1998sMetal Gear Solidis one of those rareundisputed classics.
Hailed as a revolutionary release in its day, the games reputation has arguably only grown since then.
But what if I told you that there was a significantly weirder official version ofMetal Gear Solid?
They seemed to be the perfect outside studio to tackle aMetal Gear Solidtitle.
Remarkably, news about the remake only got better from there.
Think about all of that for a second.
It was, as many would soon discover, too good to be true.
The More Things Change…
In some ways, it very much was.
In those ways, though, we discover some of the games biggest problems.
However, it didnt take long for gamers to spot the fundamental issue with that setup.
Broadly speaking,Twin Snakesis a significantly easier game than the originalMetal Gear Solid.
Most challenges could now be overcome simply by tranquilizing foes from a safe distance.
At best, those expanded abilities minimize the intended tension of many of the games best moments.
Stealth is now often optional in that revolutionary stealth game.
Other parts of the original game were simply ruined by those gameplay additions.
Its almost like the video game equivalent of Gus Van Sants shot-for-shot 90sPsychoremake.
Why isTwin Snakes gameplay like that, though?
Surely someone must have realized during development that was going to be an issue.
Working with someone elses property meant having to adhere to whatever guidelines another company set forth.
you could probably start to see how big ideas became big problems.
That inherently tricky relationship was complicated by additional factors.
WithTwin Snakes, the question was not only Whose vision are we fulfilling on any given day?
but How do we regularly cross an ocean of communication and logistical challenges to fulfill it?
For that matter, how many people in 2004 looked atMetal Gear Solidand felt that it trulyneededa remake?
Thats the strangest thing aboutTwin Snakes.
In this case, though, you cant talk aboutTwin Snakes problems without talking about Hideo Kojima.
What kind of scene changes are we talking about?
Originally, Silicon Knights intended to makeTwin Snakesas similar tothe originalMetal Gear Solidas reasonably possible.
And those are the realTwin Snakesat the heart of what makes this game so strange: Kojima and Kitamura.
In fact, in an interviewwith CVG, Kojima was asked about the possibility of collaborating with more studios.
You have to match the studio to the project, Kojima explained.
In the past, we didTwin Snakeswith Silicon Knights and it didnt do that well.
I think part of the reason was that we were trying to control it too much.
Snake….Snake?!?!?
Its difficult to imagine a studio that could have successfully navigated those challenges.
Yet, I loveThe Twin Snakes.
Its often enjoyable and always wonderfully weird.
Some will argue The Twin Snakes is better off as a humorous Did You Know?
game best experienced via YouTube and these kinds of retrospectives.
Maybe they are right.
