Kotaku reader BlueMaxima has started to build quite the reputation for writing multiple PlayStation Vita Reader Reviews. It’s sort of his speciality. Today he’s reviewing a game that I’ve thought about giving a bash — Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection. Because that’s what I need — another excuse to play Metal Gear Solid 3 again. Yay!
Take it away Mr Maxima!
Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection
Released on PS3 and 360 to astounding fanfare, the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is a bundle of two of the best PS2 games in existence, and some of Hideo Kojima’s magnum opuses — Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater, remade in glorious high definition. Now the collection makes the travel to the most powerful dedicated portable gaming device on the planet. Does stealthing work as well as it used to or is it just old and decrepid next to modern-day stealth games?
Loved
Sharp, Loud and Loving It: Both MGS2 and MGS3 are stunners on the PS Vita’s OLED screen. It’s hard to point out any jagged polygons, the models look absolutely great, and the user interface is razor-sharp. The quality of the music and sound is not compromised in any way, and everything from the main theme to every little individual codec conversation is present with no compression.
Solid Gold Sneaking: Both games have got every little detail that made the originals work so, so incredibly well. The controls remain almost untouched except for zooming and weapon switching (and it works great). Aiming with the individual guns is never a problem. Being able to do all the old tricks from blowing up food huts in MGS3 to lure pervert guards in MGS2 with books made for one of the tightest, most detailed and enjoyable experiences to exist on the PS2, and now for Vita as well.
Many a Mission: If you don’t count the *cough* missing element in the Vita version, there is still a massive amount of content here. The five hundred VR Missions and five hour-long Snake Tales from MGS2 are just as fun as they used to be, and MGS3 still has the original MSX Metal Gear 1 and 2 games to play, leading to a game that can easily pay the hour-to-dollar ratio, even at Australian prices.
Hated
The Extremely Obvious: Peace Walker — the 100+ hour game, arguably the main game that actually really needed the enhancements given to its HD version and it is simply not here. It boggles the mind that there’s no Vita version. The inferior PSP version can still be bought and played on the Vita but… what a waste.
Technical Difficulties: There are some situations during both games where the game’s framerate will drip, especially during scenes with lots of explosions, and there’s the one or two odd graphical glitches where a polygon will stick out randomly. Sometimes load times can be quite long, although loading the same section again afterwards will generally be a lot faster. It doesn’t impede the game as much as it seems, but it’s worth mentioning.
Peace Walker’s exclusion from this bundle may draw any opinion including “that sucks” to “burn the Konami heretics at the stake” but what you get on the Vita is still an amazing collection of four of the best stealth games to exist, with enough content to last quite the long time. It’s a definite buy.
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