TOKYO — Konami is bringing Metal Gear to Japanese arcades this year. Here’s our hands-on report.
In the wake of the global success of James Cameron’s 3-D film Avatar, many gamemakers are adding 3-D visuals to their products. On Saturday, Konami gave the Japanese public a first look at Metal Gear Arcade at the annual Arcade Operators Union Expo. The game promises to bring networked shooting action to the country’s game centers with the added hook of 3-D graphics and head-tracking sensors.
Arcade games with online capabilities are not uncommon in Japan, whether it’s players fighting one another directly or simply comparing their high scores. Metal Gear Arcade’s unique hook is that it straps a motion controller to the player’s temple, allowing him to manipulate his perspective simply by turning his head. If you’ve ever seen Johnny Lee’s YouTube videos examining the potential of the Nintendo Wii motion control hardware, you can imagine what this looks like in person.
Beyond the fancy headgear, the controls are relatively straightforward. Players move their character with an analog thumbstick attached to a two-handed light gun controller. The on-screen cross-hairs are layered to reflect the three-dimensional depth.
However, the lightgun has six other buttons (not including the trigger), which can make things rather complicated. Of particular inconvenience is the “voice chat” button on top of the gun, entirely out of reach from players who want to keep their fingers on the trigger.
It is also unclear how voice chat will work, as there was no visible microphone on the demonstration units I saw. The motion sensor and 3-D glasses are already somewhat bulky, so adding more weight to the player’s face might not be an option.
Metal Gear Arcade’s gameplay draws heavily on Metal Gear Online, the competitive third-person shooter that came bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4 in 2008. All three of the maps shown at the Expo were taken directly from Metal Gear Online, so experienced players will have a distinct advantage in the arcade version. Likewise, the weapon and item selection largely mirror that of the home game. Players choose their main weapon (from two sub-machine guns, an assault rifle and a shotgun) and one of three items at the start, and have the option to swap these out whenever they are killed.
The classic Metal Gear cardboard box is available, but the most useful item seems to be the stealth unit, which renders your character invisible for a period of time, though your weapon continues to dance across the screen as if held aloft by string.
A standard match lasts for four minutes with a maximum of eight players, four on each squad. This felt like a good fit for the maps I saw, for no player appeared too far away from the action, nor did I see players getting killed immediately upon re-entering the battlefield. The competitive balance is hard to judge in an exhibition setting, but the relatively slow speed of the game should offer players of all backgrounds a fighting chance. Without a sniper rifle in the game, there’s no danger of being taken out by unseen enemies camping in a tower.
High-definition home consoles with online features have yet to take off in Japan like they have in the United States, so Metal Gear Arcade could prove to be a vital step towards getting more people into the gaming habit. The 3-D goggles and motion controls, while encumbered with a multitude of buttons, should offer a lower barrier to entry than the notoriously obtuse video game controller. The shrinking Japanese gaming industry can certainly use all the help it can get.
I’ll have more game impressions from the AOU 2010 expo later this week.
Image courtesy of Konami
Read More http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/02/metal-gear-arcade/#more-21287#ixzz0gMQdVWrD
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