TWiG 2008-06-09: The Snake Returns…a Little Older, Just as Badass

I’ve never been someone you could call a launch-day adopter, usually opting to wait until brand new consoles get a) cheaper and b) a little bit more readily available.

We’re counting the minutes…

There was a time, however, when my then-girlfriend and I decided that paying out the ear for a PlayStation 2 was a good idea (this was in January of ’01), because hey, it was a DVD player too! And for the better part of that year, it was a fun toy that occasionally came in most handy when we really, desperately felt that we needed to have a DVD (a format which, at that point, was still something of a novelty).

In November, everything changed.

I hadn’t actually played anything past the demo of the original Metal Gear Solid, but I got swept up in the massive amounts of hype for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, purchasing it as soon as it came out. It remains, to this day, my favorite PlayStation 2 experience of all time. It was something that I could play while my girlfriend watched, and while I would be entertained by the stealth and the constant tension, my girlfriend could be entertained by the lengthy (and often hilariously convoluted) storyline. It was a game we would play instead of watching our favorite television shows, and the turning point that transformed the PS2 from a fun curiosity to an all-out entertainment machine.

The guy could have a walker and be out of teeth; I still
wouldn’t want to mess with Snake.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was just as good a play experience, but it came at a time in our lives when games simply could not take the priority that they once did, so it didn’t leave nearly the impression that MGS2 did. Still, the affection I hold for MGS2 means that anything related to the series gets my full attention — especially a full-on sequel.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots looks incredible. From the shock and awe of the Movie Voiceover Guy trailer to the 15-minute beast that’s been floating around for a couple of years now, every little bit of publicity I’ve seen for MGS4 makes it look like an incredible experience. Heck, even Raiden, the much-ridiculed primary player of MGS2, looks like he’s grown up a bit, perhaps inspiring a mite less criticism for his presence. All in all, the thing looks incredible, and I’m going to have a really, really hard time paying attention to anything else until next week. Maybe this game is what transforms the PS3 into its own full-on entertainment machine.

Once again, it’s style over realism on the Wii. Developers are
finally getting the hang of this little console…

Obviously, things are pretty quiet elsewhere on the release front. Nascar fans get the latest iteration of EA’s circuit simulation, and Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles looks fun in a sort of Hotel Dusk meets Phoenix Wright kind of way. Wii owners also have the inventive-looking shooter Blast Works: Build Trade Destroy on its way this week, in which you get to build up your own ship out of the pieces of other ships. Like a cannibalistic Vic Viper. It’ll make a perfect game to play with the kids (rated E and everything!) during those times of day when Metal Gear Solid 4 might not be, you know, appropriate.

The full release list and the Movie Trailer Guy trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4 (just because I’m obsessed with it) is after the break.

DS:

Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (10 June)

Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor (10 June)

PC:

EVE Online: Empyrean Age (10 June)

The Incredible Hulk (10 June)

Trainz: The Complete Collection (10 June)

Insecticide (13 June)

PS3:

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (10 June)

NASCAR 09 (10 June)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (12 June)

PS2:

NASCAR 09 (10 June)

Xbox 360:

Don King Presents: Prizefighter (10 June)

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (10 June)

NASCAR 09 (10 June)

Wii:

Backyard Baseball 2009 (10 June)

Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy (10 June)

PSP:

NO!