Video Game Vintage Title: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is a collection of remastered ports of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PlayStation Vita version of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection contains remastered ports of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, omitting Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The games were originally developed by Kojima Productions, while the ports were published by Konami and developed by Bluepoint Games, Genki, and Armature Studio. The MSX versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, ported by Aspect Co., are also included on the disc. However, the Japanese package of the console editions replaces Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker with a product code to download the original Metal Gear Solid. The HD conversion of Peace Walker was released separately in Japan on November 10.

The core game and story for all games remains unchanged with the remastered versions. For the remastering, all three games have had a graphics overhaul to allow them to support modern 720p resolution on consoles, and sub-HD resolution on PlayStation Vita. As well as 720p HD visuals, the console editions of these new versions run at 60 frames per second. All three games have trophy support for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions and achievement support for the Xbox 360 version. The control scheme of Peace Walker has been overhauled to make use of the dual analog stick and rumble feature of the controls. The game was released in digital format on Xbox Live on August 21, 2012 while Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 were released separately on PlayStation Network. On August 28, 2012, Peace Walker was released on Xbox Live and PSN with a full game bundle of all three games exclusively on PSN.

ReceptionMetal Gear Solid HD Collection received critical acclaim upon release. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 90.14% and 89/100, the Xbox 360 version 88.36% and 90/100 and the PlayStation Vita version 82.76% and 81/100

1UP.com stated "The sheer immensity of this collection continues to astound me, and while price should by no means be the ultimate deciding factor in a review, with the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, it's impossible to ignore. Simply put, this single disc will keep you highly entertained for several staycations to come."

Eurogamer stated "Metal Gear Solid is a potpourri of ideas that insists you take the good with the bad. Certainly indulgent, it's also melancholy, exhilarating, clever, and ludicrous. It's never entirely clear what, if anything, Kojima and company are taking seriously - and the end result, in this collection, is a fascinating chronicle of one of video games' strangest successes."

Game Informer stated "The fight against The Boss, Colonel Campbell going nuts, the haunting tune as Chrysalis flies by � these are the kind of memorable events that define Metal Gear, and they are just as awesome as you remember."

GamesRadar stated "A great value, even if you only plan to play one of the three games. That it has three you might want to play, plus a bunch of fun extras, just cements this as the best multi-game compilation since 2007's Orange Box."

GameTrailers stated "If it weren't for the omission of the original Metal Gear Solid, this would probably be the prototype HD collection that all publishers should aspire to emulate. These games have withstood the test of time, and all of the enhancements and extras ensure these are the definitive versions. If you passed on these games before, there's no excuse this time."

IGN stated "The controls, stories and content so many fell in love with years ago are here, but time shows up as Solid Snake's greatest enemy."

Official PlayStation Magazine (UK) stated "As an overall package, the quality and quantity on offer here is irresistible. Slightly smudgy textures and some framerate issues mean these HD upgrades don't match the lofty restoration work seen in the Ico/Shadow Of The Colossus HD combo � yet when it comes to supreme stealthy fun, Snake's collection remains Solid gold."

Official Xbox Magazine stated "It's easy to pick nits about the weird Achievement appropriation, the fact that the games lack HD detail such as animated hair and high-quality lip-synching, and that two of the franchise's best games are absent. But the fact that three of the best stealth games ever made look even better in a $50 Xbox 360 package should put this collection on your radar."

In December 2011, the game received the award for "Best HD Remake of 2011" from TeamXbox, with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary as the runner-up. In a feature article regarding games collections, 1UP listed Metal Gear Solid HD Collection as "The Closest We've Come to Perfection" owing to the improved quality its games were given.