Snake
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No snaking in Mario Kart Wii
There has been a love-hate relationship with the ability to snake (no, not him) in Mario Kart. For those unfamiliar with the (in)famous technique, it involves using the drift-boosting over and over again, causing a snake-like movement pattern across the tracks. It has been in the game since Mario Kart 64.It appears that might have changed with the upcoming Mario Kart Wii. Go Nintendo reports on a passage from the Official Nintendo Magazine UK's review of the game, where it says, "[Snaking] has finally been scrapped, and now your speed boost is determined by how long you can hold the slide." IGN has also corroborated the lack of snaking with their build, although to us that sounds like racers will simply find a way to slide through the entire course as we did in back in the Super Nintendo Mario Kart.%Gallery-16165%
Super Smash Bros. Brawl's secret Snake codec taunt
An interesting Super Smash Bros. Brawl secret involving Solid Snake's famous codec can be found after the break.
Snakebots traverse terrain, plan silent, midnight attack
Apparently the Biorobotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University has been quite busy as of late... building an army of robotic snakes. Though we've seen droid snakes before, bot-makers at the school have been investigating the myriad possibilities of single-task snakes, coming up with configurations for swimming, crawling, and climbing, amongst others. The program is concerned with enabling the bots to take on a diverse variety of terrain and tasks, made easier by the fact that the little guys aren't limited to wheel-based movement. To really get an idea of the possibilities (and extreme creepiness), check the video after the break. We just hope you enjoy the techno version of Crazy Train as much as we do.[Thanks, Andrew]
Robotic snake moves by pushing off obstacles
We'll be honest -- we've seen more snake-like robots than we care to count, but a new creature slithering out of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology is noticeably different than most. As you can see above, there's a distinct lack of treads, tracks or wheels on Aiko, as it actually pushes off foreign objects it encounters in order to creep forward. Additionally, researchers have created a "virtual double" of the critter in order to help guide the development of the actual robot, though we've yet to hear if it plans on joining Anna Konda in war on fire.[Via NewScientist]
Snake Codec calls are worth spoiling Brawl
Solid Snake, who, as the most realistic human being in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and as a military operative who carries deadly projectile weapons into battle, should be the most serious character in the game. Instead, Snake's propensity for endless discussion via codec is used to make fun of not only himself, but every other character in the game -- made even more hilarious by David Hayter's inimitable character voice.We've embedded one video after the break, showing Snake and Otacon's codec chat about (character). You may consider it a spoiler! People seem to consider all kinds of stuff related to Super Smash Bros. Brawl spoilers. If you're terrified of knowing who's in the game, don't look at this video and don't visit the nefarious uploader's YouTube page, which features five other videos, each revealing multiple characters and more chatter.
Kojima: MGS4 too big for 50 GB Blu-ray disc
It's not much of a shocker to learn the latest (and final) installment in the Metal Gear Solid series is a sizable one -- MGS games have a history of being big (and beautiful). However, a recent interview with series creator Hideo Kojima revealed a startling fact about MGS4 -- Kojima complained that a few features had to be cut from the game so it would fit on a Blu-ray disc. As format fanatics already know, that means the game takes up nearly 50 gigabytes of space. If true, this is bad news for anyone who hoped to see anthropomorphic cow-bots on the 360 (unless that data was divided between about five dual-layer DVDs), but it could also mean a painfully long installation time for PS3 owners as well. We can only imagine that 49 of those gigabytes are taken up by thousands of variations on just three lines of dialogue -- "Snake? SNAKE? SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!?"[Thanks, Beau Kebodeaux]
Metal Gear Online beta in April, MGS4 pre-order secures access
Those looking forward to snapping the necks of complete strangers (in a game) should be pleased to learn that a Metal Gear Online "Starter Pack" is due to launch alongside Metal Gear Solid 4 in Q2 2008. Sony has announced that a beta test for the multiplayer sneak-em-up will start in late April, with pre-orders of Metal Gear Solid 4 giving gamers "guaranteed access." It's a great incentive, though given the anticipated nature of Hideo Kojima's latest opus, we feel a bit like donkeys wandering into a vast forest of carrots.
More Metal Gear Online Images
Does the above image look like it belongs somewhere else? Well, it sort of does to us; the background environment reminds us more of another Konami hit series, Silent Hill, than it does Metal Gear Solid. That is, of course, once you take out all the Russian soldiers.Luckily, it's only this screenshot out of a batch that made us think so; the rest of the screenshots look mighty fine. Check out the rest of the new images at The Magic Box.
Rumor: Nintendo still hurt about RE4, reason why Capcom doesn't have a Brawler
There's a rumor floating around that the lack of a playable character from Camp Capcom is due to a little game by the name of Resident Evil 4. You see, before it ended up on the PC and PS2, along with the Wii, it was meant to be entirely a GameCube exclusive. That didn't last that long, however.With the inclusion of Sega's Sonic and Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid line of games, the inclusion of one of Capcom's characters (oh, let's say ... Mega Man) quite possibly would've been too much for this blogger's weak little heart. The rest of the world, however, probably would've liked to see one of Capcom's characters make it into the already overstuffed line-up of playable brawlers. What Capcom character would you have liked to see in Brawl?
CoroCoro magazine reveals Sheik, other obvious additions to Brawl [update]
Some super-blurry pictures of Japanese magazine CoroCoro seem to confirm that Zelda will be able to transform into Sheik via what's being called a "Twilight Change." No doubt this is exactly like her transformation before, but, you know, with the Twilight Princess version of Zelda. It should at least be moderately interesting to see what the edgier Twilight Princess Sheik will look like. Even if we hadn't heard from Aonuma that Sheik would show up, this shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone. Pictured above is the card on which this information was found, which also shows what appears to be Zelda's Final Smash move: Light Arrows. Sadly, the CoroCoro issue also mentions that Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog will be unlockable "secret" characters, even though both characters were revealed on the Dojo and in trailers and everything. All this means is that we have to spend agonizing hours playing as not-Snake. [Update: Reader Sensai brings news that the card actually doesn't specify a down-B move at all for Zelda, leaving Sheik, and the identity of that special move, unconfirmed. What a "mystery!"][Via NeoGAF]
Dojo update: Snake calls in the chopper
We really like the fact that Snake is in Brawl, especially the dichotomy that's created by the man's ... real-worldness and the franchise's cartoon world. But what we like even more than that is his Final Smash, which might just be the most badass thing since, well, Contra 4.With Smash Ball in hand, Snake is able to summon a helicopter to the arena, which promptly drops a rope ladder to his position. Our hero then clambers up, before pulling out a grenade launcher and unleashing round after round at his foes. You target the launcher yourself (much like you would with the Dragoon), and get a dozen grenades in total, though only a limited amount of time to fire them.%Gallery-10206%%Gallery-6869%
Common Sense on cell phone MMOs
The Common Sense Gamer published a reality checking rant on the coming wave of mobile MMOs. The author of the editorial pointed out that limitations in the technology and a lack of platform standards in the industry will only lead to mediocre if projects. He also suggested that users who aren't near wi-fi hotspots won't be able to get much done.He probably hasn't used a 3G phone yet; 3G networks are plenty fast. But for the most part, the rant was insightful -- especially on the issue of standards. All these cell phones use totally different platforms for running games, and they vary widely in performance and power. Is it feasible to develop for a dozen different platforms at once? Most game developers have enough trouble as it is with three!So maybe the best we can hope for is a Snake MMO. Actually, that could be kind of cool.
Metal Gear Saga video now translated
Despite the fact that Metal Gear 20th Anniversary: Metal Gear Solid Collection still hasn't seen a Western release, we can now enjoy at least one part of the collection. Included in the box set is the Metal Gear Saga video, which is narrated by an unnamed character who apparently had a run-in with Solid Snake sometime in the past.Since the video was entirely in Japanese we couldn't understand what was being said until the guys at MetalGearSolid.org recently translated the video. It's a pretty interesting and definitely a treat for Metal Gear fans.
Dojo update: Gray Fox enters the fray
There's a tasty double serving of updates today on the dojo, but the lowdown on Brawl's "Grab and Throw" manoeuver is likely to be overshadowed by the inclusion of a second Metal Gear Solid character.The good news is it's not Raiden (we fear the internets would implode with fanboy vitriol), but Frank Jaeger, a.k.a cyborg ninja Gray Fox, a.k.a That Dude Who Engages In A Totally Badass Battle With Metal Gear REX Only To Get Heroically Stomped. The bad news: he's not playable, but merely an Assist Trophy. Nevertheless, a pretty cool addition.%Gallery-6869%%Gallery-3347%
Breakfast Topic: Noncombat companions
What noncombat pet do you use on your characters?Each of my characters has their own noncombat pets, something that I decided early on fit them. My Human Shadow Priest has a cute black cat, my Undead Rogue brings a Snowshoe Rabbit along with him to the BGs (just because I love stealthing and thinking of a little rabbit hopping around on its own), and while my Orc Shaman used to rock a snake, he recently got One-Eyed Willy (no comment) from Children's Week, and every chance I get I pull it out (still no comment), and wait for Willy to do his eyebeam thing. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it happen yet.Of all the noncombat pets in the game, do you call just one your own or do you have a bunch that you rotate around? Which one do you use most often?
Wii Warm Up: The eyes of a rookie
Okay, this is going to be a little weird. But as we were watching all of the awesome new Smash Bros. footage featuring our BFF Solid Snake (with some allusions to the survival techniques of his "dad", Big Boss), we realized that not only is Snake one of our favorite characters ever, his inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Brawl makes us enjoy both Smash Bros. and Snake a little bit more.It's not just that the incongruity of a gravelly-voiced mercenary in the kid-friendly fighting game is hilarious. It has more to do with the juxtaposition of what is more or less a human guy from a world that is kind of like the real world with, say, Mario, who is supposed to be human but clearly isn't. It's intriguing. It generates some really interesting cognitive dissonance. And then Snake fires a Nikita missile or snaps Mario's neck (M rating, here we come!) and we get a different kind of cognitive dissonance.Putting Snake in the middle of a confluence of Nintendo universes makes them all look intensely bizarre, and makes Snake, a man who fights one-on-one with helicopters, seem like an everyman. When he expresses surprise at Wario's farting skill, he speaks for us. Of course, his everyman-ness still runs through a filter of Snake's life experience; he's still making long phone calls in the middle of a fight. He still sees strange animals as survival rations. There's really no other situation in which we'd be able to identify with this guy.We don't really know how to form this discussion into a question, so we just thought we'd open it up to a discussion of Snake in Smash Bros. and how wonderfully weird the whole thing is. And then, for no reason, we're embedding the ridiculous "Eat Like Snake" Burger King commercial after the break, which has nothing at all to do with Smash Bros., Metal Gear, the Wii, or Snake, except that it has the word "Snake" in it.
Dojo update: Shadow Moses Island
There just might be a new level to topple our current favorite from Smash Bros. Melee, Hyrule. Not only is this stage a wonderful piece of nostalgia, it is also fairly functional and includes a feature we wish more stages had: nowhere to fall to your death. Seriously, we hate ourselves some plunging to doom. Oh, and occasionally a Metal Gear will appear. Rock!Click on through to check out some videos aside from the ones featured this morning, including one where Snake talks about him and Samus taking their clothes off. "!" indeed.%Gallery-6869%%Gallery-3347%
Could Solid Snake have been a Plissken clone?
It's never been a secret that Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid series was inspired by Kurt Russell's Snake and his exploits trying to escape a few cities, but we never really knew how close those similarities are until now. Aint it Cool News recently won an eBay auction for a previously unreleased and unapproved Escape from L.A. script. The site posted pieces of the script, and it's pretty amazing reading it as you can imagine several parts that could have easily have fit into a Metal Gear game.Not only does the script describe several characters with super-human abilities, it also reveals that the movie's antagonist clones Snake in an attempt to create the world's most elite soldiers. Yeah shocking, right? Well, he also plans on "removing certain genetic limitations, and retaining the benefit of the memories and experiences of the original subject."After this revelation, it's interesting to think just how closely the Metal Gear series could have followed Escape from L.A. if this script had been given the green light.[via Level Up]
Snake discusses Mario, how Yoshi tastes
We can't get enough of Snake. We admit, we have the biggest crush on the guy, going so far as to sketch his name in our notebook over and over again (we also draw a lot of unicorns). And when it was announced that he was joining the roster in Smash Bros. Brawl, we nearly wet our pants. When we learned that David Hayter would be voicing the spy again, we then wet our pants. Check past the break for another video of Snake and Otacon discussing what Yoshi's gender is, as well as what he tastes like.
Dojo update: Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!!!
Oh man, yesterday we were just saying how we wanted an update for newcomer Snake and here we are. Not only do we get a character bio today, but we also get a move list breakdown for him. Oh, and we also get a nice piece of music to listen to while we drool over these fresh screens. Seriously, why are you wasting time reading this? Hit up the gallery below and check out Snake beating people down with a cardboard box.%Gallery-6869%%Gallery-3347%Read - Snake's bioRead - Snake's move list
