Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH celebrated the 20th anniversary of its multi-award-winning Metal Gear series today with an exclusive party at the newly-opened Ritz Carlton Hotel in Tokyo.
Hosted by series creator and head of Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima, the party began with a formal press conference, featuring an official announcement of the latest iterations of Metal Gear Online and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus.
Metal Gear Online
Built around Metal Gear Solid 4’s next-generation graphics engine and new control scheme, Metal Gear Online will mark a groundbreaking direction for the series and for online multiplayer gaming when it launches for the PLAYSTATION�3. The new game showcases the all-new proprietary SOP system: a cornerstone gameplay mechanic that encourages players to link together with teammates’ nanomachines to build a matrix of real-time information that includes compatriots’ whereabouts, battle condition, and location of nearest enemy.
The new game also furthers Kojima Productions’ dedication to developing a ‘strategic multiplayer experience’, and players can also infuse a variety of skills to enhance and differentiate their battle strategy. Featuring playable characters and expansive environments from MGS4, Metal Gear Online represents the studio’s total commitment to creating a deep and fully functional Metal Gear multiplayer experience.
Japanese players will get the first taste of Metal Gear Online when 3,000 people are selected to participate in the game’s closed beta test, scheduled for August 2007.
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
A multiplayer-focused update to last year’s award winning Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (MPO), Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus takes the series in an exciting new direction with new stages, new playable characters that include Raiden and Old Snake, and new gameplay modes.
MPO+ aims to be the definitive portable multiplayer experience. In addition to both Ad-Hoc and infrastructure-based wireless play, MPO+ also includes a brand new single player mode: Infinity Mission. This endless collection of single-player content, coupled with a new comrade recruitment system, offers players even more ways to assemble an unstoppable team to take to the online arena and battle real opponents.
Combining new and retro MGS characters, environments, and unique gameplay modes, Kojima Productions aims to deepen the Metal Gear online experience when Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus launches on the PSP� (PlayStation�Portable) next year.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
In the most anticipated moment of the evening, Hideo Kojima walked attendees through a presentation of Metal Gear Solid 4, showing off 15 minutes of gameplay and highlighting the series’ new approach to tactical stealth action.
The presentation will be available at midnight Tokyo time (5pm CET) for viewing on the Kojima Productions’ official website and will be available in high-definition through a free download on the PlayStation� Store later this week.
To wrap up the formal presentation, Metal Gear Solid Mobile for mobile phones and Metal Gear Solid 2: Digital Graphic Novel (tentative title) for PSP� (PlayStation�Portable) were also announced for release in Japan.