Konami had a big week of announcements for the 25th anniversary of the Metal Gear franchise. Aside from announcing plans for a live-action movie adaptation, Hideo Kojima showcased an 11-minute promo video for Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, a brand new open-world project that uses his studio’s Fox Engine for stellar real-time graphics rendering. The same video was shown at Penny Arcade Expo this past weekend.
While some wonder if this level of detail is possible on current gen systems, Konami has stated that while MGS:GZ and the Fox Engine run on PCs that are similarly spec’d to a PS3 and 360, they are also developing these projects for next-gen consoles as well.
During the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary Party last night, creator Hideo Kojima announced a live-action Hollywood film adaptation of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid. Columbia Pictures will produce the film, and Sony Pictures Entertainment will produce and distribute the film.
Avi Arad has been announced as producer for the project. Arad has ties to both Hollywood and Japan; he was a major producer behind the first few Marvel Studios films (Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men), has been involved with Dreamworks in their planned adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell, and was installed as a chair of Production I.G., LLC (the company’s American branch).
While I think this is a fantastic move by Kojima and Konami, I am curious to see who will be tapped for writing the script. Plus, I’m sure many people will agree with me that David Hayter, the iconic voice of “Solid Snake”, needs to be involved in one way or another. Hell, I could definitely see Hayter play the part in-person. Those of you who wonder if he’s physically fit enough for the role, just look at the insane bootcamps that were created for the 300 movie and for the Spartacus series. A few weeks in that hell, and he’ll be ready to go.
On a side note, it’s been 3 years since Dreamworks announced they acquired the rights to GITS, and the only news since then was a writer swap. C’mon Dreamworks, at least give us an update, and please please please do NOT screw up my favorite franchise of all time.
It was a bit odd that Konami decided to host their streaming press event at 10:30pm PST days before E3, but since they were still in Japan at the time, we can let it slide.
The publisher kicked things off by touting the progress they’ve made in the mobile and social space with a new studio based in San Francisco. (Just how many versions of Frogger can one studio make?)
Moving on to things gamers will likely care a bit more deeply about, Konami is going all out for this year to battle FIFA with Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2013. They’ve made great strides in player modeling, trying to capture the essence of how the actual athletes run, dribble and pass. The video shows how they’ve taken football star Cristiano Ronaldo’s unique gait and translated that into PES 2013. Players will have better control with the new deft touch dribbling, giving more options in close quarters for navigating around defenders. Plus, the new passing options allow for a range of speeds in order to get the ball where you want it, when you need it. Konami is interweaving a social network app throughout the game, in order to keep players connected even when they’re not in-game.
Next up, fan favorite Zone of the Enders is getting a facelift for a new HD Collection, compiling both home console games for PS3 and Xbox 360. This collection will include both games with enhanced visuals and the same fast, frenetic gameplay. Konami has commissioned anime studio Sunrise to produce a new introduction for the first game. As a bonus, the HD collection will include an early demo for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
Speaking of Metal Gear, Konami released a little bit more about the upcoming game’s story, which takes place nine years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4. Developer Platinum Games is promising an action game like none other, and if the incredibly violent, blood-filled trailer is any indication, they will deliver. The graphics are solid, and the sword-play is insanely destructive, with a level of control I didn’t think possible for this generation of titles.
Before closing out the show, Konami gave viewers their first look at Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 and a hint that a 3DS game (rumored to be called Mirror of Fate) will be on the show floor. If you haven’t played (or been spoiled on) Lords of Shadow, the video might not make quite as much sense. Still, even if you don’t know who is featured, it’s a pretty cool (rendered) clip. Here’s hoping that we get some more info on the Belmonts next adventure(s) soon.
You can watch the full presentation below for yourself.
Ok, I’m going to try to keep up on the ridiculous amount of news flowing out of the Tokyo Game Show. Aside from all the trailers and hoopla for sequels, it was announced at the Sony Press Conference that a couple of new “HD editions” of classic games are in the works for their latest systems. Namely, Final Fantasy X and Zone of the Enders! FFX HD will be coming to PS3 and PS Vita, while Z.O.E. HD will arrive on the PS Vita (it was earlier announced that it would be coming to the PS3/Xbox 360 as well).
Now I love me some FFX (except Tidus, who I named “Bitch” during my second playthrough), but as usual, Squenix is telling us to be patient for news regarding this game. This tells me already that this won’t be a PS Vita launch title, and to not even expect this for another year at least, but I’m damn happy that it’s coming down the pipeline.
