It’s at all times fascinating revisiting a basic sport a long time later – whether or not dusting off some previous {hardware} to play the unique, leaping into a brand new remaster, or tucking right into a full remake or reboot of an icon. The upcoming Steel Gear Strong Delta Snake Eater falls into the latter class as a brand new, visually beautiful reimagining of MGS 3. From the trailers and gameplay snippets Konami has already launched, it appeared MGS Delta could be a deeply trustworthy remake. After enjoying the Virtuous Mission prologue, I can verify that’s completely the case.
With shot-for-shot and word-for-word accuracy, the opening cutscenes and radio messages are recreated with a stage of faithfulness I can’t recall seeing in a correct ground-up videogame remake. The identical applies to the remainder of the cutscenes throughout this opening mission. In fact, the massive distinction – which I’m positive nearly all of you studying it will have already adjusted to – is the photorealistic character fashions. Seeing Snake, Main Zero, The Boss, and co. rendered in painstaking element might be the largest allowance of artistic license in Metal Gear Solid Delta, and I believe the depiction of the unique stealth game’s forged is sensible.
Gameplay-wise, the setting round you is after all enhanced to an enormous diploma and appears extremely lifelike. Reflections glisten off of the swamp part within the opening minutes. You may make out the person tooth and physique ridges of the crocs circling it. Particular person leaves and blades of lengthy grass sway in a delicate breeze.
As soon as once more although, it’s ultra-faithful to the unique, with the positioning of timber, barrels, and grass patches all reflecting the format of Steel Gear Strong 3. Judging by what I performed on this prologue, missions are additionally nonetheless damaged up into small areas separated by transient fades to black. Most remakes can have in all probability appeared to make them into one seamless open space for the sake of modernity, but it surely’s simply one other instance of Konami being – and say it with me now, people – trustworthy to Hideo Kojima’s basic. I’ve used that F-word loads already, so why is Konami being so obsessive about Delta Snake Eater being like-for-like?
“In our opinion, the gameplay after which the storyline is ideal because it was. There’s no want to alter it,” producer Noriaki Okamura tells me at a current preview occasion in London.
There are some modernizations and contemporary additions right here, together with a new controller scheme that extra intently aligns with what you see in present action games, plus a tighter third-person digital camera perspective. That stated, the legacy digital camera and management choices are nonetheless accessible within the settings menu.
That is to say that Steel Gear Strong Delta Snake Eater is precisely what most MGS3 followers will need. It portrays the sport in beautiful element and gives some useful modernizations for individuals who haven’t touched the unique shortly, all whereas being stoically true to, properly, just about every thing.
Nonetheless, it stands in stark distinction to a different remake of a Konami basic that I additionally received to take a look at through the London occasion. As you’ll be taught from my Silent Hill 2 remake preview, that mission faithfully recreates cutscenes, areas, and characters whereas additionally exercising the liberty to adapt facets or add completely new concepts. Silent Hill 2 is one other sport with ‘good’ standing for a lot of, but Bloober’s remake finds area to innovate and construct on Workforce Silent’s foundations.
MGS 3 remake is a enjoyable nostalgia journey with spectacular visuals and stealth gameplay that also holds as much as today. However, on reflection, I want there was even a small splash of innovation current – one thing that would actually shock me. Perhaps the remake strays from the unique path additional in, however from what I’ve seen and heard, I doubt it.
I’m to see how these two remakes of iconic Konami video games are acquired – one which prides itself on fervent faithfulness, and one other that massively respects the supply materials whereas additionally riffing on what made it nice. All it’s essential to know for now about Steel Gear Strong Delta is that it’ll be the new finest approach to take pleasure in one of many biggest action games of all time. Simply don’t anticipate any huge surprises.