User Rating: 9.8 | Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes GC
By MikeL2u | Review Date:
Snake is back for some classic action and returns to a Nintendo console! I agree with "CyborgFrizzy" on most of what he said, but apparently he's only played the new games. When Hideo Kojima announced that he was joining forces with Shigeru Miyamoto to make an update to the most popular MG game in the series, a lot of MG vets just couldn't wait. For those not in the know, Metal Gear started on the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), not the Sony PlayStation. In 1987, Hideo Kojima made the first game in the series, titled just Metal Gear. The game stared Solid Snake. You may have heard of the story if you read about it in the history section of Metal Gear Solid. It took place in a place called Zanzibar. This is when Snake was still part of Fox Hound prior to his retirement. In his first mission, Roy Campbell ordered him to infiltrate the stronghold and kill Big Boss who he found out later was his father. The game actually appeared first on a computer system called the MSX. The MSX computer was a popular PC in Japan but not in the US. After it's success on the MSX it was then ported in Japan to the Nintendo Famicon (the name for the NES in Japan) 1 year later in 1988 and then followed later with the NES here in the US. About 2 years later Konami released the follow up to Metal Gear with Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the MSX-2 in Japan. However, when Konami decided not to port the sequel to the NES a company called Ultra Games made a fake version of Metal Gear 2 called Snake's Revenge that had nothing more then the title to do with the series, Konami or Hideo Kojima had no part in this game and it basically sucked. The next game would not come for another 8 years which we all know as Metal Gear Solid on the PS1. So when fans heard that the Metal Gear series was returning to a Nintendo console it was nothing less then huge. Just like Final Fantasy returned so has Metal Gear, and also just like Square's game, what fans have received is one hell of a package. One thing Nintendo has always done and I'm sure most will agree, is that it loves to please it's longtime fans and followers. If you have played Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear Solid: Integral (Import) on the original PlayStation or the PC, you won't notice many changes in terms of game play. The main thing that most fans complained about was how blocky the original was, especially in the faces. When Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was released, I remember telling my friend just after completing it, "If only Hideo Kojima would go back and remake the original with the graphics and game play of MGS2, oh I would be in 7th heaven." I always loved the story of the original and was disappointed with; like everyone else, with the story and plot of the sequel. The first MGS was always my favorite. I loved the idea of being in the cold Alaskan territory with lots of snow and cliffs, and especially the wolves. Vulcan Raven is best boss in my opinion. So when I heard that Konami was giving the rights to make an update to Silicon Knights I just couldn't believe it. My wish had been answered to the T. Not just an update with better graphics, I wanted all the MGS game play, like the tranquilizer dart gun and the first person mode. What a great game. If you have played the original then you won't notice anything new to the story or levels. But it is harder. The AI is much more better then it was on the PS. Even at times better then in MGS2. Just like in MGS2, guards will now hunt you and clear rooms which they did not do in the original, and even more I found then in MGS2, to the point of clearing rooms relentlessly not randomly. So if you played through MGS1 on the PS1, and think it's all the same that it's just as easy as before, your sadly mistaken. The guards are far more aware of spotting you then before, especially on the Harder settings. If your standing in a corner for instance before the guard would usually not see you on the harder settings, they will see you even if your not moving. As for the sound, most of the music and sounds are intact. I was a little alarmed at first when Mei Ling's voice was redubbed, no longer containing a Chinese accent, but after awhile she tells Snake she was born and raised in the USA, so I can see why the change is more relevant and more believable because she would not have an accent if she was born in the US. Another voice changed was Nastasha's, and although there is still a slight Russian accent left, it's not as apparent as the first. As for the music, most of the tracks remain but some have been remixed and replaced with remixed tracks from MGS2. The reason for this is because the Twin Snakes is supposed to be a mix of MGS 1 and 2, so Konami decided to use some of the music from MGS2 to make the game feel more electric and intense, whereas the original was more of a classical soundtrack MGS2 had more of a Hollywood Movie-Techno sound, and it goes better with many of the new re-done cinemas. In other words, Matrix movie style over an epic movie. In the end a great package for any MG fan. Whether you have played this before or not, you haven't played Twin Snakes, the new graphics and MGS2 game play really make it feel almost like a whole new game. Splinter Cell is a great game, but in my opinion Splinter Cell is boring compared to Metal Gear. It really comes down to what you like. I prefer my spy-stealth games to have a story and great music, along with great characters. Splinter Cell in my eyes had none of that. To me SC is just a game that says it can do things MGS can't. In my opinion SC is just a game for gadget freaks. SC is a great game, but it doesn't even really have music. The story is not very intriguing, and not even deserving of a Tom Clancy novel (which is not even based on any of his works), the story seems more like just a collection of different current events that have been heard of and done before in the news and other media. MGS on the other hand is like an interactive spy movie, while SC is more like a spy simulation. So like I said it really comes down to what you prefer. If you like your spy games to have a deep story and setup like a action film, then MGS is your ticket, but if you don't care for a story, characters or music, and just want a simulation with the most realistic spy experience you can get then get SC. What most of you MGS, SC lovers and haters are not getting is this. MGS was not created with the intent of being realistic, it was made to be "Exaggerated". That's what is called Exaggerated Action, much like in such movies as Mission Impossible 2, the Matrix and James Bond. That's why you don't always die from 1 shot and see such explosions and things that only a stunt man would live through, while in SC it's meant to be more realistic. SC is not meant to be like a movie, it's meant to be more of like a documentary or training simulation. So hope that helps when your deciding which game you like, but understand that before you judge either one next time.

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