Slashdot Mirror

Ant writes "GamesRadar.com is reporting that a Metal Gear Solid 3 demo was stolen from the E3 videogames expo by nefarious exhibition attendees, as, allegedly: 'L.A. Convention Center security staff were left flat-footed and red-faced yesterday as two unknown perps had it away with a copy of the MGS3: Snake Eater demo... The code snatchers were able to gain access to the PS2 demoing Snake's hotly anticipated jungle rumble by cracking the perspex case on one of the pods on the Sony stand."

Thanks to 1UP for its end-of-year summary feature, in which the site editors discuss the most intriguing and perkiest gaming events of the year, but also "look ahead at the newborn trends of 2004." Next year's particularly lusted-after games include Psychonauts ("Double Fine's Xbox platformer has been delayed a lot now, which can sometimes spell trouble, but I have faith in them to deliver something amazing when they do get around to it"), Metal Gear Solid 3 ("After the talking-heads nightmare of Metal Gear Solid 2, I can't wait to just trot off into the jungle and start killing people"), and Halo 2 ("With a gun in each hand and the ability to hijack vehicles, this one has the potential to be as popular as the first one continues to be.") Which games are you particularly looking forward to in 2004?

Thanks to 1UP for their interview with Denis Dyack of GameCube developers Silicon Knights, as he discusses former product Eternal Darkness and forthcoming conversion Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Dyack advances the theory that "...you'll see more collaborations, you're going to see a lot of mergers with developers... When they standardized the movie camera in, say, 1950, all the movie companies that told good stories became dominant, the major players that we know now... The same thing is going to happen in our industry." He further suggests that standardization of gaming hardware platform is "inevitable", saying "commoditization of technology" is coming to games, and comments: "Nintendo as a group has always emphasized the content of games, because that's where we think the value is, and we think that's what will become dominant."

Thanks to GamerDad for their editorial discussing the use of a PC/console's internal clock to drive gameplay. The article starts by looking at GBA title Boktai, which "...knows what the time of day is and adjusts the onscreen graphics and gameplay to coordinate with the conditions", and also applauds "...a number of notable games that have used the internal clock in a console to either drive gameplay or allow for timed release of features", referencing Nintendo's Animal Crossing in particular. But the author also advocates simpler time-based rewards, as used in titles like Ikaruga: "Instead of having all the goodies that come with repeated play be unlocked through tasks, how about releasing some of those things dependent on how many hours you spend playing a game?"

Thanks to PlanetGameCube for their new story pointing out Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes has been delayed into 2004, according to Nintendo and Konami's websites. This GameCube-exclusive "remix of the PSone classic, Metal Gear Solid" also has a new, (spoiler-filled, brief synopsis available) Tokyo Game Show trailer, showcasing the in-game cinematic direction by Japanese movie director Ryuhei Kitamura. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for PlayStation 2 also has a new Tokyo Game Show trailer (again, brief synopsis available), similar to the one shown at ECTS in London earlier in the month, and including many "scenes... seeping with James Bond flavor."

Thanks to PlanetGameCube for their new story pointing out Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes has been delayed into 2004, according to Nintendo and Konami's websites. This GameCube-exclusive "remix of the PSone classic, Metal Gear Solid" also has a new, (spoiler-filled, brief synopsis available) Tokyo Game Show trailer, showcasing the in-game cinematic direction by Japanese movie director Ryuhei Kitamura. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for PlayStation 2 also has a new Tokyo Game Show trailer (again, brief synopsis available), similar to the one shown at ECTS in London earlier in the month, and including many "scenes... seeping with James Bond flavor."

Thanks to IGN Cube for their new interview with Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack about Metal Gear Solid:The Twin Snakes, as he talks about this Winter 2003-due GameCube 'enhanced port' of the original MGS, including overall changes ("...one of the biggest enhancements is the ability to do all of the things you could do in Metal Gear Solid 2 in the Metal Gear Solid 1 world... there are all sorts of different [new] ways to finish a level"), AI upgrades ("...totally ramped up. I think it's safe to say that if you look at the AI from MGS2 then we're at [MGS] 2 and a half now"), and the Metal Gear Solid 2/VR Missions bonus rumors ("There will be extras, but there won't be another game in there.")

Courtesy of PlanetGamecube, we have their recently-typed-up E3 interview with Denis Dyack, the boss of Silicon Knights (Eternal Darkness), who are currently working on Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for Gamecube. This enhanced remake of the original Metal Gear Solid for Playstation is due out for Xmas 2003, and Dyack gives some hints as to how the original's content may be enhanced - "If you think about the first game and how it's all set up, and then think about the dynamics of the second game, it should be a completely new experience."

Rainier Wolfecastle writes "IGN.com is reporting Konami has confirmed that Metal Gear Solid 3 will be debuting at E3 next week in Los Angeles. There's no word on what will be shown, but if past shows are anything to go by, it's sure to be impressive." There's also a slightly Japlish-influenced teaser image on the Konami Japan site. But truly, how excited are you after the somewhat controversial (was it epoch-making, or just decent?) Metal Gear Solid 2?