The game has been re-engineered by Silicon Knights, the company responsible for the much under-rated Eternal Darkness. It seems that, although they obviously had an original target set for them and were under constant supervision from Hideo Kojima (the director of the original Metal Gear Solid), Silicon Knights are definitely carving and niche for themselves and developing their own style. I don't think it'll be long till they're regarded in high-esteem, such as previous Nintendo second-party Rare. The game follows the same traditions as it's PSone counter-part, you play as Solid Snake, and have to sneak, punch, shoot, hide, crawl etc. to infiltrate an enemy base, and take out a weapon of devastating potential: Metal Gear - capable of launching nuclear warheads undetectable by radar targeted for anywhere on the planet. As the game progresses, events transpire that reveal this is not so much of a terrorist act, and more of an act towards world domination.

   The controls for the game are set out beautifully. With the Nintendo-devotees working on the title, you can tell that they have developed Nintendo's awareness for the need to be comfortable with the way the game is controlled. All the actions are simple to perform, with a press of the Y button controlling most of the action features, L+R bringing up your inventories and A and B being you attack buttons. A press of the X button will command Solid Snake to duck and moving the analogue stick will perform a crawl. There seems to be very little disorientation due to the controls, which is essential when the heat picks up and four guards are chasing you down a tight, twisty corridor. The new moves in Snakes arsenal add a little more depth but never seem out of place when compared to his previous moves list.

   The graphics are well above par. Although not looking stunning, they bring the title in league with the hottest looking PlayStation2, Xbox and GameCube games available. This is actually better than it sounds. There's no (noticeable) drops in frame-rate, no polygon pop-up and very little "fuzz", I'm sure it's more of a case of not actually being able to do much new with the grey/black textures of a nuclear facility! The cut-scenes are fantastic. Much time has obviously been dedicated to bringing to life the story. The length of the cut-scenes has been extended in many places, and the story now seems a lot more complete, if a bit Hollywood at times. The problem with this added story detail, is that at times it can feel as though you're actually watching a film, with little bits of gameplay interspersed between the scenes, not as though they're there just to advance the plot of the game you are playing. The sound is impeccable, as we've come to expect from Factor5's system of preference, utilising their MoSyS system as most first and second party Nintendo releases do.

   The game offers more to Metal Gear fans than any previous title, but the lack of any VR Missions means that the replay value is limited. The hardcore amongst us will insist on obtaining every soldiers Dog-Tag on every difficulty setting, but this, inevitably becomes a tiring exercise. This is the games major downfall; the lifespan. What really draws you to the game is the fact that, although it's a remake, it does seem like it's something completely fresh and new, and certainly offers more to the Stealth-'em-Up genre than Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, which is something completely unexpected (and the reason why the title has received a high Originality rating).

  As far as Metal Gear titles go, I have to say (and I'm surprising myself by saying this to!) that this is the best edition of the franchise I have ever played. To relive the finest moments of the world's first Stealth-based third-person adventure, to have it all wrapped up in this classical Nintendo charm, and for it to be delivered in such an exciting package. Upon playing this game for the first time, I felt that GoldenEye 007 feeling wash over me, something I haven't felt in a long time. Unfortunately, this game will not go down in history as the game that made a generation, as GoldenEye 007 did, due to the fact that it is a remake, and that the game, like the original, is over far too quickly. If you've played the title before, the first completion will take about 7-10 hours if you watch all the new cut-scenes-disappointing to say the least, but should really have been expected after the original's ease. All-in-all this is a very worthwhile package, and only falls short of receiving maximum acclaim due to it's rather brief lifespan.

Kev J.                                                                                                                  Reviews Score Table Interpretation.

29/03/04

Each of these articles has been written either independently of Electronic Theatre or by an external viewer. The opinions discussed in these articles in no way reflects the opinions of Electronic Theatre.

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