One gamer in the UK got the prosthetic of his dreams, courtesy of artificial limb makers Open Bionics. Gamer Daniel Melville, who was born without a right hand, has received a prosthetic arm that perfectly replicates the arm of Venom "Punished" Snake of the Metal Gear Solid franchise.
Melville has been an ambassador for Open Bionics for a while now, having previously used an arm based on Adam Jensen's from Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Open Bionics worked with Metal Gear Solid developer Konami to make the arm possible, producing an officially-licensed arm that can be found in the 2015 title Metal Gear Solid 5. The special design is made to clip onto Open Bionics' "Hero Arm." This has been described by the company as the world's most affordable multi-grip bionic arm.
Melville was very pleased to get the prosthetic, being a big Metal Gear Solid fan himself. "This is unbelievable," said Melville. "It's everything I've ever wanted from a bionic arm. I'm an avid gamer and I love Metal Gear Solid so much and to actually have Snake's arm in real life is just insane."
Takayuki Kubo, the President of Konami, echoed his sentiments. "We're incredibly excited to collaborate with Open Bionics, who are at the cutting edge of robotics," said Kubo. "We're thrilled to see the iconic Metal Gear aesthetic of Venom Snake and his bionic arm burst out of the screen and come to life, in a dynamic fusion of technology and design that is changing the lives of upper limb amputees all over the world."
In Metal Gear Solid 5, Snake loses his arm in an explosion, resulting in him getting the new bionic prosthetic. Of course, there are some additions to Snake's arm that are made for the game that aren't exactly needed on the real-world edition. That means Melville doesn't have access to detachable weapons on his new arm, but he does get quite a nifty prosthetic regardless. The new Venom Snake covers for the Hero Arm are now available to buy online.
Find out more about the Metal Gear Solid franchise by getting in on the PS5-exclusive remake.
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