The above scene shows Snake's infiltration of the nuclear weapons disposal facility on Alaska's Shadow Moses Island. Protected from the ice cold water by his hi-tech scuba gear, Snake hides from guards that patrol the area. If you want to get a basic idea of the graphical changes between the two versions, this is a good shot to start with. Apart from the increased resolution (640x480 in 480p progressive scan mode) versus the original (320x240), Snake's outfit has gotten a complete overhaul. You can now see the ripples in the material, the breathing apparatus, and Snake now casts a realistic shadow on the structure behind him. Compare that with the flat textures on the original Snake and once traditional "dot shadow". Konami did a a fantastic job simulating shadows via textures, but the real-time shadows in the GameCube version will add a lot more life to the visuals. Note also the considerable texture warping on the floor in the PSX version. While later PlayStation games largely eliminated this problem using polygon sub-division, the more dynamic scenes in MGS nowadays look twitchy and dated in motion.
