Metal Gear's formula was first demonstrated on, and faithfully returns to, a Nintendo console in Metal Gear Solid: TTS.
Years, later, Hideo Kojima and the folks at Konami decided to create a modern adaptation of the classic Action-stealth game.
Initially released on the Sony Playstation, then mildly updated for the Sega DreamCast, and now with comparably major updates, on the Nintendo GameCube.
For those who remember the fantastic story Kojima's presence inspired in Snatcher (you probably also remember the naming of the small robot on Snatcher after Metal Gear) and the way that the game's plot stayed with you after you completed it, it's no wonder that gamers would want to return to the exciting world of Kojima's Metal Gear Solid once more.
This time around, you can hide in lockers, use first-person view mode, unlock a Boss Time Trial Mini-Game, view all of the game's cutscenes (separated into 4 versions, Regular Clothing-Meryl's Ending, or Otacon's Ending, & Alternate Clothing- Meryl's Ending, or Otacon's Ending) and, as always, review the dog tags you have collected.
Another interesting new feature is the Brief mode, which contains several never-before-seen scenes depicting Snake as he asks questions of the colonel and Naomi.
Some of the voice actors have been changed, though it's hard to notice if you haven't played Metal Gear Solid since its PSX incarnation.
Also, some of the dialogue has been altered to remove some of the cheesier lines and replace them with sensible ones.
There are five (really, six) difficulty settings, Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Extreme (unlocked after completing once)
As gameplay unfolds, you must decide whether to sneak behind, beat unconscious, or quietly maim the guards that stand between Solid Snake and his destination(s).
At particular junctures, you will receive a call from one of several people, who will inform you of details surrounding your covert "sneaking mission", your objectives.
Dialing the respective # on the Codec (once Snake knows of a number, someone can be called simply by clicking on the individual's name) will allow you to contact the Colonel, or others, among them Mei Ling, who will save your game inbetween dropping asian proverbs.
Your mission is to infiltrate an Alaskan base while trying to avoid being spotted.
This can mean sneaking up behind some poor soul and snapping his neck off like the cap of an old fashioned bottle of Coca-Cola, using a variety of firearms; handguns*, automatic weapons, sniper rifles*, rocket launchers, and grenades (Chaff to elude security cameras, Stun to knock out a room full of people, or a simple explosive grenade)
*Handguns and sniper rifles come in both live ammunition and tranquilizer variations.
Empty magazines ejected from your many firearms throughout gameplay are collected for use in distracting guards (throw one in the opposite direction to sneak past) which is yet another new, and creative feature.
Just as the Weapons Menu is accessed by holding R shift, L shift can access an Item Menu in which you can use or simply equip (which automatically partially refills health upon the complete depletion of your current health) a Ration, or equip Bandages for when Snake is bleeding (and thus slowly losing health. Another way to patch up his bullet wounds is lie on the ground to apply pressure to the areas)
There are also times when Snake will need cold medicine (it's hard to be well-hidden, after all, when you are constantly sneezing)
Also available on the menu are the boxes, provided you found them (Box A, B, & C respectively) that, if used in the back of a cargo truck, will deliver you to various already-visited locations throughout the game..
The updated (now including Matrix-like bullet-time animation) cutscenes are very well-directed and are a blast to watch.
As much time is spent watching this game as is spent playing it, after all, and therein lies another new feature.
When watching cutscenes, you can zoom in using the R shift button, and the joystick to move the camera to your heart's content.
From the Options screen, you can choose the audio from Mono, Stereo, or Nintendo's awesome trademark Dolby Pro Logic II.
Blood can also be turned On or Off here (unless you're extremely hemophobic, I don't recommend leaving this off)
Among the new features, is the ability to jump over the side of various locations so you can drop down below, or simply do pull-ups to increase your grip level.
Why do that? A higher grip level enables you to hold onto the ledge longer, allowing you to stay out of the line of sight if you'd like to hide there, and don't want to drop below (which, if it's too far down, could be an instantaneous and painful death. I call it the Croft death)
Mario and Yoshi not only make an appearance (in toy form) in this game, but can also reportedly be fired upon to, in the case of Yoshi make a sound effect, or in the case of Mario refill health, during the "Ninja Battle" (veteran MGSers will know who the Ninja is, otherwise I don't care to spoil it. You will know when you get there)
Included amongst the computer-generated cutscenes are filmed FMVs that depict things like nuclear armaments and their application by the military.
The FMV sequences increase the game's overall feel of realism.
As does the fact that you can at any time call and get advice from several people throughout gameplay.
You can discover a camera should you return to a particular, semi-hidden room (see FAQ/Guide for details) that can be used to take pictures throughout the game (and can be used from the very beginning of the game upon completion, meaning since you load a "Completion" save when replaying like Resident Evil, you carry over extras like the Camera, Bandana and Stealth through the Completion save, and thus you only need to obtain the camera once)
Using 3 blocks of card memory, you can take as many photographs as your Slot A/B card(s) have memory to hold.
Photos taken in specific locations contain "ghosts", images of the programmers, that can only be seen when viewing the photos from the menu screen of the game.
The game has two endings, the Meryl (Good) ending or the Otacon (Bad) ending. Both unlock something that can be used in gameplay; the Bandana, or the Stealth (the first, when equipped in the Items menu, enables infinite ammunition, while when the latter is equipped you are invisible to enemies)
The variant that decides the ending, is whether you choose to struggle Rambo-esquely through the relatively easy Torture sequence (by button mashing) or surrender, thus giving you the bad ending, with a decidedly better reward.
The two-disc game is, when you are playing through the first time and don't skip the cutscenes, considerably long and appreciably so.
After completing the game once, Snake, Meryl, and the Ninja will have different outfits, which stay different during the cutscenes (and thus between the two endings you unlock four sets of cutscenes for viewing in the Demo Theater)
The boss time trial has three difficulty settings; Easy, Normal, and Hard, and pits you against the game's bosses, rating your performance at the end.
Upon completing Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, you are given a completion time, rating and a password, which you can enter online at Konami's address (also provided at the end) to upload your score online.
The graphics, sound, and gameplay have all been updated for the better- the once blocky graphics provided by Sony have been smoothed out by Nintendo, who, after all, gave birth to the Metal Gear franchise.
Speaking of which, those who have played the 8-Bit Nintendo's Metal Gear games will recognize the alarm sound effects as being faithful to the series.
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes combines nail-biting action with an incredibly well-written and inspired story and is worthy of any gamer's videogame collection.
Snake? Snake!? SNAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!
Blessed Be