|
Hunting high and low
Mental Search is the mode that tasks the user with getting involved directly with the comic. Basically, various cells contain items called Memory Elements; to find these elements, you'll have to stop the VR Simulation Mode to go into the Mental Search. The Elements are pieces of information about people, places, events, and so on. When in Search, you'll get to scour the cell for indicators that some sort of Element is present. The reticle of your search scope will spin wildly when you're over something that can be acquired. This is all pretty easy in and of itself, but some of the elements will prove to be much tougher to find than others. The tough/strange/weird/unique aspect comes in actually using these chunks of data, which takes place in the Memory Building area.
Uberfans of the Metal Gear universe will likely love getting down and dirty with Memory Building. Basically, the job at hand is to take each of the collected Memory Elements and piece them together. By doing so, even more information about the story's characters and events is revealed, so long as they are connected in the correct order. To be honest, I was more baffled by this than I would care to admit; after a little while of connecting, disconnecting, and otherwise manipulating these Memory Elements together, I appreciated the fact that I could get so deep into the comic, but didn't particularly get a lot of enjoyment out of it. That's just a personal observation from someone who's played and liked some of the MGS games but doesn't consider himself a hardcore fan by any means. Those of you out there who are aficionados of the series will undoubtedly love it, though, since it adds gobs of additional hours of usability and brain-stuffing information that fans will appreciate.
The bottom line is that the Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel is a terrific idea that also happens to be executed superbly well. Between the art design, 3D animation, and compelling story, it enthralls fans and non-fans alike. The relatively reasonable price point of $20 is another positive. Will it revitalize the non-gaming UMD? Who knows? What it will do is give the Metal Gear Solid-loving public another outlet to discover and enjoy their favorite series, and there's nothing strange about that.
|
