Technologies

Metal Gear Solid Delta Review: What Makes This Remake a Must-Play for Fans

Snake Eater never looked better.

Konami surprised fans with the announcement of a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake in 2023. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is a dream for longtime players, though others may see only a classic dressed up with beautiful graphics.

Metal Gear Solid Delta remakes the 2004 classic Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater with updated visuals, modern controls and some extra content, but it’s not a full revamp. From start to finish, it plays just like the original MGS3, with a graphical overhaul and a few minor script tweaks. For longtime fans or newcomers, that’s more than enough to make it a great remake.

Naked Snake has some new skin

As this is a remake of MGS3, the most obvious change comes with the graphical overhaul for today’s game platforms. Metal Gear Solid Delta uses Unreal Engine 5, so the character models look amazing. The remake also has modern controls and includes first-person or over-the-shoulder views, as opposed to only the latter in the original.

There are also some «quality of life» changes, such as frequent auto-saves and quicker menu access. Playing through the game, there wasn’t a moment when I felt that I was stuck with the aged mechanics, controls or graphics from yesteryear — it felt modern through and through.

Aside from these updates, Metal Gear Solid Delta sticks to the same espionage story of Naked Snake — the future Foxhound leader later known as Big Boss — on a 1964 mission set at the height of the Cold War. The events that play out in this game lay the groundwork for the entire Metal Gear franchise, so it’s a fitting entry point for newcomers.

The end is just the beginning

Where Metal Gear Solid Delta really shines is after you beat the game, which is why hardcore fans will get more out of it than casual players. A second playthrough unlocks new camos, face paints and weapons — plus a bounty of fun (and often weird) extras.

One of the most interesting extras is the Secret Theater. In this unlockable mode, players can view 18 different cutscenes. I didn’t manage to unlock them all, but the first shows Snake meeting Nikolai Sokolov, the scientist behind the Shagohad tank — the dangerous MacGuffin players chase through most of the game — as he tries to get him out of Russia. For some unexplained reason, in this cutscene Sokolov suddenly wields a strange power that he unleashes on a Cobra Unit helicopter.

Don’t get it twisted: This isn’t new lore or unused game footage. Rather, it looks like the developers just made some new animations with the characters. There’s not even additional voice acting in this particular cutscene, just remixed dialogue from other scenes. And the preview images for the other clips suggest some scenes are meant to give players a chuckle.

To unlock more scenes, players will have to obtain film reels carried by soldiers scattered throughout the game. However, players can only obtain these reels in one specific way: by holding up a soldier with a gun — not by putting them to sleep, knocking them out or killing them. Some Secret Theater cutscenes require tracking down a specific soldier at a certain spot on the map and getting the reel from them to unlock. This is really for hardcore fans, since finding them all adds an extra challenge for the truly devoted.

Another interesting unlockable is Guy Savage Delta. In the 2001 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Snake has a nightmare that turns into a hack-and-slash minigame referred to as Guy Savage. This new version puts players in control of a vampire hunter, battling waves of monsters and vampires in a fast-paced action style reminiscent of Devil May Cry, though without quite as much depth. I didn’t get much time with this mode, so there may be unlockables for those who stick with it. Another returning bonus is Snake vs. Monkey on the PS5 and PC versions (a bizarre extra from the original MGS3), while Xbox players get Snake vs. Bomberman. Both serve as fun distractions that also unlock more equipment.

Beyond those modes, players can also unlock the Demo Theater, which replays cutscenes and highlights any missed due to in-game choices. The camo collection lets you track what gear you’ve unlocked (and what’s still missing), while the food collection catalogs every animal and item Snake has eaten. There’s also a Character Viewer that provides a brief history of each character across different points in the game — complete with nods to other entries in the series, including 2015’s Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

While I wished Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater could have received the same full revamp of the graphics and story as the Silent Hill 2 Remake, I can’t find any real flaw in Konami’s execution of remaking the original MGS3 virtually shot for shot. The game looks fantastic, runs smoothly and offers plenty to do after the credits roll — all while being a remake of arguably the best entry in the series. Fans are going to love it. If you’ve never played MGS3 and are curious, this remake is a must. But if that doesn’t describe you, it’s not an immediate pick-up.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will be released on Aug. 28 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles. Buying the Deluxe Edition of the game will unlock early access to the game starting on Aug. 26 at 12 a.m. ET.

Technologies

Considering Buying a $20K Home Robot? There’s Something You Need to Know First

This robot is designed to do your chores for you — but it might need some help from a remote operator.

The robot stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs as much as a golden retriever and is nearly the price of a brand-new budget car. This is Neo, the humanoid robot.

Billed as a personal assistant you can talk to and eventually rely on to handle everyday tasks, Neo could load your dishwasher and fold your laundry.

But it doesn’t come cheap: It’ll cost you $20,000. And even then, you’ll still need to train this new home bot, and it possibly requires remote assistance as well.

If that still sounds enticing, preorders are now open (for $200 down). You’ll be signing up as an early adopter for what Neo’s maker, a California-based company called 1X, is calling a «consumer-ready humanoid.» That’s opposed to other humanoids under development from the likes of Tesla and Figure, which are, for the moment at least, more focused on factory environments.

Neo is a whole order of magnitude different from robot vacuums like those from Roomba, Eufy and Ecovacs, and embodies a long-running sci-fi fantasy of robot maids and butlers doing chores and picking up after us. If this is the future, read on for more of what’s in store.

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What the Neo robot can do around the house

The pitch from 1X is that Neo can do all manner of household chores: fold laundry, run a vacuum, tidy shelves and bring in the groceries. It can open doors, climb stairs and even act as a home entertainment system.

Neo appears to move smoothly, with a soft, almost human-like gait, thanks to 1X’s tendon-driven motor system that gives it gentle motion and impressive strength. The company says it can lift up to 154 pounds and carry 55 pounds, but it is quieter than a refrigerator. It’s covered in soft materials and neutral colors, making it look less intimidating than metallic prototypes from other companies.

The company says Neo has a 4-hour runtime. Its hands are IP68-rated, meaning they’re submersible in water. It can connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 5G. For conversation, it has a built-in large language model (LLM), the same sort of AI technology that powers ChatGPT and Gemini.

The primary way to control the Neo robot will be by speaking to it, just as if it were a person.

Still, Neo’s usefulness today depends heavily on how you define useful. The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern got an up-close look at Neo at 1X’s headquarters and found that, at least for now, it’s largely teleoperated, meaning a human often operates it remotely using a virtual-reality headset and controllers.

«I didn’t see Neo do anything autonomously, although the company did share a video of Neo opening a door on its own,» Stern wrote last week. 1X CEO Bernt Børnich reportedly told her that Neo will do most things autonomously in 2026, though he also acknowledged that the quality «may lag at first.»

The company’s FAQ says that if there’s a chore request Neo doesn’t know how to accomplish, you can schedule an expert from 1X to help the robot «learn while getting the job done.»

What you need to know about Neo and privacy

Part of what early adopters are signing up for is to allow Neo to learn from their environment, so that future versions can operate more independently.

That learning process raises questions about privacy and trust. The robot uses a mix of visual, audio and contextual intelligence — meaning it can see, hear and remember interactions with you in your home.

«If you buy this product, it is because you’re OK with that social contract,» Børnich told the Journal. «It’s less about Neo instantly doing your chores and more about you helping Neo learn to do them safely and effectively.»

Neo’s reliance on human operation behind the scenes prompted a response from John Carmack, a computer industry luminary known for his work with VR systems and the lead programmer of classic video games, including Doom and Quake.

«Companies selling the dream of autonomous household humanoid robots today would be better off embracing reality and selling ‘remote operated household help’,» he wrote in a post on the X social network.

1X says it’s taking steps to protect your privacy: Neo listens only when it recognizes it’s being addressed, and its cameras will blur out humans. You can restrict Neo from entering or viewing specific areas of your home, and the robot will never be teleoperated without owner approval, the company says.

But inviting an AI-equipped humanoid to observe your home life isn’t a small step.

The first units are expected to ship to customers in the US in 2026. There is a $499 monthly subscription alternative to the $20,000 full purchase price, although it will be available at an unspecified later date. A broader international rollout is promised for 2027.

Neo’s got a long road ahead of it to live up to the expectations set by Rosie the Robot in The Jetsons way back when. But this is no Hanna-Barbera cartoon. What we’re seeing now is a much more tangible harbinger of change.

Technologies

Here’s How to Relive Your Gaming History Spanning Decades Across Nintendo Consoles

Nintendo’s new store app includes a list of the games you’ve played and how long you played them.

Nintendo’s new iOS and Android app for its storefront makes it easier to browse and purchase games for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, but its most compelling feature is one that lays out your Nintendo gaming history by year.

Buried at the very bottom of your Profile page on the Nintendo Store app (you can get to it by tapping the icon with your Mii at the bottom right) is an option called Play Activity. At the top, your Recent Activity will display games you played recently and for how long. But scroll down through All Activity and you’ll find games and console apps stretching back years and years.

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For me, it was a shock to see Wii U and Nintendo 3DS titles I’d forgotten all about, such as a game my daughters enjoyed — Art Academy: Home Studio — and Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash, which I played in 2015 for 10 days. I have no recollection of playing Steel Diver for Nintendo 3DS, but there’s evidence to prove that happened on March 28, 2011.

Why Play Activity matters

If the feature were just nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, that would be one thing, but for anyone who has a long history across multiple Nintendo console generations, this is good information to have. In an era of remakes and re-releases, it’s helpful to know what games you actually have played before, what console you played them on and whether you spent much time on them. My Play Activity history is littered with games I only played for less than an hour, such as Ridge Racer 3D, and abandoned for others.

It reminds me that I played Nintendogs, the cute dog simulator, for a full four years, from 2011 to 2015. Why hasn’t Nintendo rebooted that franchise?

It’s useful that you can sort the play history by most recently played, date first played, total time played and by game system. I was surprised by how many titles I played on the Wii U, but it probably paled in comparison to the number of games I played on the GameCube or the original Wii. The Play Activity doesn’t appear to go back that far; for me, it stops at 2011 with the Wii U and 3DS. Games on the Switch appear to show more detail, showing you how much you played for each gaming session.

But most of all, it’s nice to have a document that charts your relationship with Nintendo’s systems and software, whether it’s to see how much time you spent watching Netflix on your Switch or to see how many hours you’ve logged in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

What else is in the Nintendo Store app?

If Play Activity were the only feature in the Nintendo Store app, it would still be worth a download for longtime gamers. However, that’s just a nice-to-have feature, not the main attraction.

The best reason to download the Nintendo Store app is the store itself, which becomes much easier to navigate and search through than the version on the Switch, which can be slow and cumbersome. You can make purchases for your Switch or Switch 2 directly in the app, use Nintendo Points, do GPS check-ins and view events, promotions and game news from the company.

There’s also merchandise available, including game soundtracks, clothing and toys. Being able to quickly navigate which games have demo versions and being able to send a digital download to your Switch from your phone is handy.

An Ask the Developer tab is a nice area to browse in the News section of the app; recent stories discuss the making of Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza.

Using the Nintendo Store app requires linking your Nintendo account.