Metal Gear: The Gathering??!!
First off, it's safe to say Metal Gear might be my favorite game series ever. It started when I got Snake's Revenge when I was 8, and even though that game isn't series canon since Hideo Kojima had nothing to do with it, I still loved it. MG is the reason I own a PS2, PS3, and PSP (really), and I've even played the games very few other people had played before MGS3 Subsistence (Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2:Solid Snake for the defunct MSX Japanese-only gaming system, the Metal Gear: Ghost Babel Game Boy Color game, Twin Snakes on GameCube, VR Missions, etc.). Clearly, my loyalty to the Metal Gear line is beyond reproach. So when I first heard Konami was making a card-based MG game, I was livid. "I like my stealth action just the way it was, thank you very much," I thought to myself. And while I do still greatly prefer the more straight-forward MG games, Ac!d really has surprised me.
It's definitely a different experience, and although I hate card-based games with a passion still (both video-game ones and the physical card games), I have found myself quite addicted to this game over the last few days. The strategy is surprisingly deep, and you have to customize your deck differently to suit different styles of play. Plus, adding an ally into the mix changes things up even more, adding a whole new level of depth to an already deep game of "strategery." (Ha.) The level of fan service will do even the most jaded Metal Gear fanboy (myself included) justice, as references to EVERY Hideo Kojima-produced game abound (MG: Ghost Babel, ZOE, Policenauts, and Snatchers even... Sorry, Snake's Revenge - you're the black sheep). Seeing what various characters' cards from my favorite games would do was always interesting.
The graphics might be a bit subpar for the system (it looks barely - and I emphasize BARELY - better than a PS1 title), but the camera is usually quite cooperative, and the controls are fine, although there's not much you can screw up with a card game's controls. Also, like the aforementioned Snake's Revenge, since this game was not produced by Kojima, it does not count in the MG canon, and the story is nowhere near the level that he produces, although that's not to discount the story entirely by any means. However, if you're a diehard completionist like myself and you love this series even half as much as I do, it's completely worth it to pick this game up.Read full review
