Metal Gear Solid! Another old game I'm replaying rather than getting through new stuff... it makes me happy okay, sue me??! Also, this game is technically new since I have never played the Twin Snakes before.. So anyway, Twin Snakes is a Gamecube remake of MGS1 make by Silicon Knights using the MGS2 engine so make it feel a bit more 'modern'. I've only played the PS1 version a couple of times and only finished it once I believe (outside watching my old pal Chad complete it once) as opposed to MGS 2 + 3 which I've completed about a dozen times together and MGS4 which I think I also only beat twice... and 5 just once. But anyway we'll get to those later
With this remake we're dealing with the same story - Solid Snake is a gruff guy who pushes people away but gets shanghai-d into a mission to stop terrorists on an island off Alaska who've take control of a new Metal Gear - REX! He finds out there's a lot of shit going on underneath the surface and learns some real important life lessons along the way - the MGS standard! They brought back all of the original voice actors here and other than Cam Clarke as liquid doing a VERY unconvincing British accent (though Liquid himself is amazingly Hammy, I like to believe it is Liquid himself who is intentionally doing a bad accent) they're all pretty damn good. The dialogue however is quite poor in a lot of places and I'm curious if this game has a new script from the MGS 1 version because I don't remember it being this shitty in some places but.. I suppose I will have to replay the original to find out!
This game in particular has a very strong theme of "Genes", and I know this from my long history of deep dives in the MGS series and also because "Genes" pop up in nearly every other line of dialogue in the game. Genome soldiers, genetic destinies, twins, etc. As you fight the bosses and talk more with your support cast you learn more about everyone's histories and how they felt "boxed in" by their past selves and where they came from - Solid with his trauma at having to kill his mentor/father Big Boss, Meryl and trying to find her connection to her lost father as a soldier, Psycho mantis and his abusive father, Sniper wolf and her lack of home growing up, Liquid even trying to escape Big Boss AND Solid's shadow and feeling like Solid stole his genetic destiny from him, etc. etc. A lot of these are overdone in their melodrama (My girlfriend rolled her eyes at several scenes..) but ultimately I think are well told. The finale is a bit long in the tooth but ultimately quite good and the inestimable Jennifer Hale plays us out with the life lesson in that we have to CHOOSE what we dedicate ourselves to and then do it, not spend so much time worrying about where we are from and searching for where we should be. There's some tragedy to the story of course since I already know how Snake's story ends but overall I quite enjoy the ride.
With this remake we're dealing with the same story - Solid Snake is a gruff guy who pushes people away but gets shanghai-d into a mission to stop terrorists on an island off Alaska who've take control of a new Metal Gear - REX! He finds out there's a lot of shit going on underneath the surface and learns some real important life lessons along the way - the MGS standard! They brought back all of the original voice actors here and other than Cam Clarke as liquid doing a VERY unconvincing British accent (though Liquid himself is amazingly Hammy, I like to believe it is Liquid himself who is intentionally doing a bad accent) they're all pretty damn good. The dialogue however is quite poor in a lot of places and I'm curious if this game has a new script from the MGS 1 version because I don't remember it being this shitty in some places but.. I suppose I will have to replay the original to find out!
This game in particular has a very strong theme of "Genes", and I know this from my long history of deep dives in the MGS series and also because "Genes" pop up in nearly every other line of dialogue in the game. Genome soldiers, genetic destinies, twins, etc. As you fight the bosses and talk more with your support cast you learn more about everyone's histories and how they felt "boxed in" by their past selves and where they came from - Solid with his trauma at having to kill his mentor/father Big Boss, Meryl and trying to find her connection to her lost father as a soldier, Psycho mantis and his abusive father, Sniper wolf and her lack of home growing up, Liquid even trying to escape Big Boss AND Solid's shadow and feeling like Solid stole his genetic destiny from him, etc. etc. A lot of these are overdone in their melodrama (My girlfriend rolled her eyes at several scenes..) but ultimately I think are well told. The finale is a bit long in the tooth but ultimately quite good and the inestimable Jennifer Hale plays us out with the life lesson in that we have to CHOOSE what we dedicate ourselves to and then do it, not spend so much time worrying about where we are from and searching for where we should be. There's some tragedy to the story of course since I already know how Snake's story ends but overall I quite enjoy the ride.