Hello friends. Dan Ryan here, you… there. Thank you so much for checking in and if you like what you see please comment and share. Long time listeners to the Stone Age Gamer podcast, brought to you by your friends at Geekade.com, know just how much I love the entirety of the Metal Gear franchise. I am an unashamed, dyed in the wool, Hideo Kojima fanboy and will hear nothing other than praises as to his genius. At a time when creators are further in the weeds than ever before, a natural consequence of the simply massive teams required to make big budget games in today’s world, Kojima remains very much in the foreground. His studio, Kojima Productions, has released two titles as of this writing, Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and they are unmistakably games made by a studio driven by a singular creative vision. His previous work for Konami, classics like Snatcher, Policenauts, Zone of the Enders, and of course the entire Metal Gear franchise, rank among some of the most respected, and most loved, releases of all time. And so it was with trepidation that those of us who count ourselves among the legions of fans of not just the games but the person behind them, received the news that Konami planned on releasing a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, my personal favorite in the series, without Hideo Kojima’s involvement. The once revered and mighty Konami had become a shell of itself in recent years, which is not an editorialization by the way but a simple fact. Would they be up to the task of remaking a classic title or would they, as it seems they had done with so much of their recent releases, mail it in with a new coat of paint? Well fear not dear readers; I have put in the work. The question is though, should you or should you grab a PS2 copy and just play the original? (with a handy accessory from your favorite retro site...) Submitted for your approval this is the Stone Age Game Review for Metal Gear Solid Delta.

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Announced in May of 2023, Metal Gear Solid Delta (MGSD) is the first proper release in the legendary franchise since Metal Gear Survive in 2018; a game which did not feature Kojima at the helm and is not worth your time. It follows the original story exactly; you play as Naked Snake during the Cold War on a mission to rescue Dr. Sokolov from the crazed General Volgin while also destroying the Shagohod and clearing the United State’s name from suspicion of a nuclear attack by taking down your former mentor The Boss. (for the less nuanced version see any number of YouTube videos explaining the wholly engaging yet bafflingly insane story of Metal Gear) The focus of the remake was to update the graphics obviously, the original Snake Eater released on the PS2 in 2004, and to update the control scheme to something more familiar to modern gamers. Classic MGS titles are very specific in how they play; a choice driven by Kojima himself. This new, and honestly welcome, control scheme also comes with a revamped camera system making the entire experience feel new yet familiar. And in the interest of full disclosure this review is based off of my playthrough of the single player campaign only. I did not dive into any other game modes included at launch and the much hyped Fox Hunt multiplayer mode was delayed, for reasons?, and will not be available until after this article is posted. As with all reviews here on the blog I will be using the wholly original, not copied at all from any defunct gaming magazine, patent pending SAG Pod Ranking System, which is explained below…

Graphics: 5.0 This is one seriously good looking game. Compared to the HD version of Snake Eater, it’s night and day. The level of detail in Metal Gear Solid Delta is stunning. Everything in the game feels alive. Much has been said about the proliferation of the Unreal Engine and its quirks. And while some of that is on display here the artistic choices made eliminate any negative preconceptions I had going in. Snake will get covered in mud sneaking through the jungle and that mud will stay with you and stain your clothing. Battle damage will leave permanent scars on your Snake so that he will look different on your playthrough versus mine. The jungle itself feels lifelike and lived in. The set pieces and, numerous, cutscenes, benefit greatly from the enhanced visuals giving the overall presentation a much closer to Hollywood feel than ever before. The work was put in to not just have this be a repaint and it shows.

Sound 4.0 There is nothing bad about the sound design in Metal Gear Solid Delta. The original score is present complete with an updated version of one of the greatest songs, in my opinion anyway, ever recorded for a video game, the appropriately named Snake Eater performed by Cynthia Harrell. The use of music throughout the game, particularly in the fight with The Boss, is just fantastic. Explosions sound great, weapons have a nice thump behind them, everything is exactly as it should be. The only reason this score is a 4 and not a 5 honestly is that the original voice acting was used. And while the original performances are wonderful, it seems a bit of a misstep to not have some of the dialogue redone, a sentiment shared by Snake himself David Hayter.

Control 5.0 The new control scheme in Delta is a smart, modern take on the classic formula. As mentioned above, the Metal Gear games play very internationally. That control scheme works very well considering the limitations of the hardware the games were developed for. However, the power of modern systems means that anything and everything was on the table and Konami made the right choice. Playing through MGSD is an entirely new experience. Everything is so smooth and intuitive. The addition of the 3rd Person view adds a wrinkle to the strategy missing from the original. The inclusion of the classic control scheme means that even if you don’t love the new system, you can enjoy the game in the manner you see fit.

Fun Factor 5.0 The one thing Metal Gear Solid Delta has going for it is that it is a remake of one of the best games of all time. The original Snake Eater won tons of awards and its place on many best of… lists speaks volumes. So, if one were planning a remake, this is exactly the type of game that would give you a heck of a starting point. Konami could have fumbled this, by making too many changes, or radical changes to core concepts, however they chose to play it safe. All of the craziness is intact, The End is unchanged, Guy Savage is bigger and weirder thanks to Platinum Games, and the gameplay remains as engaging as ever. This is an outstanding game, full stop.

My earlier fears assuaged, Metal Gear Solid Delta has given me a renewed confidence in Konami and a hope that more remakes in this franchise are in the works. There's a lot more I could say about this game. Honestly this review barely scratches the surface of the improvements made but trust when I say that this formula, applied to other games in the series, is a winning one. Starting with Snake Eater made sense, canonically it is the first game in the series. 5 and 4 are fine for now but a remake of the first Solid, or the NES/MSX titles, would be a welcome sight. If you’ve never played through MGS 3, you should. If you were on the fence about Delta, you should get it as well. But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes: I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.