Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
DOOManiac
Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
<div class="IPBDescription">omg. DOOMeh is happy once more! :D</div><i>Word of warning: Don't post or start any "omg consoles suck" or "omg this game would be so better on __________ (insert other system)" crap in here, as I'll keep hitting that Report To Moderator button until one of us is banned. Do not get my post locked with your spam.</i>
<i>Secondary note: In this thread I'm going to assume most of you have NOT played MGS1, so therefore I'm not putting any spoilers in here. So others who post, please respect this as well and at least mark spoilers to the storyline beforehand.</i>
Overall: WOW. This game absolutely redeems Konami for the crap that was MGS2! :D
Its not perfect, but its damned good.
First off the bad (so that I can end on a positive note!)
- Some of the animation during cutscenes is a little.. wierd... not bad quality, just that they were really wierd about choosing the animations they did. Like snake panicing and waving his arms around when Baker forgets Meryl's codec frequency. Also some of the cutscenes are way too over the top, such as when snake dodges a concrete slab kicked at him soccer style by the cyborg ninja and when snake jumps on the missle fired from the stinger. And they tried to go for "matrix camera" effect waaay too much.
- The game is a LOT harder, specifically the AI. Man they pumped it way up there. Like, its 2x as hard on NORMAL as the AI from MGS2 on EXTREME. The AI has really been improved to be more realistic, as they have further cones of vision and super sensitive hearing.
- The controls take some getting used to, especially if you're a veteran of the series on PS2. It took me about 3 hours to not crouch when i meant to punch. Also not having a "lock on" button (L1 in MGS2 on PS2) really sucks. Other than that the controls are great though.
- When you set off an alarm sometimes the backup soldiers just spawn... They don't come in from a doorway, they just appear. I haven't bothered to look in FPS mode to see if you actually see them spawning in front of your eyes, but like if you set off an alert then they'll all of a sudden be inside a room you just came out of that doesn't have any other exits. Silly.
- Some of the dialog is different. You really won't notice though unless you have the original memorized like I do. In some places its actually changed for the better, but I curled up in a ball and cried when I heard Campbell say "Weapons of Mass Destruction". :( :( :(
- The voice acting is a lot different than the previews lead you to believe. If you're a fan of the original you can definately tell they rerecorded every line. Some lines don't have the same timing as they did in the original and that throws it off. Also the voice for Naomi is completely different (is it a different actress?) and poor sweet Mei Ling, while voiced by the same actress, no longer has her cute Chinese accent. Also Miller doesn't sound like his lines were read by a Ninja Turtle anymore.
- The M9 and the PGS1-T (tranquilizer weapons, for pacifist sissies) were retroactively put into the game. Boo. I am deliberately AVOIDING these weapons at all cost in protest while I snap every friggin neck I see.
But don't let that somewhat long list fool you. These are just a diehard Metal Gear fan's very very exact critiques of the game. You should have seen my MGS2 list... heh. MGS:TTS continues to rock my world and only to get some important homework done was I able to tear myself away long enough to write this post. :D
So now, a short summary of most of the games good points:
- The game is a LOT harder. While this is frustrating, it will indefinately add replay value and also it just won't go by so quick. If the game were on the difficulty level of the original I probably would have already beaten it by now, so I'm quite glad that I have not.
- The games visuals are absolutely stunning. I dunno what preview writers were smoking when they said the game wasn't as detailed as MGS2, because in my opinion its even MORE so. Character models look so much better. The screenshots and videos don't really do them justice either.
- The new cutscenes, for the most part, rock. While the actions can sometimes be silly (see above), for the most part they're a lot better. For example when Snake gets caught after fighting Sniper Wolf, he no longer just throws his hands up and surrenders as in the PSX version. He now fights them and an incredibly cool scene follows. And the fight between Snake and the Cyborg Ninja... mmmm...
- The music. One of my major concerns with this game was that they'd try to replace the music w/ MGS2 (or similar) music, which besides the main theme (which rocked) wasn't really good. It was good, but it didn't fit the setting or the theme of the game (highly japanese music in a highly american setting is silly). Thankfully, they kept most of the original MGS music, and even improved some of it!
- The sound effects. OMG. If you thought the MGS2 sound effects were good, you haven't heard anything yet. There's a sound for EVERYTHING in this game, and it all sounds completely top notch. Enemies, footsteps, metal planks, doors, even ambient sounds all sound much more awesome. The gunfire is perhaps my favorite, as it sounds absolutely incredible.
- They did not touch the MGS storyline. It is the EXACT same (unless you count the few minor dialog differences). Hooray! :D
Overall MGS:The Twin Snakes is a very excellent game that I highly recommend, ESPECIALLY if you're a fan of the series. If you have been saying "meh" to The Twin Snakes due to still having a copy of the original on PSX, at least rent this one. You'll probably really like it.
And if the only Metal Gear you've played is MGS2, you owe it to yourself to buy this one (and buy the gamecube to play it if you need to). Trust me, you'll thank me as MGS has the absolute best story I've ever seen in a video game.
<i>Secondary note: In this thread I'm going to assume most of you have NOT played MGS1, so therefore I'm not putting any spoilers in here. So others who post, please respect this as well and at least mark spoilers to the storyline beforehand.</i>
Overall: WOW. This game absolutely redeems Konami for the crap that was MGS2! :D
Its not perfect, but its damned good.
First off the bad (so that I can end on a positive note!)
- Some of the animation during cutscenes is a little.. wierd... not bad quality, just that they were really wierd about choosing the animations they did. Like snake panicing and waving his arms around when Baker forgets Meryl's codec frequency. Also some of the cutscenes are way too over the top, such as when snake dodges a concrete slab kicked at him soccer style by the cyborg ninja and when snake jumps on the missle fired from the stinger. And they tried to go for "matrix camera" effect waaay too much.
- The game is a LOT harder, specifically the AI. Man they pumped it way up there. Like, its 2x as hard on NORMAL as the AI from MGS2 on EXTREME. The AI has really been improved to be more realistic, as they have further cones of vision and super sensitive hearing.
- The controls take some getting used to, especially if you're a veteran of the series on PS2. It took me about 3 hours to not crouch when i meant to punch. Also not having a "lock on" button (L1 in MGS2 on PS2) really sucks. Other than that the controls are great though.
- When you set off an alarm sometimes the backup soldiers just spawn... They don't come in from a doorway, they just appear. I haven't bothered to look in FPS mode to see if you actually see them spawning in front of your eyes, but like if you set off an alert then they'll all of a sudden be inside a room you just came out of that doesn't have any other exits. Silly.
- Some of the dialog is different. You really won't notice though unless you have the original memorized like I do. In some places its actually changed for the better, but I curled up in a ball and cried when I heard Campbell say "Weapons of Mass Destruction". :( :( :(
- The voice acting is a lot different than the previews lead you to believe. If you're a fan of the original you can definately tell they rerecorded every line. Some lines don't have the same timing as they did in the original and that throws it off. Also the voice for Naomi is completely different (is it a different actress?) and poor sweet Mei Ling, while voiced by the same actress, no longer has her cute Chinese accent. Also Miller doesn't sound like his lines were read by a Ninja Turtle anymore.
- The M9 and the PGS1-T (tranquilizer weapons, for pacifist sissies) were retroactively put into the game. Boo. I am deliberately AVOIDING these weapons at all cost in protest while I snap every friggin neck I see.
But don't let that somewhat long list fool you. These are just a diehard Metal Gear fan's very very exact critiques of the game. You should have seen my MGS2 list... heh. MGS:TTS continues to rock my world and only to get some important homework done was I able to tear myself away long enough to write this post. :D
So now, a short summary of most of the games good points:
- The game is a LOT harder. While this is frustrating, it will indefinately add replay value and also it just won't go by so quick. If the game were on the difficulty level of the original I probably would have already beaten it by now, so I'm quite glad that I have not.
- The games visuals are absolutely stunning. I dunno what preview writers were smoking when they said the game wasn't as detailed as MGS2, because in my opinion its even MORE so. Character models look so much better. The screenshots and videos don't really do them justice either.
- The new cutscenes, for the most part, rock. While the actions can sometimes be silly (see above), for the most part they're a lot better. For example when Snake gets caught after fighting Sniper Wolf, he no longer just throws his hands up and surrenders as in the PSX version. He now fights them and an incredibly cool scene follows. And the fight between Snake and the Cyborg Ninja... mmmm...
- The music. One of my major concerns with this game was that they'd try to replace the music w/ MGS2 (or similar) music, which besides the main theme (which rocked) wasn't really good. It was good, but it didn't fit the setting or the theme of the game (highly japanese music in a highly american setting is silly). Thankfully, they kept most of the original MGS music, and even improved some of it!
- The sound effects. OMG. If you thought the MGS2 sound effects were good, you haven't heard anything yet. There's a sound for EVERYTHING in this game, and it all sounds completely top notch. Enemies, footsteps, metal planks, doors, even ambient sounds all sound much more awesome. The gunfire is perhaps my favorite, as it sounds absolutely incredible.
- They did not touch the MGS storyline. It is the EXACT same (unless you count the few minor dialog differences). Hooray! :D
Overall MGS:The Twin Snakes is a very excellent game that I highly recommend, ESPECIALLY if you're a fan of the series. If you have been saying "meh" to The Twin Snakes due to still having a copy of the original on PSX, at least rent this one. You'll probably really like it.
And if the only Metal Gear you've played is MGS2, you owe it to yourself to buy this one (and buy the gamecube to play it if you need to). Trust me, you'll thank me as MGS has the absolute best story I've ever seen in a video game.
Comments
Not touched at all. You'll find no Patriots here!
Not touched at all. You'll find no Patriots here! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Wohoo!!
/runs to a store....
Gotta get this!!
/stops
Wait.... I don't have Gamecube.... Oh well, my friend has it <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I'm not sure yet if I will buy Twin Snakes, but it sure looks and seems very good after reading your impressions.
Snake Eater defiantly looks good too though.
Nicely written DOOM. Though if you ever want to write "Professionally" for a mag or anything- try writing paragraphs that flow. But I bet you don't wanna <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I only have an XBOX and a PC. Which would be my best bet for a first MGS experience?
It still looks awsome, which is why I'm going to wait. Im sure they will release it on XBOX or PC sometime.....they....they have to....... <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
/me approaches Doomeh to snap his neck
(If this sounds extreme to anyone, you must realize that I am second only to Doomeh in the fandom of MGS. We commonly have battles of MGS knowledge, and he pwns me only because he has no life ;D.)
/me approaches Doomeh to snap his neck
(If this sounds extreme to anyone, you must realize that I am second only to Doomeh in the fandom of MGS. We commonly have battles of MGS knowledge, and he pwns me only because he has no life ;D.) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Awsome, you like the dead kennedys! WEwewewtwetw!
Back on topic....gamespot gave it like an 8.4 I think. not too shabby, but what are the overall big changes in it?
/me approaches Doomeh to snap his neck
(If this sounds extreme to anyone, you must realize that I am second only to Doomeh in the fandom of MGS. We commonly have battles of MGS knowledge, and he pwns me only because he has no life ;D.) <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Awsome, you like the dead kennedys! WEwewewtwetw!
Back on topic....gamespot gave it like an 8.4 I think. not too shabby, but what are the overall big changes in it? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thats because Gamespot sucks.
Gamyspy forevar.
i skipped friggin school today so i could run out at 1030 to EB games to get a copy... they didn't even open the box it shipped in when i got there! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
i really like this game, and am not disappointed at all. sure, snake DID look silly freakin out over the old guys poor memory, and i feel it's a lot easier to do stuff (due to all the new things you can do, like hang over rails and first person shooting), but that stuff doesnt effect me negatively at all. it's just an overall kick **** game.
go buy it. NOW!
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->So would you recommend this as my first Metal Gear game?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Oh yes. God yes. Yes very much so.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I only have an XBOX and a PC. Which would be my best bet for a first MGS experience?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The original MGS was ported to PC in 2000 and it was suprisingly great! However, it is completely broken with Windows XP and I'll assume 2000, so unless you're running win98/ME there's no luck there. In fact, you can still download <a href='http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bb8c686b-26be-408b-8845-fe60f14298e1&DisplayLang=en' target='_blank'>the demo</a> (dunno if demo is any good or if it even still works).
The X-Box version of MGS2 is inferior to anything that moves due to some technical errors (low framerates. very low) and a downright horrible control scheme. But its only like $15 now so if you really wanna play it then go ahead. My friend bought it and ended up having to buy an adapter to play w/ a PS2 controller on the x-box though cause it was so wierd.
There is an okay at best port of MGS2 for PC but 1) its only available in DVD format 2) its only worth playing if you pickup a ps2-knockoff style controller for $12 or so (has to have dual analog + 10 buttons, preferably in ps2 layout) and 3) its really hard to find since sales of it pretty much flopped.
Also if you have a GBA or Gameboy Color check out METAL GEAR SOLID (Metal Gear: Ghost Babel is the original name if you're in Europe or Japan) for Gameboy Color. It is actually the second best Metal Gear game I've ever played, as it mixes some elements from Metal Gear Solid w/ the classic 2D overhead stuff from the first 2 Metal Gears. You can usually find it in used game shops for around $15-$20 or probably cheaper than that on eBay.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I heard it was practically the same as the old one....like nothing different at all.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
All content is redone to be up to par with modern day games. Player models, textures, sound effects, etc. Also the game features the gameplay mechanics of MGS2 (which were quite a bit different than MGS1). If you only thought MGS or MGS2 were 'okay' then you may want to rent this one first before committing a large chunk of $.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Do the bosses have the same patterns?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I've only had time to fight Ocelot, and I couldn't tell any difference in his patterns. Then again I killed him in like 10 seconds so I couldn't really judge. The regular troops movements however are similar to the previous game but tweaked enough that if you have it all memorized (as I do) you will be thrown off.
And glad you guys liked the "review" I did. :)
Don't want to give any spoilers, but I didn't really want to use the PAL key...if you get what I mean, but I suppose you have to.
Are there any extras? do they still have all the briefing videos, and the training missions? (and other stuff I can't remember because I haven't played it in...3 years or something)
As far as the VR Training goes, sadly that didn't make it in :( :( :(
[edit]
P.S. Psycho Mantis has some new tricks apparently ;)
[/edit]
EDIT: And I'd pwn you with my MGS knowledge <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Not touched at all. You'll find no Patriots here! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
You should find minor references that you only pick up after having played MGS2 but they were in the original MGS anyway, I can't remember the exact references but they are there cryptically hidden away.
And BigMadSteve: No, the original MGS has not aged well at all. :( Also, I challenge you to an MGS knowledge duel!
/me slaps BigMadSteve with a cardboard box
"you have not saved often. you are quite reckless" etc etc was just amazing.
And as I said, Psycho Mantis also has a few brand new tricks that makes his fights a lot more.. Interesting. heh.
But don't say any more, least there may be spoilers for the silly nubs who haven't played yet ;)
And BigMadSteve: No, the original MGS has not aged well at all. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> Also, I challenge you to an MGS knowledge duel!
/me slaps BigMadSteve with a cardboard box <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's a shame. I'm glad I haven't played it then. I borrowed it from a friend and he didn't get it back for a very long time. He wasn't happy <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Is this a MGS 1 knowledge duel or MGS in general? I'll hit you with my first question. If we can't do it here then I'm sure there can be somewhere else.
What kind of boat was the Tanker in MGS 2 meant to be originally?
Where did the nuclear bombers take off from in MGS 1? (towards the end, after you destroy Metal Gear Rex)
Also Bigmadsteve, I'm <b>sure</b> I know the answer to your question, it's on the tip of my tongue.... argh.
(yes I played the PC version and yes, it rocked as much if not moreso than the PSX version)
Also Bigmadsteve, I'm <b>sure</b> I know the answer to your question, it's on the tip of my tongue.... argh.
(yes I played the PC version and yes, it rocked as much if not moreso than the PSX version) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Bwahahah. You'll hit yourself if I told you the answer. It's one of those things that sticks in my mind.
Sorry to mention this question if you aren't at that area yet.