3DS review: Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D

Metal Gear Solid 3, the tale of how Naked Snake set out on the path to become Big Boss, and the effective starting point of the entire Metal Gear legacy, received a 3DS port early in the handheld’s life cycle. Much like Star Fox 64 3D, Ocarina of Time 3D, and Majora’s Mask 3D, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D is taken directly from its console version and reworked to fit the control scheme of the 3DS. However, unlike those other 3DS re-releases, Snake Eater 3D does not see any graphical upgrades from the Playstation 2 original. Which is not to say that the game is any less aesthetically pleasing or immersive than ten years ago, when it debuted – the jungles are lush and dense with greenery, the animals active, and the wandering patrols a constant threat to Snake’s location being exposed. The frame rate does, unfortunately, dip a bit during cutscenes where there are many characters or events on screen at the same time. Gameplay, however, is never hampered by this.

The touch screen is utilized wonderfully, as the stylus can be used to easily access Snake’s codec, medical supplies, and food items. Weapons and items have also been relegated to the touch screen, and nine of each can be set to be on-hand at any given time, while another icon allows you to swap those out with additional items that Snake picks up and stores in his supply pack. This cuts down significantly on switching up Snake’s loadouts, which were previously managed via a scroll wheel on the PS2 and HD Collection releases.

Snake can also draw his weapons and put them away with a press of the right shoulder button. However, a simple tap of the shoulder button will not suffice – you have to hold it down for a brief second, otherwise the input may not take. Given the stealth-heavy nature of Snake Eater 3D, this rarely proves problematic, save for a couple of the boss fights, wherein it can be mildly frustrating as you dodge attacks and attempt to quickly react to Snake’s supernaturally-powered foes. While not necessary for playing Snake Eater 3D, the 3DS’ Circle Pad Pro attachment is highly recommended for anyone already familiar with the button and joystick layouts on the home console releases. All in all, though, despite being a port of a game that whose original release was never designed with a handheld in mind, Snake Eater 3D runs very well on the system, and the new control scheme is handled wonderfully – far better than some would have suspected.

The voice acting is, of course, just as great as it was a decade ago on the PS2. David Hayter’s iconic Snake voice keeps players company for the majority of the adventure, with humor from support members Major Zero and Para-Medic often flying right over his head. Suzetta Minet portrays the sultry and quick-witted EVA, Neil Ross puts forth a commanding performance as sadistic villain Colonel Volgin, while Josh Keaton’s depiction of a young Ocelot is one of a lovable try-hard who often slips up in his own attempts to impress his superiors. A few new sequences of dialogue have been added to this 3DS release, covering the updated control scheme. All of the spoken dialogue, as well as the iconic soundtrack and titular theme song, come across clear and clean through the 3DS’ speakers.

Equally memorable to the voice work in Snake Eater 3D are the boss encounters with the members of the Cobra Unit. They remain as intense and varied as ever, seeing no alterations from their PS2 counterparts. More seasoned veterans of the Metal Gear series will likely opt for as stealthy a playthrough as possible, maximizing their camouflage percentage by pairing patterns and face paint to the surrounding environment to better avoid detection. The 3DS' camera can be utilized to make new camo patterns for Snake, though these are not as complex in nature as the game's pre-loaded camo options, and will always default to registering as the most prominent color within the picture that was taken, ignoring any less prominent colors that are a part of that same image.

For those new to the Metal Gear play style, there are plenty of weapons beyond the default silenced tranquilizer pistol that can be found in the jungle, including an AK-47, a short-barrel shotgun, an SDV sniper rifle, and a more lethal handgun, to name a few - just don't expect a warm welcome from Volgin's GRU forces if you fire loudly in their direction. Plenty of additional items and food rations can be missed, should you choose not to devote time to exploration. The 3DS' gyroscope is briefly used to balance Snake on branches and bridges, while the hidden collect-a-thon Kerotan statues have been replaced with the likeness of Mario’s green pal Yoshi.

A first time playthrough of Snake Eater 3D will likely push close to the twenty hour mark, while players who have beaten Snake Eater in the past and simply want a quick retread can finish the game in less than fifteen. Snake Eater 3D does see a few technical hang-ups, and some very minor control oversights, but more often than not it excels as yet another great handheld port of a console classic in the 3DS' library. And at the end of the day, it remains the greatest Metal Gear story ever told.

My rating: 8.75 (out of 10)

Xbox 360 review: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Nine years after the sabotage and destruction of Mother Base that acted as the cliffhanger ending of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain opens with Big Boss awakening in a hospital to the shocking discovery that there is a shard of metal lodged in his skull and his left arm is missing from the elbow down. As a doctor explains the situation to him, tries to calm him down, and ease him back into the land of the living, word that ‘V has come to' quickly spreads, and it is not long before the hospital is besieged by heavily-armed forces. Barely able to stand, Big Boss, aka Punished ‘Venom’ Snake struggles to regain his ability to walk, while a mysterious bandaged friend calling himself Ishmael acts as his guide out of the hospital.

The route is dangerous, as the militant forces have orders to shoot everyone in the hospital, and Ishmael and Snake encounter what appears to be a flaming projection of Volgin, the Soviet colonel from Operation: Snake Eater. This first leg of the journey is largely an interactive story segment which teaches players the basic controls as they pertain to The Phantom Pain’s stealth and combat techniques. The escalation of events beyond the player’s control is intense, and ultimately the two patients are forced to dupe their would-be assassins, steal an ambulance, and avoid a pursuing helicopter before crashing through a roadblock. Snake passes out for a brief period, and awakens to find no trace of Ishmael, but rather is introduced to Revolver Ocelot, his contact from the newly-reconstructed Mother Base. Ocelot and Snake board a freighter ship to waters near the Seychelles Isles, where XO Kazuhira Miller ordered the new Mother Base be constructed in Snake’s absence.

The first orders of business in setting the stage for events to come are equipping Snake with all of his familiar gear, as well as a new robotic arm, and explaining to players (whether they previously experienced Ground Zeroes or not) that Skull Face is still at large, commanding XOF as a rogue agency no longer tied to the United States government. It’s just the right amount of information and story content to dish out to players this early on. The massive open world exploration element is kept in perspective, for the time being, as Ocelot informs Snake that Miller ran into some trouble during his most recent operation, and likely only has a few days to live before his Soviet captors decide they are through trying to interrogate him.

Each mission Snake embarks on during the game’s first eight hours or so is set in Afghanistan, where tall cliffs limit the number of available routes, but large rocks and hilly terrain offer sufficient cover for Snake, even as he rides past enemy outposts in D-Horse’s saddle. Afghanistan is, as Ocelot informs Snake, a big place, and there is great deal of time spent simply travelling from one location to another early on, though destroying anti-air radar emplacements can open up new landing zones for Mother Base’s helicopters. This map is also a stark contrast in design to the later-accessible African border region between Angola and Zaire, which is technically smaller in size overall, but the open plains and dense jungle provide Snake with a greater freedom to immediately drop in and explore, take on side-ops, and scope out enemy patrols.

Any misgivings about the open-world gameplay adopted by The Phantom Pain should be put to rest. The ability to rely completely on stealth is just as strong as ever, and plenty satisfying to boot. For players who wish to go loud and shoot up a base of enemies with automatic weapons, however, The Phantom Pain does not punish this approach, provided you have something of a plan in mind before storming a heavily-fortified base. More than any Metal Gear title before it, The Phantom Pain offers some truly creative solutions for players who can think on the fly and adapt to the situation as it changes. While Ground Zeroes felt incredibly limited in its scope and restricted in its freedom of play, The Phantom Pain welcomes experimentation, and on the off chance that you are killed in action and receive a ‘game over’ screen, it is always fair, placing responsibility on the player and their choices both in the moment and prior to engaging the enemy.

Enemies are quite a bit smarter than in previous Metal Gear titles, and will receive helmets, shields, and full body armor as word spreads of Snake besting their comrades. The Phantom Pain is somewhat forgiving, though, as the moment an enemy spots you does not immediately put all nearby soldiers on alert. Instead, Snake is granted a brief window to tranquilize, kill, or (provided he is close enough) perform a CQC takedown on the soldier that spotted him. This addition is most appreciated when infiltrating fortresses with high walls that prevent Snake from properly scoping out all enemies therein. The weather and time of day also play important roles in the enemy’s visibility. Obviously, nighttime is ideal for infiltration missions, as enemy soldiers have a smaller field of view away from light sources, and rain storms in Africa further obscure their vision. Dust storms will occasionally whip up in Afghanistan, lasting approximately two minutes at a time, and practically cover the entire area in a thick, blowing cloud – this can prove a double-edged sword, as the enemy is practically blind, but if Snake has not scanned the area beforehand, so too is he.

There is also a great deal of freedom in which weapons and gear Snake takes into battle with him. Grenade launchers, RPGs, and explosives like C4 are generally best-suited to missions that require the destruction of heavily armored vehicles, as they are among the most expensive to equip. But the sheer number of these that can be developed, along with assault rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, pistols, grenades, and camo patterns is astounding, and further reinforces the notion that you can play The Phantom Pain virtually any way you like. The ability to develop certain items is restricted until you have added sufficient personnel to Mother Base’s R&D team, and of course, each individual item costs GMP, the game’s monetary value that is earned in large sums upon the completion of each main game mission and side-op. Some of the wackier loadout options, like the Rocket Arm and cardboard boxes decked out with supermodel posters or anime characters, prove the most entertaining, despite perhaps not being universally practical.

Mother Base is divided into more than a half-dozen struts, each of which can be further built up over time. It does cost a great deal of GMP and resources like fuel, metals, and biological materials to expand Mother Base, but the benefits are more than worth the lengthy wait times between each addition. Building more platforms for your Intel team means that they can offer you greater information about your surroundings, while R&D will develop new weapons and gear more quickly if they have the space to support a larger team, and so forth.

GMP is also spent calling in fire support from your helicopter and for retrieving prisoners, unconscious enemy troops, wildlife, and vehicles alike with the Fulton balloon system, and it is a good idea to maintain a healthy amount of GMP at all times, as dipping into negative numbers means that Mother Base soldiers may leave due to dissatisfaction with the way Snake is running the show. Conversely, the more Snake displays heroism and grows Mother Base, the more likely volunteers are to show up on his doorstep, requesting to join his Diamond Dog forces. Each and every Mother Base soldier displays a specific set of traits, making some better suited for particular teams, and ill-suited for others. Some also boast unique abilities that can lessen or increase the likelihood of fights breaking out, and even perform special moves should players choose to take control of these characters for missions over Snake. Mother Base troops will have their morale increased upon visits home by Snake, and while there isn’t a ton to do on Mother Base, players can scour each platform for diamonds to up their GMP, engage in shooting range side-ops, and stumble across some cleverly-placed easter eggs.

While D-Horse is the first ‘buddy’ character Snake is allowed to deploy with into missions, the trusty steed’s fast gallop can be swapped for three other buddies, each with their own unique support roles. D-Dog, a wild pup that Snake encounters in Afghanistan, grows up under the training of Ocelot, and can eventually be utilized as a radar for detecting the exact location of all nearby enemies, wild animals, and plant life. While D-Dog’s default loadout allows him the option to distract enemy soldiers, he can later be outfitted with a knife or stun baton for stealthy enemy takedowns.

Quiet, the voiceless Sniper, moves at inhuman speeds, similarly scoping out enemy patrols from a distance, and picking them off one by one per Snake’s orders. Quiet is best utilized by players who prefer direct intervention, or who want a backup plan in case the enemy bears down on Snake with everything at their disposal. Quiet’s standard sniper rifle can be swapped for a tranquilizer rifle, while her alternate outfits are more aesthetically amusing than they are situation-sensitive. Finally, Huey’s D-Walker offers a travel speed slightly slower than that of D-Horse, but with offensive options like a gatling gun and rocket launcher, as well as a defensive buffer to the front. Each ‘buddy’ will be recalled from the field if they take too many hits, however, and this will subsequently weaken Snake’s bond with them, while properly utilizing their abilities and ensuring their safety will strengthen Snake’s bond with them.

The main missions during the first act of The Phantom Pain are largely concerned with piecing together the puzzle of Skull Face’s master plan, one ‘weapon to surpass Metal Gear’. While the pacing of the game is spot-on, the story sequences – one of the Metal Gear series’ most popular and famous offerings – are sparse until the second act. While it is appreciated that The Phantom Pain does not bog players down with extensive cutscenes as Guns of the Patriots once did, MGSV cuts back on its narrative a bit too much. Metal Gear villains have long held a commanding presence in their respective games, and Skull Face is no different, walking a fine line between theatrically confident and cunningly evil. But when his plan is revealed in full, it is underwhelming, and offers too much room for error.

The second half of The Phantom Pain does increase the frequency with which the story is sprinkled in. Kaz becomes increasingly suspicious of Huey, believing he was responsible for the security breach that destroyed the old Mother Base. Quiet finds the soldiers on Mother Base are not all keen on her presence, calling her a freak and generally distrusting her. And Snake is forced to carry out some very heavy actions that, while perhaps necessary, are important steps in painting both himself and the forces of Outer Heaven as more of villains than heroes by the time the events of the first Metal Gear occur.

The Phantom Pain fills in the last major gap of time between the era of Big Boss and the era of Solid Snake, and as such, is less concerned with presenting grand revelations pertaining to the series at large than most other Metal Gear titles. The events of The Phantom Pain are guided in large part by what transpired in both Peace Walker and Ground Zeroes, and ultimately the endgame plays most prominently into the events of Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, and Metal Gear Solid. Some of The Phantom Pain’s strongest moments lie in its second act, but so too do its greatest faults. Roughly half of the second act’s main missions are simply retreads of missions taken on during the first act, with higher difficulty settings or more specific rules in place. In addition, the penultimate chapter that would otherwise provide The Phantom Pain with a clean, complete finale is entirely absent, leaving a humongous plot point hanging with no resolution.

Boss fights are also quite sparse in The Phantom Pain, though the handful that are present pay homage to previous titles in the series. A sniper duel between Snake and Quiet mirrors that of the battle with The End in Snake Eater, and the general design and abilities of Metal Gear Sahelanthropus offer throwbacks to Metal Gear Rex from the PS1’s Metal Gear Solid. One particular close-quarters battle with Skull Face’s elite Skulls unit even incorporates quick-time reactions reminiscent of Metal Gear Rising.

Side-ops are entertaining, more relaxed distractions from The Phantom Pain’s main missions, offering up goofy scenarios like tracking down a legendary bear to tranquilize and bring back to Mother Base’s animal sanctuary, or infiltrating a Soviet-occupied base to rescue a sheep via fulton balloon extraction. Other side-ops are more run of the mill fanfare, such as extracting prisoners, and destroying heavy infantry or armored patrol units. Side ops typically require less careful planning of Snake’s loadouts beforehand, and it can be easy to find yourself burning through three, five, or ten at a time, in-between The Phantom Pain’s main missions.

While Metal Gear Online may not yet be up and running, The Phantom Pain does offer an online component in the form of an F.O.B. invasion. F.O.B.s, or forward-operating bases, can be constructed in waters beyond the main Mother Base, and serve to further establish Big Boss’ presence to the outside world. Snake can infiltrate an enemy base for a GMP reward, depending on how well he manages to sneak past the troops stationed there, but your own base(s) will similarly be potential targets for other players to invade. F.O.B. invasions are an interesting afterthought, but they lack substance, and do not return as high-value rewards as the deployment missions Snake can send Mother Base soldiers on against CPU forces.

Many fans were, understandably, disappointed to hear that longtime voice of Snake, David Hayter, would not be returning to reprise the character in MGSV. It’s difficult to fully accept Kiefer Sutherland as the new voice of Snake, not because of the quality of his performance, but because of how infrequently he adds anything to the conversation. On the whole, Kiefer Sutherland does a sufficient job of carrying such an iconic role, but would be far more memorable if he spoke more than a few words at any given juncture – a stark contrast to Hayter’s rather talkative portrayal of Snake in every other major Metal Gear entry. As a rippling effect of this, Snake frequently comes across as more of an observer of events unfolding on Mother Base and during his missions than an active participant, at least during cutscenes and other scripted sequences.

Robin Atkin Downes and Troy Baker put forth strong performances as Kazuhira Miller and Ocelot, respectively. Downes does a phenomenal job at conveying Miller’s desire for revenge, and the hatred he harbors towards Skull Face’s XOF forces for destroying the old Mother Base, yet still maintains a strong-willed presence and great degree of faith and respect in Snake, even if he does attempt to go over his head during a few key instances. There is a constant tension in the air whenever Snake and Miller are present in the same scene, due in no small part to Downes’ performance. Troy Baker, meanwhile, manages to present Ocelot in the prime of his adulthood, without sounding too similar to other middle-aged roles he’s performed in the past, like The Last of Us’ Joel or Bioshock Infinite’s Booker DeWitt. Baker gives the famous gunslinger an appropriately deeper voice than Josh Keaton’s performance of a youthful Ocelot in Snake Eater, but dials back a few notches from Patric Zimmerman’s famous raspy voice from Metal Gear Solid, Sons of Liberty, and Guns of the Patriots.

As Snake explores Afghanistan and the Angola-Zaire border region, he will receive cassette tapes – some that are delivered by Miller and Ocelot containing mission-sensitive information, and others that contain musical tracks. Many of the audio tapes will prove a real treat to hardcore Metal Gear fans, referencing events from Snake Eater and Peace Walker, while others provide greater context to Skull Face’s motives and the origins of XOF. Playing Metal Gear theme songs of yesteryear while carrying out missions delivers a good dose of nostalgia, but blasting one of the many hidden 80s pop and rock tapes can make for some wacky, thoroughly amusing moments. Better yet, you can set any of these songs to blast from your helicopter’s speaker system, so as to bear down on unsuspecting enemies with rockets launching to the tunes of Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America”, The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love”, Kajagoogoo’s “Too Shy” or Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”.

As for the original orchestrated soundtrack, The Phantom Pain’s musical stylings deviate a surprising degree from those in previous games. The few reprises of classic Metal Gear themes that do sneak their way in to the mix are quite subdued. Sins of the Father, meanwhile, is a powerful and commanding vocal track, with lyrics that are among the most thematically-appropriate to a Metal Gear title since Snake Eater’s self-titled jazzy James Bond-esque number.

The Fox Engine once again outdoes itself, as The Phantom Pain looks shockingly good, even on a last-generation console like the Xbox 360. There are some minor shortcomings when compared to the PS4 and Xbox One versions, such as certain textures sporting less detail and requiring the occasional bump-in load. As the game installs on the system’s hard drive prior to your first play session, load times between missions are kept to a reasonable speed. Draw distances are superb, offering Snake the ability yo scope out vast distances, provided the terrain does not obscure his field of vision. The blurred distance effects are nowhere near as harsh on the eyes in the Xbox 360 version as they are on the PS4 or the Xbox One. I never stumbled across any noticeable dips in frame rate, and only encountered one odd, non-threatening glitch during my playthrough – very much appreciated, given the track record of other contemporary open world games.

In addition to catering to any play style you like, The Phantom Pain reflects player loadouts and time away on missions within cutscenes. When Snake begins an interaction with Ocelot and Kaz, he’ll be wearing whichever camo pattern players last dressed the legendary soldier in. If Snake has been taking to more direct means of intervention, shooting up enemy soldiers, his face will be streaked with blood, while even a long series of stealth ops will depict Snake with sweat dripping from his brow.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is far from a perfect game. The lessened focus on a complex narrative will likely leave veteran fans hungry for more, especially with the knowledge that the final leg of Snake’s journey is left incomplete. That said, the story elements that are at play prove, by and large, of the same carefully-calculated nature that Kojima is known for. The few major twists that come to pass are masterfully executed, and the nigh-on perfect gameplay The Phantom Pain sports certainly helps ease the pain of the elements that are absent. The Phantom Pain travels to some dark places, with plot points that teeter closer to reality than other games in the series. While The Phantom Pain may not be the definitive masterpiece fans had hoped would cap off Hideo Kojima’s nearly-thirty-year run of directing the Metal Gear series, it is still one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played this year. It’s a shame that the circumstances surrounding Konami, Kojima, and the game’s development process did not pan out more smoothly, as the full, completed vision for The Phantom Pain would have no doubt earned a considerably higher overall score.

My rating: 7.75 (out of 10)

Xbox 360 review: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

To tide fans over until the proper release of the fifth numbered entry in the Metal Gear Solid series, Konami released Ground Zeroes in both physical and digital formats. Intended as a teaser for all that is to come in the open-world Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes runs on the Fox Engine, and even on the now-last generation Xbox 360, the graphics are damn impressive. The rainstorm that shrouds Big Boss’ mission excels at highlighting raindrops streaming down textures and assets like tarps flapping in the wind in highly realistic fashion. While Kiefer Sutherland’s takeover as the voice of Snake does reveal a noticeable difference to what fans have come to know and love from the efforts of veteran David Hayter, the experience is not a massive upset to the familiar, as Snake/Big Boss does very little talking for the duration of Ground Zeroes.

In short, Ground Zeroes does not feel the part of a Metal Gear game in gameplay or spirit. The heads-up display, while simplified, is highly unspecific and does little to give players any real indication of where enemy troops are or how many of them are patrolling an area. This is something that would not be terribly difficult to keep track of, given the tiny size of the map the main mission takes place on, were it not for the fact that there are so many structures of varying heights and widths. This results not only in enemies being difficult to keep track of, but also a degree of uncertainty with how well-hidden Snake is. And the slow-down sequences when Snake is given a few brief seconds to respond to his being spotted do virtually nothing but incite panic in the player, as Snake is most frequently spotted from a distance, and firing upon foes will alert anyone nearby, putting the whole area on alert status.

Because the main story requires no more than two hours to complete, it lacks any time necessary to develop Snake, Chico, or Paz, much less give players a reason to care about the supposed ‘high-risk mission’ or the brief appearance of Skull Face, whose voice actor provides deadpan efforts that imply he has as little interest in the character as most anyone else who will play through this glorified demo. The weird and goofy factors that make a Metal Gear experience so endearing and one-of-a-kind are gone – Ground Zeroes is gritty and serious, building off the Snake Eater and Peace Walker formulas, but lacking almost any creative end. While the finale does sufficiently set the stage for The Phantom Pain, there is only one moment at the end that will prove particularly exciting, or give fans of previous Metal Gear installments any real sense of fulfillment.

There are bonus missions to take on, and collectible cassette tapes and XOF badges littered around the environment that extend the lifespan of Ground Zeroes, if only as a thinly-veiled fetch-quest. The dialogue on the cassette tapes themselves reveal far more about any of the characters than the in-game actions do, and are overall better-scripted than the couple of action-heavy cutscenes. If Ground Zeroes is a genuine taste of Phantom Pain, I for one am extremely wary, due to just how bare an experience this is, and how much it appears to be adjusted for mainstream audiences.

My rating: 4.5 (out of 10)

Xbox 360 review: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Set four years after Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance puts cyborg ninja Raiden back into the spotlight. In the years following Liquid Ocelot’s insurrection, Raiden has joined a small militarized group that offers private security to individuals in the name of maintaining peace. But when that peace is threatened to be upset by a rival cyborg mercenary group known as Desperado, Raiden finds he must tap into his old violent nature to stop their plans to initiate another military conflict. It’s a far more simplistic premise than any other Metal Gear story, and as a result, lacks much of the bizarre humor and crazy plot threads woven into every other entry in the franchise.

The game plays out as the purset of Japanese action games, with emphasis on purchasing attack upgrades, stat and health boosts, and mastering the various subweapons collected from the major bosses. There’s a certain cool factor in seeing how the MGS world has progressed in the years following Guns of the Patriots, as cyborg implants are the norm for anyone employed by military or police forces, and Gekkos and their various offshoot mechs are the more compact commonplace equivalent to the older large Metal Gears. That said, the scale of a Metal Gear Ray is impressive within the game’s combat engine, whether Raiden is dashing circles around its legs in order to expose the inner frame, or he’s bolting vertically down a building in order to deliver the final blow.

The big gimmick at play in Revengenace is that of the ‘cut what you will’ mechanic. After building his attack meter high enough, Raiden can initiate a slow-mo blade mode, wherein he can slice and dice foes to bits. This is most frequently used when an enemy Gekko, helicopter, or some other enemy has reached a critical state and they begin flashing blue. Raiden needs only to slice through them once or twice to deal the necessary damage to either finish said enemy off or progress to the next stage of a multi-tiered fight, but there’s a strange satisfaction that comes from having your way with slinging the katana every which way and seeing the tiniest of metal bits come crashing to the ground. Also, most enemies have a glowing blue core bit that Raiden can remove, indicated by a golden box when he enters blade mode. Removing this core bit will not only re-energize Raiden’s attack meter, it will also restore his health, which is a unique a cleverly-designed system.

Aside from his electrically-charged Katana, Raiden can also collect RPGs, guided missile launchers, and various grenades, the usefulness of any being almost entirely nonexistent. The stealth element that was a staple of previous entries in the Metal Gear franchise returns, as Raiden can creep up behind foes and slice them apart without alerting other enemies in the area. This can be performed on virtually any foe, from grunt soldiers to more heavily armored bruisers, making it a useful option if Raiden’s health is low. However, given the wide-open design of nearly every level in the game, it also adds an extra degree of challenge, as enemies have a greater range of vision. Truthfully, the stealth kills feel as if they were added in primarily to pay tribute to the stealth action series that spawned Revengeance, as it is generally just as easy (and usually more enjoyable) to send Raiden right into the thick of it and take out foes while running circles around them.

Only a few of the boss characters are introduced early on in Revengeance, meaning that the moment you set foot into the arena where you are set to fight Monsoon, Mistral, or one of a number of mechanized foes, the cutscene that precedes the actual fight is the most you are ever going to get with regards to understanding them as characters. Oddly enough, the monologue Moonsoon delivers and the exchange Raiden has with Mistral paints these two as infinitely more interesting and complex individuals than Sundowner or Jetsream Sam. Considering that the latter two are among the first characters Raiden meets in the game, one would hope that their development would be on par with the former, if not better. Instead, Sundowner comes across as a hillbilly obsessed with war for no other reason than it provides him a job, and Jetstream Sam is a cyborg ninja thrown into the mix for the sake of having a cyborg ninja rival to Raiden.

The story also becomes clouded and detracts entirely from its initial goal of tracking down the organization responsible for the death of African Prime Minister N’Mani, to Raiden’s wish to dismantle an organization responsible for creating child soldiers just like him (a factory for which he just happens to stumble across during his second mission), and eventually spirals into a shallow, boring retread of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ persona that was explored in Sons of Liberty. For a game that dishes up so much potential and cool-factor during its first half, it really drops the ball during the second. Boss fights transition from exciting and just the right degree of challenge to frustratingly boring and sometimes feeling downright broken. Level design turns to the same gimmicks used early on, resulting in these losing their luster the second time around.

A few of the late-game boss fights are incredibly poor in design, not because they dish up a heaping challenge, but because they are fundamentally and mechanically illogical. One boss fight in particular requires Raiden to simply whittle away his foe’s health bar, with no refill or healing properties on part of the bad guy to worry about. While there are health capsules scattered about the arena, stepping too far outside of an undefined radius will result in your foe suddenly rushing Raiden with pinpoint accuracy, while staying too close puts Raiden at risk for being hit with an apparently un-dodgeable near-one-hit-K.O. It’s pretty standard procedure that if your character is in the air above an enemy or one-hundred and eighty degrees behind them, any forward attack from said enemy should not hit your character. Apparently, Platinum Games did not receive that memo.

It’s truly unfortunate that Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance hits so many pitfalls and setbacks during its second act. For a game that spent many years in development and was so hellbent on pushing something wildly bold and different for the series, the first few hours are a phenomenal showing. It’s just that everything afterwards falls to pieces, leading those later hours to feel like an entirely different, half-assed version of MGR. The writing goes from being on par with a delightfully cheesy 80s/90s action flick to stupid and eye-rolling levels of bad. The gameplay similarly descends from an emphasis on fine-tuned and fast-paced action to a haphazard mess of explosions, lame retreads of enemy designs, and boss encounters that range from mildly poor to downright awful in their execution. At the very least, the game does provide a few cheap laughs by providing alternate costumes for Raiden like a poncho and sombrero combo.

My rating: 5.75 (out of 10)

Top 10 Games of the Seventh Generation Consoles - #9: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

A proper sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Peace Walker explores the impact the Boss’ training and philosophy have had on Snake in the years following her death. It’s very much a story about Snake – in typical Metal Gear fashion, there are plenty of other cast members to intrigue players, to flesh out the experience, and to better connect the dots that make up the Metal Gear lore. But through all of Kazuhira Miller’s radio chatter it’s quite clear that this is the story that is meant to bridge the gap between the Naked Snake era and the rise of Big Boss’ Outer Heaven. David Hayter puts on a more gruff tone to convey how Snake has aged both physically and emotionally, and the shift in his presentation of this iconic gaming character goes a long way in sowing the seeds of both Big Boss’ new identity and the goals of the Militaires Sans Frontieres.

Much like with MGS3, Peace Walker offers a slightly greater range of freedom with picking an approach to countering Snake’s foes. You can distract them by making noise and then carefully sneaking around them, or you can take them head on thanks to a more-powerful-than-usual arsenal. A few of the boss fights do require a more straightforward combat approach, as foes will attempt to flank Snake and force him out of a well-defended spot. This results in the need to balance your strategy between taking out these lesser enemies and dealing blows to the tank, helicopter, or mech that is Snake’s primary target.

While the individual areas in Peace Walker are nowhere near as expansive as those in MGS3, they are still structured as a series of connected sectors. For a handheld game, these look gorgeous due to their high level of detail. The soundtrack is classic Metal Gear and, again, of impressively highly quality. The multiplayer mode and RPG elements worked into building Snake’s forces are both unusual choices for a Metal Gear title, but they work surprisingly well.

Peace Walker is a bold spin on everything you’d expect from a Metal Gear game – at its core, it’s the same tactical espionage action you’ve come to know and love. But the gameplay elements give it a whole new flavor that makes it a fresh experience for MGS veterans. Peace Walker is not only among the best entries in one of my personal favorite video game franchises, it’s one of the best handheld titles I’ve ever played.

"We've managed to avoid drowning!" - 25 Years of Metal Gear

Though Solid Snake officially debuted back in 1987 with the original Metal Gear game, his popularity did not gain major momentum until the release of Metal Gear Solid, which hit the Playstation in 1998. Since then, Solid Snake has become one of the most recognizable faces in gaming history. The series has also earned itself significant praise for the ways it changed the experience of gaming. While I have not played every single game in the Metal Gear franchise, the games I have experienced have all proved thoroughly enjoyable.

My first experiences with Metal Gear came in the form of the Metal Gear Solid Essentials Collection, which was released shortly before Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots as a means for newcomers to familiarize themselves with the series, or for veterans to revisit Snake's previous adventures. I knew very little about Metal Gear at that point in time, and I figured a thirty dollar price tag wasn't too bad a deal for three games - if I ended up disliking them, it would be easy enough for me to turn around and sell them. Thankfully, that was not what happened.

Metal Gear Solid is not a graphically pretty game. Even for the time of its release, it has some rather grainy textures and Snake's character model wears a bandana that covers his eyes instead of having a proper face. But what it lacks there it makes up for in some truly groundbreaking game mechanics and storytelling elements. The use of cigarette smoke to detect lasers, Psycho Mantis reading your memory card, and the placement of a codec number on the back of the physical game case are inclusions that are honestly quite simple in concept, but make the game so much more immersive and fun. Hell, the simple fact that Snake has to sneak around enemies instead of fighting them head-on is a welcome departure from the all-too-familiar run and gun routine of so many other action games.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty added a few new features that would have been helpful in the first game, such as the ability to enter a first-person view. I don't mean to knock the PS1 classic, but from a design perspective, MGS2 handles much more smoothly. Sons of Liberty certainly retained the masterful storytelling element, though it was handled in a different manner. Snake took on the role of a side character, with Raiden stepping into the spotlight. Like many other fans, I found Raiden to be quite annoying at first - not as nauseatingly so as his support/girlfriend Rose, but he was still whiny and immature. But patience yielded great results, as the final few hours of Sons of Liberty delivered a phenomenal ending that answered as many questions as it asked.

As far as I am concerned, though, the best of the bunch has to be Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I have experienced few video games so perfect in their design. Snake Eater took everything that worked in MGS2 and improved upon while simultaneously adding in a host of new elements, each of which proves just as polished and helpful during Naked Snake's trek through the jungles of Russia. Only a handful of games have genuinely moved me so emotionally, and I'll be damned if Snake Eater does not have one the most beautiful and bittersweet conclusions ever written into a game. All of the MGS games rely heavily on cutscenes to deliver their stories, and though MGS4's may be the most Hollywood high-budget, I still feel that MGS3 does the best job of all the games in the series in weaving a story that trumps many a film and novel.

Though not as perfect a game as Snake Eater, Peace Walker did a solid job of continuing the story of Naked Snake as he builds his own personal and becomes involved in the late days of the Cold War. Hot Coldman isn't a particularly memorable villain when compared to the likes of the Cobra Unit, but the boss fights against the Chrysalis, Pupa, and so on are both challenging and varied. Peace Walker is a little more action-heavy than other MGS games and it is also shorter than the main numbered entries, but I felt it did a good job of bridging the gap between the era of Naked Snake and that of Solid Snake.

The series has such a wonderful cast of characters, from Psycho Mantis to Solidus and Otacon to Ocelot - I could list them all, but I think it's just easier for me to say that there are only a few select characters that I don't like. And as much as I enjoy exploring Hyrule and Zebes, the world of Metal Gear is also one of the best visions ever realized in gaming. It's a perfect blend of practical realism and dystopian science fiction. Though the storyline of the main games may have come to a conclusion, the upcoming Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes indicates that there is still plenty of story to be told in the Metal Gear universe. I look forward to whatever new directions Hideo Kojima takes the series in, because even when a Metal Gear game hits its lowest point, it is still a whole tier above most other video games.

Some of my favorite boss fights from the series include:

- Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid
- Harrier Jet in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- Metal Gear RAY in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- The Fury in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- The Shagohod in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- The Boss in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- Chrysalis in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Some of my favorite songs from the various soundtracks include:

- The Best is Yet to Come from MGS
- Main Theme from MGS2
- Yell Dead Cell from MGS2
- Father and Son from MGS2
- Snake Eater from MGS3
- Debriefing from MGS3
- Old Snake from MGS4

Some of my favorite characters include:

- Solid Snake
- Grey Fox
- Otacon
- Solidus
- Naked Snake/Big Boss
- Young Ocelot
- The Boss
- EVA

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes debut trailer

A trailer for the newly announced Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes has debuted, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The game runs on Kojima's FOX Engine, and features Naked Snake (aka Big Boss) in a post-Peace Walker era. There is still a great deal of mystery surrounding the plot at present, but considering how masteful the storytelling is throughout the entire series, I have high hopes for whatever direction Kojima decides to take it in.

Pre-E3 trailer for Zone of the Enders: HD Collection

Last year, Konami announced plans to release the first two Zone of the Enders games in an HD collection, much like they did with the Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill games. Now they have revealed the trailer for the collection as well as the new anime-style intro sequence, made by Sunrise. Zone of the Enders is a series that I missed out on during its original release, due in large part to limited releases of the games and the fact that the game did not gain the reputation it has today until quite some time after it came out. I'm a huge fan of Hideo Kojima's work with the Metal Gear Solid series, and I happen to enjoy mecha anime, so you can bet I will be purchasing this HD collection when it hits store shelves before the end of the year.



Here is the newly-animated intro.



Also, in case you didn't hear, Kojima is releasing the HD collection as part of the build-up to a brand new entry into the Zone of the Enders series. Freaking awesome.

Pre-E3 trailer for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Konami has released their pre-E3 2012 trailer for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. We get to see some more of the actual gameplay, and an idea of the direction the story will take since it is set post-MGS4. I really like the design of some of the envionments highlighted in this trailer. Here's to hoping Konami gives us more details on the game at E3 (like a release date, maybe?).

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - E3 2012: Exclusive Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Xbox 360 review: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Back in 2008, Konami released the Metal Gear Solid Essentials Collection shortly before the long-anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The Essentials Collection was comprised of the first three Metal Gear Solid titles, and served as a refresher for veterans of the series as well as an inexpensive means for newcomers to get acquainted with Solid Snake and Big Boss. Now Konami is at it again with the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, and gamers can revisit three games from the series on the current gen consoles. Included in the HD Collection are Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and Peace Walker. For those not so familiar with the chronology of the series, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a direct sequel to the PS1 Metal Gear Solid, while 3 and Peace Walker act as prequels to the original MSX Metal Gear games.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is divided into two chapters. The first puts you in control of Solid Snake as he sneaks aboard a US Marine corps tanker making its way down the Hudson River. Otacon has uncovered information that the Marine corps has been developing a new type of Metal Gear, and Snake's mission is to locate it and snap some photographs that they can leak online and expose the military's unethical decision to construct such a machine. The situation quickly escalates as Russian soldiers board the tanker and take out the guards, and Snake barely manages to send Otacon the photos before Revolver Ocelot shows up, steals the new Metal Gear RAY, and sinks the ship into the river. The first section lasts an hour at the longest, and serves primarily as a tutorial section, allowing you to familiarize yourself with the controls, sneaking tactics, and a brief boss battle.

Two years later, Raiden is sent into a water decontamination facility known as Big Shell, in order to rescue hostages from the terrorist organization known as Dead Cell. This second chapter, known as the Plant Chapter, has Raiden sneaking around guards, disarming explosives, swimming through flooded areas of Big Shell, and going toe-to-toe with the four members of Dead Cell. The Plant Chapter has a greater variety of gameplay, and also lasts significantly longer. Many of the areas in Big Shell look similar, and it can be easy to get lost early on.

Raiden can be whiny at times, but he's nowhere near as unlikable as his girlfriend/radio support Rosemary, who can't seem to remember that Raiden is on an important mission and should not have time to chat about her feelings. Meanwhile, the odd behavior and unique abilities that each member of Dead Cell exhibits makes them quite interesting. The story may be slow-going at first, but the darker tone and multiple plot twists that unfold during the last few hours make it all worth the trouble. Metal Gear Solid 2 may not control as smoothly as the other two titles, and there are moments that prove rather frustrating. But the boss fights are epic and the story has a downright brilliant conclusion.

Easily the best of the bunch, Metal Gear Solid 3 follows Naked Snake as he is sent into Russia to stop a separatist group known as GRU and their leader the sadistic Colonel Volgin from usurping Khrushchev and developing the Shagohod, an all-terrain tank armed with nuclear missiles, in order to start a war with the US. Snake must make his way through the jungle and use various camouflage and face paints to blend in with his surrounding and avoid detection by the enemy. The rate at which Snake recovers health is determined by two factors - how hungry he is, and if he is injured in any way. Snake has a limited number of rations and medical supplies at the outset of Operation: Snake Eater, though wild animals can be killed and eaten, while bandages and splints can sometimes be found in warehouses and supply rooms.

Snake's mission is two-fold. While he maintains his focus on stopping Volgin and destroying the Shagohod, he is constantly reminded of the fact that he must face down the elite members of the Cobra Unit and The Boss - their leader and his former mentor. Snake also becomes romantically linked to one of his contacts, a blonde code breaker named EVA, and shares a rivalry with a young Revolver Ocelot. All of this culminates to one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game. What Hideo Kojima has accomplished with Metal Gear Solid 3 is unrivaled by many a novel, film, or television series.

Finally, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker sees perhaps the boldest undertaking by Konami, as it was originally released for the Playstation Portable and has been ported over to consoles. Peace Walker takes place ten years after Metal Gear Solid 3 as Naked Snake (now known as Big Boss) is in the process of training his own private army after having left the United States behind. He is asked to intervene in Costa Rica, where a series of AI-controlled mechs are being developed.

Peace Walker's level design is similar to that of Metal Gear Solid 3, with small areas connecting to one another, though Peace Walker shrinks these down and sets up barriers in order to make gameplay more linear. The game adopts an RPG element of recruiting troops and developing weapons, the results of which are mixed. On the one hand, putting the time and effort to experiment with this can unlock different weapons and make your experience different from anyone else's. On the other hand, it can prove annoying when a certain weapon or item is required to progress to the next mission and you must grind through the optional missions so that the research can progress.

Peace Walker's visuals don't quite hold up to the other two, but for a handheld game it looks pretty darn impressive. There's a great attention to detail, and colors pop nicely against the backdrops of different environments. Traditional cutscenes are thrown out in favor of a gritty motion comic style. Some of these sequences involve quick time events, and all of it plays out well - it's a great artistic direction for the game and provides an extra level of immersion. While the Metal Gear series has a long history of great soundtracks, Peace Walker's might be the best yet.

Not all HD collections are made equal. There have been some in the past couple of years that left players disappointed due to a lack of content or aesthetic alterations. With the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, it's a completely opposite scenario. Despite the fact that the first Metal Gear Solid is not included, the bonuses of MGS2's VR missions, Peace Walker's online multiplayer, and the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake provide plenty of replay value after the main three games have been completed. When other companies look into releasing HD collections of classic games, the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection should be their primary reference.

My rating: 9 (out of 10)

HD Collection wishlist

It seems that HD collections of games from last generation's consoles are all the rage right now - at least, from the developers' standpoint. And frankly, any given one of them - from the largely criticized Silent Hill HD collection to the more graciously accepted Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid HD collections - are solid packages for the price. Paying $30 to $40 for two to three games, each of which lasts significantly longer than many current gen titles is none too shabby. Personally, I would like to see some more of these HD collections hit store shelves. I realize that the some of the games listed below have a much better chance of seeing inclusion on an HD collection than others. But this is my own personal wishlist, and if I want to bend the rules a little bit, I shall do just that.

With the WiiU on the horizon, Nintendo could break into the market of these HD collections by turning to releases from the purple lunchbox. While I personally stuck with the Gamecube through thick and thin, there are quite a few gamers who opted for the Playstation 2 or Xbox and in turn missed out on some great gems. Nintendo does like to group games based on the audience they are catering to, and as such I have organized two hypothetical Nintendo HD collections by the ESRB ratings of the included games.

The first is the 'E for Everyone' collection, whose main attraction is Super Mario Sunshine. Mario Sunshine is an underappreciated entry into the plumber's adventures, and has a lot to offer in terms of playability. Included with it would be Pikmin, a brilliant little strategy/adventure game, and Kirby Air Ride, a very different experience with the pink puffball than his traditional side-scrolling platformers.

The second collection would include games labeled with the 'T for Teen' rating. At the forefront would be Metroid Prime, which is hands-down one of the best games from last generation's consoles. The second entry would be Star Fox Assault, one of the most graphically gorgeous games on the Gamecube. The story mode is linear in comparison to Star Fox 64's multiple routes. But switching between vehicles provides dynamic gameplay and the multiplayer is surprisingly addictive. To top things off, F-Zero GX would be included for the gamers who want an extra level of challenge (which isn't to say that the other two are a cake walk).

I love what Konami has done with the Metal Gear Solid HD collection, and I really commend them for porting Peace Walker over to consoles. I would like to consider the possibility of them creating another Metal Gear Solid HD collection, and including The Twin Snakes and Portable Ops. This might not seem as substantial a package as what the first MGS HD collection offered, but if they were to include the original Metal Gear Solid (accessible from the menu of The Twin Snakes in the same manner that Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake were accessible from the menu of Metal Gear Solid 3) and the VR missions, as well as everything included with Portable Ops and Portable Ops Plus, the sum of those parts would serve as a nice rounded out package. I'm not knocking the original MGS. But the character models and environments are really nothing spectacular considering the graphical limitations of the original Playstation. That's why I would feature The Twin Snakes as a prominent part of the package. But if both tellings of the Shadow Moses incident can be incorporated into a second Metal Gear Solid HD collection, then obviously players should have their choice.

Capcom loves to repackage and re-release their games as many times as possible. While the HD versions of Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica did not make as big of a splash as Capcom had probably hoped, they could easily make up for this by releasing a proper physical HD collection to follow up those two games. Should Capcom choose to revisit the formula that the older games in the series followed, my suggestion would be that they stick with the earliest events in the Resident Evil chronology. As such, the games I would include in a second Resident Evil HD collection would be Resident Evil Zero, the Gamecube remake of the original Resident Evil, and Resident Evil 2. The two Gamecube entries present the classic horror style that the series is known for, and look downright gorgeous for the hardware they originally ran on. Resident Evil 2 certainly looks more dated, but is one of the most popular entries in the series, and would be more warmly received than either of the Outbreak titles or Dead Aim.

Finally, an entry that I really cannot see happening anytime soon (if at all) would be a Sonic Adventure HD collection. This collection would include both Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, as those versions of each game would make for a more completed package. It's possible that SEGA could tack Sonic Heroes on as well, but beyond that there are really no other 3D Sonic games old enough to be considered for such a collection. The reason I consider a Sonic Adventure HD collection so unlikely is that Sonic Adventure was ported to the Xbox Live Arcade not too long ago, and SEGA even went ahead and released a Dreamcast collection disc that included the likes of Space Channel Five and Sonic Adventure. Also, Sonic Generations is still relatively recent in gamer's minds, so I can't see SEGA jumping on an HD collection anytime real soon.

25 Days of Villains - #2: Solidus Snake

"Damn the Patriots!"

Born of the best genes Big Boss had to offer and therefore easily the strongest of his three sons, Solidus Snake displays a near-perfect balance of tactical and physical prowess. Solidus’ interest in the Patriots came about after the Shadow Moses Incident, when he was still in office as the 43rd President of the United States. Rallying Fatman, Vamp and Fortune to his side and forming the Sons of Liberty, Solidus assumed command of Big Shell, holding everyone there – including the 44th President – as his hostages. Believing Revolver Ocelot to be his ally, Solidus initiated his plans to undo the Patriots.

Solidus’ intent was to assume command of Arsenal Gear, which lay beneath Big Shell. After his encounter with Solid Snake and Raiden, Solidus’ lost one eye and his Harrier Jet was sent crashing toward the ocean. Ocelot’s Metal Gear RAY saved him, however, and the two headed for Arsenal Gear. Realizing that Solid Snake was now on Big Shell, Solidus sped up his plans to access Arsenal Gear and retrieve the identities of all the Patriots. Before he could complete this however, Raiden was captured.

Upon recognizing Raiden, Solidus revealed he was once his adoptive father. Solidus trained Raiden to be a ruthless killer at a young age, earning him the nickname of Jack the Ripper. Shortly thereafter, Ocelot revealed that the actions of both Raiden and the Sons of Liberty had been scripted by the Patriots. Infuriated, Solidus went on a rampage, destroying as many of the Metal Gear RAYS as he could and killing Olga Gurlukovich.

Unable to initiate his plan of knocking out Manhattan’s economic structure through an electromagnetic pulse, Solidus had no further means to fight the Patriots with. As Ocelot escaped with a Metal Gear RAY, Arsenal Gear was sent on a crash-course with Manhattan. Solidus beckoned Raiden for one final showdown in New York, to determine his capabilities as comparable to Solid Snake as per the S3 Plan. The third son of Big Boss was defeated by his protégé, just as the Patriots had intended.

Solidus is not only physically strong, but utilizes some diverse weapons. Attached to his combat suit are two robotic tentacle arms, which can be used to inflict forceful blunt trauma or fire small missiles. The suit also grants him boosted strength, speed, and endurance, despite his faster aging process. Solidus wields two katanas and a P90 submachine gun, and his plans at Big Shell are indicative of his careful plotting. His goal is not so far-removed from that of Solid Snake, but the fact that he is so willing to kill many to see that end achieved sets him apart from his brother. Were it not for the Patriots’ hand in everything, Solids Snake’s determination to defeat them would have most certainly succeeded.

Boss theme:

25 Days of Villains - #12: Revolver Ocelot

"You're pretty good!"

Child of The Boss and the Sorrow, Ocelot grew up away from his parents, under the influence of the Patriots from a very young age. When he eventually reconnected with his birthmother, neither of them was aware of it, and Ocelot's role as double agent for the KGB and CIA in investigating Colonel Volgin's GRU faction took center stage. As Naked Snake embarked on Operation Snake Eater, Ocelot began to investigate the Philosopher's Legacy, taking a liking to Naked Snake and forging a rivalry in the process.

Years later, Ocelot and Naked Snake (now known as Big Boss) joined a faction of the Patriots under the influence of Major Zero. The Les Enfants Terribles Project led to the birth of Solid and Liquid Snake, with Big Boss leaving shortly thereafter to organize his own faction. Ocelot began to resent the policies of the Patriots, but kept his thoughts to himself.

Ocelot incited Liquid Snake's insurrection at Shadow Moses. He tortured and killed DARPA Chief Anderson. He challenged Solid Snake to a duel, swearing to kill Snake after losing his hand to Grey Fox's blade. He also tortured Solid Snake in the same fashion. After all was said and done at Shadow Moses, he took the REX data for the grand scheme of the Patriots.

Ocelot joined up with Sergei Gurlokvich with plans to steal the Metal Gear RAY being developed by the US Navy, then took it for his own after double-crossing Sergei. Everything that occurred in the years that followed - the construction of Big Shell, the production of more RAY units, the creation of Arsenal Gear, and the rise of the Sons of Liberty - were aided by Ocelot's actions. He provided the tech that Fortune used to deflect bullets, and revealed this to Solidus Snake as he bid them farewell, taking off in a Metal Gear RAY unit.

With Liquid Snake's personality merged with his own, Ocelot (know more accurately known as Liquid Ocelot) led his own insurrection with Private Military Corporations shaping the face of international affairs, and the concept of power. Ocelot faced down Solid Snake in the RAY, while Snake piloted the REX, which resulted in both being rendered useless. With his own plans to unravel the Patriots complete, Ocelot challenged Snake to one final duel, his last words being the same that he uttered to Big Boss during Operation Snake Eater.

While Revolver Ocelot was actually working against the Patriots for the majority of his involvement with them, Ocelot leads both Solid Snake and players on to believe he is the enemy throughout the entire series. Though his aims may have been justified all along, Ocelot thieved, manipulated, and killed countless people to achieve that end. He knew this major goal would require some drastic actions, and was prepared to travel down the darkest of paths to see to its success.

Boss theme:

I chose his theme from Metal Gear Solid 4's final boss fight because it represents every one of Ocelot's appearances in the previous games.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance VGA trailer

It seems the upcoming Metal Gear game has seen a change in its title. I can only assume that Metal Gear Rising having dropped the 'Solid' portion is a way to make it clear to gamers that this is not a Metal Gear game in the same vein as the Metal Gear Solid titles. I don't see that as a bad thing, by any means. The game looks like it will play similar to Devil May Cry, and if the story is in keeping with the caliber of all the previous entries into the series, it's going to be one hell of a ride. Fighting a Metal Gear Ray all by yourself? Sign me up!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - VGA 2011: Exclusive Revengeance Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

25 Days of Villains - #23: Colonel Volgin

"Kuwabara kuwabara"


Colonel Volgin is a bad guy in every sense of the term. He seeks to obtain the Philosopher's Legacy, and at the same time wants to rally his countrymen to his goal of igniting the flames of war with the United States. But just how does Volgin intend to usurp Khrushchev's regime and turn the cold war blazing hot? By holding scientist Sokolov hostage and ordering the construction of the Shagohod, an all-terrain tank with a nuclear payload that - at its top speed - can target nearly any location on U.S. soil. As one of his earliest displays of power, Volgin decides to launch a portable mini-nuke at a facility of those who have not aligned themselves with his goals.

Political aims aside, Volgin has a penchant for bloodshed and violence. His sadistic tendencies are not just limited to his relationship with Tatyana. Upon seeing through Naked Snake's disguise as Major Raikov, Volgin beats him senseless, then has his bloodied form tortured. Suspecting that the Boss might somehow be in league with Snake, he decides the best way for her to prove her loyalty to him is to cut out Snake's eyes (with a knife, while he is still conscious). While Ocelot's interruption only costs Snake one eye, Volgin seems quite pleased with the results.

Volgin also exhibits a hatred of failure. When Snake infiltrates Groznyj Grad to detonate the Shagohod, Volgin faces him in hand-to-hand combat, channeling electricity through his punches. After the facility is destroyed, Volgin gives chase in the very-much-intact Shagohod, tailing Snake and EVA on their motorbike quite a distance away from Groznyj Grad. Even after the nuclear launcher is lost to the ravine, Volgin insists on stopping the duo with the drills and guns mounted on the cockpit portion of the Shagohod. Out of breath and utterly defeated, Volgin dies in a manner most befitting of someone who relished in the thought of bringing others pain - his body is struck by lightning, and the flames rising from the Shagohod cause the shell rounds he slings over his torso to explode one by one.

Boss theme:

Konami announces HD collections

As a pre-E3 announcement, Konami has revealed three HD collections that will see release for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. Arguably the most exciting is the Metal Gear Solid three pack, which will include Sons of Liberty, Snake Eater, and Peace Walker. Peace Walker reportedly will allow players the option of transferring data over from their PSP copy of the game. The Silent Hill collection will include Silent Hill 2 and 3, while the Zone of the Enders collection will include both Zone of the Enders and The 2nd Runner.

I really liked how Konami and Capcom went ahead and did complete collection releases a few years back, with game series like Metal Gear Solid and Devil May Cry respectively, and these new HD collections are equally as appealing to me. While I think this is a great move on Konami's part, I'd personally like to see Capcom and others cash in on this. Perhaps a Resident Evil HD collection? As much as I enjoyed Resident Evil 4 (which was a lot), it's seen release on the Gamecube, PS2, Wii, and... iPhone. So I'd prefer to see the first two games, plus maybe Code Veronica or Resident Evil Zero just to mix things up a bit. I also wouldn't mind seeing Square Enix do a few HD Final Fantasy collection releases, specifically with regards to the PSone and PS2 releases.

E3 2010: Third-party Games

Wednesday and Thursday of E3 are almost always devoted to second and third party developers, more notably the latter, as second party games are usually tied in with the big three companies’ showings. The systems the third party games are being released for appears to be rather balanced, and the genres more broad than last years’ FPS-dominant showing.

Valve gave us a taste of the much anticipated Portal 2 with a quick teaser, and it seems GLaDOS isn’t as ‘dead’ as gamers previously thought. Some time has passed since the first game, as Aperture Science is overgrown with plant life. The trailer was more focused around hyping up the game than giving gamers a good idea as of what new gameplay features would be implemented, but there is an obvious improvement in the level of detail of Portal 2’s graphics. Valve has stated that Portal 2 will be much more story-driven than its predecessor, but it is unclear as of yet whether players will once again be in control of Chell or a new test subject.

Fallout: New Vegas showed off quite a bit of gameplay, while still catering to its target audience with zany and twisted humor dominating the trailer. From what has been shown thus far, it seems Bethesda is sticking with the same engine they used for Fallout 3, so much of the gameplay will likely be very similar. Based on the events of Fallout 3 and its related downloadable content, it will be very interesting to see where Bethesda goes with the story of Fallout: New Vegas.

Although the series has hit more than a few bumps in the past as to who owns distribution and title rights, F.E.A.R. is returning with its third chapter from Day 1 Studios. This time around, Paxton Fettel and the Point Man are teaming up as the events of the second game come to a head. I was a bit uncertain if the third game could live up to what Monolith provided in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, but it seems that Day 1 Studios wants to try and improve on the pre-existing story and mechanics as much as possible without sacrificing the elements of gameplay that already work well for the franchise.

Capcom is delivering more zombie-slaying goodness in both Dead Rising 2 and Resident Evil: Revelations. The former takes place in Las Vegas and utilizes the do-it-however-you-want-to style of the first Dead Rising, while the latter promises to close some more of the gaps in the Resident Evil story while utilizing the capabilities of Nintendo’s 3DS. Capcom has also promised a third entry into their Capcom vs. Marvel arcade fighter series.

Konami appears to be changing up the gameplay significantly in Metal Gear Solid: Rising, which may very well be built off a completely different engine than that of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The story is meant to bridge the gap between the second and fourth games in the franchise and explore how Raiden changed so drastically in that time frame. What little gameplay was shown had Rained slicing and dicing people, buildings, cars, and even watermelon with pinpoint precision and sometimes pulling a Matrix-style slow-mo sequence for better aiming. I don’t imaging Kojima would release a Metal Gear Solid title without including some stealth elements, but Rising seems to be taking a cue from Guns of the Patriots in allowing gamers more freedom in how they wish to tackle a mission. Also, there is a distinct possibility that Metal Gear Solid: Rising could be used with Sony’s Move controller as well as Microsoft’s Kinect, as the game is slated for release on both the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow showed off plenty of gameplay, though a lot of this was already showcased at E3 2009. The voice acting cast was highlighted and the trailer put a large focus on the story of Lords of Shadow. There were some gameplay elements that distinctly resembled God of War and Dante’s Inferno, as well as Shadow of the Colossus as Gabriel scaled a gigantic foe. With all that in mind, Lords of Shadow is drastically different style of game than its platform prequels and is building up to be a strong title for late 2010.

EA’s Dead Space 2 seems to be taking more than a few cues from other horror genre games, most notably Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Developers have stated that the sequel is much more story-driven and from what the trailer shows, it seems that returning hero Issac is suffering from some sort of dementia following the events of the original Dead Space. A few new enemies were shown off, but the most notable change in the trailer is the broad range of lighting and environments in Dead Space 2, as opposed to the largely drab half-lit grey hallways of the first game.

Civilization V, a response in no small part to the upcoming Shogun Total War 2 and the recent Napoleon Total War, is being built from a completely new game engine, while including many strong elements of Civilization IV. The game will follow the same story pattern as all previous games in series as players begin in the old world and progress to the space age. There has been a significant graphical jump since Civilization IV, but it isn’t nearly as impressive as some of the other strategy games currently available for either consoles or PC. That said, the game has yet to be released, so improvements in this department are not out of the question. The developers are catering more to community mods and putting a greater emphasis on online play.

Square Enix showed off some footage of Final Fantasy XIV, which is an online title, leaving the story largely up to the player in contrast to the very much story-driven Final Fantasy XIII released earlier this year. The game appears to have a much more old-world style to it, harkening back to Final Fantasy I, II, and III. While not much of the gameplay was covered, the trailer makes a point of showcasing many different character builds and classes. Square Enix also announced a new title for Nintendo’s DS, separate from both the traditional Final Fantasy storyline and the Crystal Chronicles storyline. The Four Heroes of Light, as the game is currently titled, is focused around the DS’ multiplayer capabilities, though not much of the story has been revealed as of yet. Both showings could have been better - XIV highlighting more gameplay elements and The Four Heroes of Light showing off more than a few battle sequences - but it is nice to see that Square Enix is spreading themselves out across multiple systems and catering to different tastes.

Disney only showed off a little bit of both trailer footage and actual gameplay with Epic Mickey. The story centers around Mickey entering the world of all the rejected and forgotten Disney ideas, and the characters that inhabit that world have been fighting on the side of either Lucky the Rabbit or the Blot. Mickey uses a brush to paint in elements, such as platforms or items, to help him along his journey, while having the ability to delete things as well. In conjunction with Square Enix, Disney has another Kingdom Hearts title on the way, this time for Sony’s PSP. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep appears to deal in large part with the keyblade wars, and can hopefully build up and provide some explanation for the eventual Kingdom Hearts III. Neither of these games was shown for very long, nor did they highlight any hugely impressive game mechanics, so hopefully Disney will have more footage and information a short while after E3.

Eidos is bringing back the Deus Ex series, much to the surprise to many gamers. Deus Ex: Human Revolution will act as a prequel to the the original Deus Ex and carries the same cyberpunk style of the other games. Though the last release was in 2003 with Deus Ex: Invisible War, it looks like Eidos is putting plenty of effort into keeping the old fanbase while trying to aim at newcomers. The cutscenes for Deus Ex: Human Revolution are being handled by Square Enix and show off some very impressive stylized visuals. The footage shown thus far focused mainly on the game's cutscenes, so gamers will have to wait to see gameplay footage.

There were many other third party games showcased and to put them all in this entry would take up a huge amount of space. I specifically chose to cover the titles above as these were titles that had little to information or footage revealed pre-E3 2010. Unlike E3 2009 wherein many game engines were directly recycled to create sequel titles with a few tweaks or improvements here and there, the games of E3 2010 are much more original and building up to be far more impressive. Though there’s really no way to tell how successful these games will be until their actual release dates, I’m personally very excited to see the finished products and it just goes to show how the third party developers are pushing the envelope in order to compete with one another.