Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is feeling like its own Deluxe Remaster

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As a longtime fan of the Metal Gear Solid series, I must say that the Tokyo Game Show 2024 demo of Metal Gear Delta: Snake Eater took me back to my gaming roots. The game’s stunning visual overhaul was nothing short of breathtaking, but it was the familiar gameplay mechanics and aesthetics that truly resonated with me.

I’ve been quite impressed with Konami’s recent moves as a gamer. They’ve got two significant remakes lined up, one being the self-developed Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and the other being the publishing of Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake. Both made a splash at Tokyo Game Show 2024, but it was Metal Gear Solid Delta that really caught my attention. The demo we got to play took us through the tutorial and initial battles, offering a taste remarkably similar to the original 2004 game, but with a modern shine. It’s almost like Capcom’s recent release, Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster.

Beginning Operation Virtuous Mission

Following the unveiling of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater during the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, I found myself eager to discover Konami’s approach for this game, given its transition to Unreal Engine 5. At the Tokyo Game Show 2024, the demonstration offered a comprehensive hands-on experience of the gameplay thus far, according to my understanding. This demo showcased the entire opening sequence of the game, Snake receiving his initial mission briefing, and the initial steps of that mission. In case you’ve forgotten or aren’t familiar, Snake Eater starts with a former Green Beret operative named Naked Snake being assigned to infiltrate Russian territory and extract a top-secret nuclear scientist, Dr. Nicolai Sokolov, who is being coerced into assisting them in the development of a new weapon during the Cold War. Given the tense political atmosphere, Snake’s mission carries significant risk, and if he gets caught, there will be no backup, and the US will deny any involvement.

From the start, it seemed clear that Konami wasn’t planning significant changes in the storyline and narrative quirks of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. The opening cutscenes and briefings were just as detailed as I recalled, closely mirroring my memories of the 2004 game. It was intriguing to notice they maintained such a verbose opening (a characteristic of its original creator, Hideo Kojima, who was duly credited in the opening sequence). With the extensive exposition, cinematics, and immediate radio transmission, I sensed that Konami wanted this game to feel just as it did when players first encountered it many years ago, but with a fresh, high-quality visual update.

As the game commenced, I immediately sensed a strong feeling of deja vu, given my extensive experience with Metal Gear Solid 3. Since I’m quite adept at navigating tutorials, I breezed through most of them during the opening sequence. However, once I was fully immersed in play, it was as if I had slipped back into an old skin. The movements, hiding, weapon handling, camouflage, firing, reloading, and even using the Codec radio system all felt incredibly natural again within a short while.

As I jumped into the action, I found myself deep in the heart of the jungle, tasked with infiltrating an outpost to meet Dr. Sokolov. First things first, I customized my gear – donning a silenced tranquilizer pistol and adjusting my uniform for optimal camouflage in this dense foliage. The percentage camo system was a lifesaver, with jungle camo putting me nearly invisible among the grass at 90%.

As a devoted fan, I’m glad I picked up on those signs swiftly, for it wasn’t long before I encountered soldiers. With a tranquilizer pistol stowed away, camouflage donned, and surprise on my side, I weighed the stealthy options: sneaking past the soldiers, disturbing hornet nests near them to induce panic, or knocking them out with the tranq and concealing their bulky, mushy bodies in high grass. Moving these unconscious bodies was a risky affair, given their weight, but I found a silver lining: sometimes, dropping an unconscious body would yield equipment items like food or ammo. It added a touch of humor to the gameplay and brought back fond memories.

In the end, I managed to sneak up on Sokolov’s location almost unnoticed. However, my cover was blown, causing an immediate alarm. As you can imagine, confronting soldiers directly is not a wise decision. Once they spotted me, they quickly alerted others in the vicinity. When I overcame the first soldier and fled to hide, they began searching the area around me. My only options were to stay hidden or defeat all of them without being detected, thereby lowering the alarm level. This required me to use various tactics such as hiding behind grass, climbing onto rooftops, and crawling under foundations to avoid detection. If I was detected again, it would reset the alert counter and potentially lead to my demise. The game followed the typical pattern of Metal Gear Solid where enemies actively chase you during a red alert and then switch to searching during a yellow alert before returning to their normal routines. Eventually, I managed to meet up with Sokolov, bringing the demo to an end.

In summary, the demo was stunningly beautiful yet remarkably true to its original version. The polish on Snake, the environment, and other visual aspects in Metal Gear Solid Delta was exceptional, making everything appear cleaner and more breathtaking than before. As I familiarized myself with the gameplay, it seemed incredibly similar to the 2004 Snake Eater in terms of feel and aesthetics. This leads me to draw comparisons with Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster in my initial assessment. All key systems and interactions present in the original have been preserved, including its quirks, but with slight enhancements to modernize certain elements like quicker loading times between playable section transitions.

Kept you waiting, huh?

After recently evaluating a reboot that preserved its initial essence, my reaction to Konami’s Tokyo Game Show 2024 demo for Metal Gear Delta: Snake Eater was particularly significant. The game’s upgraded visuals are stunning, and it was thrilling to notice the parallels with Metal Gear Solid 3. I ponder whether the gritty aspects of Snake Eater will captivate newcomers as much, but it seems longtime fans are in for a real treat. If one craves a Metal Gear Solid 3-like experience, albeit enhanced by Unreal Engine 5, this demo has me convinced, and I’m eagerly anticipating the full game’s release to see how it unfolds further.

As a dedicated fan, I had the privilege of getting a sneak peek at an early demo of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which was exclusively unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show 2024. Excitingly, this game is planned for release in 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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2024-10-01 20:27