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Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is currently locked away on the original PS3, at least until a Master Collection Vol. 2 releases. More than 16 years after the release of the PlayStation exclusive, MGS 4 additional director Ryan Payton recalls being frustrated at the quality of 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum.
From Arkham Asylum to Arkham Shadow
Now, a decade-and-a-half later, Payton has made his own entry in the superhero series with the VR prequel Batman: Arkham Shadow. For the 15 years, the developer has started his own company and directed a stunning Batman game, but he still remembers where he was when he played the original game.
Speaking to VideoGamer, Payton reveals that he was a year on from his work on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, a game that was praised for its fluid movement and brilliant animation work. However, less than one year later, Payton was blown away by the quality of Batman: Arkham Asylum, even feeling “frustrated” at the level of fluidity Rocksteady managed to achieve.
“I remember exactly where I was more or less almost to the day in 2009 when I played Arkham Asylum,” the Arkham Shadow director said. “I was a year out from Metal Gear Solid 4 and I played the game on the couch of Brian Intihar from Insomniac—he would direct to Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2.
“I remember being really frustrated about how good this third-person PlayStation 3 game felt and how fluid it felt”
METAL GEAR SOLID 4 ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR RYAN PAYTON
“I remember being really frustrated about how good this third-person PlayStation 3 game felt and how fluid it felt. And I’ve always had a deep respect for Rocksteady ever since 2009, so we wanted to translate that into Arkham Shadow when it comes to the grapple gun, the way it feels to just walk, slide, yeah, grab mantle over objects and just all that.”
Payton’s adoration for the original Arkham Asylum after an extensive history of working on Metal Gear Solid eventually led to him creating Arkham Shadow, an incredible Batman game in its own right. The game director’s love of the series is no secret either with Payton going on record to say the fanbase deserves to be delivered more games.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is available right now on Meta Quest 3 and 3S headsets. Unfortunately, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is only available on PS3… at least for now.
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