[merylsilverburg]

Originally posted by Vic Viper

but did you guys notice some of the characters seems to have lost their accent, naomi, nastasha, and mei ling. i guess it make sense for mei ling since she was born and raise here in the U.S. but the other two ? why ? why ? why ?

Yeah and it pisses me off. What the f*ck is up with that? The new Naomi is done by the same voice actor as Meryl and there's no English accent whatsoever. Mei Ling doesn't have her Asian accent and now she sounds like a friggin' airhead. Oh sure, maybe she was born and raised in the US, but hell, I prefer the accent.

Well, my impressions of the game is very different from all 3 of you who said it's great. I would say I'd give it an 7 or 8 out of 10 because I really am picky about certain things so a lot of the new elements in the game just doesn't make me satisfied.

Pros:
Graphics are fantastic, I must admit. It is very crisp and clear and made things (objects, people, doors, etc.) a lot easier to see. The weather effects like the wind and snow, snow on the ground, oil spills, footprints are very nice. There's no complaints here.

The briefing was re-done and are pretty interesting to watch now, unlike the original game where it mostly consists of still drawings with a few changes depending on the response and expression.

Some of the new things, like hanging off the ledges or collecting dog tags (which I forgot about, so I'm going to have to play the beginning again ), were really a welcome change especially since the game is somewhat more difficult with the advanced enemy A.I.. Man, I was surprised to run by the guard and get spotted right away...wasn't like that in the original game and it gave me a heart attack.

Cons:
Voices. Okay sure, the voices being redone might be okay to those new to the game, but for those who've played the original and LIKED the original voices...I must say it's pretty disappointing. Not only that, but since David Hayter came back to do the voice for Snake in "Twin Snakes", his voice is more closer to that of "MGS2"'s Snake. In the original MGS, his voice, while gruff, was still pretty youthful sounding at the same time. Now in "Twin Snakes", I feel his voice is way too much like "the older Snake" and so I feel like I should expect to see Snake from MGS2 all decked out with mullet and 5 o' clock shadow and everything. And Naomi isn't Naomi and Mei Ling isn't Mei Ling, etc. How irritating...I guess Sniper Wolf won't be from Russia anymore.

The cutscenes are really well done...very cinematic and all, but it's kind of flashy...it seems that there are more cutscenes or extra being added to the original. Like in the original MGS, when Snake got off the elevator in the beginning...he just ran over to the large crate and contacted Campbell. In "Twin Snakes", there's all that flashy footage of Snake taking off his diving gear, then Liquid preparing to get on the chopper, then back to Snake and then back to Liquid...yes, we all get the idea that these two are rivals...there's no need to "overdo" it.

Speaking of "flashy", it brings me to the music. What's up with the rock and roll music when Snake got on the elevator making his way up and the title came on? It's sounds so upbeat and more action-adventure than espionage and haunting. I haven't gotten into the game farther to see more about the music, but that kinda disturbed me.

The controls kinda bugged me...this isn't so bad, but it was kinda a bother to push Start + A to use the Codec. Yeah, I'm lazy, but I just found it more convenient to use the Select button, as on the PlayStation's controllers. Ah, but it's really just a matter of getting used to, so I hope I get used to it soon.

Can't Decide:
I can't decide which one I prefer: lower Life gauge and easier enemy A.I. which gradually builds up or higher Life gauge and higher enemy A.I. While playing "Twin Snakes" and got spotted by the guard, I got shot at and I realized the Life gauge was so long...I went and played MGS and I found the Life gauge was smaller and much more difficult to escape while being shot at. Ah, well...I don't know which one is better but I don't have any gripes about it.

Yeah, so I would give the game, as I said before, a 7 or 8 but most likely an 8 out of 10. I don't know why it bothers me so much...I think the gameplay is fine and the graphics beautiful, but what probably turned me off is the voices and the "flashy" parts. Augh, the voices are what makes this storyline so believable and so intriguing, next to the actual story itself, but I guess it's just me.

Anyway, that's all.