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Dyack Talks Metal Gear Solid - Twin Snakes

Posted by simoniker on from the solid-human-darkness dept.

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."

20 comments

  1. Worst Idea Ever... by Goldberg's+Pants · · Score: 1, Interesting

    MGS 2: Sons of Liberty was lambasted for it's endless cutscenes but was jaw droppingly gorgeous at the time.

    MGS 2: Substance is actually very good. The full Sons of Liberty game, PLUS a whole pile of extra missions, not to mention a ton of VR missions. Awesome stuff. (And the soundtrack is fantastic.)

    And then they announce this, a remake of the original from the PSX. Am I the only one intensely disappointed with this? I mean Substance is a good idea, take the original and add tons and tons of stuff on top. Marvellous, but to remake the original? That's just lame.

    1. Re:Worst Idea Ever... by Babbster · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Lame? Offering one of the best games that ever hit the Playstation (I would argue that it's number one, myself) in a new, upgraded, expanded form? I don't think that's lame at all.

      It's particularly "unlame" because they've ALREADY announced a true sequel in "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" to be released next year. Add to that what is apparently going to be a very short development time (at least relative to when they made the announcement) giving us what could be called an "extra" Metal Gear Solid before the end of this year, and your assessment reads as foolish whining.

    2. Re:Worst Idea Ever... by hibiki_r · · Score: 1

      Substance was a pretty weak remake IMO. VR missions and some small missions do not make a game. Every single complaint I've heard about Sons of Liberty was about the game's pacing and the story. Metal Gear Solid is a much better game, so it's a better target for a remake

      I expect Twin Snakes to be as much of a Remake as the Resident Evil remake was: The main story and main areas stay the same, some areas are added in, and the graphics and cutscenes are improved. I really liked how RE and RE0 games on the GC turned out. I think that Silicon Knights can make something just as good.

    3. Re:Worst Idea Ever... by C0LDFusion · · Score: 1

      My complaint about substance is that I was told I could play Pliskin or Snake in the Plant. I wanted to do that, dammit!

      --
      Only in slashdot are posts of solidarity modded at -1 Redundant, while posts of antagonism are modded as -1 Flamebait.
    4. Re:Worst Idea Ever... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Snake Eater'.. bwhahahahhaa :'-)

    5. Re:Worst Idea Ever... by Goldberg's+Pants · · Score: 1

      Love to know how the fuck my comments were modded a troll. Thanks idiot mod!

      It's lame because it's remaking an existing product. Just like "The Italian Job" remake will suck hard, remakes are a sign of bankrupt creativity.

      MGS 3, sure, I'll be there. I LOVE Metal Gear. Don't get me wrong, the original is a classic, as is SOL.

      Instead of wasting time and resources on remaking an existing title, especially when there's a better one out there (the sequel), make a new damn game.

      What next? Sony porting the original Gran Turismo? Gimme a break...

    6. Re:Worst Idea Ever... by Chemical · · Score: 1
      I first played Metal Gear Solid after I had finished MGS2, and even though the first game had poorer graphics and more limited gameplay mechanics, I thought it was a superior game on the whole. A remake of MGS would be incredible and I will probably buy a Gamecube just for this.

      Of course, what I would really love to see is a remake of Final Fantasy 7. That would be truely amazing. Probably will never happen though. Square isn't that kind of company

  2. Games quality and complexity by Mensa+Babe · · Score: 1

    Great article. I wonder when will consoles get to the point, where personal computers are now, quality- and speed-wise. I think, that as soon as they achieve that goal, they will really start to push gamers' PC's out of the market. (Lindows, anyone?) Great reading though.

    --
    Karma: Positive (probably because of superiour intellect)
  3. VR Missions by quandrum · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Anyone remember the seperate VR Missions game that came out after MGS? I really hope they include that. I almost had more fun doing those than playing the real game...

  4. Incredible to see, but why? by Monkeylaser · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I'll be the first to admit I adore Metal Gear, and maybe not every gamer currently playing games is familiar with the playstation title, I don't see why it is necessary to remake the title at this time, especially for the Gamecube, which has a relatively limited market within the United States, which is odd, considering that the Metal Gear series has always sold better in the USA, when compared to the sales of the series in Japan.

    That being said, I'll seriously consider getting myself a Gamecube if only to play this game, and Metroid prime but... A new metal gear title rather than a rehashed one would seem from my perspective to be evidence of more substantive support for the gamecube, rather than something which, while selling well, will essentially be nothing new aside from the addition of some game mechanics that weren't previously featured.

    I don't think the thrill of playing this rehash will replicate the 2 days off I took from college in order to beat the original metal gear solid. Living out of my neighbor's dorm room and only stopping for sleep and pizza. This game put a serious dent in my GPA when it initially came out, unlike the sons of liberty which took about 4 hours of total playing time to defeat.

    In the sense that another generation of gamers will experience what I consider to be a piece of gaming history, it will be fantastic, but still... I cannot keep myself from wondering why two original metal gear titles could not have been released.

    1. Re:Incredible to see, but why? by C0LDFusion · · Score: 1

      From what I've seen in the preview videos and such, this game will have the same STORY, but it will be very different in form and process. I believe it'll probably be more difficult ("European Extreme", please?).

      Besides, I still play MGS1 from time to time, and I keep finding myself wishing I could do have the things I can do in MGS2, like aim for the head, tranq someone, or hold them up.

      --
      Only in slashdot are posts of solidarity modded at -1 Redundant, while posts of antagonism are modded as -1 Flamebait.
    2. Re:Incredible to see, but why? by zonker · · Score: 0

      they are making it for the cube because nintendo and konami have been working closely together and they got the rights to have their second party, silicon knights, to make the game...

      --

      Large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

  5. Right Idea, Wrong Remake by Painaxl · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Remaking MGS is great, don't get me wrong. I played through it on the PSX, then on the DC using Bleemcast (which was quite cool, I might add). It is, easily, one of the 10 best games out of the far too many that I've played in my lifetime.

    I just think they remade the wrong game.

    The original two Metal Gear games (MG2 for the MSX, not Snake's Revenge, bleh), while frustratingly hard and not graphically beautiful, had interesting plots and are referred to in the Metal Gear Solid series. Metal Gear was the first game I had for the Nintendo (my cousin gave it to me when I was 8), I hated it. I later read a book in the young adult section of my library that was a novelized version of the story and loved it (I really would like to find it again, but don't know who released it). I went back and played the game years later and loved it. MG2 was never released for a major console, just the MSX computer system. It had the first radar utility and was also very good story wise. It's a quality premise and with a nextgen system around it, both titles would shine.

    Just think that if you really want to get a new generation of gamers into a (potentially) very good game that they haven't already played, you need to go a little farther back.

  6. Speaking of remakes.... by Devir · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Why not go back to the 80's and pull up the original "Metal Gear". This is the NES original that started the whole Solid Snake thing in the first place. Give it fresh new graphics, and put it on the GC.

    When Metal Gear SOlid came out on PSX, no one I spoke with even heard of the original.

    1. Re:Speaking of remakes.... by Babbster · · Score: 1
      I would certainly be up for this. Metal Gear was a blast. I think the problem, though, is two-fold: Moving the game from 2D to 3D (they would have to do it so as to sell a good number of units - 2D action is just too niche) would require rethinking (reimagining, if you will) every level of the game. Plus, there's less incentive because the original Metal Gear just wasn't even close to the hit that Metal Gear Solid (and 2) was. As you yourself pointed out, few people even realize that Metal Gear was a great NES game.

      Besides, much as I appreciate the fact that MGS is coming back for the Gamecube, especially since it's not replacing a true sequel, I think we need to discourage developers from looking backward so much and rehashing so many games. Looking forward should be more interesting and it doesn't ruin our hazy, rose-colored memories of gaming youth. :)

    2. Re:Speaking of remakes.... by johannesg · · Score: 1
      You are absolutely right that the original Metal Gear games should be remade, but the NES version (released in 1988) was not the original. That honor goes to the MSX2 version, released in 1987.

      The MSX2 game was an excellent game, already featuring later elements like "Procure On Site", the codec, the adventure elements, etc. The NES game was just a shoot'em-up that had the Metal Gear name pasted on to generate some sales.

      If you haven't played them yet, go and download the MSX2 ROMs and a decent MSX emulator (fMSX, OpenMSX) and play them. If you want more after you're done continue with S.D. Snatcher - now there *really* is a game that needs a remake...

      Although Metal Gear 2 and S.D. Snatcher were never released in English, fans have long ago translated both games. Look around a bit for a translated version to get the most out of them.

  7. And for the love of God by spumoni_fettuccini · · Score: 1

    Let that boy have a decent hair cut. Don't bring back the mullet! Well mullet or not I'm weak I'll buy it.

    --
    -- Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.
  8. Hey Lookie! A trailer, too: by dbretton · · Score: 2, Interesting

    here

    Looks promising. However, Konami should shoot the guy who thougt that sliding text phrases all over the preview would "enhance" the trailer experience.
    ick!