New Metal Gear Acid 2 details emerge

The Tokyo Game Show 2005 gave gamers the first chance to check out Metal Gear Acid 2's new peripheral-enhanced 3D graphics. Additional details on MGA2 have been disclosed this week, courtesy of the latest issue of Famitsu.

The storyline in Metal Gear Acid 2 sees Solid Snake getting caught by the FBI at the beginning of the game. In exchange for his freedom, Snake agrees to take on a mission in which he infiltrates a private military company. But things turn out to be more than what Snake bargains for, as he learns about the existence of a new Metal Gear.

In a short interview with Famitsu, director Shinta Nojiri disclosed that MGA2 will feature more than 500 different cards in total, more than twice the volume in the original MGA. As a new element, players can "upgrade" their cards in the game by using points. For example, Nojiri hinted that the Naked Snake card from Metal Gear Solid 3 could be upgraded to a card with his later identity--Big Boss.

One major feature that's sure to interest Metal Gear Solid fans is the new "arena mode" in MGA2. In the arena mode, players will be able to fight against the various bosses from the entire MGS series, such as Revolver Ocelot. By winning in the mode, players will be rewarded with rare cards.

Nojiri also revealed that the metallic eye patch that Snake was seen wearing in the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer from the Tokyo Game Show is actually a device called the "Solid Eye"--the same name as the 3D-vision eyewear peripheral bundled with MGA2.

The Famitsu article also revealed connectivity between MGA2 and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Players that take in-game snapshots using the camera item while having their PS2s hooked up to a MGA2-equipped PSP (via a USB) can check out their snapshots in 3D on the PSP (via the Solid Eye peripheral).