Pros: Awesome graphics. Utilization of MGS2 gameplay engine=better gameplay. One word: Ninja.
Cons: The controls take some getting used to/pitiful voice-overs/not as dramatic as the original.
The bottom line: Don't come in expecting to relive the orginal: you won't. The tone is completely different, and if that doesn't irk you, then the audacious controls and sub-par voice acting will.
When I heard that they were gonna redo the original Metal Gear Solid (one of the two games that convinced me to get a Playstation) utilizing the game engine of MGS2: Sons of Liberty, and furthermore, in a match-up that must have been mediated by the Dark-Lord and Master (and I don't mean Foamy) Hideo Kojima struck a deal with Shigeru Miyamoto to make the MGS remake exclusively for the Gamecube, and with the help of Silicon Knights (of Eternal Darkness fame) to make this version graphically superior to the last two installments, I couldn't help getting excited, I love Metal Gear Solid.

I couldn't wait.
But I had a lot of questions.
And I got a lot of painful answers when I finally bought the game.

THE STORY
For those who don't know, Metal Gear Solid is a Playstation game that was released in 1998 by Konami, and while compared to other games the graphics weren't the best, and totally lacked any kind of CG (actual film footage of various things were shown occasionally, but nothing beyond that), however it boasted innovative gameplay that emphasized stealth rather than shooting through everything.

But the story is where the game really shined. In short, I haven't read, or played, or seen something this gripping and intense in a very long time. The plot starts off very simple but just about half-an-hour into the game grabs you by the nose won't let go until the unnerving conclusion.

And all of this was supplemented and reinforced by a crew of highly talented voice actors who performed their roles brilliantly. David Hayter and James Flinders (aka Cam Clark) especially stand out--Hayter later penned the scripts for both X-Men movies (if I'm not mistaken;) and you can hear Flinders voice all over various cartoons. You may recognize the other actors as well. Paul Eiding (who does Colonel Campbell) also did one of the lead voices in Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain, and in fact did at least one of the voices on Eternal Darkness, ironically enough. The person who played Naomi Hunter was also incredible and was able to pull off one of the most convincing, moving, and dynamic roles in the game.

Now I know I've spent a lot of time discussing the VO work, and there is a reason for this I'll get back to later, but for now I'll explain to you why this is perhaps the most bittersweet game I've ever played...

THE GOOD
To start off the graphics are insane. They're very good, and absolutely squash the original in every sense of the word. The environment, the characters, the weapons, the vehicles, and the details, everything was well-done. Liquid actually looks like Solid (only with blonde hair), Revolver looks as good he did on MGS2, and you actually get to see why Meryl was grossed out when Mantis took his Mask off.

However....

THE BAD
I think we need to understand what the original MGS and the Twin Snakes are in relation to each other. The original MGS is the dramatic, serious, risk-taking game whose creators put a lot of love, time, and effort into making the MGS series, and the stealth genre into the lucrative position it is today.

The Twin Snakes, on the other hand, is totally different. It's not about dramatics, but action, more focus on backflips and insane stunts than the gritty reality of the original. This is the "Fun" version. The game's not so serious as illustrated by the Yoshi and Mario dolls laying about the game. Utilizing the gameplay elements of MGS2, you are supposed to be playing the original in the way it was meant to be played, but the question is, is this really the way it HAD to be....

Sorry folks, but that's where the list of Pros pretty much end and the list of cons begin.

DAMN STUPIDY-CRAPPY CONTROLS....
I'm sorry, Nintendo-Lovers, but the PS controller kicks the $ss out the Gamecube's as far as this game is concerned. I have to give Kojima credit for making due with a very difficult control scheme, but in the end it still comes out with some glaring issues that have to be dealt with and accustomed to--especially if you loved the control scheme of MGS2:

NO ANALOG
First off, only the L and R buttons are analog(aside from the analog stick, that is). You have no clue how much that one little detail screws up the gameplay. Example: You run across a guard situated at the corner of a dark hallway with his back to you. You pull out your handgun and train the laser sight onto his skull. As you push down on the Fire Button (the A button) the guard suddenly turns and disappears down the corner of the hallway, with your finger on the trigger.

Now if this were MGS2, and I was using the PS2 controller, then this would be no big deal, all I would have to do is ease up on the square button and let it go slowly and smoothly, lowering my weapon without firing it.

But this ain't MGS2 and the PS2 controller it's not--let up on the A button and you fire your gun, whether you wanted to or not, and if you didn't have a suppressor on it, tough luck, cuz now there's a very good chance that that guard has heard you. Even if you DID have a suppressor equipped to your handgun, the bullet missing it's target and hitting the wall or whizzing by the guard's body may still give you away. Not to mention the ammo this wastes firing needlessly in this manner.

And don't even get me started with the FAMAS. Don't even bother equipping this weapon unless you know for certain that there's gonna be a straight-up, unavoidable, inescapable gunfight, because just pressing the fire button fires the gun instantly. There is no precision control over your weapon like there was in MGS2--and it really SUCKS.

They did build a feature to counteract the lack of analog; by pressing the X button while you have your handgun out lowers it, even if you have pressed and held the fire button. It helps, but it's still a hassle compared to the ease and simplicity of analog buttons, especially when you hold-up guards for their dogtags. You have to pull your gun, lower with X, and then run over and aim again. It's a hassle and it seriously takes attention from the game.

Even worse, the two buttons that ARE analog (L/R), aren't really up for the task assigned to them. I've died several times in the Twin Snakes when I've been hit when I thought I had a ration equipped when I in fact accidently uneqipped them during a gun fight or boss battle switching between items. VERY irritating. AND disappointing.

CINEMATICS CATASTROPHE
Okay, so along with Hideo getting Shigeru Miyamoto and Silicon Knights onboard to help with this remake, he also got some action director guy named (oo) and had him do up all of the cutscenes in the game.

Let me make something clear: The original MGS is a masterful example of drama. As primitive as the graphics look today, Hideo utilized dynamic camera angles and excellent dialogue that immersed you in the world of Shadow Moses Island and allowed you to make a connection to the characters and seem them as living, breathing, feeling people rather than pixels. There was scarcely any humor from start to finish, just a rollercoaster ride that delivers far better than any movie I've ever seen.

Here the emphasis is on action, with Snake and Co. doing backflips, jumpkicks, and whatever other acrobatic feats you can think of, which is cool, except for beating bosses. Whenever you beat a boss, you get a cool cinematic of Snake laying in the coup de grace. Something he DID NOT do in the original. In MGS, when you killed the boss, you killed the boss, and you didn't have a damn cinematic showing what you just accomplished, only better and cooler looking than you can execute in the game yourself. For me, it took away the sense of success, the sense of reality of the game. "I" didn't just shoot down the Hind, I just shot it enough so that a cinematic could play showing Snake finishing it off, not me. Instead of being a participant and feeling like you are in control, you now feel like a spectator, something you do NOT do in a video game.

The only person who really benefits from the cutscenes is Ninja, and Ninja alone showcases just how pretty this game is at its peak: Whenever you first see Ninja (w/o camo), he looks like he's about to leap right off of your screen. That's how REAL he looks. Ninja is the only plus to this game, and he shines right up to his brutal bow-out.

MUSIC
Another area that falls flat. The original theme (that Gaelic song you hear throughout the original, "The Best Is Yet To Come") is replaced with techno music, which isn't bad, but again, it's not as good as the original music, and lacks the dramatic, tear-inducing tone that kicks in several parts of the original.

RUSH JOB
The one thing that **ssed me off more than anything, more than the spotty controls, more than the relatively shallow presentation, was the voice overs. They redubbed for this version, using everybody from the original game. This one thing could have still gotten it four stars, but more shocking, and surprising than anything, is how awful the voice work has been done. In the first thirty minutes of the game I could pick out everything off kilter with the voices:

In the original, David Hayter gave Snake a harsh edge, a rawness that was more poingant in MGS than in all of the others, now that's not to say that he sounded bad in MGS2, but in the Twin Snakes, not only does he lack that edge, he doesn't even sound as in character as he did in Sons of Liberty.

Nastasha, Mei Ling, and Naomi have all lost their accents, losing a facet of their personality and individuality in the process. And speaking of Naomi, she has to be the biggest let down in all of this: No English accent, and absolutely NO emotion throughout the entire game, I've never been more let down in a game than when I saw this crappy rush job.

The only people who really come out of this with some dignity are Liquid, and Ocelot, with Ocelot retaining his personality and voice and actually sounding better as the sequels continue. Liquid lacks his accent in the beginning of the game, but James seems to get Liquid back into character near the end of the game.


IN CLOSING
Look, I know I'm being very critical of this game, but I can't help it. I love Metal Gear Solid, and I love Sons of Liberty, but this is just a damn travesty. A let-down in every sense of the word. I want to say I love this game, that I like how pretty it looks, and how cool the cinematics are, and how good the music and voices are, but I can't cuz they aren't.

I said FFVIII was a huge disappointment because looking back at it, plotwise, the game has so much potential that was squandered, but looking at the Twin Snakes, it had everything going for it, including a great story, and great presentation, but too many minor details and problems snowballed to flatten any chance this game had to surpass the original, and in the process deal painful blow to the series overall.

In my opinion.