‘We didn’t need to mess with the unique’ – Palms-on with Metallic Gear Strong 3’s remake

“It’s precisely what you’d need it to be.”

These have been the ideas, shared in unison between VGC and Big Bomb’s Dan Ryckert after we locked eyes following 90 minutes with Metallic Gear Strong Delta: Snake Eater.

The remake, which brings Hideo Kojima‘s seminal PS2 stealth title into 2024, goals to not solely remake a basic but in addition revitalize a franchise that’s confronted uneven water since its creator departed underneath murky c circumstances.

“That is one in every of my favourite titles as nicely, and because the recreation was already good, to start with, we didn’t need to mess across the unique artistic route of the sport,” says  Noriaki Okamura, a Konami veteran who serves the remake’s producer.

“There are numerous issues that we didn’t really feel obligatory to vary.”

Our preview consisted of the primary 90 minutes of the sport. Earlier than beginning we have been requested to decide on between a 30FPS high quality mode which focused a dynamic 4K decision, and a efficiency mode which renders at 1080 and can dynamically scale increased.

We have been additionally requested which of the earlier Metallic Gear Strong titles we appreciated finest. Whereas we have been advised by a Komami consultant that the performance was not current within the demo, that selection, very similar to its equal selection within the 2004 unique, may have penalties.

The sport’s opening, referred to as The Virtuous Mission, sees Bare Snake HALO soar into the USSR with a view to recuperate a Soviet defector. Snake is behind enemy strains with a knife, a silenced tranquilizer, and his wits.

After a gap cutscene displaying off the newly rendered characters, full with credit for the unique artistic group, Kojima et al, Snake lands within the jungle.

The sport could be very graphically spectacular from the second we received our fingers on it. The jungle is much denser, and the elevated complexity in geometry signifies that the very clearly outlined limits of the extent are much less apparent.

There are two approaches that Konami may have taken right here. Both they make what is basically a shot-for-shot remake when it comes to enemy placement, degree dimension, sub-area dimension, and merchandise positioning, or as a result of vastly elevated technical limitations, they might have made the opening degree one steady sequences, freed from loading screens.

At present, it looks like Konami has chosen the previous, as gamers who’ve ran by way of this mission dozens of instances can be in extremely acquainted territory. The large change, nevertheless, is in how the sport performs.

“It is a 20-year-old recreation,” says Okamura. “So once we determined to deliver to trendy platforms, we didn’t need to make it really feel like an previous recreation. We did refine numerous issues to be sure that for individuals who didn’t play the unique, it nonetheless appears like a recreation that got here out this present day.”

The brand new management scheme is the most important reflection of this modernization. The sport now controls like Metallic Gear Strong 5: The Phantom Ache. Snake’s vary of motion is far bigger, the velocity with which you’re capable of swap by way of weapons and objects is far sooner, and as a complete, the sport is much extra pleasant to play.

The unique recreation was launched just some years earlier than third-person motion titles started to obtain largely uniform management schemes, and as such it’s a tough and clunky recreation to return to, however Metallic Gear Strong Delta alleviates all of that.

The sport begins with a warning that the sport could comprise content material that’s now not thought of culturally applicable, much like the one discovered as a part of the Metallic Gear Strong Grasp Assortment. Nonetheless, Metallic Gear Strong Delta: Snake Eater doesn’t plan on shying away from a number of the recreation’s outdated concepts.

“We’re nicely conscious that a number of the expressions could have been outdated,” says Okamura. “We’ve got a content material warning, nevertheless, we left [the content] in out of respect of sustaining the unique creator’s imaginative and prescient that he had for the sport.

“That was an govt determination to go away it in. There are components which were modernized and gamers are vastly totally different than they have been 20 years in the past, so there are undoubtedly tweaks, however when it comes to story and plotline, we left them as is.”

Whereas to date it’s a really trustworthy remake, the sport has additionally invested in some glorious quality-of-life options. The camo mechanic is now extremely streamlined and may be accessed in-game slightly than stopping proceedings to hunt by way of a menu.

We performed by way of the remainder of the demo with ease (that is in all probability the tenth time we’ve performed the Virtuous mission) and received our first have a look at the sport’s coterie of villains. The Boss, The Ache, The Worry, The Finish, all rendered lovingly, and delightfully unusual as at all times. The Finish’s eyes coming out of his cranium has by no means seemed higher.

It’s simply an extremely good feeling to be so enthusiastic about Metallic Gear once more. For practically a decade, all the passion from followers has been solely connected to video games that have been getting older and older, and seemingly locked in a bitter divorce between creator and studio. Now, issues really feel a lot brighter. Konami is referencing Kojima by title, in public. Kojima’s continually posting concerning the collection, there’s clearly nonetheless nice love there.

And now, we’ve got a Metallic Gear Strong recreation to be enthusiastic about. Positive, it’s not a brand new entry, but when the remainder of Delta is pretty much as good because the part we performed, a Metallic Gear Strong 6 turns into a much more cheap dialog to have.

“The recognition fluctuates over time, we haven’t launched something shortly,” displays Okamura.

“Our focus proper now’s to rebuild the artistic group, we’ve got a number of the core members of the unique group, however proper our focus is ensuring we are able to ship the Metallic Gear collection this present day if that takes off, hopefully, we are able to do extra with it.”

If Metallic Gear Strong Delta: Snake Eater is a temperature test for the return of the franchise, then to date it’s doing an unbelievable job. It feels unbelievable to play, it seems glorious, and it retains all of the campy nonsense that makes Metallic Gear so beloved.

It’s like Konami sat down and stated “What doesn’t maintain up about MGS 3,” and laser-targeted these issues whereas leaving the issues that made it so distinctive alone. We couldn’t be extra assured about Metallic Gear Strong Delta: Snake Eater as a bundle, and we’re determined to play extra.

And what of the remainder of the collection? Does the success of this remake decide the way forward for the franchise? What of Transportable Ops and Metallic Gear Acid, two titles Okamura himself labored on?

He laughs fondly as we point out these titles, “These video games are my private favorites too.”

“If there’s a excessive demand for them, tell us if you wish to see these video games on trendy {hardware}, however proper now we’re doing issues little by little,” he chuckles.

Let’s begin with liberating MGS 4 from the PS3, maybe?