Many a gamer can recite a pungent and winding tale of their experience with the Metal Gear franchise. I myself will never, ever, forget the mind freaking I received at the hands of Psycho Mantis nor will I ever really recover from the baking heat of the harrowing microwave corridor. So, with so many fond and outlandish memories what better way to relive some of them than by ploughing into their high definition reincarnations? Precisely, there is no better way…or at least I don’t think there is.
I admit when I first heard that Kojima Productions would be outsourcing the renovation of the collection I panicked a little; especially when google failed to register the existence of Bluepoint Games on the first time of asking. We only need to look at far as Twin Snakes to see how badly things can get when you try to tamper with a working system. Thankfully Bluepoint Games, for their part, have done a stellar job bringing Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater into the new decade while Peace Walker itself stands on its own two legs and looks better than ever. To give the Collection justice, I’ll give each game it’s own time in the spotlight.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
If ever there was a game that stirred civil war in its own fan base, it was Sons of Liberty. Yes, while its tactical switch of protagonist goes hand in hand with it’s theme of deception many fans were up in arms over the choice to remove Snake as the main character and replace him with, well, this.
Well for those who could forgive and forget the matter they discovered a one of a kind adventure not yet ever recreated since, apart from now obviously. Raiden’s journey from rookie to successor, albeit temporary, took us through the Big Shell complex and beyond, culminating with a samurai showdown atop one of gaming’s most iconic super weapons. A game that was as amazing as much as it was just plain god damn weird. Cartwheels, enough said. In its day Sons of Liberty was already a very pretty game, but with some repetitive environments early in the game it always carried the potential to become an eye sore. Thankfully Bluepoint have worked to correct this, opening up the field of vision and adding an additional lick of polish that will help make those lengthy sit downs more enjoyable. Perhaps its biggest asset in this iteration is that it is now, hopefully, free of the stigma that once plagued it. Sons of Liberty may not have been everyone’s cup of tea on the first outing, but with enhanced visuals there is no reason for anyone not to give it a try even if the secret conspiracy behind the plot is no longer quite as secret.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
This is the game I have played the most since I got the collection. Snake Eater marked the stunning return to the driving seat for Snake, well sort of, in the Cold War era of 1964. It explored the history of the franchise, the events that would one day create the universe the games reside in. Playing as Naked Snake, those gamers who were able to forgive Kojima for pulling the wool over their eyes in Sons of Liberty were able to enjoy a fresh and, frankly, incredible experience. With as many eye pleasing set pieces as there were awesome displays of Kojima’s twisted, yet brilliant mind. A look at the gang’s early days brought a sense of mystery, and it worked to create nearly as many questions as it did answer. Something, I think, was truly unique for a prequel. Plot aside, the game’s biggest theme was that of survival. The task of simply staying alive provided its own game. Snake would have to hunt the wilds for food when he got hungry, treat himself when he was hurt, use nature as a means to infiltrate a country in a state of détente and all the while hunt the woman who made him into the man he had become. Again, like with all Metal Gear games, in its day Snake Eater looked superb already, a technical masterpiece on the PS2. Today, years later, Bluepoint has given it a worthy polish and Snake looks far better. The control systems implemented in Subsistence were kept, unfortunately added extras such as Metal Gear Online and Ape Escape were excluded. No matter, even without some of its extra helpings Snake Eater is still more than enough to please any core gamer.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
The most recent of entries into the Metal Gear franchise suffered from one serious, almost fatal, design flaw; choice of system. That was it. Any and all gripes a critic threw at the little gem only stuck to one, basic, flaw. That, ladies and gentlemen, was the PSP. Poor controls? Blame the task of trying to contort the controls of a regular Metal Gear game onto a system with a single analogue stick and two fewer buttons. Poor visuals? Lack of graphical prowess on the hardware’s part. However, these were all quite easily forgiven once you got into the game. Peace Walker, like all its PSP predecessors, was designed for tactical action on the go with an added bit of corporate simulation. Recruiting enemy soldiers, previously implemented in Portable Ops, takes a more prominent role as Snake works through a crisis of faith in the aftermath of Snake Eater. Without spoiling anything, he’s having a hard time stepping up to the plate. Peace Walker brought a unique balance of the gameplay showcased in Guns of the Patriots with the added features used in Portable Ops. Using Snake’s prowess as a commander, players got to build up their own military force from the ground and turn it into what would later become a major plot device in Metal Gear.
Now, remember when I said the single fault you could find with Peace Walker was its choice of platform? Well that’s fixed, so now I really don’t have anything else to complain about…yeah, really. Amazing plot, improved visuals, increased frame rate, vastly improved control features, online infastracture play and without sacrificing any of the good points of the original. This game just makes more sense with two analogues! Even if Kojima had derailed the release of Peace Walker and made it, say, a launch title for the Vita I would have been happy. Trying to contort my left index finger to operate the camera while also trying to manipulate the weapon selection with my right thumb was just a recipe for hand cramp. As it is now, however, it’s a class act well worth the price of admission. Not the best of the trio, by far, but it stands out as its own game and well deserves the Metal Gear Solid moniker attacked to the title.
Final Thoughts
Now then, there has to be one. You know what I’m talking about. There has to be one, single, solitary thing to complain about in all of this. Right? Well, I can’t find one. Not without sounding like the most anal of all online journalists anyway. We are given so much, and I didn’t even cover the additions of the original Metal Gear games, which by the way can be found in the menu of Snake Eater if you were wondering. I guess if I could complain about something, it would be the same thing everyone complained about back in the day. That being you will need to have brushed up on you Metal Gear Solid history to fully enjoy Sons of the Patriots and to fully grasp the plot of Peace Walker then you will need to have brushed up on your Snake Eater. But in the age of the internet, when full plot details are only a wiki search away, that barely even registers at this point. Metal Gear Solid, as a whole, is just a triumph of intellectual brilliance brought to life by some of the most memorable characters, music and gameplay to have ever been assembled. Just go buy it already, I’m already loading my disk into the PS3 as I type this.