Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes is a great revival of the Classic PS1 title...as long as your not expecting anything new.
The graphics are incredibly enhanced. Expect to see graphics of the same caliber as Sons of Liberty, but not quite as well as Snake Eater. The cutscenes were redone very well, with Solid Snake actually doing more "Matrix" like stunts. Some see this as good, others may see this as "over the top" or "too much". One cutscene, Snake leaped off huge flying debris, planting a grenade on it, then allowing it to explode to blast himself over a wall, to hang onto the guardrail, all in mid-air. You can see this how you like, but it was kinda..."too much" for me from a MGS point of view.
The voice acting is on-par with the original. Much of the same. The biggest change you'll hear is Mei Ling's voice, who sounds more American. Expect the same from everyone else.
The Gameplay? in general, it's the same. You are allowed to do more "Raiden" like moves found in Sons of Liberty (Summersaulting, etc). You can also collect dog-tags (for no purpose). Yes, you can execute hold-ups as well, and also climb over rails. Frame-rate was constant for the most part of the game, but it seemed some parts slowed down a tad, though nothing to distract from the experience. You will experience solid gameplay that is slightly improved over the original.
The Story? The exact same. Most of the lines are left alone. You might hear some few things, but don't expect a whole new story telling experience. Only Metal Gear NUTS would detect much of these contingencies anyway. Expect to see more Humor in TS, which is definitely a positive. During the fight with Psycho Mantis, Snake looks at the camera and nods at you, to set your controller on the floor. Stuff like this is really cool. It makes you feel apart of the revealing story.
If you have a mindset that you're "DONE" with MGS1, as in, you've played it a few times, and you've finished the experience, don't expect to have loads of fun with this game. Much of it is left alone. It's really the same game with new graphics and varies tweaks. All of the items, enemies, cutscenes, etc are at the same locations. The map layouts were left alone as well.
The best remake I've ever encountered was Resident Evil 1 on the GC. It's even my favorite RE game. Though the foundation of RE was left alone, RE1 featured more puzzles, story, voice acting, cutscenes, scare, etc. It was almost a new game, that you could recommend to any RE fan, no matter how much times he has beat the original.
But with MGS:TS, it's very closely like the same game, maybe because the original was so good? Some think this is how it "should be". Others like me, want to look for new experiences, even if its in more mini games, or unlockable modes. The various tweaks are nice, but I'd wish to have felt a more warming experience.
Gamespot's review is spot-on. If you are tired of MGS1, I would recommend staying away. If you hated MGS1, you won't like this one any better. If you've played the first one many moons ago, and feel like you want to give MGS another shot of fun, play it on the GC. If you've already been there, done that, then MGS: TS will not add much to your experience that you've already had...
A large concern with TS, is how to keep people playing it again. Although it's very short like the original, most would not want to replay due to the countless hours of accumulated cutscenes, even though you can skip them. The problem with this, is if you find yourself skipping the cutscenes, then you really are skipping the game, even if it is your 3rd or 4th time around. Collecting dog-tags is great, but it should have accounted for something at the end. For instance, 20 dog-dogs would unlock a certain mode/aspect in the game to allow further gameplay (like found in Snake Eater). There is also No VR training in this game like found in the original.
Overall, being that I played MGS 1 three times on the PS, no matter how crappy it looked, it was one of my favorite games as a teenager. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had on the PS1. Playing MGS:TS on the Gamecube didn't add to this experience, but it didn't take away from it either.
PROS:
*Retains all of the Vital MGS 1 Experience
*Graphically Enhanced
*Audibly Enhanced
CONS:
*Grants no new experiences, but doesn't lose any either
*Loss of VR Training or fun mini games
*Replay value isn't at it's best.
*Cut scenes could have been alittle sharper graphical wise.
Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes is a great revival of the Classic PS1 title...as long as your not expecting anything new. It keeps the same PS1 experience that many have grown to love.
Againsandre