Quote: Konami has announced that the official title for the GameCube Metal Gear game is Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and that it's currently in development at Silicon Knights, the development team behind Eternal Darkness. The game will feature revamped graphics, but it will contain the original Metal Gear Solid storyline. Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes is being developed under the supervision of Hideo Kojima and Shigeru Miyamoto.

“I am tremendously excited to introduce a unique Metal Gear Solid experience to a new audience of gamers as well as collaborate with my mentor in game design, Mr. Miyamoto, on Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes for Nintendo GameCube,” says Hideo Kojima, vice president, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, Inc.

“Mr. Kojima and I have spoken about this project for some time, and I’m excited our ideas have matched so perfectly,” adds Shigeru Miyamoto, senior managing director of Entertainment Analysis and Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd. “It’s this shared passion for game creation that has allowed us to collaborate to bring a special Metal Gear project exclusively for Nintendo GameCube.”

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is scheduled for release later this year in North America, but it will be on display at E3.

Quote:Metal Gear has been always proven to be a hot property. Essentially selling the PS2 before it was even released, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty had captured the hype and the imagination of people years before it was even playable. On the original PlayStation, Metal Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Action was considered a powerful killer app and was a hit with both critics and gamers. Combining compelling gameplay, an interesting plot coupled with professional voice-acting, and cinematic cutscenes, the game was an instant hit among PSX owners. Many Nintendo fans wished for the same action, but they were never offered a comparable experience on the N64.

Fast forward to the year 2003, and things have suddenly changed. A few months ago Mr. Miyamoto let it slip that there was indeed a Metal Gear Solid game in development for GameCube. Since then everyone has been wondering if this title is an entirely new game, a port of MGS2: SoL, or a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid.

The answer will probably come as a surprise. Nintendo's biggest coup from Konami stars none other than the world-renowned Solid Snake in a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid. Not only will the graphics be redone, but it has been rumoured that the game will utilize GBA connectivity for things such as Snake's radar and Codec. But here's the real kicker: the title is in development not in KCEJ, and not even at NCL. The team of people who have been assigned this difficult task is Silicon Knights, the creators of Eternal Darkness. Being that Silicon Knights is a second-party, it’s clear that Nintendo is putting up considerable cooperation and investment to bring Metal Gear Solid to the GameCube.

Graphically, the game is supposed to mirror the jump in quality that the Resident Evil remake saw, and knowing the sound aficionados at SK, the MGS will probably be redone in Dolby Pro Logic II. The game is still going to be published by Konami, but the title will be featured prominently at Nintendo's press conference and booth at E3. It's understandable how much Nintendo will be pushing this title, as it marks the first time since the NES that the Metal Gear series has graced a Nintendo platform.

Metal Gear Solid plays differently than most action titles. Controlling the world-famous spy Solid Snake, players are encouraged to sneak past the enemies instead of fighting. Snake has many moves and tools at his disposal, most significantly a radar that helps track enemy movement. By using this information along with his natural skills, Snake must infiltrate a supposed nuclear waste facility in effort to stop a band of terrorists from launching a nuclear weapon. By using weapons and items he finds on dead guards, or in the back of empty trucks, Snake will gather a considerable arsenal to combat the great number of opposing enemy soldiers.

Gameplay revolves around Snake avoiding soldiers by ensuring he isn't seen, heard, or caught on camera. Enemies have blind spots that can be exploited, and they can also be distracted by knocking on walls. Alternatively, you can hide behind walls and then pounce on the enemies, snapping their necks. This level of violence netted a Mature rating for the PSX original, and we can probably expect no less for the remake.

The story is a major part of the Metal Gear Solid games. A reluctant Solid Snake has been forced into helping his old commander, Jim Campbell, in turning back a terrorist threat on a nuclear waste disposal plant. Members of FOX-HOUND, his former squad, have rebelled and are now threatening to launch a nuclear missile with the giant Metal Gear mech. Since Snake is the only one who has taken out the mechanical beast multiple times, Jim Campbell and the Pentagon essentially blackmail the old secret service agent into complying. The story is told through frequent radio conversations and real-time cut-scenes.

We’re still gathering intelligence on this Metal Gear Solid remake. Expect hands-on impressions and plenty of commentary from Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack at E3.

Quote:If you look at games that I personally find very appealing, like Metal Gear Solid, they have huge amounts of flash and they've got the content as well. So I think that's the direction we're going to go in next time.

Quote:Originally posted by OB1
And how cool would it be if they were to make a cel-shading style that looked a lot like Shinkawa's incredible art? Imagine this in 3D:



It would be incredibly difficult to pull off, but maybe they could do it...

Quote:Originally posted by OB1
But it would be so cool! MGS2 is a very bland-looking game, and making it even more realistic may not be a good thing. Add some style to the game! Cel-shading does not equal cartoony, people. If they were to successfully recreate the incredible concept art from the game in 3D then it would be very mature, serious, and just plain incredible-looking.

Quote:Oh, and yes, cel-shading like that WOULD look great, but this game's style has already been decided with it's first release. Save this type of style for a later MG game.

Quote:Also, this is SK's first time making a MGS game so why not start by remaking the PSX one? It also means that they don't have to spend as much time on it as they would if it were 100% original. And we really want to see Too Human as soon as possible, right?

Quote:(which is impossible on a PSX, btw)