"I have cornered the market on the stealth-combat style games. I think it is now safe to say that, without the pioneering techniques of cinematic story-telling that we have developed, the tactical stealth-combat genre would not be where it was today. I say today that every stealth-tactical game on the market today owes some legacy to the Metal Gear series.
So, I decided to branch out into other genres. As you all know, Metal Gear Solid: Acid is currently outselling even famous turn-based strategy RPGs like 'Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.' Yet, I feel there is so much I, and my developing team, have left to give to our profession. I have thus decided that we shall cross genres once again and revolutionize the dating-game genre with a heartfelt love story retelling of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This game, slated to be released for the PS3 sometime in 2008, shall be called 'Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Breeder." — Hideo Kojima
Title: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Breeder
Console: Playstation 3
Genre: Dating Simulation/Action-Adventure
Players: Single Player, possible online expansion (unconfirmed)
Projected ESRB Rating: Mature: 17+
Production Company: Konami
Release Dates
For those of you unfamiliar with the Metal Gear series, it revolves around a succession of highly-trained super-Boy Scout soldiers saving the world from a group of evil soldiers with special powers. Think MacGuyver, James Bond, and Evangelion against the X-Men. Oh, and there are giant robots involved. Giant nuclear robots.
Then again, with so radical a departure as Snake Breeder, who knows what Kojima has up his sleeve for this latest Metal Gear? From what limited press this game has received, I can only infer that it will be a retelling of Snake Eater told with a greater focus on the relationships Naked Snake and the other main characters form during Snake's week in the Russian jungle.
Cast of Characters
- Naked Snake: Highly trained CIA super-soldier who trained under the legendary Boss. His mission is to infiltrate the base of the Russian GRU Commander Volgin, recover the Russian scientist Sokolov, defeat Volgin, destroy his ICBM-equipped tank "Shagohod", and kill The Boss.
- Eva: One of two NSA codebreakers who defected to Russia before the Cold War. She is Snake's information gatherer on the inside of Volgin's base, under the cover of Volgin's mistress. It's clear she loves Snake, but has being forced to cater to Volgin's... needs... broken her will?
- The Boss: AKA The Joy AKA Voyavolda. Legendary warrior who trained Snake and devloped the martial arts techniques that he carries into battle. She defected to the Russians and must be killed as a result. Can Snake truly kill his teacher, possibly the only woman who ever loved him? Can The Boss kill her most beloved disciple?
- GRU Commander Volgin: Known in the West as "Thunderbolt" because of the one million volts of electricity flowing through his veins. Perhaps due to the psychological trauma of the surgery and pre-existing meglomania, he is an incorrigible sadist of the worst kind. Thankfully, Eva has a high pain tolerance... but can she satisfy well enough to keep his trust?
- Revolver Ocelot: Major of the GRU Ocelot Special Unit at a tender age (no more than 21), Ocelot has serious doubts about Eva and Volgin's mental stability, but lacks the cojones to say anything about it. Snake sees some merit in him — a potential that might "blossom" into something interesting — if the kid stays alive long enough.
- The Sorrow: The Boss' last lover, whom she was forced to kill after they split ways and their missions conflicted. In life he acted as a spirit medium, coercing information from dead enemy soldiers. In death, he shadows his former partner. He seems to have some sort of bond with Snake, but who can tell? Dead men tell no tales.
Along with the intriguing switch in genres, it seems Kojima has other improvements to make on his previous masterpiece. The graphics, which were near-perfect in MGS3:SE, will be improved upon once again during the port to the PS3. There are rumors of the beginnings of a graphics engine being written that allows for cinematic-level graphics during live gameplay. It also seems as if Snake Breeder will add multiple endings — a move that some feel defiles the original plotline. On the other hand, a dating simulation emphasizes the biggest failing point of Metal Gear as an Action-Adventure: Kojima's use of lengthy cinematics and exposition-laden monologues to move the plot forward.
E_M's verdict: Great promise, but I hope that it's all not a pipe dream.
Many thanks to greth for heavy "research" into Konami's surveillance systems. | 
