I finally got my hands on this masterpiece, and I loved it!
Confessions Week 2: George
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Confessions, the weekly feature of Toocubed which seeks to pin down the thoughts and opinions of our staff members. I, George, will be your host of the day. I'll express my likes and dislikes about the current state of our industry as well as the games that have garnered my playing time.
I finally managed to get my hands on Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes earlier this week. Granted, I have already beaten the original, but if Targett's pleas were any indication, Silicon Knights' effort still deserved my time. This game is fortunately a godsend, not only for those who have never played the first, but just for Gamecube owners in general. If you're anything like me, you have found that Nintendo's little box has hit a bit of a dry spell these past few months in terms of quality software. Twin Snakes improves on the title that it remakes in almost every aspect (note, almost), offering a terrific reintroduction of one of the greats which has undoubtedly since been deemed a classic. Our forums have been flooded with a heavy amount of topics revolving around Twin Snakes, for better or for worse. I say for the better because this little gem deserves notoriety and it is imperative that GC-owners play it. I say for the worse because many people are upset that Snake's remake has failed to earn the astounding reviews that it seemingly deserves ("Gamespot only gave it an 8.5?!?! THAT IS A MOCKERY!!"). I will say this: for an original game that has just been released, a score of an 8 may indeed be a bit dissapointing if said game has had a heavy amount of hype surrounding it. A remake, despite its greatness, is nonetheless limited to the source material that it is derived from. Consequently, Twin Snakes has recieved 8's not because of a shitty experience. Rather, it is a testament to how astounding the original was, which, despite being retooled with better graphics, added cutscenes, new gameplay mechanics, and the like, has found a spot in gaming as one of the most revolutionary experiences players had ever seen.
Moving on, I'd like to switch to another entertainment medium in order to validate my next rant: film. Unless you're criminally insane, you watch movies. The film industry has come a long way, and alot of it's early struggles coincide with many that the gaming industry has stumbled on. One thing that major studios put alot of effort into? Trailers. Previews. Is this wasted effort? Hardly. Filmmakers take great pride in a trailer that precedes their movie's release because it will inevitably instill viewers with the ever-prominent first impression. When I see a good preview, even if I may know nothing of that movie prior to that, my opinion is a positive one. Why? Well, because the trailer did an excellent job of showcasing what that particular film is all about. Will that same film go on to become a critical and commercial success? Hell no, but its possible. Revert back to the gaming industry. Trailers. Previews. Commercials. Publishers take great pride in these marketing techniques, right? Wrong. Flip on the TV. Sooner or later, you'll run into a gaming commercial, as they're on a hefty amount. After the commercial ends, reflect on what you know about that game. Trust me, just think about whether you would like to own that game. Done? Good. What have you come up with? Nothing? Not suprising. Let me be blunt: The commercials for videogames are laughable, not because the title being showcased is poor, but because they are utterly misleading and legitimately drab of any high points that that game may have. I have come to the personal conclusion that publishers simply do not find their own products very enticing to the mainstream. This is obvious when roughly five seconds of gameplay footage is shown, interweaved within a life-action skit that comes off as redundant. And yes, Nintendo's patented "Who Are You?" commercials fall victim to this as well. Lastly, what's with the cheesy voiceovers? One particular game, which shall remain nameless, tries to add drama to its preview by sticking some stilted nobody with terribly written lines:
"Survive and you will grow stronger."
Yeah, well no shit.
- George Giacone
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Confessions, the weekly feature of Toocubed which seeks to pin down the thoughts and opinions of our staff members. I, George, will be your host of the day. I'll express my likes and dislikes about the current state of our industry as well as the games that have garnered my playing time.
I finally managed to get my hands on Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes earlier this week. Granted, I have already beaten the original, but if Targett's pleas were any indication, Silicon Knights' effort still deserved my time. This game is fortunately a godsend, not only for those who have never played the first, but just for Gamecube owners in general. If you're anything like me, you have found that Nintendo's little box has hit a bit of a dry spell these past few months in terms of quality software. Twin Snakes improves on the title that it remakes in almost every aspect (note, almost), offering a terrific reintroduction of one of the greats which has undoubtedly since been deemed a classic. Our forums have been flooded with a heavy amount of topics revolving around Twin Snakes, for better or for worse. I say for the better because this little gem deserves notoriety and it is imperative that GC-owners play it. I say for the worse because many people are upset that Snake's remake has failed to earn the astounding reviews that it seemingly deserves ("Gamespot only gave it an 8.5?!?! THAT IS A MOCKERY!!"). I will say this: for an original game that has just been released, a score of an 8 may indeed be a bit dissapointing if said game has had a heavy amount of hype surrounding it. A remake, despite its greatness, is nonetheless limited to the source material that it is derived from. Consequently, Twin Snakes has recieved 8's not because of a shitty experience. Rather, it is a testament to how astounding the original was, which, despite being retooled with better graphics, added cutscenes, new gameplay mechanics, and the like, has found a spot in gaming as one of the most revolutionary experiences players had ever seen.
Want to see a perfect example of what I'm about to talk about?
Moving on, I'd like to switch to another entertainment medium in order to validate my next rant: film. Unless you're criminally insane, you watch movies. The film industry has come a long way, and alot of it's early struggles coincide with many that the gaming industry has stumbled on. One thing that major studios put alot of effort into? Trailers. Previews. Is this wasted effort? Hardly. Filmmakers take great pride in a trailer that precedes their movie's release because it will inevitably instill viewers with the ever-prominent first impression. When I see a good preview, even if I may know nothing of that movie prior to that, my opinion is a positive one. Why? Well, because the trailer did an excellent job of showcasing what that particular film is all about. Will that same film go on to become a critical and commercial success? Hell no, but its possible. Revert back to the gaming industry. Trailers. Previews. Commercials. Publishers take great pride in these marketing techniques, right? Wrong. Flip on the TV. Sooner or later, you'll run into a gaming commercial, as they're on a hefty amount. After the commercial ends, reflect on what you know about that game. Trust me, just think about whether you would like to own that game. Done? Good. What have you come up with? Nothing? Not suprising. Let me be blunt: The commercials for videogames are laughable, not because the title being showcased is poor, but because they are utterly misleading and legitimately drab of any high points that that game may have. I have come to the personal conclusion that publishers simply do not find their own products very enticing to the mainstream. This is obvious when roughly five seconds of gameplay footage is shown, interweaved within a life-action skit that comes off as redundant. And yes, Nintendo's patented "Who Are You?" commercials fall victim to this as well. Lastly, what's with the cheesy voiceovers? One particular game, which shall remain nameless, tries to add drama to its preview by sticking some stilted nobody with terribly written lines:
"Survive and you will grow stronger."
Yeah, well no shit.
- George Giacone