MGS: Twin Snakes due in March

Publisher Konami has announced that two-disc, GameCube-exclusive Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes will be released on March 26th in Europe, pointing out that it's "already being described as one of the games of the year for the Nintendo format," although it remains to be seen whether that proves a compliment or a condemnation.

As regular readers know, MGS: The Twin Snakes is a collaboration between series creator Hideo Kojima, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and Canadian developer Silicon Knights, whose last work Eternal Darkness was one of the best GameCube titles of 2002.

Between them they've concocted a unique update of the original PlayStation game, with improved visuals, gameplay elements from smash hit sequel Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, new CG sequences overseen by Japanese film director Ryuhei Kitamura, and voices re-recorded by the original cast including front-man David Hayter. The European packaging will also benefit from an exclusive image by Yoji Shinkawa.

The story, for the few who don't already know it, concerns ace covert agent Solid Snake's infiltration of a nuclear disposal facility in Alaska, which is now under the control of FOXHOUND terrorists planning to hold the world to ransom. Snake's job is to bump them off and neutralise the nuclear threat, a weapon codenamed Metal Gear.

Konami will be hoping that this retelling of the original tale is good enough to tempt Cube owners to part with their cash, whilst also quietly hoping that they don't suffer the same fate as rivals Capcom, whose Resident Evil franchise performed relatively poorly as a Cube exclusive. Little wonder then that it's Twin Snakes and not Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater that appears exclusively on the Nintendo format.