Is Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami's second attempt at breathing life into MGS in the absence of Hideo Kojima, good? How does it stack up against Twin Snakes, the first attempt at remaking MGS that actually featured the creator's involvement?
Nowadays, we see Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes as a ridiculously campy remake that made terrible gameplay choices, but that hasn't always been the case. Twin Snakes actually got great reviews when it came out back in '04, and only began getting backlash later. Delta is currently doing well among critics—exactly as well as Twin Snakes, in fact—but all remakes should expect a degree of backlash, especially those of such high profile. So, which remake was better at the time of release, and which one is more likely to withstand the test of time?
Delta vs. Twin Snakes: Presentation
Twin Snake's graphics weren't as spectacular as those of Metal Gear Solid 2, but it takes place in the setting most fans of the series grew up in, which evened things out. Twin Snakes only ever came out on the GameCube, so a modern-day GC playthrough won't prove as immersive for new players, but the Dolphin emulator for PC will greatly improve that trip down memory lane.
Graphics are not what causes Twin Snakes to falter presentation-wise. It's the remade cutscenes, which add an inexplicable amount of over-the-top action that undermines the game's anti-violence message.
Delta features great graphics compared to Twin Snakes and the original MGS3, sure, but fails to dazzle. There's a clear technical upgrade over Snake Eater, but Delta doesn't even look much better than the already 10-year-old MGS V. Delta also suffers from questionable performance issues for a game taking place in much smaller environments. The cutscenes, however, remain faithful to the original.
Voice work is disappointing in both versions. Twin Snakes features an inexplicably inferior re-recording of the original script, and Delta features the unchanged voice work from MGS3, which feels a tad dated sometimes. It's still definitely better than the Twin Snakes take.
Delta vs. Twin Snakes: Gameplay
Twin Snakes transplanted the gameplay of MGS2 to MGS1, and the added first-person shooting mechanics allowed players to overcome most obstacles by just pointing and shooting, with no need to resort to actual tactical stealth actions.
Delta features both classic and modernized gameplay options, so there's enough here to please anyone. No real competition here.
Delta vs. Twin Snakes: The Feel
Though we can't ignore the graphics, another essential part of MGS is the immersion made possible by the developers' artistic merit. The limitations of the PS1 hardware actually helped the original Metal Gear Solid convey the cold mercilessness of Alaska. The GameCube's then-superior hardware could've actually resulted in all-too-clean environments that felt too comfy, but Twin Snakes' Shadow Moses actually feels almost every bit as unhospitable as it should.
Despite Delta's superior graphics, fans have already been complaining that it lacks what made the original feel unique. The original MGS3 had some of the best graphics of its time, but it also featured a unique visual flair because of the terrific color filters that really sold the thought of being in an extremely hot and uncomfortably moist jungle.
The original MGS3 did such a great job of immersing players in its spectacle that few even realized no similar jungle ever existed in the USSR.
Meanwhile, Delta did away with the coloring of the original and mostly looks like this:
And I wrote "mostly" because that's actually not a screen from Delta, but from the Metal Gear Solid 3 Pachinko that Konami used seemingly just to hurt fans some years ago. Sadly, Delta looks like an even more watered-down version of the Pachinko rendition.
I cannot shed the thought that Konami went with these looks specifically out of spite for Kojima and the fans, though I'll never be able to prove it.
Still, right now, Delta is a better game than Twin Snakes. The gameplay that won't break the experience will always gain it the edge. But, Delta fails to feel as good as Twin Snakes did upon release and doesn't come close to feeling like the original MGS3 did.
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The post Metal Gear Solid Delta vs. Twin Snakes: Which is actually the better remake? appeared first on Destructoid.
