Post by solidbatman on Jun 13, 2012 16:00:30 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8/10
Lets get one thing straight. These games are not PS3 games. The collection, which includes Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, have simply been upscaled to 1080p resolution. Peace Walker is has the weakest in game graphics, as it is a PSP game. The other two look the same as they would on your PS2, only displayed in a crisp HD resolution. All of that aside, the games still look good. Peace Walker has some very well drawn cut scenes (they are done realistic comic book style). Simply put, don't go into this game looking for MGS4 quality graphics. It's simply the three games in a crisper resolution.
-Sound- 9.5/10
Again, MGS2 and MGS3 have no noticeable changes to the sound. Both still carry top notch sound, though I still think David Hayter turned in his worse performance as Snake in MGS3. I never played Peace Walker before owning the HD collection, but it certainly does not cut back on sound for a PSP title. The music is sweeping and epic. The voice acting is strong throughout with no weak performances. However, the songs those A.I. enemies sing..... they simply get annoying when you are fighting them.
-Gameplay- 9/10
MGS is still MGS. Peace Walker has much shorter missions and smaller stages than the other two games, but the actual game is just as long, if not longer with all the extra-ops missions. This is a sneaking game, so you'll want to avoid fire fights and long drawn out battles with guards.
Peace Walker only lets you carry so many weapons, and they cannot be changed out during a mission so plan accordingly. Ammo and supplies can be called in with a supply marker in the game but you will lose hero points, which will cause less recruits to join your ranks of soldiers. Those that join your ranks in the game can be assigned to different classes, like R&D, Medic, Mess Hall and Solider. Soldiers can be sent off in outer ops missions which bring you extra little goodies, like weapons and ammo. MGS2, and MGS3 both feature the same solid gameplay from the PS2 versions. Both also carry over a few things from their special editions, such as MGS2: Substance's Snake Tales, which allow you to play as Snake during the Plant chapter of the game. MGS3 brings Subsistence's 360 camera, which was a vast improvement over the original camera of the game, along with a few other goodies.
-Story- 9/10 (Peace Walker)
The stories from MGS2/3 are unchanged. Peace Walker is unchanged as well, but there is no review on this site for the PSP version. Peace Walker tells the story of Snake's motivation to creating Outer Heaven and seeking freedom from working for a country. It also gives the motivation for the Boss' actions during MGS3, which is very intriguing. Going so far as to call it the missing link the MGS series, as it both Portable Ops and this game call themselves, is a stretch, but any fan of the series will enjoy Peace Walker a lot.
-Overall- 9.5/10
Playing the MGS series again has been a lot of fun and Peace Walker is a welcome addition to the series. I will more than likely go into more depth about Peace Walker by writing it's own separate review in the PSP section. This HD collection is a must have for any MGS fan, and also anyone looking to get into the series.