iLounge

Developed in conjunction with Konami, Power Support's new Metal Gear Solid Air Jackets for iPhone 3G + iPod touch 2G ($50 each) celebrate the release of Metal Gear Solid Touch, reviewed here, a touchscreen shooting gallery game based on the PlayStation 3 game Metal Gear Solid 4. The cases come in 13 variations, including some with 3-D renderings of characters Old Snake, Liquid Snake/Revolver Ocelot, Raiden, and Vamp, while others have logos, bullet holes, or cartoony images of Meryl Silverburgh. Each of the Old Snake-themed packages includes one piece of crystal clear screen film, one piece of anti-glare film, and the white, black, or clear case, which carries on Power Support's tradition of providing super-slim coverage for the iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G. Though we like the Air Jacket designs as much as we did for the prior, B-rated versions that lacked MGS branding, our view is that these cases are far too expensive given the protection that they offer, and will appeal only to hard-core fans of the series. The iPhone 3G version lacks the Dock Connector port cover that was included with the original Air Jacket, as well. It says a lot that these simple plastic cases are six times as expensive as the game they were designed to promote, a fact that might help them to become collectors' items and/or doom them to obscurity.