Metal Gear Solid HD - Collection (PS3)

Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection is what it says on the tin. It's a collection of some old classics, brushed up in HD and put on one disc (two on the Xbox 360), not much more nor less really. However, it's an opportunity for not only hardcore fans (like myself) to reconcile their love with these games but a great opportunity for those who missed a few of the games or are simply new to the series and have heard all about Metal Gear and want to give the series a try for themselves, and at a good price.====================================Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty====================================Originally released in the UK in March 2002, this was the sequel to the critically acclaimed PSOne game, Metal Gear Solid which came out in the UK in 1999 and the first Metal Gear entry on the PlayStation 2. This game is divided into two chapters, the Tanker (which is more of a prologue) set in the year 2007 and the Plant/Big Shell set in 2009 chapters. In the Tanker chapter you play as Solid Snake who is now a member of the UN recognised anti-Metal Gear group, Philanthropy who, with the backup of old Shadow Moses (see: MGS1) colleague and friend, has been sent to investigate and expose the development of a new Metal Gear project being developed by the U.S. Marine Corps, of course all this goes horribly wrong. The Plant/Big Shell chapter is set two years later and you play as newbie green agent Jack or "Raiden" as he's codenamed to dismantle a terrorist threat and rescue the U.S. President, or so he believes.The graphics of MGS2 was quite simply stunning and the best ever when this came out, and today in 2012 they still stand their ground, especially with the HD lighting although it's obvious the textures are from the PS2-era. The gameplay and camera feels outdated compared to later entries, but it's faithful to the original MGS1 and introduced new gameplay mechanics such as first-person view/shooting, hiding in lockers, tranq. gun, hiding guards bodies in lockers and toilet cubicles, etc.================================Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater================================This was originally released in the UK on the PlayStation 2 in March 2005. Rather than a sequel to MGS2, it's a prequel to the entire series set back during 1964, the height of the Cold War between the East and West, and is appropriately themed.. given that the MGS series have strong storylines which are usually very political and lets not forget the espionage aspect of the stealth genre. In this game you play as Naked Snake (later known as Big Boss), a former US Special Forces "Green Beret" who is a founding member of a new CIA unit called FOX headed by ex-SAS man, Major Zero, and is sent on the debut mission to rescue a Soviet scientist in the prologue chapter (Virtuous Mission), which ends up going wrong of course.This is the Subsistence version of MGS3, NOT Snake Eater, despite the name. You have the 3D camera (with the option of using the original Snake Eater camera)and you can play the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake in the menu, however there is no 'Snake vs. Monkey' like in the originals for some reason. The HD lighting in this game makes it a lot more beautiful than it originally was, and it makes a good change that it's ran at 60fps rather than the original 30fps which is noticeable playing the game - it's the best version of the game yet.This is my favourite game in the series and one of my favourite games ever. The game features quite a few environments, but it is primarily set in a Soviet jungle and features "survival"-based gameplay.. you hunt animals for food and you have to patch up your wounds from insect bites, stings, leeches, gunshots, burns, etc. The storyline is not as cyberpunkish/complicated as MGS2's, being that it's set several decades beforehand, but the storyline is the most beautiful in the series, the whole game pays a lot of homeage to 1960s movies and the intro/theme song ("Snake Eater" by Cynthia Harrel) is James Bond inspired.===============================Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker===============================This is a fairly recent game, it was originally released in the UK in June 2010 on the PSP. This is set in 1974, 10 years after MGS3, and you yet again play Naked Snake/Big Boss who is the commander of a small private army known as Militaires Sans Frontieres (MSF) based in the Barranquilla Coast, Colombia. His second-in-command is a Japanese-American former member of the Japanese Self-Defence Force and now-mercenary known as Kazuhira Miller, or just "Kaz" (he is the man Liquid Snake murdered and then impersonated in MGS1, as explained in the timeline). They are approached by a supposed university professor and a 16 year old student who request their services in freeing neighbour country Costa Rica from an unknown armed group who are being backed by the CIA, Big Boss is given a personal motivate when he hears a Walkman tape with the voice of his former mentor, The Boss (see: MGS3) talking to an unknown British woman and wonders whether she might still be alive. Like all Metal Gear games, the storyline gets more complicated.I enjoyed this game when it came out on the PSP nearly two years ago and still do, but out of the three in this collection, it's definitely my least favourite. However, it does look beautiful pepped up on the big screen with the assistance of HD, which is a good feat considering the game was intended for a small screen, however the graphics make it obvious that it's not a PS2 game, the textures are quite blurry and pixelated, the game also retains the comic-book cutscenes from the PSP version which disappointed me because I'd heard they were being replaced with CGI ones which are in the game, but minimal (only at the end and 1 or 2 other parts of the game).This is different to all the other MGS games in which it has RPG elements. You have to recruit soldiers by effectively kidnapping them and "convincing" them to join, when they join you can sign them to any part of MSF you want. The Combat team, the Research + Development team, the Mess Hall team, the Intelligence/Reconnaissance team and the Medical team, depending on their skill-sets which vary a lot and are ranked. Most of the soldiers you recruit are useless so they aren't any good as you progress through the game, so you have to rely on unique (storyline)characters and POWs which you find around the place, as well as the 'recruit option'. It's a bit like the old Pokemon games really. Fundamentally, it's a Metal Gear Solid game, in the storyline missions you can only play as Big Boss and alone. Despite some of it being jungle environments, you don't use much MGS3 style gameplay except for camouflage. What I love about this game, which bugs me in MGS2/MGS3, is the shooting style (over-the-shoulder and you can aim whilst shooting, rather than stopping and shooting in First-Person View) and how you can crouch-walk. But for some reason you can't crawl through ducts anymore or use lockers, which was a bit of a shame.So that's all three of the games in this collection summed up, I recommend this collection to all and any Metal Gear fans and it's a great opportunity for those thinking of giving the Metal Gear franchise a go, which you'll either fall in love with, or not like, depending on your tastes in gaming. If you're expecting a mindless Call of Duty shooter with glitzy graphics, turn away. If you're looking for a series with arguably one of the best plots in gaming and a unique gameplay style and a sense of humour, definitely give this series a try. The downside to this collection is that it doesn't include the original Metal Gear Solid or the other PSP MGS, Portable Ops. Another plus, though, is that this is also an opportunity for Xbox 360 owners to play the series and it will also be coming out on the new Sony handheld; the PlayStation VITA.

This is a game that I've been meaning to get around and playing, Being a Huge Metal Gear fan from PS2 and PSP era this is something that I have been really looking forward to playing on the big screen in full HD once againFor those that are a advent fan of the Metal Gear franchise this is a must have it's the perfect collection bundled into one if you're a newcomer even better. this game suppresses all factors that a game should be It's a intense third person shooter with a in depth storyline that will leave you wanting more. MGS3 Is by far my favourite game out of this collection it has the "james bond" feel to it even though it's set in a jungle everything from the Music the characters the romance and even the story has the feel of a spy movie which gives a unique taste as to what this game has to offer The game has a vast semi-linear world for you to explore from you hunting wildlife to you climbing all the Flora and fauna the game even offers a vast amount of guns and "CQC" actions for you to perform on enemies. And with the crisp frame rate and the glorious High Definition makes it all the more better.MGS2 Has a heart-felt storyline a fast pace action gameplay that will amaze you from belief with how good the game looks and runs the game runs at a steady frame rate and the visuals pop out better and have a "cleaner" look to them. they look like they came from a PS3 title and not a PS2 title MGS2 Is one of THE best metal gear games with a set of interesting characters and a storyline that will blow you're mindLast but not least Peace Walker a very important entry in the Metal Gear franchise now compared to the other two games which we're PS2 titles Peace Walker is PSP and that definitely shows in the game Some textures look stretched and over all don't look as clean but that doesn't stop this game from being incredible. In this game you follow "BIG BOSS" In the game you build an army of revolutionaries called "MSF" this game has innovative Gameplay compared to the other two as you build you're army you gain access to bigger and better guns and missions. the game has a Bundle of miscellaneous missions for you to complete, and you don't have to do this alone you can play with friends with the four player online mode or the versus feature to gain even more fun with this game. in terms of story the game delivers it answers so many questions we were asking at the end of MGS3 and expands on the Metal Gear universe.In summary this game is a MUST have even if you're not a fan this game is innovative and unique and delivers on all aspect I am thoroughly Impressed with this Collection with it's Glorious High Definition graphics and steady frame rate. This remake is worth the money even if you played the game twenty times over.

Although the disc sometimes lets you down in terms of its operation, this product is still worth buying. If you are new to the series of Metal Gear, then prepare to get an experience that deals many of the worlds problems in a highly inventive and philosophical way.