➤ You can't get enough of Snake 🎮

Version tested: PlayStation 3

In a videogame season that has seen in recent months the revival of some great videogame sagas of the past (others are already announced for the future) in special editions remastered in high definition, a collection dedicated to a masterpiece such as Metal Gear could not be missing. Solid. So after Prince of Persia, God Of War and Ico, just to name a few, it is the turn of the series with which the brilliant Hideo Kojima has invented a new genre that has led him to stand out from the crowd, the modern adventure in big colors. narrative with stealth elements, adapted by the hand of Bluepoint Games for current consoles.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is composed of three titles, all collected in a single package: we have Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which was an exclusive chapter for PSP, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, present here in their special versions, respectively Substance, released on Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC between 2002 and 2003, and Subsistence, released in 2005 only on PlayStation 2. The two games in question differ from the normal editions for some additions in terms of content and extras, although not all of the elements in question have been integrated into this collection. In detail, in MGS 2 the skate game and The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 are missing, while in the third episode the mini-game in which Snake must capture the monkeys of Ape Escape or the online functions are absent. Present, however, the first two original Metal Gear released on MSX, included as a bonus. Unfortunately, the first Metal Gear Solid is missing, the one that consecrated the series to success at the time of the first Playstation. The reasons for this defection are not known, some speculate that the main cause is to be found in the difficulties and costs that Bluepoint Games would have had to incur in adapting the ancient graphics engine of the game to the current production. However, this explanation, at least if taken into consideration individually, appears unlikely: basically to solve the problem it would have been enough to choose its remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, made for GameCube by Silicon Knights under the Konami label, which featured graphics and elements of gameplay taken from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, among which the first-person aiming view and the suspend functionality stood out. But anyhow, in the end the publisher and the developers have decided so, and we therefore have to concentrate on this collection and on the excellent titles contained in it.

What's new

In productions like this collection it is inevitably that the aesthetic part is the one that first undergoes the major retouching works. From this point of view, all the titles have been brought to 720p and have a framerate firmly anchored to 60fps. From this therefore derives a visual rendering all in all of good workmanship depending on the game, with the high definition that perhaps becomes particularly appreciable in some areas of Metal Gear Solid 3, especially in those outdoors, rather, for example, than in Peace Walker.

The predominant setting of the game is in fact represented by the forest and the attention to detail placed in it by the graphics to represent every single element was already something splendid at the time of the Sony Monolith: falling leaves, flying butterflies, brushwood and the grass that moves driven by the wind. A show. Of course, in each of the three titles you shouldn't expect miracles: after all, the textures are always the same as the PlayStation 2 or PlayStation Portable editions, and in a couple of situations there are even some of the defects found on these consoles, such as occasional bad clipping. Then there is the addition of the support for objectives and trophies, a feature that will make the happiness of many, also representing a good excuse to relive authentic pieces of history. The PlayStation 3 version even has a feature called "Transfarring", which allows those who already own the original copy of Peace Walker for PlayStation Portable to import their game saves to their home console to resume the adventure or test the game. influence of the double analog stick. In the future, this should also be possible for Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 when Metal Gear Solid HD Collection arrives on PlayStation Vita. For the rest, everything as always, with excellent narrative sectors that boast compelling plots (based on the title played there is the most intriguing one and the one that is less obviously) with a disproportionate amount of dialogues, fortunately more than enjoyable thanks to the Spanish subtitles (the voices remain unfortunately, or fortunately, in English).

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

The first of the titles of the collection that we analyze is Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, a special version of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty. For some fans this is the least successful of the series and the reason for these criticisms would in their own way be attributed mainly to the presence of too long interlude films and to a plot in some places a bit extravagant and seasoned with grotesque situations. And yet, whatever your personal opinion on the subject, Kojima's creature played thoroughly cannot fail to please, with its cinematic style and that balance between action and reflection that keeps the player always on the alert.

The gameplay in fact, as always, places the accent on strategy and on those stealth elements that have made the history of the saga. The player cannot and must not throw himself like crazy weapons in hand at the enemies, but must act with reason, plan every move and move in the shadows, silently, finding a way to evade the surveillance of the soldiers or to eliminate them without giving in. 'eye. The variants in each area, in this sense, are usually more than one, and it is therefore possible to move with a certain freedom of decision by evaluating from time to time what is the best way to act against the enemies. The latter show a behavioral routine certainly not evolved like the one present in some today's title, but on the one hand capable of creating problems, offering the user a good level of challenge (they are able to identify shadows, blood stains, objects out of place, hear the noises and call for reinforcements), on the other hand by granting him, as mentioned above, a fair range of options for the actions he can perform. For example, are there two guards taking turns in a corridor that you have to pass through? Well, you can attract one by causing a noise and then knock it down before the other one returns, or you can fall asleep at a distance by subsequently attacking the second one who bends over her partner to understand what happened to him. Everything is embellished by the good interactivity with the game environment that allows, for example, the character to enter the lockers, to hide inside it and from there observe what happens outside through the cracks, hit and destroy an infinite number of objects in the rooms, etc, and by spectacular boss fights, which constitute one of the crucial moments of Snake's adventure.

PlayStation 3 Trophies

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection offers players a variety of Trophies for each of the three games in the collection. In detail we have forty-six for Metal Gear Solid 2, as many for Metal Gear Solid 3 and as many as fifty, including some special prizes, for Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker.
To get them you have to fully satisfy the demands of the various titles during their respective main adventures.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

Subsistence is the special version of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This third episode is a big step forward compared to its direct predecessor, and in our opinion it turns out to be globally the most beautiful in this collection. Metal Gear Solid 3 is in fact an experience to be lived absolutely, both from a purely playful and scenic point of view, thanks to a gameplay that incorporates the typical structure of the series and extends it under various aspects, to a "coherent" narrative system. and full of twists.
We are in the 60s, in the middle of the Cold War, where peace and the balance of the world are played out on a thin line of agreements between the various superpowers, and on the movements and intrigues between the agents of the dense espionage networks of the various countries involved. . One of the key elements of this political-military opposition seems to be represented by Professor Sokolov, who thanks to his enormous skills has designed the Shagohod, a real nuclear war machine, with a range such as to hit America from any point in the Union. Soviet. In the role of one of the components of the FOX that we can define as the progenitor of the Foxhound, codenamed Naked Snake, the player must initially infiltrate the base where the well-known professor is "hosted", kidnap him and bring him back to America. The fact of setting the story in 1964 and therefore in a historical period in which the radar had not yet been invented, as well as the beloved / hated CODEC, allowed Konami to make numerous changes to the gameplay, moving it towards a more stealth and focused on the survival of the main character.

This last concept is here amplified beyond belief with the introduction, among other things, of elements such as the protagonist's need to feed, rest, heal his wounds and better manage his body, on pain of death. With the possibility for Naked Snake to get sick perhaps due to the ingestion of indigestible or poisonous food, or to suffer external injuries due to an accidental fall or some bullet, and with the consequential risk that his stamina drops quickly is therefore added further pathos to the classic gameplay of the series. Added to this is the lack of radar which forces the player to act in a much more cautious and reasoned way during the mission, mainly using their senses and visual abilities to identify the position of the enemies. For all this, the new free camera implemented also helps to identify the position of enemies, more awake and intelligent than MGS 2, perhaps with the acoustic position detector or with the movement graph, with the traces left on the ground, with the direct view. What has been described translates into a realism and above all in a greater feeling of identification by the player in the narrative and playful context in which he is involved.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

The last title of the collection that we analyze is Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, a game as mentioned at the beginning originally conceived for PlayStation Portable, which in fact is the fifth episode of the series. At the level of the plot it is basically the continuation of the vicissitudes of Big Boss, or Naked Snake, along a series of events that will lead him to form the fearsome group of Militaires Sans Frontieres. In terms of gameplay and structure, the innovations brought by the product to the saga already guaranteed a current and very thick experience at its original release, although obviously unable in any way to replicate the majesty of what can be expressed on home consoles, thanks to the management of the missions of team and the implementation of a multiplayer mode for up to six players.

Peace Walker is a chapter that exudes freshness from all pores, presenting solutions much more akin to today's titles, such as the ability to shoot with the back triggers and the abandonment of the controversial bird's eye view. And from the point of view of the gameplay it can be safely said that the title benefits from the conversion for PlayStation 3 of enormous improvements in terms of controls, able to make the action much faster and more engaging, especially when there is a fight. . The game marries surprisingly well with the pad controls, indeed leaving a rather bitter aftertaste of how it could have expressed itself at its best on a home console if only it had been conceived for it at the time. On the other hand, this is the episode where the technological detachment weighs the most. The increase in resolution amplifies the defects of the graphics engine, with objects appearing on the screen at the last moment (the infamous pop-up phenomenon), the polygonal inconsistency and the edges disfigured by the presence of ladders. If this is removed, however, it is a title that deserves and that has what it takes to become in some ways the most tempting piece of the package.

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Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is a decidedly full-bodied collection, of those that for quality and videogame culture should not be missing in the private collection of every gamer. Anyone who has never had the opportunity in their life to enjoy one or more of the three titles contained in this compilation should do themselves a favor and run to buy it. Despite all the limitations of the case, especially in terms of aesthetics and controls, this trilogy still deserves to be (re) discovered because it is still able to captivate, involve and capture the player like few other products have ever been or are all. 'now able to do.

PRO

The MGS series is an experience that you cannot fail to try at least once in your videogame life
Always enjoyable titles to play
Peace Walker gains in gameplay thanks to dual analog

AGAINST