While Konami is gearing up for the big release of Metal Gear Solid 4 — the sole reason I will be at Best Buy way, way too early on Thursday — they may also have another MGS project in the works. Ripten recently received a tip that the original PS1 game could be ported over to the Xbox Live Arcade. The classic stealth game may even have a subsequent release on the PSN. Of course, such a transition is not going to be without its share of problems.

Obviously, there are some logistical issues going along with this announcement, not least of which is the question of size limitations. Microsoft may soon be raising the XBLA file limit to 35oMB, but that still may not be enough for MGS1, considering it spanned more than one disc originally. On the other hand though, Microsoft did publish the PC version of the game; and Konami managed to keep all of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night down to 95MB. We’ll have to see. What I’d really like though would be Konami to take Twin Snakes, Substance, and Subsistence and cram them onto one big, fat Blu-Ray to keep me warm through the winter.

Via Ripten

Personally, I love the Metal Gear Solid series. They’ve consistently had some great gameplay and enticing — though sometimes confusing — storylines. Everything about the games just seems huge, which unfortunately includes it’s “WTF” moments. Every one of those games had instances where you just sat back and asked yourself, “what the hell just happened?” And now, thanks to 1UP’s Scott Sharkey, we get to relive those moments all over again. Crotch grabbings, awkward relationship talk through codec, homoerotic sword fights: it’s all here. I think it was the revelation that Otacon slept with his mom that really weirded me out the most though (seriously, Kojima, what the hell?). I think I need to lie down now; it’s just too much terrible for one sitting.

Via 1UP

Ho…lee…crap. I knew the new 80GB PS3 bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4 was in high demand, but still, wow. At about 10 AM PST, Amazon.com began taking pre-orders again for the upcoming bundle. By 10:07, they were all gone; thousands of them in mere minutes. So many people flooded the site in fact, that it looks like Amazon.com is down for the moment. It makes sense really, considering you’re basically getting a system with a top-notch exclusive thrown in to boot, which is one heck of a deal. I was actually placing a pre-order myself earlier today, but didn’t want to wait the extra few days it would take for the bundle to arrive. I really hope I don’t end up kicking myself for that decision next Thursday.

Via PS3Fanboy

One of the main news bits sweeping through gaming sites this week has been the controversial restrictions placed on reviews for the game by Konami. Namely, the publisher required reviewers to sign a non-disclosure agreement stating that their review would not give details about the length of the game’s cut scenes and install time, which raised quite a bit of controversy (for good explanation of why, you should check out the Sessler’s Soapbox video on the matter). Well now Ryan Payton, Assistant Producer for Kojima Productions, has chimed in in hopes of setting the record straight. In a recent letter to Kotaku, Payton outlined exactly what restrictions were listed in the NDA and even flat out reveals the install time (8 minutes). He also went on to explain their reasoning behind the restrictions and stated that they were a little “outdated.” Their main concern, he says, was that revealing the length of cut scenes –or more specifically, which ones were the longest — would ruin the “experience” of the game for some players, as they would be expecting them. They didn’t mean for the subject of their length to be avoided entirely, but didn’t want them getting down to specifics about how long they are. Their argument for the install times follows the same logic of not wanting to ruin the game for people, as there are a couple of three-minute installs between acts. Finally, Payton added that reviewers are welcome to discuss the length of the cut scenes and install times, but to refrain from mentioning too many specifics.

He certainly makes a valid argument, but I’m still with Adam Sessler on this one. The length of the cut scenes really is something that a consumer might weigh into their decision on whether to buy the game or not, and using vague terms isn’t always going to get the message across. There’s a big difference between saying “the cut scenes are really long” and “there’s one 90-minute cut scene” (though that last point is still a rumor). I can understand Konami not wanting to spoil the game for people, but these restrictions kind of cross a fine line. Besides, just the mere act of reading a review is going to influence your expectations of a game anyway.

You can read Payton’s full letter after the break.

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GameVideos has a treat for you Metal Gear fans out there — there might still be a few weeks before the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, but in the meantime you can savor over the first 18 minutes of Metal Gear Solid 2: Bande Dessinee.

You’ll have to do some reading, though, as the novel has Japanese voices (sorry, Hayter fans) with English speech bubbles. It should serve as a good refresher on MGS2’s story, although it’ll help if you’ve already played the game.

Bande Dessinee releases on June 12 in Japan on DVD.

It seemed downright silly that Metal Gear Solid 4 was going to have a cutscene which lasted 90 minutes. I mean, that’s ninety-fricken-minutes, as in an hour and a half. That’s absurd. I’m as interested in the Metal Gear storyline as the next person, but I don’t really feel like taking a 90-minute break in the middle of gameplay, even if I can choose to pause or skip it.

As it turns out, there might not be any cutscene that lasts 90 minutes. At least, that’s what GamePro’s Sid Shuman is saying. He’s played through the game twice now and says, “Ninety-minute-long cinemas in MGS4 sounds like an exaggeration. Like the other MGS games, MGS4 definitely has a cinematic quality. And yes, some of the cut-scenes in the game are elaborate and occasionally lengthy. But not a one, to my recollection, even approaches 90 minutes.”

Of course, an hour-long cutscene wouldn’t fit the definition of “approaching 90 minutes,” to me, at least, so there’s still hope for those of you out there who are craving a feature length movie in the middle of MGS4.

The Metal Gear Solid games have a reputation for having some really long cut scenes — I still remember being forced to shut down MGS2 partway into a 45-minute long one to meet up with some friends, only to come back later and have to watch it all over again. But apparently the cinematic sequences in MGS4 are topping even those in terms of length. PSW magazine has played through the whole game and notes that there are some cut-scenes in the game that play for about 90 minutes. I’ve seen feature films that were shorter than that. On the plus side, you’ll be able to pause and skip through them, which a lot of people may opt for after about ten minutes. People like me though will probably be compelled to sit through the whole movie just to get the full story, not to mention most of the cinematics we’ve seen so far have looked just plain awesome. The thing that really scares me though is that PSW neglected to mention whether there’s only one cut scene this long or if there’s more. In other words, when you finally do settle down to play MGS4, be sure to clear your schedule.

Via CVG

Hideo Kojima, acclaimed director of the Metal Gear Solid series, seems to have a hard time making up his mind. He’s stated numerous times that Metal Gear Solid 4 will be his last entry in the series and even mentioned that he might turn his creative eye to Zone of Enders once more. But now he seems to be saying that he’s already making plans for Metal Gear Solid 5, even though MGS4 isn’t even out the door quite yet. In an interview with Famitsu, Kojima said:

I gotta start thinking about MGS5…that would be something that Kojima Productions would have to make, I think.

Wait, what? Didn’t he pull this with MGS3 too? Dang it, Kojima, stop toying with our emotions.

Via Kotaku

Fans of MGS and PS3 owners alike cannot wait for June 12th to arrive. Who could blame them though? MGS4 looks amazing, is a great series, and this is the last time we will ever get to play as the venerable Snake. Supposedly.

As someone who has loved playing these games over the years and who unfortunately does not own a PS3 yet, all I can do is just gaze in awe at the gorgeous screenshots and very cinematic trailers. These new screens are no exception. Enjoy.

Konami Digital has announced that they are seriously trying to move forward with a feature film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid, but they aren’t just throwing it out into the depths of Hollywood to let just anyone take on the job. After all, this is one of their most cherished franchises, so they’re choosing who gets the film rights very carefully. The man currently working on the film project at Konami, Aki Saito, explains his views on the matter:

Often Hollywood adaptations have the original game creator involved at the beginning, but somewhere along the line they fall out of view. This is why it’s very important for us to carefully pick the studio for this project.

On this note however, he did mention that Hideo Kojima would not be directing the movie. All he did manage to say really was that Paul Thomas Anderson, director of There Will Be Blood, had expressed interest in helming the feature film. Personally, I hope he does end up directing, at least so I can make a “Snake Drinks Your Milkshake” t-shirt, and have it make a little sense.

Via QJ