Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

• Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

Overall, the second great release for Silicon Knights on the Cube with an M rated title, simply said they have done it again !

1. Villiens- This game packs some of the coolest villiens in video games. Im a big beleaver that a hero is only as good as the villien he or she is fighing agaist, and MGS TS did this perfectly.

2. Cut Scenes- With this version, you get WAY better cut scenes. Updated graphics help make this game more real, and will make it age way better.

3. Music- One of the biggest reason why this is better than the origanal is the great score with it. True, down to earth, ruthless operative music.

4. Story- This is one of the best games cuz the story is so that u dont know whats ganna happen next. Things just continue to happen and even with all that is happening, u must fight on.

The only thing I kinnda fround on is the matrix feel I was getting out of the cut scenes. But other than that, this movie is well worth the $40 price tag.

This game is excellent in every way. It takes the setting and cutscenes of the original Metal Gear Solid and combines it with Metal Gear Solid 2's gameplay. The levels have been rearranged so that this works. Snake can now shoot in first-person, drag guard's bodies, hang from rails...everything from MGS2.

Graphics are good, but Solid Snake looks kind of odd. Also, Otacon (dork) has no chin. Animation is identical to MGS2 (that means it's solid...heh heh).

Cutscenes are incredible; hands down, the best cutscenes in any videogame. Every single motion is completely motion-captured and looks great. All of the main characters have good voice actors (except Otacon), especially Ocelot (Patric Zimmerman), Liquid (Cam Clarke), and Ninja (Rob Paulsen).

The only complaint you might have is that the game is only 5-6 hours long (12 hours when playing it for the first time, and watching cutscenes while you're at it). There are six difficulty levels, though, so it could last you 30+ hours.

Highly recommended; the guys at Silicon Knights (developers of Eternal Darkness) have done it again.

The story follows Solid Snake, who has been recruited to go into a nuclear warhead base known as Shadow Moses Island. His mission is to rescue the DARPA chief Donald Anderson, and find out if the Terrorists have the ability to launch a nuclear strike, and stop them if they do. The storyline is fantastic. The story is filled with several plottwist but the problem with is that nothing new has been added. If you already played the Playstation version you know everything the story throws at you already. If you are going through the game for the first time then perhaps the problem is that near the end the game throws too much story at you. Still, it is an engrossing storyline that you'll be caught up in.

The game presents gameplay that is similar to its PS2 counterpart, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. It takes several gameplay elements and mixes them in to this restored version. For example, Snake can now aim and shoot in first person view. He can now shoot out cameras just like in MGS2. He can hang over ledges again and he can hold guards up for dog tags.

Likewise, guards also present much higher AI than they did in the original version. Much like MGS2 guards now hear and see better. Some guards also have to make status reports. If a guard does not report then a whole team is sent to check up on him. The other nice tweak is how much the game stresses stealth. If you kill a guard the body doesn't disappear but instead you have to hide it so that it's out of the way. You can also hide in lockers as well as stuff bodies in them.

Unfortunately this new version doesn't offer much to Snake's arsenal of weapons. He has the same weapons he did in the original version. The PSG-1, the Socom, the Nikita Missiles and all the like. The only new additions are an M9 Tranquilizer and a PSG1-T (a PSG1 with a Tranquilizer).

The boss battles are also very similar to the original. This is good and bad. The boss battles are still unique and fun (especially Psycho Mantis). But again, for those who have played the original they present nothing special.

The visual look of the game more than surpasses the original. The cinematics are more involving and more dramatically played out than before. The frame rate is excellent and the game doesn't lag much at all.

But the sound in this remake is different. The music is still good and more or less the same but the voices differ. The game uses the same script and dialogue from the original but the voices are different. Snake still has the same voice (David Hayter) but others like Dr. Naomi or Mei Ling don't and that's a shame because some of the new voices don't have the same emotion or dramatic likeness as the original game. But the voice acting isn't bad. It really is quite good, much better than in other games.

The other part that could be hard to swallow is how much time is actually spent playing the game. I don't mind a good story and the original game didn't have very long cutscenes but some gamers may feel that they watch more than they play. Especially those who didn't play the original. By far this is the most annoying part of the game. You watch a ten minute cutscene just to play for ten seconds. At least the cutscenes aren't as long as they are in the MGS2.

The Twin Snakes does feature a few mishaps however. The extras aren't very exciting. In fact, for a remake, the extras are disappointing. After you complete the game once you unlock an extra difficulty level. There's a demo theater in which you can watch all the cutscenes without having to play, but maybe they should've taken a DVD approach to that and let you choose your favorite scenes. However, those were the extras that were already in the original game. The NEW extras are simply dog tags and a boss survival mode. The boss survival mode lets you take on all the bosses in order with a single life guage.

Clearly, if you already own the original MGS on the Playstation this game probably isn't worth the buy on Gamecube. The amount of extras isn't a lot. The cinematics look a lot better but you really aren't getting anything other than better graphics. If you're new to the Metal Gear Series or haven't played the original MGS you may want to check this game out. But those who already own it may find it better to rent it or borrow it from a friend.

The Good+Remake of one of the greatest games of all time+Amazing graphics and sound+Engrossing storyline+Fun new gameplay elements

The Bad-Few extras for a remake-Those who already own this game won't get much out of the remake

• Games > More Systems > GameCube
• Games > More Systems > GameCube > Action

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