‘Metal Gear Solid HD Collection’

To me, some of the best new games are the ones I've already played. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is the best of both worlds and it features three games I've played and 2 I haven't in glorious high definition.

At first glance you think you're getting three awesome games from the Metal Gear Solid series. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. What I didn't know was that the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the old Japanese system MSX2 are also available. Metal Gear plays like the version on the NES. Metal Gear 2 is NOT 'Snake's Revenge' for the NES but something completely different and by far and away cooler than the terrible NES sequel.

As for the games it comes with, they are flawless ports or, dare I say, more responsive player controls, than their original versions. The rain looks fantastic in HD in the beginning cut scene of Metal Gear Solid 2. The jungles looks even grimier than ever in Metal Gear Solid 3. Even the part near the beginning of Metal Gear Solid 3 where The Boss breaks your arm looks even more devastating.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker looks amazing compared to it's PSP counterpart. I've always wanted to play this version on the big screen and thanks to this collection I can. What makes the version superior than the PSP version are the controls. I had difficulty playing this game on the PSP to the point where I didn't play very much of it at all. Now I'm looking forward to completing this.

The graphics and sound are wonderful, but it's still based on the Japanese version of the game so you'll still have some problems with the lips moving for no reason during dialogue and a few graphic glitches. If you're not used to the play controls it may get frustrating at time when you want to hug a wall but end up flipping your back to it automatically. But these are so small you may not even notice, or care for the most part.

The question you're probably asking yourself may be the same question I've been asking myself... Where the hell is Metal Gear Solid 1, the one that came out for the Playstation. I'm guessing they opted not to include this as it didn't have the same cinematic feels as the others. Still, it would've been a nice add-in. Even if it was a straight port, unmoddified from the PS1 version. I shouldn't complain though, all these games at a great price, you can't go wrong whether you've already played the games or not.

RATING: 8.5/10

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is from Konami: Rated T-M