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A new Metal Gear announcement coming at E3?
Metal Gear Solid 4 was a masterpiece, enough said. Everything from storyline, characters, gameplay, and graphics, all the way to sound was pure genius. It is still one of the best games on the PS3 and will be for a while yet. Kojima created Metal Gear and watched it blossom to what it is today. The last chapter in this ever engaging saga concluded the long feud between Solid and Liquid Snake, ending in an epic battle to the death. Kojima has stated multiple times that MGS4 would be his last game in the series and the last that would include Metal Gear Solid hero Solid Snake, but that doesn’t mean it would be the last Metal Gear Solid game from Konami. Far from it, in fact; we could very well be seeing an announcement very soon regarding the future of the franchise.
According the latest issue of Official PlayStation magazine, Metal Gear Solid 5 will be announced sometime between April and May. Speculation around this title suggests that this could very well be a prequel to MGS4 and would include Raiden and how he became that Cyborg Ninja and rescued Sunny from the Patriots. Sounds plausible, but so does this next concept that’s floating around the internet. The game could very well end up being a squad-based game featuring the FOXHOUND unit from MGS4, which includes very well-known character Meryl. Both sound like they could be true and both would be enjoyable games to play. It would be very interesting to find out how Raiden got to be how he was, but on the other hand it would be exciting to be able to play like a squad with the abilities of FOXHOUND… with other human players maybe? Online four-way co-op? Yes please. They also go on state that the game may not be directed by Kojima himself, like I spoke of earlier, but he may still be involved in the project somehow.
One thing that doesn’t sound right to me and also pointed at over with our friends at playstationlifestyle.net is the fact that this announcement is supposed to come between April and May. There are no big conferences around that time and for this to have the impact Konami would want, a more suitable time and place, where the gaming world is paying close attention, would be better suited for such an announcement, a la E3. Where better to announce Metal Gear Solid 5 than E3 in Sony’s press conference? Or even announce it during Microsoft’s press conference? The internet would melt down if an event ever occurred. The Metal Gear franchise is too big of a cash cow for Konami just to sit on, and rumors of another possible installment is no surprise. But would it again be exclusive to the PS3 now that Kojima is not as heavily involved as usual? Either way, one thing is certain: the world would welcome another Metal Gear Solid game.
TGR Rating: Highly Likely
Ninja Gaiden Sigma II coming to PS3?
When we talk about the premier ninja games we only think of one series. That of course is Ninja Gaiden. Starting off on Nintendo platforms, Ninja Gaiden made its way onto the original Xbox, becoming the sweetest yet hardest mother f***ing game around. The brutality and difficultly of the action made it stand out from the crowd, and it has since been called one of the best action games ever. A sequel was later released on Xbox 360, only enhancing the reputation that Ninja Gaiden already had. This was after the PlayStation 3 remake, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, overseen by Itagaki-san’s understudy. Sigma became a very solid game but lacked that killer instinct the original had. A year on and rumors have started circulating regarding a new Ninja Gaiden game, this time not for the Xbox 360 but the PlayStation 3. Guess what? The rumor is actually true.
Let us look at how the rumor came about. In the recent issue of Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, a scan was posted on the internet regarding Ninja Gaiden and the words PS3. Now we know that Tecmo was planning to announce a brand new game at next week’s GDC conference, but no one knew for sure what this game was. Well I think we can safely say it was this. This was confirmed later on by Kotaku, who translated the scan to reveal that the game is in fact Ninja Gaiden Sigma II . The scan reveals also that the game will include PSN support as well as new content to freshen the game up from its Xbox 360 counterpart. It is also been headed up by director of the first Sigma game, Yosuke Hayashi.
There you have it folks, the game is all but confirmed by Tecmo, and hopefully you will be seeing it later on in the year. Considering the first Sigma game didn’t really set the sales light on fire it would be interesting to see how well this game does. Other than that, expect this to further enhance gameplay and run at 1080p and 60fps like the original Sigma did. Prepare to sharpen those blades, PS3 fans…
TGR Rating: Rumor Confirmed
Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks 2 in development?
There have been a few Mortal Kombat spin-offs as of late. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces come to mind, and let’s just say both should have stayed on the drawing board. That, though, doesn’t mean the other spin-off is on the same level of crappiness, oh no. Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks was good, very good, and has fast become MK fans’ favorite MK game. Shaolin Monks was centered around fan favorites Liu Kang and Kung Lao as they go on a journey to defeat Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn. Other MK favorites made an appearance either as aiding allies like Johnny Cage and Sonya or were end-of-level bosses like Scorpion and Reptile. The game was received critically and commercially well but no word has been spoken yet regarding a sequel, until now. Thanks to TGR reader “tommystockley” TheGameReviews.com has learned that Shaolin Monks 2 may very well be in the cards.
A while back, Hector Sanchez and Hans Lo did an MKast for the official MK website. During this podcast they were asked by fellow MK fans if they would consider developing another Shaolin Monks. They went on record saying that if there is enough demand for said game then they would seriously consider it. Nothing was said for a few months after that, but the game popped up once again during an MKast addressing what the thousands of MK fans were discussing in the forums, and a few hints were dropped regarding the game’s development. Now we all know about the financial situation at Midway games and how they have filled for Chapter 11. What we learned from the court documents is the fact that Midway has two MK teams on different projects. One team is working on the just-announced Mortal Kombat 9, and the other is working on an action/adventure game… I wonder what that could be?
Midway is in need of their biggest asset bringing in the cash, and what better than a fully mature-rated MK game with high-definition fatalities and also a sequel to the highly rated Shaolin Monks? I think this is a no-brainer, and being a Mortal Kombat fan, I feel like I’m in MK heaven. You bet your ass this is happening and you can expect an announcement at either GDC next week or E3 in the summer. EXCELLENT!
TGR Rating: Highly Likely
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