E3 2009 Impressions: Kojima Productions

This was a pretty big year for E3, and there is certainly a lot to respond to. However, I’m going to start out by granting my impressions on one of my favorite developers, and one that kinda stole the show for me personally.

As a major follower and fan of the Metal Gear franchise and Hideo Kojima, I must admit I was lending a keen eye as to what would be announced from Kojima Productions this E3. In traditional Kojima style, there was a somewhat quirky teaser build up prior to E3’s launch, which left many watching, waiting, counting down, and attempting to unscramble flashing images, numbers, and letters. I was among those who found themselves checking in as the ticker wound down and more clues were revealed. The conspiracy-mill ran high. Would there be a MGS 5 announced? Would it be released for the Xbox 360? A small part of me was hoping for another Zone of the Enders game, but that was a bit far fetched considering the MGS hype machine. Not that I’m really complaining.

So what WAS announced? Not too surprisingly, new titles in the Metal Gear franchise. Two in fact! Metal Gear Solid: Rising, a spin-off featuring Raiden as the main playable character, to be released cross-platform Xbox 360/PS3 (and possibly PC), and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, a direct sequel coming to the PSP, taking place 10 years after the conclusion of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and 4 years after Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

Out of the two, I’m actually more excited for Peace Walker, as it is a more direct continuation of the series and will retain Kojima as writer, director, and producer. I know, I know. . . “but Raiden is a complete bad-ass now! He has a sword, and cyborg ninja powers!” Yes, this is all true, but I’m just more of a fan of the tactical style of MGS. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was even a bit too “run and gun” for me at points, awesome as it was for the most part. That said, I hope the best for Rising, and maybe it won’t be such a bad thing to trade some “Tactical Espionage Action” for some snazzy new “Lightning Bolt Action.”

Now, there was also another little teaser, albeit somewhat creepy, floating around in the form of a mask, or Project “MASK” as some noted. We finally got to see what this mask was hiding when the Konami Press Conference rolled around. Namely, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The game will be co-developed by Mercury Steam and Kojima Productions, that’s right, Mr. Kojima will have his hands in this one too!

“Lords of Shadow” was a previously announced, and unrelated, game last summer. Interestingly, the brand Castlevania has been married to it, and boy does it look incredible! To me, it harkens back to an old-school Castlevania feel circa Simon Belmont. It’s still not certain what time-line the game will follow exactly, but it would definitely be nice to have a more successful 3D outing for the franchise as it debuts on the current gen systems.