Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Review

There is always an air of trepidation when a HD collection of older titles appears on the horizon. We can't help but pray that what we fondly remember as an awesome gaming experience has not been lost in translation when brought into the current market.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is Konami's attempt at slaking the thirst of every Metal Gear fan wanting more Solid Snake before the release of MG Rising later this year, while also fishing for clues from Kojima-San in regards to whether we will see MGS 5 with Snake sneaking through the post office to collect his pension.

So what do we get for our hard earned currency in this case? Well, unfortunately we don't get the PlayStation 1 classic due to technical limitations, but we get MGS 2, 3 and Peace Walker in an enhanced definition package for out consumption. The initial presentation when you put the disk in your system is crisp and as high definition as you could get, putting the games in chronological order for you, starting with Snake Eater in the 60's then moving to Peace Walker in the 70's with Sons of Liberty spanning between 2007-09.

Now it's worth noting that while these have been staple PlayStation titles for a number of years, this HD collection is the first time Xbox users have been able to experience the magical tactical espionage action that the Sony fan base has enjoyed for ages. Also if you were one of the few PSP owners of peace walker then fear not, your save game will translate over to the PS3 edition of the title if you so wish.

First off let's look at Peace Walker, while we're on that particular subject, it makes sense to begin at this point. Out of the three games available this one is the most feature rich, with a soldier trading meta-game behind the scenes of the actual campaign you have so much going on it's unreal. Assign roles to your staff, create your own Metal Gear, it's all part of running your own outer haven and all ties into how you will perform in the main missions of Peace Walker.

However as this was a PSP title it is also one of the weaker ones visually. Having said that though, there is a lot of credit due to the team at Konami as they have certainly done the visuals justice in their injection of HD goodness, words can't really describe the amazement when you first look over that Costa Rican sunset.

Moving to Metal Gear Sold 3: Snake Eater and we're thrust into the cheesiest Bond-esque opening for an MGS title ever. With a full rendition of the title music being belted out by Cynthia Harrell, you can't help but feel drawn into something special. Snake Eater took us away from the high tech shenanigans we saw in MGS 1 & 2, and launched us into a world of manually adapting your camouflage according to your surroundings, told us the origins of 'Big Boss' and gave us a rather interesting mechanic to sort out your wounds. Essentially you have to do some Rambo style self surgery to extract bullets and seal the wounds.

Sons of Liberty brings us to the last game in this trilogy of Snake goodness. Giving us a two part split story kicking off with a mission on an oil tanker, then porting a few years later onto a marine decontamination facility, both of which are housing Metal Gear units away from prying eyes. Out of all three titles, this one was the one I enjoyed the least, while looking all nice and shiny; not all the effects have been brought into the age of HD. This is apparent on the opening sequence as we see Snake walk along a rain soaked bridge, the rain looks quite out of place and spoils the immersion of the game.

Additionally the old control method remains the same so if you're used to run and gun style then this is not for you, as all aimed shots require you to remain stationary, there simply is no moving while looking down the sights of your weapon.

There is no denying that you get a huge selection of top notch content for your cash when looking at this HD Collection and it will last you a very long time before you finally squeeze that last trophy/achievement from its guts. With all the visual updates, classic gaming, nostalgia and cracking price point added up, you have an essential purchase for newcomers and existing fans alike.