A more complete version of MGS4 is...

Posted on September 01, 2010 08:46 pm by Ravi Singh

Metal Gear Solid: Integral. Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Even Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus... nearly every major Metal Gear Solid title to date has had some kind of an updated re-release or expansion pack. We're not sure about what's to come with regards to Peace Walker, but what about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which was released two years ago?



It's been a year since Kojima Productions promised that they'll be talking about trophies "soon." Well I guess by "soon" they meant "in a year," because after an inquiry on a more "complete" Guns of the Patriots on Twitter, Hideo Kojima responded with this:

"I wanted to make a 'Complete Version' with trophy support and 3D, but if I did that I wouldn't be able to work on a new game. I wonder if someone else would make it for me."

This doesn't sound like a typical downloadable patch. Perhaps Mr. Kojima has other things on his mind? I will say that I very much like the idea of a re-release for Guns of the Patriots. However, it's going to take more than trophies and 3D support (which probably wouldn't work on most televisions) in order to persuade me to even spend $20 on this. Here's some things Kojima should look into being implemented if he's hopefully being serious:

1) Installation Fix
Surely technology has gotten better and Kojima Productions has some tricks up their sleeve to at least make it so that you only have to install the game once and will never see the installation screen after that unless you delete the installation data? There is no fucking excuse for this shit even back in 2008, but there surely will be no tolerance towards it two years later.

2) VR Missions, Alternative Missions and or Snake Tales
Guns of the Patriots had the tragedy of having a lot of in-game environments which were essentially rushed by the average player. After all, the game has Snake jumping from one location to the next. Critics love to criticize the previous games for "backtracking" but even with smaller environments, these older titles feels like you're within a much larger world. These missions will at least squeeze a lot of potential gameplay from these areas. Just look at how Peace Walker ended up feeling like the biggest Metal Gear title to date.

3) Every Metal Gear Online Expansion Pack Ever
I'm sure those of you who already have these will be pissed, but it's no different than how European bonuses in previous Metal Gear titles which were used as an apology by Konami for the late release date were implemented in the re-releases and expansion packs. However, MGO is pretty much dead now and if Konami is interested in creating at least a short surge in MGO activity, they will include all of the expansion packs within this "complete" version of Guns of the Patriots.

4) PlayStation Move Support
I probably will not use it. However, considering the gameplay style of Guns of the Patriots which at times resembles the modern Resident Evil titles, the Move will make aiming and firing weapons feel... natural.

5) 720p Re-Release of Previous Titles
It was done for the first two God of War games. It will be done for the Sly Cooper series. How making a re-release for previous Metal Gear titles such as Metal Gear Solid, Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater (if not also the original classics) to work on all PlayStation 3's with true 720p rendering and trophies? It's a bit much, but while Subsistence feels like a rip-off considering that MGO is now Metal Gear Offline, at least it came with remastered versions of the original Metal Gear titles. Surely there's a good amount of people out there who do not own backwards compatible PS3s who would appreciate even a simple port.

6) The Document of Metal Gear Solid 4
The limited edition version of Guns of the Patriots was released with a Blu-ray disc that was essentially a documentary on the development of the game. What would be more complete than that? How about something like The Document of MGS2? Throw in all sorts of unreleased content like concept art, the game plan, Kojima's linear notes, rough drafts of the script, unused character models, and so forth. Even those who absolutely hated the game would be interested in what the fuck Kojima was thinking with some of the game's plot. Speaking of which...

7) Another Plot
I'm mostly kidding here. I'm over it, don't worry.

Of course, all of this is speculation and in the end of the day, what Kojima said means nothing. If a more complete version of Guns of the Patriots was really on his agenda, he would have gotten it done already. Instead we got a shooting gallery adaptation of Guns of the Patriots for Apple's touch devices, some minor input with the upcoming Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and the development of a canon Metal Gear title that won't deal with the canon. Kojima may be a busy man and as a result his development is obviously occupied, but what ends up being developed is mostly his choice and he simply never sought to make this "complete" version of Guns of the Patriots.

SOURCE: andriasang, jdnation

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Could Peace Walker be the end of the Chilean miners?

Posted on August 31, 2010 05:44 am by Ravi Singh

Unless you've been... trapped in a mine, I'm sure you've heard about the mining accident which has led to over thirty miners in Chile stuck in a mine about a half a mile underground. Luckily, Chilean officials will probably be able to drill through to get them... probably in a month. Or two. Or three. They could do it quicker but they don't want the mine to collapse and kill everyone, you know.

At least they do have the ability to send these men a few needed supplies and even some luxuries to entertain them... like playing cards, MP3 players, a mini-TV projector, Sony PSPs, recorded sport gam--wait, PSPs? Yes, they sent a PSP to each of the trapped miner, probably to let them kill time without killing each other. However, is that such a great idea? Obviously if they sent down Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops it's fucking game over and everyone is going to get pissed. However, what about an actual good game... like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which was released fairly soon and thus might very well be the game sent to these folks?

Sure, there's no excuse to not co-op with the thirty or-so men around you, but anyone who has played the game can tell you how frustrating it can get, solo or not. Ever played co-op with someone who thinks they're fucking Rambo when you tried to sneak around? What about some of the boss battles in general? Most people don't realize that they should be leveling the fuck up and developing weapons instead of jumping straight into the missions and attempting to demolish the machines. Here's a quote from someone who thought the boss battles were infuriating:

"Other frustrating games have tempted me to crack my PSP in two, but this one took that temptation to all-new hair-pulling levels."

This was written by Matt Cabral for GamePro magazine. Now Mr. Cabral probably played the game in decent conditions. Sure, most likely he was rushed to finish most of the game as quickly as possible in order to "review" it, but I'm sure he had access to light, actual lavatories, gourmet meals, an actual bed and an air conditioner. Now imagine the miners who have to be in the dark all the time, shit and piss in a tunnel, eat two spoonfuls of canned fish, take turns sleeping in cars and deal with 95°F weather with 85% humidity.



I pray that these men who are already demonstrating a lot of patience will carry on with Peace Walker, which really is a good way to kill time and can be a lot of fun with other people. Otherwise, I'm afraid we might see more than just PSP units being cracked into two. Then again, maybe they just gave them a copy of Loco Roco, or maybe these guys will look at these devices, laugh, and then watch the game on their new projector.

SOURCE: Tom's Guide, USAToday, GamePro

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Peace Walker (RED)

Posted on August 22, 2010 02:15 am by Ravi Singh

Have you heard about PRODUCT(RED) which was started by Bono and some other guy to basically make red versions of products people buy that has some of it's profits given away to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria? All kinds of shit came out from an overpriced version of Windows Vista with extra red wallpapers to a god damn red American Express credit card. Looks like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker decided to jump in via their usual DLC update!



For the usual price of $0, you can download the new RED and Naked (RED) camo and any percentage you want from that $0 goes to the Global Fund!* You can also download other new things as per usual like a track for the in-game Walkman, but none of that gets donated to the Global Fund. Sorry man, but corporations like Apple and Nike gotta eat too, and they do so when you buy non(RED) items! But it will be you who will bear the guilt of having a black iPod.

SOURCE: My PSP, Product(RED)
*For the math illiterate, any percentage of zero is fucking zero.

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Lightning Bolt Action meets non-lethal-hand-cutting!

Posted on August 22, 2010 12:57 am by Ravi Singh

Despite Shigenobu Matsuyama's recent appearance at the Konami press conference at Gamescomes where he pretty much said his name is Shigenobu Matsuyama and that he was actually going to have something to show or talk about next year, Konami did indulge in some minor information regarding Metal Gear Solid: Rising--specifically how to play the game without cutting some bitches the fuck up at will. According to IGN:

Konami says you will never be rewarded for killing humans in Rising. When you encounter human resistance you can slice their weapons in half, causing them to run away in fear. If you accidentally slice off a hand or two, well, that will be forgiven, we are told.

Similarly, you will be forgiven if you suck at the whole "sneaking" thing these gosh darn Heavy Metal Gear Slug video games are supposedly all about.

"While Snake would wait patiently for an enemy to walk by, Raiden won't be standing around twiddling his thumbs. He can move undetected and easily sneak up on enemies while remaining in stealth mode. Konami calls this 'hunting stealth'."

Batman confirmed for Rising.

SOURCE: IGN, jdnation

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Gamescom 2010: His name is Shigenobu Matsuyama!

Posted on August 18, 2010 07:57 am by Ravi Singh

Recently Konami finished their press conference at Gamescom 2010. Wither or not they were high out of their minds like they were during their E3 press conference a few months ago is yet to be seen. However, Kotaku did live blog the event and apparently, everyone's favorite video game producer decided to show up!



Shigenobu Matsuyama talks about how Metal Gear Solid: Rising is the first game he's worked on that's not an arcade title. We already knew this. Anyways, this is Shigenobu Matsuyama's first visit to Gamescom (and Germany in general) and Shigenobu Matsuyama is pretty thrilled. Shigenobu Matsuyama is working hard on your lightning bolt action game and... doesn't have anything new to tell us. Trying to show off his Kojima Productions cred, Shigenobu Matsuyama instead announces a future announcement to be made next year at Gamescom that will surprise us. Shigenobu Matsuyama is speaking at the conference this year just to let an European audience be aware of who Shigenobu Matsuyama is, and what his name is... which is Shigenobu Matsuyama.

That's all the Metal Gear related news that came out of Konami's press conference this year at Gamescom. Stay tuned next year when Shigenobu Matsuyama tells us about what Shigenobu Matsuyama has that will surprise us!

...

In case you forgot, his name is: Shigenobu Matsuyama!

SOURCE: Kotaku, Shigenobu Matsuyama

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