All of your favorite MGS experiences come together in this incredible package
Metal Gear Solid 2:
It's hard to describe the story of Metal Gear Solid 2 without spoiling it for a big surprise happens just at the end of the first level, the tanker mission. Bassically the main plot follows Raiden instead of Solid Snake this time (although you play as Snake in the first mission) as he is sent to a facility called "The Big Shell". Here he is tasked with finding out what this new terrorist threat is up to and discover the secrets behind this mysterious base. Just like any other game in the series, the plot may get a little preachy here and there but in the end, it's an enjoyable and involved plot. Raiden is ok as the new main character but he's not as well developed as Snake was. He's not bad but once you start playing as him, you'll wish you were Solid Snake again.
The visuals were absolutely stunning back in 2001. Metal Gear games usually will push the game system to its limits and MGS2 was no different from the rest. At the time, these graphics looked amazing from the character models to the realistic environment surrounding you, and now it looks even better in HD. Of course the lip synching is still a bit off. What's even better is the music, as always. Who could forget that feeling the music brought when you're spotted, or the epic boss battle theme? Like every Metal Gear before and after, the music really fits the mood and offers some of the best tracks in gaming.
As you probably already guessed, although you are given weapons in this game, you have to rely on your sneaking skills instead of blasting your way through. This is especially made clear with the fact you are given a tranquilizer gun at the start (although you get more weapons later in both missions). You certainly don't want the enemy soldiers to spot you for if they do, you raise the alert status and backup guards will come shoot you down (and they are better armed than you). After you hide and lower the alert, they will enter caution status where they will be looking for you, until the bar reaches zero. You can kill, tranquilize or knock soldiers out but leaving their bodies lying around only catches the attention of other soldiers and they'll call for backup, making your job difficult (luckily you can hide their bodies). This formula works here just as well and the difficult alert phases demonstrates why deadly force isn't a bright approach to begin with. This game is yet more proof that Metal Gear is one of the best stealth games on the market.
This game only offers two missions in the whole entire game; The Tanker level and The Plant level. First, you start off on the Tanker where you take control of the predecessor's protagonist, Solid Snake. The atmosphere of the tanker in the stormy rain is breathtaking as you make your way through the ship, inside and out. The second mission is what takes up the majority of the game as it takes longer to complete and it follows the story's real protagonist, Raiden. The Big Shell is bigger than the Tanker and is set up like a figure 8, with 6 rooms to visit on the outside, each connected by a bridge, and an even larger facility on the inside. Unfortunately, you only get to see half of the whole facility as the second half is cut off entirely, but there is still plenty to see on the one side. The industrial setting is a nice change of pace for the series and it is a breath of fresh air to see something different. Although the atmosphere and look of this part is also a sight to see, I prefer the Tanker myself, and not just because you get to play as Snake. Something about the Tanker has more charm to it due to its tone but nevertheless, the whole game is fun from beginning to end.
Metal Gear Solid 2 was one of the best stealth action games for its time and it holds up well today. I kind of wish we could have spent more time with Solid Snake but the visuals and stealthy gameplay the the series is known for show up here rather well and it's worth playing to any new or old MGS fans alike. I'm not sure if I'd consider it the best game in the series, but I would still highly recommend it to any fan of the series for after over 11 years, it still holds up as a great stealth action experience.
Metal Gear Solid 3:
In spite of the last game, this game leaves us hanging and brings us back to 1964. We start off with our hero, Naked Snake (aka Big Boss, but not til later), as he is lands in the jungles of Tselinoyarsk in USSR on a mission to rescue a defecting scientist named Sokolov, who is working on a new project called "The Shagohad". With the help of Major Zero, Para-medic, and his former mentor (The Boss), Snake sneaks his way through the jungle until he reaches the base and finds Sokolov. On the way out, everything is going smoothly until The Boss defects and she, along with her Cobra unit, captures Sokolov once more and leaves Snake for dead. Her new leader, Colonel Volgin, is provided with a stolen Davy Crockett which he uses to blow up a nearby base to cover up the theft.
With that detonation, a new problem arises. The Soviet Union holds the USA responsible for the attack and threatens to declare war. Lyndon Johnson denies our involvement, so Nikita Khrushchev (the leader at the time) gives the U.S. one chance to its innocence by destroying the Shagohad, stopping Volgin and his men, and killing the defector herself, The Boss. Who do they call on to accomplish all of this? That's right, Snake. All of this is just the beginning and the plot gets much deeper than this. With such unexpected twists and turns, as well as one of the most emotional endings ever, this story is engaging and one of the best you'll find in any game. I won't spoil any more but this is one plot you won't soon forget.
For its time, especially on the PS2, the environments look superb and the detail was like nothing we had seen before. The lip synching is also bit off here during the cut scenes as well but that might be because it was made in Japan. Still, the game looks gorgeous and the interaction with the environment (like leaves ruffling when touched) is spot on. In fact, just like 2, the graphics have been updated for the current generation and now they look better than ever.
You control Snake from the normal top-down view like other games before it (or you can switch to a third person view if you have Subsistence). Unlike previous games where you are normally sneaking around a base, this game puts you in a more unique environment; the jungle. This adds a new sense of immersion as you must use this jungle to your advantage while progressing. By this I mean using camouflage plays a big part in the game as you switch between different outfits in order to blend in with your surroundings and become invisible to your enemies. How hidden you are is decided on a number in the top right corner as a percentage, this tells you how well the guards will see you. If it is a lower percentage, you might want to find a new outfit and face paint. Using different outfits is an excellent idea that only adds to the already excellent stealth formula and the jungle alone is one of the best environments for a sneaking game, even if it isn't the entire game.
You can attack guards head on if you want, but like the other games, sneaking is usually recommended or the guards will come at you in large numbers in order to take you down. If you do get spotted, it is best to escape from them by hiding. This will get them off your trail but they will still be looking for you until the evasion status reaches 0. Don't think that you are defenseless though, for you will have many weapons at your disposal. Well, you start off with only an MK22 which only stuns the enemy when shot but you will find many more rifles, pistols, SMG's, sniper rifles and more as you explore the game. If you are to shoot someone, whether they be stunned or killed, it is a good idea to hide the body in tall grass or leaves so his friends won't find them and get suspicious. Even then, your shots might be heard, but this can be helped when you attach silence suppressors to the gun but you will lose that suppressor after a certain amount of shots and you'll have to attach another one so use them wisely. Of course, probably the quietest way to take them down is CQC; punch them out or grab them by the neck and slit their throats with your knife. If you've played other games in the series, you'll be familiar with this formula but it works just as well here. Stealth is much heavier here than it was in two as the enemies will spot you easier and you must use your surroundings to sneak which makes this game even more fun than other entries, an expansion on the already exceptional gameplay.
Every now and then throughout the game, you'll encounter a boss. Pretty much all of the bosses are made up of the Cobra Unit including The Boss herself. Each member gets more and more challenging as you go and each one feels more fresh than the last. You can take them down but killing them with more lethal weapons or you can tranquilize them which usually rewards you with a new special outfit (each with an extra benefit). These boss fights are fun, challenging and satisfying when beaten, as boss fights in the MGS series usually are.
Spite the 10 I've given it, there is an annoyance that keeps this game from reaching perfection. That would be switching through the inventory in your back pack for your camouflage, food and treating your wounds. Through the game you'll find animals and plants (snakes, birds, rabbits, mushrooms, fruit, and much more) in the jungle which you need to shoot and capture in order to keep your stamina up. Your stamina is an extra bar under your health bar that runs out over time unless you refill it by eating whatever you have, usually animals or fruits. This is the least annoying since you don't have to keep doing it very often and some food heals so much stamina that you don't need to worry. The worst is healing. When you are fired on or whatever may happen in the game (or story), there may be times when you need to tend to your wounds. You do this by choosing your backpack through the pause menu and treating gun shots, leeches, broken bones, burns and other wounds with various medicines and bandages depending on the wound. This is especially tiresome during boss fights as that's when they happen most often. Truth be told I like these additions as they add to the survival theme the game is going for, but pausing just to switch to them can grow tiresome.
However, that is only a minor annoyance and it doesn't stop the fact that this game is truly a masterpiece. From the unique expansion on the gameplay we all know and love to one of the best stories told in gaming, there is almost nothing Metal Gear Solid 3 can't do. From the minute you start playing you feel immersed in the jungle environment surrounding you and you are instantly hooked on this fantastic game.
Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker:
The game takes place in 1974, 10 years after the events of MGS 3. A terrorist group called the Peace Sentinels has invaded Costa Rica but the Costa Rican government can't do anything for they have a treaty in which they can't used armed forces. A professor named Galmez and a 16 year old girl named Paz have secretly hired Naked Snake, aka Big Boss, and his mercenary group, known as MSF, to turn back this threat. The whole story is full of twists and surprises like what the series is known for. The story is, of course, great, but it seems to have little to nothing to do with Portable Ops. The only minor complaint I have with the story is there are a lot of characters like Huey (Otacon's father) but there's a few that seem to appear in a mission or two and then are written out of the plot. Other than that, Peace Walker delivers on a fantastic story like the rest of the series.
The cut scenes are done in a comic book style instead of cinematics. However, the cut scenes have some interaction with quick time events, aiming and shooting with a rocket launcher, and even zooming in for some easter eggs.
The controls may take some getting used to at first but there are multiple control schemes to choose from so mess around with each one and see which one works best for you. Once you get used to the controls, the rest of the game will be a ton of fun. Before each mission, you can prep up with what clothing you wear and what weapons and items to take with you (like rations, surround indicator, binoculars, etc.). Once you have everything you want, your mission can begin.
Seeing as how this is a Metal Gear game, stealth is the number 1 element that you will need to pass most of your missions. The newest move in this game is the crouch walk, which is conveniant, but you can't crawl while prone anymore. Each mission for the most part is getting to the destination without dying, stealth is recommended. Like always, being spotted by the enemy soldiers will raise an alarm and will cause back up units to come in and shoot you down. The only problem with these missions is there are no checkpoints while in the middle of one, so dying starts you over. It's kind of a nuisance on longer missions, but each mission feels fresh and progressive as you advance to your target.
The game also has a large set of "extra ops" missions as well. These are side missions that have a wide variety of different objectives to complete. They may be about eliminating all enemies, capturing all enemies, sneaking by without being seen, or maybe boss battles. Completing these will give you GMP which you'll need later back at mother base (I'll get to that later).
My biggest complaint of this game would have to be the boss battles. One thing I liked about the previous Metal Gar Solid games were the unique selection of boss fights available; from people to big machines (including metal gear). However, in this game, the only bosses are machines like tanks, helicopters, and A.I.-controlled machines. The human-controlled vehicle battles can be done faster if you kill the troops surrounding it and then killing the captain that pops his head out but that doesn't stop the fact that most of your rockets take forever to bring it down. Same goes for the AI machines but you must bring those all the way down. When you kill an AI weapon though, you go inside it and can gather parts for your own metal gear (which I will also get to in a minute). They're ok overall, I guess, but it's disappointing that there's a smaller variety in bosses this time and, as said earlier, most of your rockets might take a little while to bring health down and the bosses can be tiresome and frustrating.
The game also has a competitive mode, which I can't tell you about because I have a hard time finding people online. There is also a co-op mode for the first time in the series that allows you and 3 other friends (with or without this game) fight in certain missions together which might make the boss battles less of a hassle. Luckily, the HD version allows online play just like its PSP counterpart in all it's former glory, which means you can take co-op and competitive on Xbo Live with your friends or randoms. Sweet!
Along the way you can collect enemy soldiers you knock out by attaching them to your fulton balloons and sending them back to mother base. What can you do with them? Well, back at mother base, which is where you will be in between missions, you can manage your own army with captured soldiers. Every soldier has stats and are good for at least one job whether it be combat,, R&D, mess hall , medical bay and intel. It's just a shame that you can only have a certain amount of troops in each job, which forces you to fire troops eventually.
The mother base gives you a large menu to manage your team and build weapons and items but it will also let you build your own metal gear with parts obtained from the AI boss battles. There is also outer ops which allows you to send your troops in the combat unit or even vehicles you have beaten to attack other nations. You can even send your own customized metal gear once it is complete. Once you launch the attack, your men will fight that group while you go out on a mission. You can then watch the battle in a turn based battle and see the results. Defeating these armies will allow troops to increase in stats and other soldiers may volunteer. You may even find items. However, you can also lose soldiers. Infantry will be taken to the sick bay to heal but losing a vehicle is permanent (except the metal gear) so make sure to repair them when needed.
For a hand held game, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker was one of the best due to its massive amount of content and replay value. Now, it's back and better than ever on the 360 and PS3. Thanks to outer ops, co-op, the fun main missions and extra missions, there is plenty here to keep you bust for quite some time spite the frustrating boss fights. Other than that, it manages to get just about everything else right and offer one of the best in the series.
HD:
The difference between these games and their original counterparts is, of course, the new and improved visuals. Each game's graphics have been smoothed out and increased to fit your HD TV while still keeping that old familiar look that you know and love. That plus all the features added to Peace walker like online play. Although this is a great package, it's just a shame that the first Metal Gear Solid was left out altogether.
I take it back. There aren't 3 games in this deal, for if you count Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake on the MGS3 section, that is technically 5 games for the price of one. With all that plus the fact that the graphics have been smoothed out and Peace Walker HD's extras, this is an absolute steal for only a $50 price tag, especially if you have never touched this series before. For an excellent price for 5 excellent games, there is little reason to not purchase this package of gaming goodness.