Metal Gear Solid
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Review: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Remember when Hideo Kojima said that Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker would contain a feature so great that it would make people want to buy a PSP? Well, ol' Hideo got one over on us again, because it isn't just one feature: it's the entire game. Rather than create a Metal Gear experience that somehow works within the confines of the handheld's capabilities, he and the Metal Gear Solid 4 team at Kojima Productions seem to have been inspired by them. The result is a game that is very much a "true" Metal Gear Solid that fits in your pocket, and much more. It's almost as if Kojima, compelled to make just one more game in the series -- wasn't there something about MGS4 being his last? -- looked at the PSP and said, "Let's show them everything we've got." %Gallery-65704%
Hear the sounds of stealth with Astro Gaming's Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker headset
Astro Gaming wants you to play Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker the right way: with a headset larger than a PSP and almost as expensive. The company has unveiled a special Peace Walker version of its A30 headset, featuring Peace Walker imagery on the earphones. It has the same cross-platform compatibility as the traditional A30, and the same ability to swap out the graphics. If you want the sides of your head to bear the Peace Walker logo (and if you also want to hear sounds and stuff), you can pick one of these up for $150. You can also add $20 and get a downloadable boxed copy of the game, which is probably something you want, considering that you're hypothetically going to drop crazy bucks on a headset with its name on it. [Update: corrected the bonus offer: $20 gets you a retail, packaged copy of Peace Walker.]
Sony Walkman W252 gets a Limited Edition MGS makeover
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is coming out for the PSP soon, and in classic Sony style, we're being treated to a custom-painted W252 Walkman to celebrate the event. This wearable MP3 player can fit 2GB of your favorite stealth action theme music, and gets the party started with six preloaded tunes from the Peace Walker soundtrack. Beyond that, you're getting that gorgeous camo outfit and the same water-resistant durability as the less Limited W250 models. Full PR and one more pic after the break.
MGS: Peace Walker Walkman, for the Big Boss who has everything
Sony and Konami have partnered on a new Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker MP3 player, no doubt modeled closely after the kind of MP3 players used by real mercenaries in 1974. The NWD-W253Z Walkman is a special edition of a new waterproof (!), wrap-around Walkman MP3 player, featuring an original camouflage design and preloaded with six songs from Peace Walker. The 4GB Walkman will be released in Japan in "mid-May" for ¥11,800 ($128). Each order will include a voucher for downloadable in-game characters (in Walkman apparel, of course!). One version of the device, limited to 2GB, will become available in the US at an unspecified date. [Via Siliconera]
MGS: Peace Walker UNIQLO shirts available in the US in June
The quirky Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker t-shirt line being sold by retailer UNIQLO will be available in the US starting June 11. To celebrate the US launch, Hideo Kojima himself will appear at the Flagship UNIQLO store in New York City on that day to sign autographs. In addition, prizes including artbooks and PSP bundles will be given away. The best part: for the millions of us who don't live anywhere near a UNIQLO store, the shirts will also be available online. Each one will include a code for the same shirt in-game. You can put a picture of Snake on Snake so you can sneak while you sneak. See all the designs here.
Konami launches MGS: Peace Walker code hunt
Are you ready to scour the deepest corners of the internet to prove your Metal Gear Solid fandom? Should you and four of your friends have a lot of free time on your hands, you can partake in Konami's MGS-themed Code Hunt, taking place across various sites on the internet. (Sorry, this one isn't one of them.) Get the top positions on the leaderboards, and you'll be able to win the grand prize: $10,000 to be divided evenly amongst all members of your team. Runner-up prizes include a Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker "Big Boss" PSP Bundle and gift cards. The contest ends on June 2nd, meaning you have plenty of time to figure out what the heck these clues mean. If you're able to understand an MGS story, you should have no problem breaking this code, right? Good luck!
Cardboard box antics highlighted in Japanese MGS: Peace Walker ad
One of the most iconic "power-ups" in gaming has to be Metal Gear Solid's cardboard box. This new Japanese ad for Kojima's latest, Peace Walker, gives the stealthy item the spotlight. In the commercial, a Japanese schoolboy can be seen stalking a few of his fellow classmates. As he finds the two alone, he strikes, asking them to "please enter my box." Unfortunately for the girl, the box boy wasn't asking about her. He invites the other boy into the cardboard box, as the commercial introduces the new co-op box-wearing mechanic of Peace Walker. You can check it out after the break. [Via Andriasang]
See Snake sneak, fight dragons in these MGS: Peace Walker screens
You know that crazy story you read about Snake fighting monsters from the Monster Hunter series in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker? Well, today we've got actual images of Snake in the act -- can't have a PSP game without monster hunting in it, amirite? Jokes aside, Snake seriously fights some dragons and it's pretty crazy. Our second featured gallery (which, if you're going on The Price is Right rules, makes it better than the first) takes us through virtual boot camp. This is akin to the MGS we're used to seeing: sneaking around industrial facilities and stealthily taking out inept guards. Pick your poison below. %Gallery-92267% %Gallery-92269%
MGS: Peace Walker's 'Hamaru Gear Solid' ads sure are helpful
Well, they're helpful if you speak Japanese, that is. The latest round of ads for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker out of Japan centers on the escapades of Tom and Dick, two cartoon dudes who really, really like living everyday life as if they were Solid Snake. The duo demonstrate everything from the "heart massage" technique (reviving a downed teammate) to the game's four player co-op functionality, with plenty of goofy animation to boot. Andriasang noticed the ads over at the "Hamaru Gear Solid" website -- "Hamaru Gear Solid" is the marketing campaign for Peace Walker, based on Hirokazu Hamamura, CEO of Enterbrain (the company that owns and publishes Japanese gaming mag Famitsu), and a pun relating his name to the word "Hamaru" (meaning "to get in"). We've embedded all five for you after the break, should you choose to entertain their sheer madness. [Via Andriasang]
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker losing a scene in Japan
How is Twitter like Metal Gear Solid's codec system? Two ways: you see a picture of the person speaking next to every statement, and Hideo Kojima writes a lot for both. Andriasang pointed out a Tweet from the game designer, revealing that cuts had to be made to the Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker to keep the game at a CERO (Japan's equivalent to the ESRB) "C" rating. "The PSP is supported by the younger generation," Kojima said. "That is why we avoided the animation of bloodspill. However, 'A Scene' that is critical and essential to the series was pointed out by the rating board." Kojima lamented the fact that the anti-war and anti-nuke messages of the game were ignored by the ratings board, while one bloody scene was seized upon. The American and European releases of the game will be uncut. We believe the scene in question is likely to be a torture sequence, a staple of the Metal Gear Solid series. It is most assuredly not the scene in which Snake fights a giant dragon-type creature. Celebrate the uncensored nature of the localized game by watching the American trailer above, originally posted on the PlayStation Blog.
PS3 tops five million consoles sold in Japan
In this post-Modern Warfare 2 world, a number like five million may seem insignificant -- even laughable, to some. But hey, don't knock the PS3's latest accomplishment of selling 5,001,598 consoles in Japan. Famitsu brings us the news, along with the top-selling games on the platform so far: Final Fantasy XIII is first with 1,883,828 units, Metal Gear Solid 4 takes second with 706,461 and Yakuza 4 -- which was just released a few weeks ago -- comes in third, selling an impressive 526,093 copies so far. Gosh, the only thing that's missing is a Dragon Quest. [Via Andriasang]
Peace Walk into UNIQLO for new Metal Gear Solid shirts
You can wear an Axe deodorant logo shirt in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Now, thanks to retailer UNIQLO, you can wear a Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker shirt in real life. Whether or not you wear Axe is your call. On April 26, UNIQLO will roll out a line of Peace Walker shirts featuring various logos and imagery from the series, Militaires Sans Frontieres patches, Yoji Shinkawa artwork ... and two suit-wearing gentlemen with cardboard boxes on their heads. That last one is, appropriately, a multiplayer riff on one of the designs from UNIQLO's Metal Gear Solid 4 line. If you'd like to tell Hideo Kojima how clever that is, CVG reports that he and Shinkawa will be at the London "flagship" UNIQLO on June 19 signing autographs.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Collector's Edition costs $50, includes 'exclusive artbook'
Nothing quite says "Metal Gear Solid" like a collector's edition. Whether it's a PS3 bundle or a camouflage PSP, we've come to expect a certain level of collectability from Kojima Productions' main moneymaker, which is why we're unsurprised to see a listing pop up on GameStop for a Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker "Collector's Edition" -- with a $50 price tag and an "exclusive artbook." Sure, it might not include the ability to play PSP games while hiding in the jungle, but hey, that exclusive artbook could be really, really neat. For ten bucks, we certainly hope it's one of the neatest artbooks we've ever seen.
Hideo Kojima envisions a platform-free future
In the future, games will no longer be bound by platforms. At least, that's what Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima told the press at a conference for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Since the inception of the medium, games have largely been bound to a specific device. "Gamers should be able to take the experience with them in their living rooms, on the go, when they travel -- wherever they are and whenever they want to play. It should be the same software and the same experience," he said, according to Reuters. As with movies and music, consumers have come to expect increased portability with their media. Whereas a decade ago, movies were largely viewed at home, now they can be watched on a computer, in a car, or even on a phone. Even now, Sony and Apple are offering some cross-platform gaming opportunities, with interoperability between the PSP and PS3, iPhone and iPad. With the advent of cloud computing services, like OnLive and Gaikai, it seems we may not be too far off from Kojima's predicted future. Until then, though, you'll only be able to play Kojima's latest game on one platform -- the PSP.
Monster Hunter sneaks into Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Kojima Productions recently held a press conference in Japan to celebrate the completion of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which is set to shed its cardboard box cover for a very visible spot on Japanese store shelves come April 29. During the event, it was revealed that there would be Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G content in the Konami-published game. The collaboration should ensure that every Japanese citizen will now buy Peace Walker, regardless of whether they own a PSP (that's just how it works). 1UP confirms the content will also be in the US version of the game. Monster Hunter's Felynes -- little cat-like things that act as support in Capcom's title -- will have a presence in Peace Walker. On top of that, some of the rations in Hideo Kojima's latest sneak-'em-up will appear as "well-cooked rations," a play on Monster Hunter's well-cooked meat. Also: Snake will hunt monsters, so ... yeah. Kojima justified the crazy crossover by playing the Jurassic Park card -- specifically, that Peace Walker takes place in Costa Rica. "I figured it'd be the perfect opportunity," he told Japanese mag Famitsu. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will be out in Europe and North America on May 28 and June 8, respectively. To check out some footage from the Monster Hunter unveiling, pay a visit to the Kojima Productions website.
Ten minutes of co-op sneaking exposed in Peace Walker video
Though we don't possess the thorough comprehension of the Japanese language required to understand what's happening in the video posted above, we know that we like what we see. If you've got some time to kill, check out the ten minute co-op demonstration of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker at the top of this post. It shows of a few of the game's neat multiplayer tactics, including an invisibility gun and the increasingly iconic "four-legged tank maneuver." Judging by those two alone, it certainly looks like Peace Walker's capacity for hijinks is going to be near-limitless.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker release sneaks to June 8
Konami's pushed back the release of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker to June 8, a recent press release states. Back in January, the Japanese release was also delayed, so we've been waiting for the other combat boot to drop and it's finally happened. Yup, we're crying under our cardboard box, too. Of course, in addition to the game itself, the newly-announced PSP bundle will be released on the same day. What we want to know is, if the Japanese delay is a crime, what's the North American delay? A case of first degree joy-icide?
Hideo Kojima's Twitter feed goes bilingual, now in English
Given our limited comprehension of the Japanese language, we were free to imagine Hideo Kojima's Twitter feed to be an outlet for the idiosyncratic developer's most outlandish, puzzling statements. However, an English-language version of his Twitter page is now up and running, revealing that Kojima is just an ordinary dude. Whod've thunk it? Take, for example, this recent Tweet: "My stomach hurts, nose's running, and my hair is getting long." And then, following that, a picture of his hair. See? He's just like you or us, only when he's done posting self-shot pictures of himself on the internet, he gets back to making Metal Gear Solid games.
MGS: Peace Walker Japanese pre-order items are the best
[Famitsu] Here's your daily dose of Japan envy, as Famitsu reveals a set of pretty sweet pre-order bonuses for Kojima's upcoming PSP game, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The first item is a jigsaw puzzle appropriately called "Love & Piece," while the other pun-tastic item is the plastic "Peace Water" bottle -- an aluminum water bottle/comically large key chain that kinda looks like a grenade. Some days you go through the rain and some days you want to drink from an appropriately-themed liquid transportation device, right? Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is set to debut in Japan on April 29, while US gamers will be forced to wait until May 25. [Thanks, Fintan]
Kojima says Peace Walker is a 'test' for Metal Gear Solid series
Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima's recently-opened Twitter account has likely been a roller coaster of emotions for those among you who can read Japanese. Unfortunately for us, not speaking the developer's native language almost caused us to nearly miss out on all of his 140-character thoughts, not to mention a few recent Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker infobombs. Kojima said about the upcoming game (as translated by Andriasang) that "It's difficult to show the interest and freshness of PW [Peace Walker] through video. [James] Cameron's Avatar was a huge hit because of the 3D video. That can't be communicated through text and a trailer. It's something you won't understand unless you experience it for yourself in the theater." Kojima further posits that Peace Walker is a "horizontal expansion" for the studio (read: gameplay) rather than a vertical one (read: graphics), all the while reiterating that the PSP isn't the "main platform" for the series going forward. He also says that the roast beef sandwich he had for lunch yesterday was positively delightful. (Okay, okay, we made up that last part.) He does, however, show some Duran Duran love. (And no, we're not kidding about that part.)
