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

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know