Solid Snake posts(Subscribe to this feed)

Today in Joystiq: July 5, 2007

by Ross Miller { Jul 5th 2007 at 11:59PM }

A Deviant Art sketch by DeltaP42 (via Myke). Entitled "we're expecting," it gets to the heart of those favoring all systems equally. One caveat: anyone who's watched the totally awesome Mario Bros. movie knows that Mario's first name isn't Super ... it's Mario. As in, Mario Mario (and Luigi Mario is his brother, natch). Got that? Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Behind the price cut: The long, strange saga of the $599 PS3
E3 2006's Wii line in real time
Joystiq hands-on: Rock Band Kyle Orland eats games for lunch on new review site
Peter Moore tells Joystiq about the new warranty program
Square Enix in your pocket: DS edition
Today's most retro ad: Japanese Punch-Out!! commercial

News
GameTap Thursday: Mark Hamill Edition
Tetsuya Mizuguchi to build Virtual Tokyo in Second Life
DS game aimed at preschoolers announced -- I Did It Mum!
Matt Groening to be final boss in Simpsons game
Xbox 360 Elite on sale in Japan Oct. 11th for ¥47,800 ($390)
Blue Dragon demo scheduled for July 20th
New MGS4 trailer debuting at E3, Sony and Konami keynotes
Euro Blu-ray sales up 1000% since PS3 launch
Unreal Tournament 3 to ship with dozens of multiplayer maps
Square Enix's Last Remnant trailer debuts
Sony defends UMD, says 'future is bright'
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles has co-op, duh?
Microsoft expands Xbox 360 warranty for red ring sufferers
EA adds dumbed down control options for Wii sports games
First look at Aquaria level editor
Bungie turns up Halo 3 heat: new details, campaign screenshot

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Circuit City drops PS3 price by $100 week of July 15

Culture & Community
Gnome corpse advertisement in WoW by gold farmers
Apt timing for Nintendo's pre-E3 downers
Partial list, massive E3 2007 lineup
New York Times looks at the fabulous life of video game dress-up
Counterfeiter ordered to pay Nintendo 2.5 million
Hudson admits Bomberman: Act Zero was bad

Wii Warm Up: All my Smash Brothers

by Alisha Karabinus { Jun 8th 2007 at 9:00AM }

Considering the continuing excitement over frequent updates to the official Super Smash Bros. Brawl site, we can't get the game out of our heads. It's always there, lurking, and sometimes it just bursts out as though emerging from a Poké Ball, so we thought it might be a good day to sit down and discuss both Brawl and Melee. Specifically, who did you wield as your ~~weapon~~ character of choice in Melee, and who do you think you'll use in Brawl? Will you stick with the same character (if you can), or perhaps switch to someone new (may we suggest Solid Snake?)? Of course, the best laid plans of mice and gamers sometimes fall by the wayside once we actually have a controller in our hands, but we'd love to hear what you think you'll do.

Friday Video: This one's for all the brawlers

by Alisha Karabinus { Apr 20th 2007 at 5:34PM }

Since this week featured a heavy dose of awesome in the way of an epic battle between Samus and Halo's Master Chief (sort of ...), we couldn't help but think about other possible matchups. Like ... Samus versus Solid Snake.* Where could we possibly see that?

Oh, right. We will see that -- when Super Smash Bros. Brawl hits. Until then, we'll have to settle for yet another SSBB video. You guys keep making 'em, and we'll keep showing them.

*Actually, that would be a pretty simple fight ... after all, it only takes a crab to punk Snake down.

Continued →

Friday Video: smashing it up with our favorite brawlers

by Alisha Karabinus { Jan 12th 2007 at 6:30PM }

We're not sure which part of the hotness that is today's featured video is the hottest, really. But when you blend footage from some of our favorite characters doing their thing in their own games with clips from Super Smash Brothers Brawl, do we really need to quibble about which part is the most awesome? No, probably not. It's best to just soak it in ... and we're all over the music choices, as well.

Continued →

Gasp: MGS Portable Ops may see sequel

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jan 3rd 2007 at 7:00AM }

The effects of Konami's most recent stealth adventure, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, have been frightening to say the least. A simple "hello" to one of the bloggers currently playing it is often unreturned, met only with a vacant stare at the greeter's neck and a forlorn sigh. It is with great, neck-preserving displeasure then, that we report on the status of a sequel to Snake's card-free PSP outing.

In a recent (ish) PSM podcast, Ryan Payton, the assistant producer for Kojima Productions, underlines the strong possibility of a sequel. "If it's successful on the retail level there will definitely be a sequel." It's quite simple. If you desire said sequel, you'd best go buy the game ... and possibly discover that you don't really want a sequel after all.

[Via Eurogamer]

Listen -- PSM Podcast (15:50)

TGS: Bootlegged MGS4 trailer given clarity

by Ross Miller { Sep 22nd 2006 at 3:55AM }

The Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer we reported yesterday is now available in higher quality. Enjoy with more clarity Snake's oil drum-rolling antics (Snakes in a Barrel anyone?) and an incident involving bird poop and what might be Gray Fox / Frank Jaeger.

The video is embedded below for your convenience, compliments of Game Videos.

Continued →

Metal Gear Solid 4 in late 2007, hopefully -- new trailer for now

by James Ransom-Wiley { Sep 21st 2006 at 2:30PM }

According to a Famitsu report, Hideo Kojima estimates that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will need at least another year's worth of development time before it's finished. While Kojima had previously promised to deliver in 2007, he's narrowed that window to late 2007 -- at the earliest. For now, Konami is offering a new trailer, which is currently premiering at Tokyo Game Show.

The new trailer -- partially captured in bootleg form from the show floor here & here -- is allegedly 100% gameplay, although Konami has tweaked the camera perspective for clarity. At just 6 minutes, it's significantly shorter than the E3 presentation, but reveals new gameplay elements, including stealth items (e.g. an oil drum), the Octocam suit, and a shift from stealth-orientated missions to player's choice gameplay (i.e. you have a goal and are free to decide how to achieve it).

[Thanks, nijah]

Friday night fluff: the video edition

by Alisha Karabinus { Sep 8th 2006 at 6:27PM }

In honor of certain events and just 'cause it's Friday (aw yeah), we thought we'd cap off the week with a little something that turned up on YouTube. We never felt so close to Microsoft before.

Now, this doesn't mean we condone the Sony haters -- but we totally approve of console fusion with a dash of Blur, and anything that ends on Solid Snake's cardboard box is okay in our book. Classic.

Kojima to design Snake's Smash Bros. Brawl stage

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jul 31st 2006 at 11:00AM }

Sparked by remarks from a Nintendo Power contributor, reports indicate that Hideo Kojima will design Snake's stage for Wii's Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Nintendo Power's Chris Hoffman recently commented, "If you want to talk about something big, how about the news Hideo Kojima, Snake's creator, is designing Snake's level in Brawl? Snake's inclusion means we're not only getting one of the best characters in gaming, but one of the best developers as well."

With Sakurai at the helm and Kojima lending, not just Snake, but his actual development talent, are we anticipating the ... Best. Smash Bros. Ever?

Super Smash Bros. Brawl video

by Ludwig Kietzmann { May 11th 2006 at 8:00AM }

Featuring more farting, fireballs, pink balls, elite soldiers, mythological boys, portly plumbers and space bounty hunters than you can shake a motion-sensing stick at, this video footage of Super Smash Bros. Brawl demands to be watched immediately. It's strange that Nintendo didn't blow the audience away with this during their initial press conference, but trite old sayings tell us that getting it now is much better than not getting it at all. Thank goodness for those.

[Via Nintendo Gal]

Audio-only peek at the MGS4 E3 trailer

by Christopher Grant { May 5th 2006 at 9:57AM }

As promised, the Kojima Productions Report podcast has "pirated" the first 90-seconds of the Metal Gear Solid 4 E3 trailer's audio. The bad news: it's all in Japanese. The good news: there's an English translation of the audio (.mp3) at their website!

Since we can't see what's happening, let's use our ears to tell us what's going on. Mostly, for non-Japanese speakers, not much. Just don't expect Snake to be cutting any throats in the first 90 seconds. Alright, so the audio isn't really telling us anything besides there are two dudes talking (go figure, in MGS?). Let's move onto the transcript.

Alright, those two guys are none other than Snake (Solid we presume) and Campbell (still a Colonel?). Standard MGS dialog ensues but then ... what's that? Who runs the dummy corporation that controls the five largest private military corporations (PMCs, natch) that have become a serious threat to the world and the US military hegemony following the Manhattan incident?!

Who else? This is gonna be good!

[Thanks, David and Mike]

See Snake in MGS3: Horse Meat Eater

by Christopher Grant { Mar 27th 2006 at 8:30PM }

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was almost a great game. Instead it was a really good game with one major flaw: you couldn't eat horse meat. That is why it thrills us to discover that Hideo Kojima has seen fit to amend this oversight in MGS3: Subsistence.

Sure, it's only a bonus movie this time... but our top secret inside sources at Konami have informed us that MGS4 on the PS3 will be the most realistic 4-D horse meat eating simulation in existence!

[Via VG Cats]

Metareview - Metal Gear Acid 2

by Rafael Espiritu { Mar 26th 2006 at 12:00PM }

Lots of Metal Gear Solid fans freaked out when they found out that the PSP-exclusive rendition of their favorite series was turned into a strategic, card-based game more similar to Pokemon than Splinter Cell. Fortunately, the game was received somewhat well by the general gaming population, and undoubtedly led to the creation of a sequel, Metal Gear Acid 2, less than a year later. But is the follow-up still worth looking into? Most everyone says, "Uh, I guess so."

Metal Gear Acid 2 features a gaggle of new cards as well as smoother, more refined game play. Although if you never took a shine to Metal Gear Acid's style of play, it's safe to say that its sequel won't impress you much either. The addition of the gimmicky but workable Solid Eye peripheral may sway a few skeptics out there, however we really can't imagine anyone would feel particularly enthused about the game based solely on the add-on's inclusion. But hey, if you love Snake's mullet enough, half a day staring at a screen smooshed a few inches from your face may be an endeavor not too difficult to manage.

1UP (9.0 / 10) - "It still won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if strategy, gambling, comic books, and espionage are high on your gaming wish list, this might be the perfect portable title for your needs."
GamePro (4.0 / 5) - "With all the improvements and tweaks to the gameplay system, it's hard to really find anything really drastically wrong with the game other than personal taste. If you have the patients [sic] to play a methodical strategy game wrapped around an action game facade then Acid 2 is for you."
GameSpy (4.0 / 5) - "Metal Gear Acid 2 shows that the switch to turn-based play was a sound one, after ironing out the wrinkles in the first game. This time around, you'll play MGA 2 not for the name on the box, but for the content inside -- and you'll leave much happier."