Metal Gear Solid Premium Costume Pack
You’ve seen Solid Snake, but have you seen the rest of the cast? (well, ok…maybe you have… ) Meryl Silverburgh, Screaming Mantis & Raiden each have their own costumes from the MGS world. Get all 4 characters for the price of 3 at $5.99 on the PS Store, or pick your favorite and buy it individually for $1.99.

Metal Gear Solid Premium Level Pack
Now that you know about our Festive Level Pack, which fills your Pop-it tool with a ton of “Create” materials, objects and stickers, our Premium Level Packs introduce that and a whole lot more. So without further adeu…lets talk about what’s inside the MGS Level Pack (and this time we mean “Level” pack…)

First off, you’ll get a new Sackboy costume… the Gurlokovich Soldier.

Plus tons of new stickers (72), materials (12), decorations (10), and objects (18).

The objects are especially cool, why you ask…well, in addition to these ‘create’ materials, our Premium Level Packs include new Story Levels and they’re filled these new objects. That’s because, Media Molecule teamed with Konami to create 5 new Story Levels and 1 new Challenge Level for you to enjoy.

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Now we couldn’t just build a level using the basic tools above, we need music, new sound effects, and new elements to provide a true MGS experience. So you’re getting these in the Level Pack, as well:

• 3 new background music tracks
• 1 new interactive music track
• 1 new Metal Gear Solid themed ‘sound object’
• New Plasma Ball ‘danger element’
• New Laser Sight ‘gadget’
• New functioning Searchlight lamp – for those special ‘exclamation mark’ moments

…and finally, the piece de resistance…THE PAINTINATOR (and Paint Switch)

Now, not only will you be able to run, jump, push, pull, swing, etc, etc in LBP, but now you’ll be able to splatter anything that comes between you and the end of any level. Once you equip the Paintinator, you can send sacksized paintballs flying by mashing on the R1 button and using the right stick to aim. Few things about flying paintballs, when Sackboys are hit with them, it feels like a very weak slap. You can also shoot ‘Brains’ from a safe distance and progress thru levels much easier. In addition to the Paintinator, we’re introducing a Paint Switch, so you can attach it to any object and set it to destruct after being splattered with enough paint. Here’s a video to show you the Metal Gear Solid Level Pack in action…

Add to all that, there are 12 new Trophies to unlock (and if you pay attention to the story at all, we’re not a big fan of Trophy Levels).

So now you see why we’ve been biting our tongue on this announcement. Tons of new gameplay, tons of new game-changing objects, and tons of create materials…all for just $5.99 (shesh…did that just sound like an infomercial?). We absolutely can’t wait to see what the community does with this pack and the new types of levels this will bring to the Share Planet.

And wait…there’s more…
So, here’s one of the coolest things about this pack…you guys know LBP is all about PLAY, CREATE & SHARE – well, you’ll be glad to know that this Level Pack holds true to that. For those who buy the Premium Level Pack, you get everything above (and hopefully a lot of fun in-between). If you don’t buy it, you’ll still be able to enjoy the MGS pack goodness. Here’s how:

• Non-MGS Level Pack owners can PLAY the MGS Story Levels by joining a “host” who owns the pack and play the levels online together. Now you won’t be able to keep any objects, but you can have tons of fun just PLAYing.
• MGS Level Pack owners will be able to CREATE levels with any of these items (including the Paintinator) and SHARE them online for everyone to play.

Again, we’re very excited to present this MGS Level Pack to you as a taste of how LBP can and will continue to evolve over time. With the support of our community, whether it’s creating new and awesome levels on the Share Planet or buying our Costumes and Level Packs, we’ll continue to provide more LBP goodness down the road in 2009.

So check back on the PS Store on 12/23 and treat yourself to a present this holiday season :)

Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year

I caught up to Media Molecule’s Alex Evans minutes before the announcement was made, and he talked about this dream collaboration:

It all started with the Helghast thing. It was really funny because we were aware of a lot of possibilities of who we could work with. I remember the first time that Final Fantasy was mentioned, and there was a bet over whether it would be happened since it’s such a precious franchise.

And with Metal Gear, I bought my PS1 for Metal Gear Solid, and I didn’t have a memory card – so I left the game on when I went to work and came home and played some more.

To be involved with MGS is… slightly bizarre. When we were looking at what options as a studio we’d have to work with, they were under the “yeah, right!” category of games.

LittleBigPlanet and Sackboy have a strong identity and flavor. So then you try to find the translation to Metal Gear and Sephiroth, and the guys that made the characters really brought the flavors of LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear together and kept the flavor of both of them

[On Final Fantasy collaboration:] It’s a whole universe, and they’ve built up this ethos. And we’re honored to be let into that universe.

We’l have more details on LittleBigPlanet’s newest residents soon. In the meantime, click here for more hi-res pics.

Of course, the launch of MGS4 is just the beginning – with it now in your hands, surely you are finding that there is much to discover within the game itself. It’s packed with so much, in fact, that there is bound to be new revelations, strategies, and details in the coming months as everyone makes their way through every nook and cranny. Add in Metal Gear Online, with its endless and deep multiplayer game play, as well as new downloadable content forthcoming – there is truly so much more to come, with our continued support of MGS, that will extend well through this year.

With that, we are happy to reveal a very special surprise, upon the PLAYSTATION Store update tomorrow (Thursday June 19th) we will be releasing the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Database!

The MGS4 Database is a free, downloadable interactive application that contains the official knowledge base of everything that is Metal Gear, reaching all the way back to the very beginning of the franchise. Including complete storylines, character profiles, relationship diagrams, and much more! The MGS4 database is a great way to catch up for someone new to Metal Gear, as well as a useful resource for any veteran of the series, with complete official details on every aspect of the intricate Metal gear lore.

The MGS4 Database also contains a special feature – if you want to make use of the database, but have not yet fully played through MGS4 yet and are worried about spoilers – all MGS4 spoilers are “blacked out” until you’ve beaten MGS4. Give it a try!

But that’s not all, within MGS4, check out the EXTRAS option of the main menu (if you haven’t already). There’s already new, free downloadable content available for the game – with new camouflage and a new music track for the in game iPod. There will be more forthcoming, so be sure to check this often!

For more launch coverage, Kotaku and Destructoid were in attendance and took some excellent pics.

Thanks to PS3’s Blu-ray technology, this is the biggest Metal Gear Solid yet and sets a new benchmark in the gaming industry as the first PS3 game developed on a dual layer Blu-ray disc. This means the Konami team is able to deliver more cutting-edge graphics, more expansive gameplay and more surround sound. Add a DUALSHOCK 3 controller into the mix and you’ll find yourself right in the middle of the action.

For our PS2 enthusiasts, this is a great time to consider upgrading to a PS3 with the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 80GB bundle ($499), which includes the popular 80GB PS3, a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, a DUALSHOCK 3 controller, as well as a free download for the PSN title, PAIN.

With highly anticipated titles such as Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Grand Theft Auto IV and SingStar and with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, this is only the beginning of an ongoing software avalanche for PS3 that includes titles such as LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, MotorStorm Pacific Rift and Resistance 2 that only PS3 owners will be able to exclusively enjoy. We look forward to your feedback on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

1. What game do you have at E3 this year?
2. Describe it in five words or less.
3. If you could sit one person in front of your game for an hour, who would it be?
4. What game do you most want an hour to sit in front of yourself (besides your own)?
5. How many E3’s does E3 2007 mark for you?
6. Describe the pre-2007 E3 experience in five words or less.
7. Most over used phrase or expression during E3 season.
8. You are asked to make suggestions for an E3 survival kit- what three items HAVE to be included?
9. What advice would you have for someone who has never experienced E3?
10. Describe what you anticipate from 2007’s newly formatted E3 in five words or less.

The plan is to do something similar, only I’ll be shooting video so you can better get to know the faces behind the games you’ll be playing over the next year or so.

Looking at this list, I’m thinking not all of these questions are relevant this year. So what would *you* ask? Keep in mind I’m asking the same questions to everyone I interview, and that it’s more focused on the person and the event than the games – I’ll of course invite you to share your game-specific questions *at* E3. So please don’t post: “how many multiplayer stages will there be in R2??”

I’ll ask that *next* month.

Oh, and later on tomorrow night, I’m going to drop by the Hollywood launch of Metal Gear Solid 4. Anything you’d like me to ask David Hayter (the incredibly gruff voice of Snake) or any of the producers on hand?

Speaking of MGS launches, if you end up taking some good pics of yourself in line (especially if you’re dressed up like Snake or Eva or Ocelot), give us some link love in the comments.

PS if you’re lining up at the West Hollywood Best Buy, make sure to say hi.

First, we have numerous midnight launch parties and signings in NY, LA, and SF. Below are all the details!

LOS ANGELES

WHERE: Best Buy
1015 N La Brea Ave
West Hollywood
(323) 883-0219

WHEN:
Wednesday, June 11
11:45 pm – 1:00am

TALENT APPEARING:
David Hayter – Voice of Solid Snake
Kenichiro Imaizumi – Senior Producer
Ryan Payton – Associate Producer

NEW YORK

WHERE: Virgin Megastore
1540 Broadway
Bet. 45th & 46th Street
(212) 921-1020

WHEN:
Wednesday, June 11
11:45 pm – 1:30am

TALENT APPEARING:
Mr. Hideo Kojima
Yumi Kikuchi – Model

SAN FRANCISCO

WHERE: PlayStation Store at Metreon
101 Fourth Street
(415) 369-6000

WHEN:
Saturday, June 14
4 pm-6 pm

TALENT APPEARING:
Mr. Hideo Kojima
Kenichiro Imaizumi – Senior Producer
Ryan Payton – Assistant Producer
Yumi Kikuchi – Model

You should definitely arrive early. You will be able to purchase a standard edition version of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots at the events. You can also see a complete list of what launch events are happening on a global scale for MGS4, here.

Next, we’d like to point out that the third and fourth parts of GameTrailers amazing Metal Gear Retrospective are posted. As previously mentioned, these detail everything in the series to date, and contain MAJOR SPOILERS, so be warned.

More after the jump!

If you haven’t checked it out yet, the official MGS4 site is live! It contains a ton of original interactive content, including playable training and special missions – essentially distilling some of the core game play mechanisms of MGS into a Flash game – that can prepare you for what awaits in MGS4!

As a special MGS4 launch week treat for the devout Metal Gear fans among you, we are releasing the passwords to unlock a ton of secret characters in Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops + for the PSP! Here we go…!

With this post, we end Metal Gear Mondays – and would like to thank you for joining us these past few months, as we counted down to the launch of MGS4. But that’s not all! There’s much more to come in the following days, weeks, and months ahead! Stay tuned!

We’ve noticed in the comments that some of you have been requesting more specifics on the gameplay of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Who better to provide that than someone who’s writing the strategy guide? Presenting his top 12 tips for MGS4 is James Price, part of the team at Piggyback finishing up Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: The Complete Official Guide.

*****

James Price, Piggyback Interactive Limited:
We’ve been playing MGS4 every day for the past ten weeks, and the good news is: we’re still enjoying every minute of it. If we had a dollar for every time that someone on the team has said “Did you see…?” or “Have you tried…?”, we could probably fund Hideo Kojima’s next project, and still have spare change to buy a nice holiday home – like, say, in the Bahamas.

Okay: so that’s perhaps a slight exaggeration. But really, MGS4 has more secrets and subtle features than most games have… well, game.

MGS4 is a game built from the ground up for repeat play. As the story draws to a close, you are awarded with one or more secret emblems that acknowledge (and, in effect, rate) your performance and style of play. Usually, even veteran gamers only unlock one, perhaps two on their initial playthrough. There are a ton of these accolades in total.

Though it contains a handful of situations which have the potential to stop even hardcore players in their tracks (including one audaciously excellent boss fight puzzle), Metal Gear Solid 4 is defined not so much by what you do during play, but what you haven’t done. When you pass through a checkpoint your first reaction often isn’t to focus on what lies ahead, but to reflect on how you could have approached the previous area in a completely different way. MGS4 constantly inspires the question “What if…?” – even as the final credits crawl by, you suspect that you didn’t so much “beat” it as simply reach the end. Precious few games evoke this kind of response, and it’s a big part of what makes Kojima-san’s opus so very special.

Kojima Productions has packed MGS4 with an incredible range of hidden weapons and items, Easter eggs, dialogue sequences, post-game rewards and other such “optional” features. When you take the sheer number of tactical options into account, you realize that many players could reach the conclusion of MGS4 a dozen times, and still not have fully explored the possibilities on offer. There are gadgets and weapons that a player might completely neglect to try out (or, indeed, find), even after twenty or thirty hours of play; later, using some of them is a revelation as you realize the new strategic options they offer. Others are just fun, pure and simple.

In the meantime, check out these 12 exclusive tips to get you started with your own tactical espionage action:

1. Life Gauge

Keeping the Life Gauge topped up is vital, but it’s just as important not to panic and keep filling the gauge unnecessarily with precious items. Though you can replenish it with healing objects such as Rations and Noodles, you should take care not to waste them – especially on higher difficulty levels. Using a Ration when Snake’s Life Gauge is 80% full, for example, is plain foolish. You usually don’t need to even think about refilling the gauge until it drops below 25%. During boss fights or difficult skirmishes, you should instead equip Rations, Noodles or Regain and position them as an “active” item. Once Snake’s health reaches zero, these will be automatically used until your stocks are exhausted.

One other method of restoring Snake’s health is simply to find a safe hiding place and let him stand still. After a few seconds the Life Gauge will slowly start to creep back up. If you crouch or go prone, it will refill more quickly. If you have good cover, you’ll find that this even works during boss battles. This can be a great way of refilling your Life Gauge for free – essential when playing on a high difficulty level. Note that recovery speed depends on the condition of Snake’s other main gauge, the Psyche Gauge; the higher the Psyche Gauge, the quicker the Life Gauge refills. (Incidentally, if you have an extended break from playing MGS4 that lasts for more than 24 hours, you may notice that Snake’s Life and Psyche gauges are refilled by 20% per day. It’s hardly necessary, but a nice touch nonetheless.)

2. Psyche Gauge

The Psyche Gauge is situated directly below the Life Gauge, appearing as four separate blocks. This represents Snake’s psychological wellbeing, which has a direct effect on his performance. Essentially, the more stressed Snake is, the less effective he becomes. Keeping him as calm and focused as possible should be your main goal in terms of managing this meter. The Psyche Gauge can be refilled with certain healing items, such as Noodles; dedicated Psyche-related objects such as the Compress do not directly refill the gauge, but instead temporarily increase the speed at which it is replenished. Cigs can also be equipped to regain Psyche, but to the detriment of the Life Gauge.

As with the Life Gauge, the Psyche Gauge can also be refilled simply by staying still, and more quickly by crouching or going prone. The better Snake feels generally (not too cold, hot, wet, dirty, or overloaded) the faster his Psyche will replenish. You can tell when he’s not feeling great by observing his behavior or murmurs of discontent – if he starts feeling his age, it’s usually a direct sign that something is wrong. Finding solutions to assuage these symptoms is usually just a matter of common sense. If Snake is freezing in cold water for instance, get him out of there; if he’s overheating in direct sunlight, find some shade where he can cool down. One of the major effects of a low Psyche Gauge is that it will severely hamper Snake’s ability to aim accurately. The more stressed and hyped up he is, the more his aim will be impaired; this can have a particularly detrimental effect when he’s using a sniper rifle. Try using a scope when Snake is overanxious and you’ll see how his unsteady hands make it thoroughly difficult to make a clean headshot. The Pentazemin item can be used to temporarily improve his marksmanship when required, but preventative maintenance is always better.

3. Stress Level & Combat High

The Psyche Gauge is affected by, which is depicted by a number that appears underneath it. If Snake is sweltering in a hot, evil-smelling location, or alternatively shivering in a freezing location, his Stress level will rise. He will also become stressed if his equipment is too heavy (over 70 kg), or during an Alert phase. When Snake’s Stress level exceeds 50%, the display will turn red and he will begin to lose Psyche. As his Stress rating continues to increase, his Psyche will diminish at a great rate. However, as long Snake is not experiencing a Combat High, his Stress level can only reach a maximum of 80%.

A Combat High will kick in if Snake shoots with a gun more than 100 times during the Alert phase. Notification that he is currently experiencing a Combat High will appear next to the Life Gauge. During this enhanced state, Psyche does not decrease, and any damage caused by enemies is halved. But it’s not all good news: during a Combat High, Snake’s Stress level can shoot up as far as 100%. It’s a short-term boon, but the repercussions can be painful.

4. Choosing your Equipment: Weapons

When it comes to selecting weapons, you have two important choices to make – which five weapons you have available by pressing the R2 button (which you decide in the pause menu), and which one of these five weapons you will actually wield (which you decide in the weapons window). Your chosen five should always be balanced. A good configuration would be to have a silenced weapon, a powerful submachine gun for close-range action, a sniper rifle, a grenade type, and one diversionary item such as an empty Magazine. The weapon you actually hold should obviously always reflect your immediate needs.

There are many ways to obtain new weapons or ammo. The most obvious is to search for “hidden” collectibles and pick up weapons from the battlefield, but you can also search corpses or pay a visit to Drebin’s Shop.

5. Choosing your Equipment: Items

As with weapons, you have two important choices to make here: which eight items you will have available to you by pressing the L2 button (which you decide in the pause menu), and which one of these eight you actually use (which you decide in the items window). The eight that you choose should also be balanced, although this decision is less critical than with weapons. However, the one “active” item you opt for is very important. At first, you will probably tend to equip the Solid Eye most of the time, because it gives you a better understanding of your surroundings. As you eventually acquire the knack of using the Threat Ring instead of the Solid Eye, though, you’ll soon be able to free up the item slot for something else – such as a Ration during boss fights.

To obtain new items, you can either pick up any that you find (as shown on the maps in this guide) or search bodies. You can’t buy any from Drebin so take great care not to waste anything (especially healing items such as Rations).

As Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots inches closer to its release date on 06.12.2008, the media pours in…

From our recent Konami Gamer’s Night, in case you missed it, we are happy to present this stunning “movie-style” Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots cinematic trailer. It has the “movie guy” voice and everything!

Also, we’ve released a bunch of new screenshots from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots that reveal new locations, and much more. WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

Many more here.

With just a couple of weeks left until launch of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, things are going to heat up even more! Stay tuned right here on the PS Blog and at Konami.com!

Once again, happy holiday!

To kick things off this week, we are happy to reveal the MGO widget! You can check it out here on Facebook!”

It has a countdown clock, news, video, screens – and more coming in the following weeks. You can embed it into your MySpace, Facebook, iGoogle, or personal website (use the MySpace embed code for that) – simply click the “ADD WIDGET” button in the upper-right. Please try it out, add it to your own pages, show your love for Metal Gear and stay connected!

Metal Gear mania continues with tons of content rolling out all across the web…

GameTrailers has posted the second installment of their incredible Metal Gear video retrospective. Once again, be warned, it covers the whole series history in extreme detail, and contains MAJOR SPOILERS!

On the Metal Gear fan video front, via Kotaku, there is this INCREDIBLE remake of the anime Lupin III opening, fully animated in pixel art with the Metal Gear characters! Amazing!

Lastly, from the Konami Gamer’s Night last week, tons of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots coverage all over, as people got to play the final build that evening – which includes impressions, screens, and videos! Follow the links to get the scoop!

• IGN
• Gamespot
• Joystiq
• GamesRadar has excellent coverage of the first MGS4 review from OPM – 10/10!
• And don’t forget our own Konami.com page.

As always, stay tuned here on the PS Blog and at Konami.com for more Metal Gear!