Magnificent Metal Gear Solid update drops free co-op mode 28 years later

Nearly three decades after its release, we're pulling out the old PlayStation 1 boxes from the attic in search of the iconic first instalment of Metal Gear Solid.

Why? Well, you can finally get the squad together and enjoy it together.

One of the most fascinating habits in the current gaming landscape is creative modders heading back to age-old games to bring fresh updates filled with nostalgia and fun.

Maybe it's because the age of physical gaming discs is quickly closing, set to be replaced by codes in a box and digital downloads. Maybe it's because we've finally maxed out on the likes of Skyrim and Fallout, and the modding community needs a new hobby. Or, maybe it's because these games just rock, and we deserve another chance to play them.

Earlier this month, Pokémon Red and Blue was somehow remastered in a 3D format, with the 1996 game now being just as good as anything you'd see in the modern day.

Then there's the Super Mario Sunshine revival project that has magically pulled the Nintendo gang through the GameCube and into the 2020s - this was especially wild, coming with a multiplayer mode supporting online play.

The same can now be said for a new update to the OG Metal Gear Solid (1998), which has just received its first co-op mode some 28 years later.

There's nothing more Solid than this Metal Gear multiplayer mod

KONAMI goes to great lengths to keep the Metal Gear Solid series alive and kicking, with freebie giveaways and remastered content.

Most notably, the Metal Gear Solid 4 remake is already showing fans why the game is considered to be one of the greatest of its generation, as gameplay leaked online.

Yet a lot of the magic comes from modders, such as this Metal Gear Solid co-op mode.

Created by a magician named 'Felipe', the online multiplayer mod currently sits in a "pre-Alpha" state, but has shown signs of promise as the initial trailer shows Solid Snake joining another Solid Snake in scooting around Shadow Moses Island looking for trouble.

"For the first time, Metal Gear Solid (1998) is being played online by two players simultaneously," the modder said on YouTube.

"This is the first attempt to bring the original PlayStation classic into a true online multiplayer experience, something the original game was never designed to support.

"No remake. No reimagined version. Just the original Metal Gear Solid, reverse-engineered and brought online."

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So far, the user has managed to allow players to have their own shared POV camera, but hasn't managed to build the final Jeep sequence with a second body.

The mod also tweaks the bosses' HP to account for a second pair of hands, while there is a denser guard presence that will result in more action.

Fans applauded the effort in the YouTube comments. One person wrote, "Wow. This is cool. I always found the idea of co-op in MGS much more interesting than the PVP mode they usually do."

Another said, "Finally, Iroquois Pliskin can join Solid Snake on his earlier journey. I always wondered what would happen if the two of them meet. They seem to get along just fine.

A third added, "The REAL Twin Snakes. Now combine it with the Gray Fox mod and you've got something even more epic."

With hope, the project pulls through and becomes fully operational, and we can relive the action with twice the Snakes, twice the fun, twice the smiles.