Konami opened an official website for Metal Gear Arcade yesterday, providing us with a first look at the unexpected arcade adaptation of the series.

If you were keeping up with all the info flowing out of E3 last week, you'll know that Metal Gear Arcade is just an arcade version of Metal Gear Online. These screenshots from the site should look a little familiar:

In addition to a full 5.1 channel arcade cabinet and the type of exclusive control setup one would expect of an arcade game, Metal Gear Arcade's biggest draw could be its use of 3D. When playing the game, you're put on a pair of 3D glasses that's attached to the cabinet.

At the official site, Konami provided a sampling of what the 3D might look like. When looking at the following pics, you're supposed bring your eyes close to the screen so that the two images come together.

These shots are just meant to be a demo. The real version uses a different technique for getting its 3D effect.

More information on Metal Gear Arcade can be found in this week's Famitsu, which features an interview with MGO producer Yoshikazu Matsuhana and MGA producer Satoshi Uchiyama.

The two state that MGA will be just like MGO, but with "plus alpha" content. Outside of the 3D support and new control interface, the staff aims to give the new version more customization options over MGO. The game will also add a "ranking" feature which describes your character level and will be used as a basis for matching.

While the above arcade unit shows cabinets linked together, MGA is also playable online using Konami's online arcade network. The game will support up to 16 players, with the CPU stepping up to fill in blanks.

Outside of the online team-based combat, the game will also offer a mission-based mode. This can be played solo or in co-op.

Metal Gear Arcade hits game centers later this year. Check out the official site for a not-particularly informative trailer.