PlayStation 3
Published by Konami
Developed by Konami
Few games compilations can match the level of
excellence and value for money that you'll find in the Metal Gear Solid
HD Collection. Sure, not everyone appreciates the series and its
idiosyncrasies but I don't think anyone could argue that most of the
games in the series have been defining moments in the history of gaming.
The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection includes HD remakes of: Metal Gear
Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear
Solid: Peace Walker. In addition you're also getting Metal Gear and
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake which were released for the MSX 25 years ago.
The only thing which prevents this HD Collection from being absolutely
perfect is the disappointing absence of the original Metal Gear Solid
game.
It's always tricky taking a look back at
games that were classics of their time. It's all too easy to nit-pick on
minor issues and unfairly make comparisons with games that have
followed. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3:
Snake Eater were true classics of their time and deserve to be treated
as such. Below you'll find our reviews of the original PlayStation 2
versions of both games and both are still wholeheartedly recommended
even if some aspects of their respective gameplay feels rather
cumbersome when compared to more recent games.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Both games benefit from the HD reworking
treatment and look really sharp, although Metal Gear Solid 3 is clearly
the more visually impressive of the two in terms of graphical quality
and texture detail. The camouflage system really adds another dimension
to the stealth experience and you'll find the controls and the action
itself more compelling than what was on offer in Sons of Liberty. That
said, both are truly memorable games and upon their release represented
the pinnacle of their genre.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was originally
released as a PSP game of course and the challenge of taking a game that
was on a far inferior system and putting that on the PlayStation 3 must
have been greater. Thankfully the developers have done a great job of
making this handheld title feel at home on the PlayStation 3. With well
over a hundred missions for you to tackle, Metal Gear Solid: Peace
Walker is a game that will keep you occupied for months. It's a game
where you're in charge of an army without a nation and are asked to
support a nation without an army, Costa Rica. You have your own HQ and
the ability to recruit your own private army. There are some RPG aspects
here too, and you'll want to develop and level-up your forces to make
them as formidable as you possibly can. You might think that the control
scheme may be hampered with the original game being on the PSP but that
isn't the case at all. Care and attention have been given to give the
game a satisfactory control scheme with the ability to manipulate the
camera angle being mapped intuitively to the right analogue stick. It's
also the only game out of the main three in this compilation where you
can move and shoot at the same time.
Peace Walker has a lot going for it but that
doesn't stop it from being the weakest game in this compilation. The
storyline isn't anywhere near as impressive as in Metal Gear Solid 2 or
3 and there are no memorable boss fights. The graphic novel style cut
scenes aren't as polished as those cut scenes you usually encounter in
Metal Gear Solid games and even the ability to interact with them
doesn't really make up for their lack of quality. There is online co-op
play to be had however and for some this will make it a welcome
inclusion into the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.
The presentation of the compilation is
excellent. The main menu makes you aware of where each game falls in the
series' storyline (which surprisingly isn't the order in which the games
were released). In terms of the storyline Metal Gear Solid 3 comes first
followed by Peace Walker and then Metal Gear Solid 2. You can fall back
to the main menu from any of the games and switch to a different game
without having to quit out of the game completely, something many recent
game compilations forget to include. Each of the games has trophies too,
which gives you a wonderful reason to play through the games again if
you've already played their original releases. There are some inherent
problems with MGS 2 and MGS 3 in that the action is broken up quite a
bit by dialogue which can be tedious at times but even if you're not
interested in the dialogue it's worth enduring for the excellent
gameplay that's on offer. Some may also have wanted the option to have
used Peace Walker's control scheme in both MGS 2 & MGS 3 (whose control
schemes can seem a little unintuitive at first). It certainly would have
been welcome and would have made the games more accessible for those who
are new to them.
The games in the Metal Gear Solid HD
Collection are subtitled and you'll be able to follow the games' story
lines without any real problems. There are no real obstacles here
although with these being stealth games it stands to reason that deaf
gamers are going to find the games slightly trickier after all, being
aware of how audible your character is (and thus having a greater chance
of alerting a guard) really helps. You're made aware when alarms are
ringing out and of any important countdowns before an alarm will cease
to ring. There are some comments that are subtitled (of no real
importance) but for the most part there are no serious problems here.
Peace Walker also has a mission where you need to listen for a bird call
to locate an agent. Thankfully you can still find the agent (by
exploring) without the aid of the call but it is slightly more
difficult. Whilst there are a few problems here then, there are no real
obstacles.
The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is a phenomenal package that fans of the series or fans of stealth games in general will really appreciate. Not all of the games in the package are first class but for Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 alone it's easily worth the asking price. It's a shame that the original Metal Gear Solid hasn't been included however (particularly for those who only have access to the Xbox 360 version as PlayStation 3 owners can purchase the PlayStation version from the PlayStation Network) but that doesn't stop this from being a top-notch compilation.
