be shot with Snake's weapon for different results. Pop a few caps into Yoshi's head and he'll delight "Yoshi!" over and over. Shoot Mario and a classic '1 UP' will appear above the plumber's head; it's accompanied by the extra life chime featured in so many Mario games of past. Blasting the Italian mascot can have an added benefit. Snake's health increases by a small margin for every bullet shot at Mario. It's very helpful.

In the PS1 build of Metal Gear, Snake gets a dirty magazine with girlie pictures in it and he can use it to distract guards throughout the base. In Twin Snakes, the magazine features pictures of Alexandra Roivas, the female lead in Silicon Knights' psychological thriller Eternal Darkness. Sexy! Other Eternal Darkness photos, including the logo, are featured on various whiteboards throughout the title.

In another room not far away, a computer monitor shows off Silicon Knights' official website for Eternal Darkness.

On top of everything else, one of the greatest villains ever, Psycho Mantis, has a few things to say about Nintendo this time around. Readers who played the original version may remember that Mantis was able to tell players what their favorite games were by reading save data stored on the PS1 memory card. He does the same thing on Cube so if anybody has a Zelda save on his or her memory card then be prepared to hear about it from Mantis.

That's it for now. But we're only half way through the game. We expect to find more videogame-related references throughout Snake's mission as we progress further.

02-07-2004, 01:01 PM

Cool. I heard there's going to be a few small changes to the storyline to go in depth of the relationship between Solid Snake and Liquid Snake.
Who knows, Solidus Snake might be in it briefly.

02-05-2004, 03:16 PM	#1
Metal Mario Game Brain Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 14,262 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Points: 8,061.00 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 8,061.00 Donate	*Source: IGN I'm only about two hours through the game now, mostly because I've spent the majority of the day processing movies and screens, but I'm having a lot of fun. Twin Snakes begins in the same way and follows the same storyline first featured in the original game. Solid Snake, a rough, gruff operative, is sent in on a stealth mission to infiltrate an Alaskan nuclear missile facility overrun by terrorists. He's supposed to rescue a DARPA official, but the game's unpredictable plot takes you much deeper into the enemy's hideout, where you'll learn that a plan has been hatched to use a high-tech military machine, the Metal Gear, to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting. It's up to you to kick ass and take names, as it were. If you've never played Metal Gear before then you should know that this is one of the most stylistic franchises around, and the GameCube update stays true to that. The music is gorgeous. The voice work is very well acted, for the most part. And the cinematography and choreography are second to none. Konami actually enlisted the services of Japanese film director and writer Ryuhei Kitamura to create stunning new versions of the old cinematics complete with acrobatics like something out of The Matrix movies. It all looks fabulous. The improvements are immediately noticeable. Not only are the visuals far more detailed -- Snake is now high-polygon, features crisp facial textures and a bandana complete with swaying cloth physics, for instance -- but the presentation is more polished. In the original game, Snake swam realistically underwater, but in the GCN build the character also twirls around as he makes his way through it. It's not a drastic change, but it's noticeable -- and it's a cooler. In the PS1 build, Snake jettisons through seawater in his one-man capsule; in the GCN update he also avoids underwater lasers. Get the point? These are just some of the minor differences. The major differences become apparent after the cut-scenes are over and the gameplay starts. Just as in the original game, Snake is moved around with the analog stick. There are two degrees of digital control: walk and run. He can move left and right, forward and backward with very few limits. If you press the character against a wall he'll position his back to it and when he does the camera changes views, zooming inward on the action. This allows Snake to shimmy along walls, which gives him a view of potential enemies without giving himself away. It's pretty standard stealth stuff by today's standard, but Metal Gear invented it back in the day. The GCN version is different in that -- by holding the L and R buttons, Snake can peek his head out and look to the left or right of a wall. He can likewise do this when he's in the middle of a wall, just to see what lies up ahead to the left or to the right. It's very effective. Hit the Z button and the hero will go into first-person view with full analog control; no limits to where you can look around. It's a very nice option, especially since Twin Snakes looks so good. Hit the X button and the character will duck and crawl, essential for maneuvering underneath objects. Tap the B to punch, punch and then roundhouse kick enemies. Y button is used for most actions, like opening doors. And A button shoots Snake's weapon or triggers his explosive. The setup initially takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it everything seems to work well. Snake can now shoot down enemies in first-person view. I like this addition a lot as it's very useful. No more aiming in third-person and hoping that you got your guy -- instead, just point and shoot, done. In addition, the character can knock out and drag enemies along, open and hide inside lockers, and hang from ledges -- all not possible in the original title, but in Metal Gear Solid 2 for PlayStation 2. You could really call The Twin Snakes a combination of the two games as it employs the story and level design of the first game mixed with the abilities and graphic beauty of the second. There is a lot of humor mixed into the adventure. In one cut-scene, the camera centers on a guard going to the bathroom. In another, a man lies naked on the ground with his buttocks censored by a pixelated bar. And some of the dialogue is downright priceless. On the technical side, I'm mostly very pleased so far. The game is gorgeous. Superior detail. Amazingly realistic character models, fluid animation, big worlds overflowing with crisp textures, excellent lighting and particle effects and unparalleled storytelling sequences. Really, these are fabulous. There are some crazy new water reflections and transparencies. Without giving too much away, one character, a ninja named Gray Fox who can turn transparent, features some of the best refraction effects I've seen in a game. All of the atmospheric elements, from snow and rain to fire and smoke, look outstanding. And the game even runs in progressive scan mode. The only downside is that the framerate appears to be unstable, even in this late build. It slows a bit here and there in outside areas, but usually stays at 60 frames per second in indoor environments. I'm not finished with the title, but I hope to be so by tomorrow. Still, I can safely state that anybody who has never played Metal Gear before will likely receive Twin Snakes as something of a treasure. And anybody looking for a title with a 'solid' blend of action and story will be thrilled.

02-06-2004, 03:57 PM	#2
Metal Mario Game Brain Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 14,262 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Points: 8,061.00 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 8,061.00 Donate	*Source: IGN Konami, Nintendo, and Silicon Knights have all introduced new extras -- references, if you will -- to the GameCube action-stealth offering which help make it unique. While many of these additions may go unnoticed by the untrained observer, we think that Konami, Nintendo and Silicon Knights fans alike will be very pleased. We've listed just a few examples below. Twin Snakes is set to the backdrop of an Alaskan facility that has been overrun by terrorists. There are many rooms in this giant industrial base and a select few of them house some very special references. There are pictures of Hideo Kojima, who created Metal Gear; Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo fame and Denis Dyack, president of Silicon Knights, which co-developed the title. But that's just the beginning. One of the characters in the game, a fellow named Hal Emmerich, is more or less the man in charge of the Metal Gear project. His office is home to an intense battle between Snake and Ninja. But it's also the keeper of several Konami, Nintendo and Silicon Knights items. Emmerich explains to Snake that he is a huge fan of anime, and as he does so a cut-scene kicks in which shows actual footage of Konami's ZOE: Anubis shooter for PlayStation 2 mixed with actual anime. Kojima fans will love it. After the battle, Snake is free to explore the room and this is where a number of other references are revealed. A computer rests atop a desk and on its screen is the GameCube boot-up interface. Next to the computer sit both an indigo colored GameCube and a Wave Bird. (The console does not appear to be wired to any monitor or electrical outlet, but we'll forgive the designers anyway.) Snake can pull out one of his guns and blast the computer monitor away, at which point the screen will fizzle with electricity and break apart. Pump a few shots into the GameCube and it'll take bullet damage and jump into air upon impact. Just across the room atop a broken set of computers sit Yoshi and Mario figurines. Both can be shot with Snake's weapon for different results. Pop a few caps into Yoshi's head and he'll delight "Yoshi!" over and over. Shoot Mario and a classic '1 UP' will appear above the plumber's head; it's accompanied by the extra life chime featured in so many Mario games of past. Blasting the Italian mascot can have an added benefit. Snake's health increases by a small margin for every bullet shot at Mario. It's very helpful. In the PS1 build of Metal Gear, Snake gets a dirty magazine with girlie pictures in it and he can use it to distract guards throughout the base. In Twin Snakes, the magazine features pictures of Alexandra Roivas, the female lead in Silicon Knights' psychological thriller Eternal Darkness. Sexy! Other Eternal Darkness photos, including the logo, are featured on various whiteboards throughout the title. In another room not far away, a computer monitor shows off Silicon Knights' official website for Eternal Darkness. On top of everything else, one of the greatest villains ever, Psycho Mantis, has a few things to say about Nintendo this time around. Readers who played the original version may remember that Mantis was able to tell players what their favorite games were by reading save data stored on the PS1 memory card. He does the same thing on Cube so if anybody has a Zelda save on his or her memory card then be prepared to hear about it from Mantis. That's it for now. But we're only half way through the game. We expect to find more videogame-related references throughout Snake's mission as we progress further.

02-07-2004, 01:01 PM	#3
AgentYoda Guest Posts: n/a Points: 0 Bank: 0 Total Points: 0 Donate	Cool. I heard there's going to be a few small changes to the storyline to go in depth of the relationship between Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. Who knows, Solidus Snake might be in it briefly.