Metal... Gears?

 You don't even know what The Philosopher's legacy is, do you?

In but a manner of less than a few days one of the most hyped games that I've ever fallen for will descend upon this earth, and at that time what happens is literally anyone's guess. Perhaps the game will be the next big thing to shake this industry to her bitter core, or just another disappointment like the rest of this year. Either way, on that day there will be nothing left to be excited over, to talk about, to live for. Everything will return to it's base stat of meaninglessness and sad folk like me will drift through the days like phantoms waiting for a car to hit them or something to spice thing up at the very least. Luckily, it would appear that a new contender hasn't even waited for that void to present itself, because already rumours are being drummed up about something new to pine after. Something truly unexpected by every measure. Something near and dear to my heart. And something so deadly and volatile that it can either be the best thing to ever happen, or a horrendous curse to the name so terrible that it burns all those involved irreparably. I'm talking about a Metal Gear Solid remake.

No, the rumours don't touch on a remake of my favourite game of all time, (which would be 'Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater') but rather on the progenitor of the 'Solid' sub franchise which changed video game storytelling for ever. MGS bought movie level cinematography and spectacle to gaming like never before, and that's a legacy that is very much still alive to this very day. Just look at Uncharted, Last of Us or God of War; all games renowned for their cinematic quality, all can trace their inspirations in some way back to this original game. So when it comes to remaking such a gem, it's far beyond touching up some graphics and throwing in a new camera; you're touching video game history and that has some serious weight to it, which is why it's my duty to impart my gut reaction to this news; this is probably a terrible idea that might blow up in everyone's face. And yet I understand why they did it.

Metal Gear Solid 1 isn't a game that has been immune to tampering and people wanting to throw their own take on things, heck, it isn't even a game that hasn't had a remake before! 2004's 'Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes' for Gamecube was a full remake of the title that threw in completely reworked cutscenes that most people likely think of immediately whenever they picture MGS in their head. (The memory of the original has been a little bit supplanted.) And there have been talks of a movie adaptation for a while now, but I can't help but hope that's just hot steam because there's seriously no sense to bringing a game that's brilliant for being a game to the silver screen. Yes, Metal Gear was inspired by movies, but the elements through which it surpassed that static medium is what makes the game special, such as through the revolutionary stealth gameplay, (Stealth action being something notoriously hard to sell in movies) the great level design and the iconic Psycho Mantis fight, which makes the game unadaptable. (At least in any manner which will sufficiently capture the sprit of the original.) So by comparison, a remake of the game doesn't sound so bad, no?

Of course I still wasn't initially behind the project. The owners of the franchise, Konami, have demonstrated time and again their flagrant disregard for the gaming medium and Metal Gear fans through their heartless and repeated attempts to transmute our love into their own literal money reserves. Metal Gear Solid V was sabotaged by their efforts, resulting in a lop-sided storyline which felt unfinished and a main questline that tapered off after the third chapter and repeated itself. And Metal Gear Survive, the first game to be made without Kojima's involvement whatsoever, was a steaming mess of hot garbage that torpedoed all which people loved about the franchise in order to be a cynical monetised disaster that couldn't even nail it's crappy zombie-base builder premise. Isn't this evidence enough that Metal Gear needs to be left alone? Who in their right mind would take on a project as asinine as a Metal Gear Solid remake? Whoever signed up that would have to have a proven track record for this sort of work, be respected by the community and have the talent on hand to create the impossible. So who is the studio that the rumours have said would be behind this remake? Bluepoint!? Oh...

Bluepoint have made a name for themselves in recent years for, what else, remaking seemingly unremakable games. Who would have imagined that the storied 'Shadows of the Colossus' could be treated to a modern visual update which touched on a few thematic choices, gave the protagonist a face, and still left with a good taste in people's mouths. And how about a remake of the spiritual predecessor to the remarkable Dark Souls franchise, Demon Souls? There was an experimental title that popped on the PS3 back in the day, yet Bluepoint worked their magic and not only improved the title, but turned it into a launch title unit-shifter for the PS5! That's literally incredible work on Bluepoint's part. I wouldn't usually ever look upon a remake of Metal Gear as a good idea, but I have to admit, Bluepoint has the receipts to justify this job. I can't in good faith discredit their talent.

All that being said, this doesn't mean a Metal Gear Solid remake is a good idea, nor that it will be anywhere near as good as Demon Souls, because there's a lot about MGS which I think people tend to forget. Firstly, Metal Gear Solid is a relatively short game by the series' standards, most people can finish it up in just under 5 hours with new players probably clocking in at twice that. Then there is the level design which, whilst legendary for the time, is a bit straightforward and played out by todays standards. Even the story perhaps lacks a lot of the ingenuity and mind bending melodrama which makes the franchise great. (Not saying it's absent at all, just lacking.) Given that Bluepoint are renowned for remaking this games almost to a T, one has to wonder whether that'll be enough this time around for people to flock to Metal Gear like they very much should do.

But if this does go through, who knows what it could lead to? I mean, I don't want to be the person who lights the fire, but if Metal Gear Solid gets a remake, I don't see any decent reason why her sequels should be left out of the fun... Look, I'm just still blue-balled by the way we saw all those great remade MGS 3 scenes out of Konami all those years back only for it to turn out to be for a stupid Pachinko machine; where's our justice? I mean, some might go so far as to call this a prelude to renewed interest in the MGS franchise but I'll be honest, without Kojima or another visionary to guide the way, I have no faith in Konami mounting a new franchise revival. It just isn't in the cards for them in terms of on-hand talent nor the trust of the series fans.

I know that I can't be the old man screaming at windmills forever. Resident Evil 4 Remake is a terrible idea that I hoped would never come about, but it's happening. Even the Demon Souls Remake made me furrow my brow, but I was proven wrong. We live in an age where going back can be as fruitful as going forward, and that's a lot more than can be said about the movie world. (I mean just look at the remake of 'She's all that' which is so bad it literally risked lives! Look that story up for a sad laugh.) Some part of me will always be sad that the MGS franchise is over and nothing great will shock me from it again, but maybe reliving it will be good enough to set the old nostalgia cauldron churning down in my cold old heart chambers... Let this Metal Gear super fan grant you, Bluepoint, my personal seal of confidence. (I know it means a lot to ya.)