E3 Predictions: Killa Edition

What do I think?

• The PSP redesign seems like a lock, and I have quite a keen interest as I have already devised a plan to hawk my current old-gen unit ahead of the release whenever it may be. I suppose I should get moving, though. Moments after the announcement hits the value is going to take a nose-dive.
• I also have to agree with Bis Sis on a new SSBBrawl character announced, and likewise I would not be surprised by a third partier. My third party pick would be Mega Man, if he wouldn't be so damn similar to Kirby. Taito's Bub and Bob would also be nice, as would Jak with Daxter, though they really don't fit the platform criteria. If they bust out an in-house shocker, I've got all my pink chips on Birdo.
• To continue to piggyback, I think any announcment from Ueda's camp would be an HD Remix of Shadow of the Colossus. I don't think we're going to get any real taste of an original project. Sorry.
• I think Capcom's SSF2THDR and SPF2THDR will be dated and priced. Date? November-ish. Price? A bit tougher to guess. We'd be lucky to see them for $8, although I think anything over $15 would be a mistake. (That's PSN dollars by the way, which is roughly equivalent to real money.)
• The new MGS4 trailer will elaborate further upon the unknowns that are omnipresent in the enigma that is Guns of the Patriots. My guess? Keep your eyes peeled for Vamp.

Bad Mother Snubbers

We all know Mother's Day is a day to make Mom feel special. Well, we did that for Jenova and The Boss, but there are a lot of moms in the gaming universe that we left out. So here's a quick rundown. (And massive apologies for those who didn't make it into this list, either...) >.>

Mother Brain (Metroid) Big Sis Prinny (Disgaea) Justice (Guilty Gear) Sindel (Mortal Kombat) Olga Gurlukovich (MGS2) Wrinkly Kong (Donkey Kong) Elmyra Gainsborough (FFVII) Edea Kramer (FFVIII) Q-Bee (Darkstalkers) Jun Kazama (Tekken) Nina Williams (Tekken)

Bossa Nova Monday: Big Boss

The Notorious

What better boss to boss around the other bosses of Bossa Nova then Big Boss? He is quite possibly the most successful villain in the history of video games, seeing as he went on to star in two games of his own. (And no, I don't acknowledge the Sephiroth Dating Sim, nor Sephiroth Kart Racing: Lifestream Grand Prix.) Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear series is full of double-crosses, but nothing tops the first one: Your commanding officer, the distinguished leader of FOXHOUND, is actually the mastermind of the terrorist nation you were sent to infiltrate. !o.O! (Oh yeah, spoiler warning.)

I could, of course, go on and on (and on) about Naked Snake, but this feature is about bosses, and Big Boss was only the last guy of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, even though his genetic progeny and military legacy influence much of the plot of Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, and 4. I chose to use art from the Metal Gear Solid era, however, because the original MSX/NES graphics purposely resemble Sean Connery, and that's just... weird.

Pseudonyms:	Naked Snake, Saladin, John Doe, Jack
Weapon:	Survival Knife; later Metal Gear
Signature Move:	Close Quarters Combat; later Pushing the Self-Destruct Button
Weaknesses:	Underestimates Solid Snake, lacks depth perception, flammability
Distinguishing Features:	Missing right eye (thanks a lot, Ocelot)
Difficulty:	6/10
Quote:	"Begin Operation: Intrude N313"
Similar Characters:	Albert Wesker (RE), Captain Blue (Viewtiful Joe)

Happy Mother's Day: The Boss

For the Mother of Special Forces...

I raised you, and loved you, I've given you weapons, taught you techniques, endowed you with knowledge. There's nothing more for me to give you. All that's left for you to take is my life.

The Boss, the Joy, Voyevoda; Known by many names, she is one of the most maternal characters in gaming mythos. She can be considered the mother of two of Metal Gear's most central characters; She bore Ocelot on the battlefield via cessarian section (leaving an atrocious serpentine scar) at the Battle of Normandy, and also mentored and loved the most genetically perfect soldier ever born, and the man who would ultimately surpass her, Big Boss. One can infer that she was raising the son she never knew (or never knew she knew).

Look at this scar. This is proof that I was once a mother. I gave up my body and my child for my country. There is nothing left inside me now. Nothing at all. No hatred, not even regret. And yet sometimes at night I can still feel the pain creeping up inside me. Slithering through my body, like a snake.

Soldier, commander, astronaut, teacher, patriot. The part that seemed to anger her pupil Naked Snake the most was that no one would ever know that it was her mission to defect, a ploy to obtain the Philosopher's Legacy, the infathomably enormous war chest that the superpowers had hidden at the end of World War II. When Colonel Volgin used her offering, the mini-nuclear device Davey Crockett, plans changed. Snake was sent in again to rescue Sokolov, destroy the Shagohod, stop Volgin, eliminate the Cobra Unit, and kill The Boss.

And it was her mission to be killed, and to be remembered as a traitor to the country for which she sacrificed absolutely everything.

Jack... or should I say Snake... you're a wonderful man. Kill me now. There's only room for one snake and one boss.

Odds and Ends

Hope everyone likes the banner. I've had the actual logo done for some time, but retrofitting it into this template was trickier than I would have hoped. Sooner or later we'll give this space a new coat of hyper paint; until then, consider this the first step of our Spring cleaning.

My time with GGXX#Reload has been going well. I've found Sol to be very easy to pick up due in large part to the familiarity of his control scheme. Entranced by the unique character design of Dizzy, I have forced myself to learn to use her properly, though her mishmash of bizarre projectiles and furious ground combos took some time to absorb.

I pretty much have the idea of Bursting down, but Roman Cancelling is still alien to me. I've been studying the frame inputs in Training Mode, but I'm still nowhere near a point where I can use RCs or FRCs in the heat of battle. This game really makes me thirst for a console version of Slash or Accent Core sometime soon.

I ran into this recap of MGS2 in haiku form on the PA G&T forums awhile back. Thought I'd share it with you, and likewise post it in a more accessible location for my own viewing. Many thanks to aett, and his mad summation skills.

Turn off the console

I need scissors! 61!

We have Rosemary "

Now that we've delved pretty deeply into FFXII, and have gained a working understanding of the gambit system, it makes me think about how many menu choices I've made over the years in Final Fantasies, and RPGs in general. FFX-2 alone could be near a million... C'est la vie.

DMC4 4 360?! OH NOES!

In a press release yesterday, Capcom announced that the next installment of their popular Devil May Cry series will not be exclusive to the PS3, as many people had speculated, but will instead be released simultaneously on the PS3, XBox 360, and PC.

After my surprise wore off, I channeled Martha Stewart and decided this is "a good thing."

A million years ago, I commented on this same phenomenon when someone reported that MGS4 would see an XBox 360 port. As far as I know, MGS4 on the 360 remains unconfirmed, but that could change at any time and I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Remember that MGS2 came to the XBox and the PC in addition to the PS2. The MGS4 "news" was hot on the heels of the announcement that Assassin's Creed, once touted as a PS3 exclusive, would be shared with the 360.

Those items weren't too alarming, though; MGS4 360 was an unconfirmed rumor, and Assassin's Creed, though a hot topic, is an untried original IP. It could turn out to be terrible for all we know (for the record, it won't; it's going to be OMG teh awesome). The PS3's sterling lineup of third-party exclusives was dwindling from the original robust list, but it still had Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII; Metal Gear Solid 4; and . . . Devil May Cry 4.

Let's assume we've reached an age in which the third-party exclusive is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Why is this bad? I still get to play DMC4, MGS4, Assassin's Creed, and every other game that has been announced for PS3 so far. Nothing has been taken away from the PS3; they've just been added to the 360 as well. I haven't lost anything, and I'm not meanspirited enough to begrudge anyone else these great games. And conversely, I'm looking forward to XBox 360's Enchanted Arms and Oblivion porting to the PS3 so that I can play them, and hoping that Eternal Sonata and Dead Rising will follow suit.

More titles on more platforms is good for consumers. Every dollar that Sony spends paying a developer to keep a title exclusive to the PS3 is a dollar Sony isn't spending elsewhere---like on its first-party titles, its Playstation Home network, or on a much-needed new PR campaign. When developers sell more copies of their games, they get a return of more dollars to spend on making more games. If there are 2 million PS3s out there worldwide and 11 million 360s (I made up those numbers), it doesn't make sense for any third-party developer to keep a game exclusive to one console or the other unless they have a good reason to do so---a good reason might be, for instance, that the requirements of the game don't mesh with the capabilities of one system (a game that needs rumble is going to the 360; a game that needs motion controls is going to go to the PS3 or Wii). If going multiplatform gives you at least 2 million more potential customers, why not?

It is possible to access the total sales figures for 360 and PS3 consoles, but we don't really know how many 360s are out there due to well-documented hardware defects, and we don't know how many homes that have PS3s also have 360s. Those data would be helpful in figuring out how much of a market is out there for 360 exclusives, PS3 exclusives, and multiplatform titles.

There has been speculation that FFXIII will go the way of DMC4 and jump ship as well. All things are possible, but I don't think FFXIII is going anywhere. People have been pointing to SquareEnix's recent licensing of Unreal Engine 3, an engine known for its crossplatform portability. However, SquareEnix has confirmed that their proprietary White Engine is being used for FFXIII, and that they will continue to use the White Engine for SE games that are going to remain exclusive to the Sony console. I imagine that it's a bit too late for them now to scrap the White Engine build and move to Unreal Engine for this title (though I could be wrong). FFXIV may turn up on multiple platforms, but I think FFXIII is likely to stay put.

If we as console owners need to feel elite, there are still the first-party titles to consider. I will feel a twinge of pity for 360-instead-of-PS3 owners who won't get to experience Heavenly Sword, Lair, Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, KillZone, and White Knight Story---all first party titles being published by and for Sony and only Sony. I'm sure the 360 owners feel that same twinge of pity for those of us who will never get to play Blue Dragon, Crackdown, Halo, and Gears of War---some of Microsoft's AAA first-party exclusives.

This situation is not going to sink the PS3; it's going to push Sony to develop more and better first-party titles so that they can sell more PS3s and secure more third-party exclusives. Microsoft, in turn, will push their first-party properties to the limits for the same reason. Then everybody wins.

Headshot Dreamin'

109:19/18-3 DM Harbor

I'll get back to those figures in a moment, just wanted to write them down while they were in front of me.

For years, my dreams have been invaded by whatever activity I may have been concentrating on most at the time. As an avid gamer, video and otherwise, this often means dreams about games. I can recall the patterns of Mega Man 3 stimulating my rapid eye movement or a book's of worth backgammon positions flashing through my mind as I lay sleeping. This is not uncommon for me.

Part of my interpretation of this effect comes from my background in psych. I'm not going to bore into this issue ad nauseum as not to alienate those uninitiated nor to reveal my own lack of authority on the subject, but please indulge me for a moment. Sleep is important to memory, as anyone who has stayed up for two or three days straight could tell you. Attempting to recall some of the basic things you did at the beginning of the period, such as what you ate for breakfast the morning of day one, are nigh impossible. Science also tells us that a part of the brain called the hippocampus replays activities of the current day while we sleep, and this plays a central role in memory consolidation, or the transfer from working memory into long term memory.

This entire process is not entirely understood by the scientific community, so I feel no great guilt in referencing it without complete detail. The point is that these elements of games are experienced during sleep, much as they are during the day, just as any activity, virtual or not, may be. In some cases this facilitates latent learning.

It is through this lens that I mention that after marathon sessions of Portable Ops Online just before bed, I've had dreams that centrally involve shooting people in the head. Headshots, you see, are the absolute most important skill in the aforementioned arena of electronic competition. Sure, some n00bz will get a kill here or there with a shotgun blast, or a few swipes of a machete, but if you want to dominate in MPO, you better get used to aiming for the head.

Now, back to those cryptic numbers. 109:19/18-3 DM Harbor. My best score ever was 109 in a Deathmatch at the Harbor. 109 total points, 19 kills (18 of which were headshots) and three deaths. A real killing spree. I have to attribute this to having a group of below average players in that round, as even when I do happen to be the best of the six, I don't dominate to such a degree.

Of course, when you mention to people that you've been having dreams about shooting people in the head, they look at you kinda funny. Without a little background it can be unnerving for someone who knows you to hear that your unconscious mind is obsessed with executing anyone that comes into their field of vision. But, in MPO and most any other online shooter, whether it be first-person or third, the headshot is admirable. You see, I don't become angry or upset when a bullet finds its speeding way into my gulliver. If throughout the duration of a ten minute match someone continuously catches me off guard and lands death dealing blows right between my eyes, over and over and over, it becomes something almost fraternal. Like a big brother dishing out noogies. It's similar to a salute in a way. Although, you can perform a salute in MPO, but doing so leaves you momentarily open to a headshot, natch.

Even though I may try to explain these aesthetics to those unfamiliar, I can't help but think they may come away with a negative impression. In retrospect, perhaps I shouldn't mention these kinds of dreams to the people with whom I work. I suppose this is the sort of talk one should reserve for blogging.

Now if you don't mind, I have some heads to shoot.

Are They or Aren't They?

Here's my little couples in gaming response, coming hot on the heels of (read: ripping off) Catarina's Three Great Couples post. However, this supplement is going to focus on three of the more ambiguous relationships in games.

Jun Kazama and Kazuya Mishima

Well, we know they had sex; their son Jin is a testament to that. So some of the ambiguity goes out the window there. (Yeah, great choice, Killa.) The actual nature of their relationship is hard to pin down, though. The Tekken anime depicts their connection in great detail, using it as a central part of the storyline.

The anime, though, is not considered canon, and, unlike cinema, fighting game storylines are rarely so simple. What we do know from the games themselves is that Jun Kazama entered the the second King of Iron Fist tournament to stop Kazuya Mishima's illegal trade of endangered animals. When she encountered him, being the Chosen Kazama, she could sense that his supernatural power came from his deal with Devil. So... she hooked up with him. (Okay, you kind of lost me there, Namco.) Devil would later try to possess her unborn child, but she defeated him, and kept Jin safe by relocating to some remote mountains. And that is virtually all we know of Jun and Kazuya's temporary union. But, hell, it really is the closest thing to a coupling in Tekken, besides Xiaoyu's crush on Jin. Or Kuma's crush on Panda.

Naked Snake and the Boss



Perhaps the most perplexing couple in modern gaming is The Boss and Naked Snake, as shown in MGS3. Having her own son taken from her moments after giving birth, The Boss developed a maternal attachment to Naked Snake, or Jack, as she would call him. Snake denies to Eva in dialogue that there was a sexual component to their relationship, but speculation still runs rampant among Metal Gear fans. Having been comrades for ten years it is problematic for Snake to be charged with hunting her down and killing her as part of Operation Snake Eater. On an emotional level, personally, killing her may have been the hardest part of any videogame I've played. That defining moment would create a chain reaction guiding the events in Naked Snake's, and in turn Solid Snake's life.

Cammy and Vega

Master Vega, the leader of the Shadaloo crime syndicate, claims at one point that Cammy is a clone of him. This most likely is untrue. It is much more plausible, given other evidence, that she was kidnapped and subjected to gene therapy to make her more like Vega, as the original plan was to use her as his next body should his Psycho Power overwhelm his current manifestation. She was also brainwashed, enhanced with experimental drugs, and trained to be the assassin codenamed Killer Bee. In Cammy's ending from Street Fighter Zero 3 (her first canonically chronological appearance) she defeats Vega, destroying his body, and he utters the phrase, "How could I lose to a copy of myself...?" He then begins to invade her mind, until Chun Li intervenes.

Skip ahead to the Street Fighter II timeline. Cammy is an amnesiac agent of the British special forces unit Delta Red. Upon defeating Vega, he tells her, "How could you forget about me, Cammy? [...] We were in love!" Expectedly, she has a hard time believing this.

And then there's her win quote from the non-canonical X-Men Vs. Street Fighter...

A Narrow Fellow in the Grass

As long as we're on the topic of Solid Snake. I have to say, I couldn't be happier that there's a new Smash Brothers game coming out. Nothing makes me happier than playing Super Smash Brothers, for hours, with three other players, no teams, every man for himself. I don't think there's ever been a single game that has provided me with as many hours of enjoyment (and that includes Disgaea and FFVII). Seriously, I could not be happier about the new addition to the Super Smash Brothers family.

Actually, there's one way I could be happier.

Let's look at it logically. All of the loveable characters in Super Smash Brothers franchise have been first party Nintendo properties. Each made their first appearance on a Nintendo console with the exception of the Ice Climbers---who first appeared in one of NintendWo's VS. series arcade games---and Mr. Game and Watch---who first appeared in Nintendo's early hand-held. Next, all of the characters hail from games with a sci/fi or fantasy bent. None of them comes from games that involve blood, murder, or realistic violence against humans.

I think you can see what I'm getting at.

There were so many better choices for a third-party inclusion in this, the best of all possible game series. Solid Snake is a bad fit on all accounts. He is not owned by Nintendo. He did not originate on a Nintendo console (his first game was a MSX2 title, later ported to the NES). The game he comes from is full of realistic violence. And, moreover, the aerobatic tricks and feats that are the hallmark of the SSB series---jumping and flying around the screen, sending opponents soaring through the air with attacks, etc.---are completely antithetical to the hyperrealistic environment of the Metal Gear series.

To wit: Will he come equipped with the dirty magazine item for distracting the other fighters? Will Princess Peach and Princess Zelda be immune to its paralyzing effects? What about Ness? He's just a kid---that sort of thing is completely inappropriate for someone his age. Maybe the dirty magazine item could be unusable while Ness is in play. And would its distracting effect work on the Pokémon characters? If an Ekans or an Arbok pops out of a Pokéball, will Snake be able to eat it on screen for sustensance?

If Konami really felt strongly about including one of their franchise characters in a Super Smash Brothers game, I think that Simon Belmont from the Castlevania series would have been a better choice. The whip mechanic is already there (Zero-Suit Samus); Simon's classic throwing daggers could easily be adapted from existing projectile mechanics (Zelda/Sheik); and moreover, the fantasy-style violence of the Castlevania series is on a par with that of the Legend of Zelda series.

Konami aside, there is a myriad of more appropriate characters that could have been included. What about Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, or Ryu Hayabusa (from the Ninja Gaiden series)? Mega Man would be one of the easiest to include---a passable Mega Man could be created as a clone of Samus Aran. The mechanics are already in place to include a robot, a ninja, and a roly-poly, cartoony animal.

Maybe that's why someone like Snake---someone entirely new and different---was desired. Or maybe it's because Solid Snake appeals to a different crowd---a crowd that might be persuaded to give SSBB a try if they see that it has a more grown-up selection of characters. In any case, I think it's a bad choice for the game, although it's probably a good choice for the bottom line. I'm thinking of declaring a preemptive house moritorium on playing as Snake; I just keep imagining my choice character jumping around the screen, looking for someone to smash, finding nothing but cardboard boxes arrayed on the ground. The future seems bleak indeed.

Gamers Don't Have an Old Timer's Day

It can be hard for a gamer to think about aging. Most gamers are young. Characters in videogames are usually young. The player character is usually a strong, young man. Typically, in games, the more times you do something, the easier it becomes. Either your character becomes stronger as you progress, like levels in an RPG, or the player's experience of a scenario makes it easier the next time, like in a platformer or a racing game. The idea that with time one can become weaker, and less able to cope with challenges, is a frightening thought.

I remember Final Fantasy IV very fondly, as it was the second game of the series that I played. In fact, the SNES cartridge I had did indeed say "Final Fantasy II" but this was merely to prevent the οἱ πολλοί from knowing what they were missing.

Even as a youth I was steadfast in my good RPG habits, which primarily are (1) save, save every chance you get, and (2) when in doubt, level up. Whenever, wherever, just fight random encounters to build yourself up a bit. Well, I luckily didn't fall into a pitfall that was likely to ensnare anyone who follows these tenets blindly. You see, in the Water Cavern, you gain the once great sage Tellah of Mysidia. And as Tellah gains levels, his stats go down, to indicate his advanced age and frailty. If one first leveled "up" for an extended period, and then saved, one would be stuck with an extremely vulnerable sage.

Not only does he become weaker with every battle, in the original version he had a command called Recall, which would allow him to randomly remember one of the powerful spells he once knew. So not only is his body withering with age, his once great magic prowess is now hindered by his failing memory. As a young gamer in the earlier 90's, this struck me as a very interesting mechanic; immediately unfamiliar due to my internalization of the concept that leveling up made characters stronger.

Skip ahead about half a decade to 1996. Capcom was refining the formula of its popular Street Fighter Zero/Alpha to quickly produce a sequel. They had reincarnated Birdie and Adon from the original Street Fighter into the interquel series, and to expand the roster for SFZ2 they again drew from their back catalog of fighters. After his stint as a Chinese assassin in the mediocre original, Gen returned to action in the Zero series after learning that he was dying from leukemia. He sought a worthy opponent, and came across Gouki/Akuma, the master of the Satsui no Hadou. Although it is not entirely clear, one would have to postulate that Gen was finished off since it was a fight to the death, and Gouki was later seen chronologically killing Vega/M. Bison's second body in Street Fighter II Turbo. Although, with fighting games, you never know what's canon, right? Regardless of the timeline, Gen did manage to make a large contribution to the next generation. He is responsible for training the young relatives of his Street Fighter (I) countryman Lee. Of course, I speak of Yun and Yang Lee of Street Fighter III. In particular, Yang's Mantis style is very similar to some of Gen's techniques.

Fatally afflicted, yes, but Gen is still a treacherous challenge in Zero 2 and 3. His ability to switch between his Sou-ryuu and Ki-ryuu styles mid-match makes his moveset formidable. He is remarkably quick and agile for being old and terminally ill, and for this reason doesn't really give the sense of mortality one gets from Tellah's predicament.

But with nothing to lose, Gen faces the deadliest opponent of the Zero series, and dies the way he wished, in battle with a worthy adversary.

Skip ahead to the new millenium, and please take into consideration the character EGM called the fourth greatest boss of all time.

Let me linger in this world just a little longer... I have already slept enough for one lifetime... enough for an eternity...

These words echo through the dense woodland of Sokrovenno, signaling the dawn of one of the toughest challenges the Metal Gear series will ever dish out. Personally, I have an attachment to The End and I can say without hesitation that he is my favorite boss fight. Ever. I believe my first successful attempt took about forty minutes. Even on my Foxhound run it took me almost twenty. And if you're having a really hard time, just keep trying. If you haven't beaten him in two weeks, he will just die of old age. Of course, you could save, and advance your PS2's internal clock a fortnight. Or you could just snipe him in his wheelchair immediately following an earlier cutscene. If you're a cheap fucking coward.

Like the rest of the Cobra Unit, The End is codenamed after the emotion he carries with him into battle, in this case the desire to continue to exist. He is over one hundred years old during the events of Snake Eater, and doesn't have any interest in killing Snake. The Ancient Sniper merely wants to test his ability, and to try once more to do what he does best, to hunt his prey.

Hideo Kojima seems to be revisiting similar themes again in MGS4, wherein Solid Snake is suffering from advanced aging. Preview trailers show this new Old Snake apparently commiting suicide, and there is speculation that his health and stamina may steadily decrease throughout the game, not unlike our first example. Of course, this is merely assumptions made about a Kojima game, which means absolutely nothing, as Hideo loves to shock his audience with unexpected twists.

So from this, what should a gamer learn about aging? About sickness and mortality? I think that in continuing, and finding extra lives, and dodging bullets and Bullet Bills, one forgets that no amount of skill or effort can allow one to evade the inevitable; That there is no eternal life code; And that nothing lasts forever.

Killer Ops

The real challenge would be to review Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops on its own, independent of its place in the franchise, or its status among PSP offerings. If one could only review it as its own game, free of the labels and expectations and allowances.

That would be tough indeed. But the world of game reviews is not a vacuum. Too bad.

In terms of the larger Metal Gear saga, MPO is an important link in the chain, and it wields a fair amount of clout being a canon entry in the series. This is one of those games that "forced" series fans to buy a PSP, though once it is acquired a Gearaphile can enjoy Ac!d, Ac!d², and the Digital Graphic Novel as well. Speaking of the DGN...

The hand drawn cutscenes by Ashley Wood that tell the dramatic moments of MPO are excellent, and more than supplement enough for the in-engine cutscenes of previous games. Since doing these instances in engine would have been the most glaring example of the less detailed graphical presentation, I feel they create a very cohesive game experience.

In all honesty, though, the graphics aren't shabby. It is basically the exact same engine as Ac!d², although the character models are a little more detailed overall. In my personal library of titles for Sony's portable, Ops is second in the visual department only to Tekken:DR.

We go now from good to superb. The audio in this game is par excellence. The very cool 70s superspy music blended with the expected MGS full orchestration is, for lack of a better word, crucial. The voice acting, the sound effects, the ambience: all perfect. They nailed every aspect of aural pleasure.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Gameplay. Here's the gist: MGS3's camo is out, a new and very useful sound indicator is in its place. The traditional linear structure is replaced by a mission based one, more suitable for portable Ops. Solo sneaking missions now allow you to take a quartet of characters into each mission, sneaking one at a time, and switching off by hiding in cardboard boxes at set hiding places scattered throughout the level.

Who else goes in your squad? Well, just about any soldier you see can be recruited. Just knock 'em out and drag 'em back to the truck. And each soldier has their own appearance, stats, and special traits. Most of the bosses can be recruited if one meets special requirements, for example the good old stamina kill (as opposed to a lethal "health" kill). These new comrades can be used to sneak, gather intel, develop technical supplies, or see to the health and well-being of your forces.

They can also be taken online, in a mode not unlike MGO from MGS3:Subsistence. Individual and team variations of deathmatch and capture the kerotan provide for unlimited replayability, and the option of Real Combat (as opposed to virtual reality), wherein you can capture your opponent's soldiers, creates an incentive to constantly build up your characters and search for better ones.Oh, and so you know, I had no problem putting together an exciting match with five other eager players at 5 AM EST. So yeah, there's alot of activity online.

What more could anyone possibly want?!

Well, starting with online, the six player limit chafes some, but sits fine with me. More maps, though, like the ones to be available for the Euro release, would be nice. Also there is a big controversy about hacked characters online that usually have otherwise inaccessible uniforms, S ranks in all weapons, and the health to withstand two headshots at point blank range. With proper communication, though, you can find opponents that share like-minded views of sportsmanship and avoid t3h hax0rz.

Next off, there are two really outstandingly bad segments in the game. One is a brief, very uncharacteristic platforming element in the Silo Complex level. I get the feeling Hideo Kojima backhanded someone when he played through that portion. It is especially frustrating on Extreme difficulty due to the key placement. This isn't Mario, okay?

Secondly, in the Ravine level, en route to the Power Substation, you come to a boulder in your path that prompts a codec conversation, telling you to find another route. I suppose one could double back around the other side of the canyon, or perhaps bring explosives to destroy the blockage. I wouldn't know, however, because I just had Snake hang off the edge of the path and climb his way around the large rock. This is Metal Gear Solid, okay? Electrified floors that need to be disabled with remote controlled missiles, I expect that. I also expect to use cigar smoke to identify infrared security systems. But, climbing around a rock? What the fuck, Konami? What is that?

Oh yeah, back on the plus side, the story is awesome. Great characters, intrigue, excitement, betrayal. You know, top-notch. It helps a lot to have played Snake Eater, but I wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker if you haven't.

In summation, this is the best PSP game I have played. Yeah, that's right. The best. Cardboard boxes and dirty magazines for life.

Crouching Babel, Hidden Cobra

While MGS4 may be pretty far off on the horizon, that doesn't mean The End of all stealth franchises isn't as lively as ever. Most recently the stellar Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops dropped for PSP. Bad timing, though. I fear if I pop Prince of Persia Revelations out of my PSP, it may not return, and the Prince may be stranded on the island of time forever...

So, while I try to rush through Revelations, I am currently falling further and further behind the online competitive curve in Ops. The Fear of potential opponenets skilling up without me is alarming, but to comfort myself I am taking a little time to indulge in one of the lesser known entries in the Metal Gear mythos.

After Playstation's Metal Gear Solid, and before PS2's Sons of Liberty, there was a little retro entry for Nintendo's Game Boy Color, Metal Gear Ghost Babel, or simply Metal Gear Solid here in North America. This second title is somewhat misleading, as I consider the Solid term to refer specifically to the 3D aspect of the games, as opposed to the inclusion of the character. You see, Ghost Babel is closest in similarity to Metal Gear 2, and if you haven't played either Ghost Babel or MG2, you are missing out on the Joy of a unique gaming experience.

There is nothing like the Pain of a bad spinoff for a Gameboy system, and luckily, Ghost Babel is not one. It's one final throwback to the original formula of top-down stealth action. You have all the fun gimmicks of MG2 and MGS (the cardboard box, e.g.) with a fresh coat of paint, and a fresh set of wacky bosses (with their wacky names).

Unfortunately, Ghost Babel is not part of the major storyline. It seems to take the place of MGS, wherein Snake is brought out of his Alaskan retirement by Colonel Campbell, but instead of stopping Foxhound's takeover of Shadow Moses, he must travel to Central Africa to stop the terrorist group Black Chamber. Interestingly, one of the more popular interpretations of this storyline is that it is a VR training scenario meant to form Raiden into the Patriot's own "legendary hero". (Oh shit, please excuse the Sorrow caused by any spoilers in this paragraph. Direct all of the Fury you may have to the comments section.)

Anyways, if you can find Ghost Babel at your local game store, and you have the neccesary hardware to play it, get it. You won't be sorry. And if you can't locate a hard copy locally or online, well, you know. Just say Arr! to rom piracy.

Not With a Bang. . . .

But with a knife, silently, from behind.

Everything I hear lately about Sony is discouraging. The latest: Noooz is reporting that Metal Gear Solid 4, long anticipated to be a PS3 exclusive, is going to port to the X-Box 360. Neither Konami, nor MicroSoft, nor Sony is confirming this yet. It'll be a shame if it turns out to be true.

I'm still rooting for Sony, and I'm planning to buy a PS3 early in 2007---as soon as there is a worthwhile game to play on it (don't say "REEEEEEEEEEEJ Racer").

Part of the reason is that I don't want the only high-end gaming experience in town to be the X-Box. I already shelled out a pile of money on a MicroSoft-powered machine to play games on. It is my PC. (X-Box, go home.)

Aside/ This is not to say that we don't have an X-Box. We do. It's broken and collecting dust in the attic. Speaking of broken consoles, another point in Sony's favor is that my PS2 is the only of my last-gen consoles to still be in working order these many years later. The X-Box and the GameCube are both teh br0ken. /Aside

Also, I feel that Sony is committed to putting out high-quality merchandise. I don't always buy Sony, but I think Samsung (for example) is better for having to compete with Sony. That is to say, I think Sony keeps the industry standard high. I really want Sony to succeed. For the good of the industry, you see.

But a few months back, PS3 lost Assassin's Creed as an exclusive---they have to share with the 360. That was a blow . . . a highly anticipated PS3 title jumping ship. Then there were a plethora of blu-ray diode production problems. Then, last week, SquareEnix announces that DQIX will be exclusive to the DS . . . a major blow for Sony in the Japanese market. Et tu, Konami? Et tu, MGS4?

Hoping it's not true. . . .