Review: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Some of the best games ever just got gorgeous.

Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

The Metal Gear Solid series has been critically acclaimed since the very first game on the PSOne, and for good reason. These games have been upping the ante for storytelling in videogames since day one, and thankfully have exceptional gameplay to boot.

Even in its early days on the MSX, Metal Gear was ahead of its time, and once its grand finale, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots closed things off perfectly, one could look back at the series in awe at just how much it has done for the industry.

The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection takes two main series entries – Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, both for the PlayStation 2 – and one side entry – Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP – and gives them the HD treatment so many games of the last generation have been receiving as of late. While there are some odd omissions, this collection is an absolute must-have for die-hard fans of the series as well as folks looking to get into it for the very first time.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Let’s start with the oldest entry in the collection, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The HD collection contains the Substance version of the game, which is loaded with extra content. There’s reading to do (a small novel’s worth), hundreds of virtual missions, and Snake Tales – short, non-canonical bits of gameplay as Solid Snake running through the Big Shell. On top of that, of course, we’re also given one of the greatest games of all time.

MGS2 was highly controversial when it was released in 2001 for a number of reasons. The beloved series protagonist Solid Snake was dumped early on in favor of Raiden, a younger, whinier, more effeminate operative who’s new to real life sneaking missions. This led to a story that many considered to be convoluted and an overall mess, but that’s because they didn’t play it five times to figure out what’s going on. Yes, it’s a bit confusing, but eventual understanding of the story gives players a full appreciation of Raiden and his role in the game. Some people are still furious about the game’s story, but most can now see past the murky waters of series creator Hideo Kojima’s horrifyingly brilliant brain and wrap their minds around a smart, cleverly written game, the themes of which ring truer today than they ever did in 2001.

The gameplay improvements over the original Metal Gear Solid (sadly not included, but easily downloadable on the PlayStation store for a very reasonable price) are tremendous. First person aiming, hanging from rails, rolling, holding up guards, the list of new (11 years ago) features goes on and on and is absolutely staggering. There’s so much variety in the game as far as what to do and how to do it that it easily warrants multiple playthroughs.

Naturally the only big change in the switchover is the HD graphics, and they certainly do not disappoint. MGS2’s graphics were out of this world in 2001, and while they certainly don’t hold up to today’s standards they still look quite nice. The HD polish only adds to the atmosphere of the rainy tanker or the mid-ocean Big Shell, with vibrant colors and simple but sharp textures. Since this is an early-era PS2 game, the environments are a bit plain and bland, but the design is still exceptional and the character design remains incredibly unique to this day. Show me another videogame character that looks like Solidus Snake.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater also includes the upgraded version, Subsistence, though the amount of content has been axed a bit. While MGS2 lost the skateboarding game, as it was actually a demo to a real game, Subsistence loses Snake vs Monkey, which is a true shame due to the amount of content it had in the original game. It also loses Snake’s hilarious nightmare sequence in the main game, and the hilarious conversation with weapons specialist SIGINT afterwards, as that happened to be a demo of an actual game as well. However, the more important part of the package is still included – the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the MSX. Two more full-length games stealthily snuck their way into this package!

The first Metal Gear does not hold up at all, though it’s worth a run through if you remember the original. Which you probably don’t, considering most are familiar with the NES Metal Gear, an odd port/remake that has many differences from the MSX version. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, however, never saw outside of Japan until the original release of MGS3: Substance in 2006, and is actually quite a great game. You can see where a lot of the first Metal Gear Solid comes from. It is incredibly difficult, but worth a go.

Snake Eater is a favorite of many Metal Gear fans because it took the story back a notch as well as back in time, to the 1960s. Playing as Solid Snake’s father (is that what you call the man that you are a clone of?), Big Boss, we get to see just why Big Boss turned on his country and became a mercenary loyal only to himself. It’s a fascinating story that, while complex, does not nearly reach the levels of ridiculous that MGS2 does – a good or a bad thing depending on who you are.

The game focuses on survival in the jungle, requiring you to eat wild animals to survive. Environments are navigated in camouflage and face paint to obscure you from the enemy’s vision, and since it takes place over 40 years before the first Metal Gear Solid, Soliton Radar hasn’t exactly been invented yet. Using older technology and nature to your advantage, navigating the environments is a slow-paced but very satisfying challenge.

Since MGS3 was released in 2004, it’s much better looking than MGS2. The wooded areas have many textures, various shades of green and brown, and lighting effects that still look quite nice even compared to the many gorgeous modern day titles available. The HD upgrade to MGS3 is most beneficial here, as the colors of the jungle pop to life. It honestly felt like a new game.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

The biggest and most important upgrade for this HD collection, however, is Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, originally for the PSP. Taking place ten years after MGS3, this game tells the story of Big Boss forming Outer Heaven, a home for mercenaries without a country. The story may not be nearly as important to the mythology of the series as the other two titles in the collection, but it’s still some nice insight into who Big Boss is and for that alone it’s worth a shot.

While this game is not only able to reach a much larger audience who never owned a PSP, and while it does look better on a proper television and in HD, it’s the control scheme that justifies the purchase of the entire collection. Peace Walker controlled awkwardly on PSP, and was the reason I personally had to bow out of a playthrough only a few hours in. Aiming with the face buttons instead of a second analog stick just doesn’t cut it. However, being playable on the Xbox 360 and PS3, a proper dual analog control scheme has been implemented and the game is finally very much playable. Shootouts aren’t awkward and frustrating, accuracy skyrockets, and the game is actually fun. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

For those that DO own the PSP version of the game, Peace Walker in HD does offer a feature unfortunately called “transfarring.” With an A. It allows players to transfer their game save from the PSP onto the PS3 (seriously, why not just call it “transferring”?), and back to the PSP once again. Play on the road, come home and play it on the TV, then hop back on the road, all with the same save. It’s an incredible feature.

The game itself is a bit of an odd one out, though. Instead of a full on linear storytelling experience, the game is broken up into small missions with loads of side missions and other things to do such as managing an entire army. I personally enjoy it, but others may not like the huge change from the norm. Peace Walker, no matter how you look at it, is absolutely loaded with content and is certainly worth your time.

Oh, and it has online co-op and it’s really, really good and basically required for the insanely difficult and unfair boss battles.

The Verdict

This collection as a whole is incredible. If you can ignore the massive omission of the original Metal Gear Solid and the fact that Xbox 360 owners still cannot play Metal Gear Solid 4, this middle chunk of the series on one disc is still a great bargain. Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 are both considered classics, with each having every right to be called the best in the series. Peace Walker is a different flavor of Metal Gear but equally satisfying. All these games on one (or two for Xbox 360 owners) disc, as they originally were, would already be a steal. However, with an HD polish on each game, proper controls and online for Peace Walker, and trophies/achievements for all three games, this collection is an absolute must own for anyone.

These games are some of the finest examples of storytelling in the medium, they all play unlike anything else, and are experiences that you will never forget.