Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (often abbreviated TTS) is a stealth action game developed by Silicon Knights and Konami that was published in 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube. TTS is a remake of Metal Gear Solid.

TTS features graphical improvements over the original, new cut scenes written and directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, and gameplay functions originally introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The game also includes a revised translation with re-recorded voice acting using most of the original English voice cast.

Development
TTS is interesting as a collaboration between Nintendo's then second-party developer Silicon Knights, Konami, and film director Ryuhei Kitamura.

In 2002, Nintendo invited Konami to create a Metal Gear game for the GameCube. Hideo Kojima agreed, but decided that it should be a remake instead of an all-new game, and it was also decided that a new developer should work on it. Kojima claimed there was no point in having the staff repeat their earlier work, while his team at Konami Computer Entertainment Japan had little experience working with the GameCube, and was already busy developing Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

TTS was first announced in 2003 by Nintendo, confirming that Silicon Knights would be developing under the guidance of Hideo Kojima and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.

Although TTS was largely developed at Silicon Knights, its cut scenes were developed in-house at Konami and directed by Japanese film director Ryuhei Kitamura, reflecting his dynamic signature style, utilizing bullet-time photography and choreographed gunplay extensively. Kitamura created many of the game's cinematics to look identical to those in the original MGS, but upon inspection, Hideo Kojima had him redo them.

Release
TTS was released on March 9, 2004, in North America. It was originally to be released in November 2003, but was pushed back, along with the other versions. The European date was pushed back several weeks, released on March 26, 2004, and was repackaged with artwork to make up for the delay.

In Japan the game was released on March 11 alongside an exclusive Premium Package. The box includes the game itself; a platinum-colored GameCube adorned with the FOXHOUND logo; a 44-page book titled Memorandum containing production notes, sketches and photos; and a GameCube disc called the "Special Disc" containing an emulated version of the Nintendo Entertainment System version of the original Metal Gear and a trailer of TTS.

Plot
During a training mission on Shadow Moses in February of 2005, at a nuclear weapons facility on a remote island off the coast of Alaska, the Next-Generation Special Forces unit FOXHOUND rebelled against the United States government, under the command of Liquid Snake. Their target was the advanced weapon system Metal Gear REX, a gigantic robotic weapons platform able to independently launch a nuclear warhead at any target on the face of the planet. Their demand was the body of the greatest soldier who ever lived, Big Boss, which, through gene therapy, they could use to create an army of ultimate soldiers.

With the safety of the entire world at stake, at the request of the Secretary of Defense, Colonel Roy Campbell, the former commander of FOXHOUND, summoned Solid Snake out of retirement for one last solo covert operation.


 * For a full summary of the game, see here.

Music
The game's composition duties were split: some of the in-game music was handled by Steve Henifin and Silicon Knights' music staff, while the rest of the music featured in-game, in menus, and in cut scenes was handled by Konami's music staff, including GMS co-composer Norihiko Hibino.

As with previous games in the series, the cut-scene music has a more orchestral/choral basis than the in-game music, which is more electronic with an emphasis on strong beats during action sequences. As the game is a remake, many of the themes recall the music in the original game. Hibino composed a military-themed take on the "Metal Gear Solid Main Theme" for the game's trailer; "Mantis' Hymn" was transformed into a driving battle theme. The main theme itself was largely excised from the game, and replaced by a slightly modified version of Sniper Wolf's theme. While many fans of the original were unhappy with the changes, most were pleased with the new interpretations, leading to frustration as Konami failed to release a soundtrack album.

Voice acting
The voice acting was re-recorded, with most of the original voice cast from MGS returning in their original roles, with the notable exception of the voice actor for Gray Fox. In the original game, Gray Fox and Donald Anderson were both voiced by Greg Eagles. In the remake, Eagles reprised his role as Anderson, but Gray Fox was voiced by Rob Paulsen. Unlike previous MGS titles, no Japanese voiceovers were recorded for TTS. Instead, the Japanese release used the same English voice acting as the North American and European versions.

Cast

 * *This credit appeared only in the game manual and early demo versions of the game. David Hayter did not have a pseudonym in the game credits.

Reception
Much like the original MGS, which received excellent reviews from critics, TTS also received an and 85% from Game Rankings and a 85 out of 100 metascore on Metacritic. IGN gave the game a 8.5 out of 10, praising its superior graphics and likening the presentation to epic movies. GameSpot gave it an 8.2 out of 10, Eurogamer rated the game as 8/10, and Gaming Age gave it a "A-" rating. Game Informer gave TTS a 9.25/10, citing its improved gameplay and graphics, and also its faithful retelling of the original MGS story.

Despite receiving generally favorable reviews, TTS has also drawn criticism. According to GamePro, the game has a "flagging framerate and bouts of slowdown that occur when too much activity crowds the screen." The new gameplay elements from MGS2 have also been criticized as unneccessary, as the level design is virtually unchanged from MGS, and, according to EGM, even "spoil the challenge ... and completely ruin at least one boss battle." (the battle with Revolver Ocelot is made much easier with first-person aiming)

Also, many were disappointed with the direction of the new cut-scenes, despite the fact that Ryuhei Kitamura was hand-picked by Hideo Kojima to direct the cinematics. One criticism is that they are more extreme, featuring The Matrix-inspired fights that are a stark contrast from the first game's gritty realism, Psycho Mantis notwithstanding. In the original, for instance, there are no scenes where Solid Snake backflips off of a missile or dives in the air,uppercuts a enemy higher than a normal human or dodging a rather large section of the roof that Gray Fox has cut off and kicked at Snake. One particularly controversial cutscene involves Snake and Meryl standing for ten seconds watching what is obviously a sniper's laser sight dancing over Meryl's body.

Another criticism is that the Codec support team's voice acting is weaker. Those who had foreign accents in the original (Naomi Hunter, Mei Ling, and Nastasha Romanenko) now sport more American accents. However, while some of these changes were disliked by some fans, most of them were intentional. Mei Ling, for example, has a less distinguished Chinese accent, but since it is later found out that she was born and raised in America, the change makes sense.

A few lines were altered from the game's script as well. While having most that were from the original, some phrases that were in the Japanese version were added into this new English dub. One such case was the following line as Snake talks to Campbell and Naomi about Liquid surviving his helicopter crash:

Original: "...He'd be sliced up faster than an onion on an infomercial as soon as he ejected."

Remake: "...He'd be torn to ribbons by the rotor blades as soon as he ejected."

Differences
Apart from the obvious upgrade in graphics, The Twin Snakes has a number of less apparent alterations compared to the PlayStation version.
 * Minor dialogue changes were made to some bits of dialog. These dialog changes were more closely related to the original Japanese text and then implemented in the reminiscing sequences of the Shadow Moses level in Metal Gear Solid 4;
 * Many features from MGS2 were implemented, including First Person Aiming and the hanging feature;
 * All cutscenes were re-rendered, most undergoing major reworking under guest director Kitamura, including controversial changes such as Solid Snake springboarding off a missile that Liquid fires from his Hind D, launching him into the air where he fires the coup de grace at Liquid;
 * Right after entering the Comm Tower, Snake was originally spotted by a camera. In TTS, he trips the sensors on laser beams (introduced in MGS2);
 * The ending text was rewritten to reflect the year 2003, as opposed to 1998 when the original was released;
 * When the player is spotted by an enemy, the game doesn't automatically go into the Alert Phase. The enemy has to call for the back-up attack crew to come and help, than the game goes into the alert phase.
 * There is no longer a timer during the Alert phase. It simply disappears when the enemy loses sight of Snake.
 * Lockers have been included, as seen in MGS2. Snake can hide in them, or hide bodies in them. This also applies to bathroom doors.
 * The disk change location is now at the bottom of Communications Tower A. The PlayStation version's disk swap occurred before entering the Blast Furnace;
 * Like MGS2, dog tags can be collected from enemies. However, unlike MGS2, there is no reward for doing so.
 * Your ammo and ration capacity wouldoriginaly go up throughout the game, in Twin Snakes, you have max capacity at the beginning.
 * Guards can now call for backup and make regular reports on patrols;
 * Boss Survival mode was added to the Special menu;
 * Originally, during the HIND boss battle, there was Nikita Ammo on the bridge (which eventually gets destroyed), in TTS, the Ammo is moved to the left side of the tower, not on the bridge;
 * Psycho Mantis' dialog regarding saved games was altered to mention GameCube games, specifically Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem;
 * The entire musical score with the exception of The Best Is Yet To Come was rewritten;
 * Like MGS2, the pause screen has a map of the base, the original version just had the name of the area Snake was in;
 * The Game Over screen was replaced;
 * The Very Easy difficulty setting was added;
 * No VR Missions were included. In an interview, Dennis Dyack commented that VR training was to be included, but time ran out before the feature could be implemented;
 * In the PlayStation version of MGS, the player's life and maximum ammunition are gradually increased as the game progresses. In TTS, both are at maximum from the beginning (as in MGS2). In addition the life bar is refilled after every boss battle, whereas in the PlayStation version it was only refilled partially after boss battles, and only completely after certain events;
 * Codec call skipping was added in, again mirroring MGS2. Originally, pressing a button during a Codec call would result in the voice over stopping and the screens progressing manually. In the remake there are two choices for call skipping. Pressing the B button mirrors the original game's manual progression, while pressing the A button will fast forward the call straight to the end;
 * Many environmental elements from MGS2 were introduced into the remake, such as lockers, fire extinguishers, and others. In addition, many objects in the background can now be destroyed or broken, such as mirrors;
 * The spotlights on the Helipad sweep vertically, in the original, they swept horizontally.
 * The M9 and PSG1-T were added, as well as boss Stamina bars, allowing for Stamina kills on some bosses;
 * The books for distracting guards were introduced, featuring a picture of Alex Roivas, the main character of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem rather than a real-life cover model;
 * Sniper rifle controls were changed, making it possible to shoot while standing or kneeling. In the original, Snake automatically went into a prone position when the PSG1 was equipped while the scope automatically zoomed in;
 * The effects of snow were added in, a feature first seen here for the MGS saga. While outside, snow will fall on the camera, fogging it up or frosting it slightly. Snow will also stick to Snake when he stands still and will come off all at once when he moves;
 * The thermal goggles were updated to show a more realistic representation of heat, as introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. In the original, the thermal goggles tinted the screen red and significant objects such as enemies were a solid red, which was also shown in the first release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty;
 * Claymores placed by the player are visible. In the original game they disappeared after placement;
 * The Nikita missiles must be controlled from First Person. Originally the player could guide them in either First or Third Person view;
 * The AP Sensor was added for players who might play without the radar;
 * The PAL key icon changes color according to what temperature it is, rather than the player having to check its information screen as in the original game;
 * The radar mode "Caution" was added. Heavily armed attack squads also patrol the vicinity, as in MGS2;
 * A "Game Over if Spotted" option was added to the Hard and Extreme difficulties;
 * The radar is replaced by an enemy's field of vision window if they spot footprints or something equally suspicious, as in MGS2;
 * Bodies do not disappear unless they are discovered or after a certain amount of time has passed;
 * The final section of the battle with Gray Fox, in which Fox generated an electromagnetic field for the player to avoid, was removed;
 * Many small modifications were made to level layout and design. For example, figurines of Mario and Yoshi are now found in Otacon's office, along with a GameCube and a wireless Wavebird controller. Shooting Mario will also slightly restore life;
 * Diazapam is now called Pentazamin
 * The music is now different in every area, even during Alert and Caution phases;
 * The footage of Policenauts that was shown during Otacon's explanation of anime in the original has been replaced with footage of Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. An interesting note is that the cutscene is a seamless transition that bridges two cutscenes that were separate in the original;
 * As with MGS2, TTS had a web site where players could submit Clear Codes that are displayed upon the completion of the game, and compare the results with other players. The website was open between March 9, 2004, and March 31, 2005, with a total of 20,405 codes submitted;
 * Disposal hatches were added near the cliff of the Heliport;
 * The top of REX's head (where you fight Liquid) is noticeably bigger as compared to the original, making it so that the rail gun protrudes out so much that it actually hits the wall located beneath the control room.
 * Sentries patrolling the Warhead Storage Facility are armed with shotguns fitted with knock-out rounds, which makes more sense from an in-universe point of view (Snake cannot use weapons in this area so as not to damage the warheads);
 * When Snake has to escape from the Hind D at the top of Comm Tower A, the player may choose to hang-drop all the way down if they did not grab the rope item;
 * An extra cutscene was added if Snake tripped one of the beam sensors in the Tank Hangar airlock;
 * The Briefing Files segment was updated from 2D animations of Snake to a fully 3D demo with Snake and now-visible Campbell and Naomi. Both Campbell and Naomi are slightly fleshed out more as they can both be seen interacting with Snake;
 * Lights can now be shot and destroyed. For example, the Heliport Spotlights can be shot out.
 * In the Psycho Mantis fight, Snake now has more time to look around in first-person before the view switches to Mantis' POV;
 * To beat Psycho Mantis, the player must periodically go through all four controller ports as Mantis begins to recover the ability to read Snake's mind, as opposed to the original two.
 * PAN Cards no longer have to be selected to get through a security door.
 * Some of the hidden cutscenes that you had to activate (ie: looking through vents to activate the cutscenes), are now default cutscenes.
 * The layout of the catwalks in REX's hangar was revised, with overhangs being removed or rearranged, such as the PAN key temperature shortcut, and ladders being replaced with stairwells. Also, loading times between levels have been removed. Also the player is no longer able to climb over REX's haed, in fact, the ladders were removed.
 * At the cliff of the heliport, a railing has been added, making more sense (The original did not have the railing at the cliff, and Snake would be blocked by an invisible wall)
 * The camera is now looking down upon Snake during the rappel section, where the original looked up at Snake.
 * Wires are now strung in certain areas for hanging (the wires were introduced in MGS2). A noticeable example is in the Blast Furnace, where Snake has to crawl upon an outcrop from the wall. The player can choose to take the outcrop, or hang from the wire.
 * When Snake is pressed against the wall, he can crouch and walk while still pressed against the wall, where originally he would just crouch (this was also introduced in MGS2). This was criticized for making the Blast Furnace section easier ( Snake had to crouch against the outcrop and remain there until the robotic arm overhead would stop, and move again, the player had to time this section perfectly to avoid getting knocked into the molten metal below.
 * The lasers in the Tank Hangar can now be destroyed by shooting at the boxes next to the lasers (the boxes were introduced in MGS2).
 * The Stingers lock on system was changed to look identical to MGS2.
 * The Nikita has been alternately moved to the office on B1 of the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building if the player forgot to get it in the Armory.
 * The M1 Tank stays in the Canyon after Snake destroys it, where it was originally gone after Snake went back out to it to get the Nikita.
 * Guards now patrol areas they didn't patrol originally ( ie. the Canyon, and the section before REX's storage hangar).
 * The amount of Gun Cameras in the area before the REX's hangar went from 12 to just 2 on the wall above the door.
 * The design of the elevator controls was changed to look like how they did in MGS2.
 * Gun Cameras have been put in some areas where normal cameras were originally.
 * Snake can now catch a cold and sneeze (the Medicine item is now in the game), all mirroring MGS2.
 * Some glass windows can now be destroyed.
 * Trap doors in the floor will collapse in and fall down, where in the original, they were on hinges, and sprung back up.
 * Snake's triple kick combo is made to look identical to Raiden's from MGS2.
 * Snake's walking animation has changed to look more smooth and realistic.
 * Snake's health can now go red, and slowly decrease as Snake bleeds. Snake can cure this by kneeling down to let the blood clot, or using the bandage item. All of this was first seen in MGS2.
 * The Bandage item was included.
 * Due to the better graphics,the GUI is now clearly visible on the many Computers found around the game. One computer even has a Silicon Knights website on it.
 * Some items (ie: Cardboard boxes, suppressors, goggles) have been moved to completely different locations than in the original;
 * The layout of some of the rooms in the armory, heliport, and tank hangar have been slightly altered. A good example is the room where you get the FAMAS in the armory. Originally, the room was mainly empty except for the lasers and the FAMAS, but now there are crates in the room.
 * There are now only 4 cubicles (instead of 5) in the office on B1 of the Warhead Storage Building. The missing 5th office has been replaced with a row of lockers.
 * More lines of dialogue were added to some codec conversations. A good example is when Deepthroat calls you when you enter the gas hallway.In the original, he told you to "Use a remote guided missile". In Twin Snakes, Deepthroat said "First, destroy the high voltage switch. It is the panel on the northwest wall. Use a remote guided missile."
 * Gun camera turrets can no longer be destroyed by the Nikitas in the Gas Hallway.
 * Some parts that were originally gameplay are now in cutscenes, or in the "mini-cutscenes" before a specific event (ie: a boss battle)
 * The location and actions (physically) of the characters are completely different in cutscenes than in the original.
 * A whole new cutscene has been added of the Ninja killing all of the soldiers in the hallway outside of Otacon's office (in the Playstation original, it was only implied that the Ninja had killed the soldiers).