Kojima: Next Metal Gear is Like Pokémon

[Tom Goldman]

Kojima: Next Metal Gear is Like Pokémon

Hideo Kojima says his latest Metal Gear title is similar to Nintendo's cute creature battler.

The Metal Gear series - with its lengthy cutscenes, strange bosses, and stealth-emphasized gameplay - could be compared to many other videogame franchises. Would you believe that Hideo Kojima, the brains behind Metal Gear, believes that one of those is Pokémon?

Kojima is promoting the PSP's upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker as a completely new entry in the series. "You won't 'get' it until you play it," he says. "It's part MGS, part Monster Hunter and part Pokémon - and it's even got a bit of SimCity to it." Kojima feels Peace Walker is "like no game before."

Okay, so... wait did he say Pokémon? Pokémon is an RPG-like series about capturing creatures to make them battle against each other so you can catch even more of those creatures. One might say it's about "catching them all," which is a term I've recently coined. Is it possible that Metal Gear could somehow be similar?

To elaborate, Kojima said that Metal Gear has been about "tactical espionage action" in the past, but that Peace Walker is about "tactical espionage operation." There is a "nuance of running and maintaining Big Boss' army while handling sneaking missions," he explained. So, it appears that the army is in effect the player's arsenal of Pokémon in Peace Walker, and Big Boss won't be trying to catch cute lizards to evolve them into Charizard.

Despite Kojima's lengthy tour in the videogame development business, he revealed that he's "never experienced a game production like [Peace Walker] before in [his] career," and that "nearly everything you can do with a portable system is in this game." I think he wants people to get interested in Peace Walker even though it's on the PSP, expressing that the handheld can still produce a fun and new experience. For those who want to see if their army can be the very best, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will be released in North America on June 8, and in Europe on June 17.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=249186]

Permalink

 

[Deofuta]

*Flips Hat Back*

READY!!!! GO, OCELOT!!!!!

"The Colonel will be joining you soon. Comrade."

Oh, wait. Whats Happening??!?!?

....

....

.....

Ocelot has evolved into Liquid Ocelot!!!

 

[[Cold-Shoulder]]

That's a odd comparison to say the least.
I hope we'll see what he meant by it...

 

[Jared]

I still cant really see it been a total evolution of the series (pardon the pun!) but I am willing to give it a shot at least

 

[LeonLethality]

I get the part monster hunter, with the whole monster hunter cameo thing. Well like monster hunter but with guns...

But Pokemon?

 

[Jack and Calumon]

Erm... Wow... Okay Kojima. Let's just see what happens when you release this into the Tall Grass public.

Calumon: Well it couldn't be like me, I change with every game! ^^

 

[Brad Shepard]

I stoped playing at 3, and somthing tells me that was a good thing.

 

[Irridium]

So I'm guessing they re-purposed the short pokemon intro vids from the show and game boy games into 30 minute long epics?

Either way, sounds like an interesting concept...

 

[Gigaguy64]

SNAKE used Cammo Paint!

SNAKE's Evasiveness Sharply Rose!

 

[Sir Ollie]

Snake: Speak.

Guard: Pikachu!

Snake: The fuck?

*Snaps neck*

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Okay... Peace Walker was just MGS4 on the PSP. Unless it's using stuff to increase accuracy or something, I'd understand, but MGS has been using that for YEARS now. Hell, around the same time Pokemon came out.

Anyone remember when you were fighting against Sniper Wolf in the first MGS game and you had to use Diazepam or something to steady your nerves when using the sniper rifle? Sure it was TEMPORARY but the ideas were there. Also, in MGS3, the whole survival system. Treating your wounds, eating the right foods, using the right equipment, etc.

 

[FinalDream]

Sadly I have no intention of playing this, even though I own a psp. Talk to me when they get better controls on the next psp.

 

[Julianking93]

Hm. Well I'm glad he's talking about Peace Walker and not Rising.

 

[demoman_chaos]

The comparison is made because you capture enemy soldiers with an item to add them to your army. You want to catch all the enemy soldiers you can to make them your own. Their skills will add to your army by way of unlocking new gear/upgrades, Metal Gear parts, etc.
I am guessing on harder difficulties, the dudes you capture will be better than the ones you find on easier difficulties.

 

[darksolgamer]

A wild CARDBOARD BOX appeared! What will SNAKE do?

 

[Gladion]

Where's the image of Kojima sitting on that duck?

 

[Pandalisk]

A wild Snake Appears!

Hmm, i probably wont get this, but what he says Confuses and intrigues me...Like everything he says.

 

[Phokal]

This aspect was already present in the last game, and how I described it to friends.

It was like pokemon, but instead of random battles, you sneak around, and instead of monsters it was russian infantry.

Knock 'em out, drag them back, don't get caught or kill them. As reward, they joined your rank, had unique stats, and often came with a gun or gear.

In order to have a map, you had to have several NPCs "stationed" in each location. To heal between missions you had a dozen doctors. All told, the 4 dudes you brought in with you in a mission were almost secondary; you had 4 squads to cycle between a about a hundred people performing off-the-battlefield roles.

So,...not new, but glad to see it back (and probably expanded). I just wish the control scheme was designed for the PSP. The first game used the MGS3/4 scheme...which relies heavily on a 2nd nub...which the psp DOES NOT HAVE. If only they'd kept the original MGS1/2 scheme.