GamePro contributor, Ben PerLee was told that the game could have a life beyond Sony’s handheld. 

“So after I had done the preview, [Konami] had a Q/A session with us to get our complaints/ideas about the game,” PerLee reported. “Other than the basics, they asked what we thought about if they released it on PSN for the PS3 as well and had online multiplayer.”

It’s not uncommon for developers to ask such questions, so this is definitely not concrete evidence. However, the fact that Konami are even thinking such things is sure to excite fans of the franchise (fans like yours truly). This doesn’t necessarily relate directly to Peace Walker and could be a hint as to Mr. Kojima’s next adventure. Only time will tell.

Konami have announced that it will be they that will be publishing the latest attempt at rapaoke (see what I did there?) and that the game will be releasing this ‘fall’ on PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

Only a handful of the game’s tracklist has been revealed thus far (listed after the jump) so I really don’t know how this will pan out. Hopefully it’ll be (and Ryan will agree with me on this) more Jurassic 5 than Soulja Boy.

• 2 Pac – I Get Around
• 50 Cent – I Get Money
• Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg – Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang
• Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx -Gold Digger
• Lil’ Wayne – A Milli
• Notorius B.I.G. – Juicy
• Slick Rick – Children’s Story
• T.I. featuring Rihanna – Live Your Life
• Wu Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M.
• Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West – Put On

As far as we know the demo exactly the same as the one released at TGS earlier in the year, so if you know your Japanese there’s no need to download this. Do it anyway though. I mean, c’mon, it’s Metal Gear.

So I started my playthrough ready to hate this game, but by the end I kind of appreciated it. That’s not to say the game is great, it’s far from it, but it’s not as terrible as a game based off of a series of, fairly mediocre, horror movies might sound. The game takes place between the first two movies in the franchise and you take control of Detective David Tapp, a minor character from the first movie, who’s trying to track down The Jigsaw Killer. You’re healed by Jigsaw after taking a bullet in the chest and taken to the, now abandoned, Whitehurst Asylum. The game starts with you trapped in the iconic reverse bear trap and you have to escape, otherwise your head will be in a million bits on the floor. Pretty standard stuff in the Saw universe I think you’ll agree.

Escaping traps like this requires you to complete a fairly simple quick time event. Once you’ve removed yourself from the jaws of death, it’s time to go get Jigsaw. Of course, it’s not going to be easy. Along the way you’ll come across a series of ‘tests’. These tests come in the form of people who’ve crossed paths with Tapp in the past. It’s in these tests I think Zombie Studios could’ve made this game a hell of a lot more interesting. These scenarios are basically a device for driving the story forward and I never really felt satisfied by the outcomes. I think this is a massive missed opportunity for some ‘moral choice’ gameplay. Getting to choose what happens to these people would’ve made a lot more sense gameplay-wise because that’s what the series is all about. Secondly it would’ve stopped the game from being just another mediocre survival horror. It’s not like this could’nt have been done either. There is choice involved at some points, but it isn’t enough to really have an impact on the game as a whole.

Story-wise I think fans of the movies will be pretty satisfied. The game follows the conventions of a Saw movie pretty well. There’s certainly scenarios that people will be used to by now, and that could prove a sticking point for some. Others might see the opportunity to get more of that wonderful Saw story too tempting not to pick this game up. Who am I trying to kid? No one, and I mean no one, watches those movies for the plot. There’s a few familiar faces here too, but it won’t affect the experience of non-fans, because they’re the same characters you’ve seen in every other torture porn (yes, that’s an actual genre now) movie going. This is a game for fans though, there’s no doubt about it. I certainly wouldn’t have played it had I not been reviewing it.

Besides the QTE’s in trap situations there are a number of other elements that make up this game, some of which came as quite a surprise. The majority of the game is a third person action game. You wander through the darkened, stereotypical, horror movie environments hitting other ‘game players’ with improvised weapons as they come at you and that’s about it. Combat feels really unresponsive and clunky. I didn’t expect much, but this is pretty bad. It’s certainly no Dead Space, that’s for sure. There are some puzzle elements here too. These usually involve Tapp foraging around inside a dead guy in the morgue or sticking his hand in a toilet bowl filled with feces and dirty needles. Oh these writers, so inventive. You’ll be happy to know then that the game isn’t really up to scratch in the graphics department, otherwise there’d be some stomach-churning moments.

Like the rest of the game, Saw is pretty average in the graphics department. Everything looks, pretty much, as it should. The environments are dark and menacing. Just the typical horror movie affair really. The one thing I appreciated was the lack of repetition in the environments. Sure, there was a little bit, but the majority looked different enough to the point where I never felt I was retracing my stepts, even though I was in a completely different area. The character models aren’t much to shout about either, they look alright, but with the amount of darkness employed in the game, it didn’t really make much difference to me. However, this might be different for the Saw die hard. The only real problem I had graphically was the texture pop in, thankfully it didn’t occur to often.

Another really nice presentation feature was the voice of Tobin Bell. He provided the distinctive tones of Jigsaw for the game and thank god. Without him I don’t think the character would’ve come across right at all. Speaking of Jigsaw, his omnipresence is key to the movies and it’s been captured perfectly here by Zombie. Sadly, Bell is the only Saw cast member to provide his voice for the game. The lack of Danny Glover wasn’t really a problem, but it would’ve certainly been a nice touch.

The one thing I really have to compliment Saw on is the scare factor. I wasn’t really expecting much as I can usually sit through a saw movie pretty unphased. This game really did have me on edge a lot of the time and, I’ll admit it, I played it exclusively during the day. The darkened asylum, combined with Jigsaw’s commentary really worked well and I think survival horror fans will enjoy their experience in Whitehurst. However, the game can get pretty repetetive so don’t go in expecting something fantastic. Konami could have a good franchise on their hands here, but much improving needs to be done before it can compare with the likes of Silent Hill and Resident Evil.

I want to play a game. Just not this one.

6/10

The game will be available to download in Europe on Thursday and will cost £8. Not bad for the best game ever made, eh?

Some hands-on time with the Tokyo Game Show demo has left a striking first impression. I can say, without hesitance, that not only is Peace Walker shaping up to be Snake’s greatest portable adventure, but easily one that can rival its PS2 brethren.

Lengthy and sometimes perplexing cut-scenes have been a staple of the Metal Gear series for so long now, they’re almost a necessity. Peace Walker doesn’t disappoint here. It is in every way as cinematic as its console counterparts but lengthy conversations now take the approach of a graphic novel shifting to a comic book style of storytelling.  Employing the creative mind of Ashley Wood, the comic book artist behind the previous Metal Gear hand held titles, has clearly paid off here. With look half influenced by the series iconic art style and the comic book art seen in the Digital Graphic Novel, it really brings even the most mundane of conversations to life unlike anything the series has attempted to do before.

Finally getting into the boots of Snake, Peace Walker feels more like a middle ground blending the best of what console games and Portable Ops had to offer. Instead of a fluid story-telling experience, Peace Walker is broken up into mission segments much like Portable Ops, making it easier to pick up and play. These are fairly short affairs all tied together where you’ll progress from one area to another using stealth to execute or sneak past guards and, like Portable Ops, you’ll be graded on your performance.

The environments have a lot in common with the jungle setting of Snake Eater. You can duck behind foliage and tip toe through marshy waters. I didn’t spot any effective use of the surrounds as seen in MGS3, but I’m sure that Snake will be able to exploit the environment a little more in the finished game.

The games HUD is fairly well presented and not too intrusive. Your radar allows you to see how much sound you are making with your footsteps and also pick up on sounds around to identify the position of other guards. Holding Left or Right on the D-pad will bring up your inventories which are navigated using the square and circle buttons. These all have to be accessed in real-time, which doesn’t help when you have numerous guards pumping you full of lead. Codec conversations appear to be absent, or at least they’ve been worked into the HUD so to not break up the mission structure further. A nice addition there.

Many elements of the console versions have made the transition to Peace Walker, including MGS4’s flexible gameplay that gives you the option to play the game with an ‘all guns blazing’ approach, if you so wish. Snake can now aim over the shoulder to give you a better idea of where your shots will be most effective and an auto lock targeting system allowed me to run and gun with ease. Choosing to implement Metal Gear Solid 4’s action orientated gameplay has taken its toll on the control scheme. Shoehorning all the bells and whistles onto PSP can’t have been the easiest of tasks. This probably won’t help during longer play sessions. Primary actions are now mapped to the R trigger allowing Snake to execute his CQC moves. Now Snake has the ability to slam enemies to the ground or into each other which can prove incredibly useful when surrounded by guards.  Kojima has already expressed concern over the control schemes so we wouldn’t be surprised if  the controls were adapted for the final release.

After a handful of short missions, I was left suitably impressed with how Peace Walker had shaped up so quickly. But my time with Peace Walker wasn’t up just yet.  Co-operative play, now dubbed ‘Co-Ops’, made its grand appearance in the Peace Walker demo allowing you to bring a buddy along. Players can pick from a number of differently equipped Snake’s, such as ‘Battle Dress’ (a guy geared up to the teeth at the sacrifice of camouflage and agility), or ‘Naked Snake’ (less armor in favor of stealth and speed). Each Snake will encourage different methods of play, and mixing and matching can make for some killer combinations.

In sneaking missions, you’re free to roam around individually but you’re encouraged to move as a team. Snake Formation is a team based skill which allows players to synchronize and team up within the space of an orange circle. Stay in it and you’ll share a single health bar with regeneration and have access to eachother’s inventories. You can also link with your team mate allowing you to act like a turret whilst your partner moves around for you which felt a little more gimmicky that I expected but still a notable addition to the gameplay.

Peace Walker’s lasting impression was the hard as nails boss battle against a tank. As well as packing a series of soldiers to keep me distracted and the tank blowing me apart my cover,  I was regularly drawn to the Game Over screen,after many failed attempts to bring down the sluggish juggernaut. Up to four players can participate in Boss battles. Something that’s certainly an interesting prospect.

It seems like it’ll be a while  before we see Peace Walker strut gloriously onto our PSP’s but if this demo was anything to go by, then the wait will be more than worth it. Just a small taster of what Peace Walker can do has opened up the idea that a true Metal Gear Solid title can be successfully done on a hand held system and if that isn’t enough of a reason to be excited about this game then I doubt you’ll find one anywhere else.

FIFA has been on shelves for the majority of this month and continues to sell well, which has left myself (and, no doubt, many others) wondering where all this confidence is coming from. Despite FIFA’s early lead, Konami expect this year’s PES to be “a million-selling title at launch”.

Personally, I doubt that. Hey, that’s just me though.

Konami have released a slew of new screens and, as Kojima isn’t one to do things by halves, a nine minute trailer showcasing the co-op gameplay that seems to be the focus of Peace Walker. The media frenzy is after the jump.

The first batch of said titles has made me very happy. Having looked on the internet for new (or occassionally used) copies of games such as Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance or Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater I can tell you this has made me a very happy fanboy.

The other games on the list are:

• Suikoden Tactics
• Zone Of The Enders: 2nd Runner

These will be joined later on by:

• Silent Hill 2
• Silent Hill 3
• Silent Hill: The Room

Weirdly, Konami said that you might not see these re-releases in regular chain game shops. Apparently the focus of these is on the independent guys. A nice move Konami, let’s hope I can find me a copy of Substance.

One thing that is weird is that the re-release of MGS3 isn’t the “Subsistance” version. At least that’s not what was said. I shall get onto Konami and ask. Here’s hoping it’s the later version. That one is a better package.

The games will apparently hit retail at £10-20. A great price for great games.

<a href=”http://www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com”><img title=”EI09_header” src=”http://www.theplaystationetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/EI09_header.jpg” alt=”EI09_header” width=”520″ height=”110″ /></a>

That’s right people, the date is set for the best (yes that’s a fact) game to ever be released on any console ever to come to the PlayStation Store. Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid, is coming to a PS3/PSP near you this month.

The game is coming to the U.S. on June 18th and I wouldn’t bet against it also appearing in Europe that week or a week later akin to the classic release of Final Fantasy VII. No pricing has been formally announced, but you can bet that it’ll be $9.99/£7.99.

I can’t wait to play this game on the go again (sorry for the obvious pun).