Sam Fisher's splintery escapades have deservedly made him the enduring, craggy face of Xbox stealth. Next to Solid Snake, though, he's nothing more than a nocturnal pansy. Where the gravel-voiced pensioner needs expensive gadgets to creep past baddies, Snake can get his sneak on with nothing but a cardboard box.
This is only the second time Hideo Kojima's eccentric series has appeared on Xbox. The first was in 2002, with the quasi director's cut of Metal Gear Solid 2, which makes up a third of this newly polished HD bundle. The other two titles are the previously PS2 exclusive MGS3: Snake Eater and PSP's Peace Walker.
Not that you should let that last point put you off. While the plots on display here are madder than a convention of randy howler monkeys, the core stealth is brilliant. Unlike Sam's deadly serious Tom Clancy-inspired sneakery, the MGS games would rather pit you in an hour-long boss battle with an ancient sniper - who looks like a homicidal Captain Birdseye - than have you buggering about with lockpicks.
Admittedly, the action isn't as slick or cinematic as last year's Splinter Cell: Conviction (give Snake a break, two of these games are over half a decade old). But there's more imagination in their setpieces than almost any recent Xbox 360 title.
Starting with MGS2, though, there's no ignoring the HD update is only partially successful. Despite brilliant sequences that see you infiltrate a rainswept tanker in New York or a bit where you eavesdrop on a guard's dodgy bowel movements, the ace invention on show is let down by ten-year-old textures that even a 1080p sheen can't doll up. Thankfully, the minimalistic art design at least helps the ageing tech, with the game sporting a clean look that's surprisingly similar to Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Still, with fixed camera angles, the daft - though sometimes methodical - action can be hard to adjust to alongside more modern camera systems.
Its sequel Snake Eater (which semi-confusingly also acts as its prequel) has aged like fine, boozy grape juice. With full camera control on the right stick, there's little danger of getting rumbled by out-of-view terrorists. Transferring the action from MGS2's modern-day oil tanker to steamy Russian jungles during the Cold War also proves a metallic masterstroke.
The game's boss battles are also truly brilliant. From a tense underground battle with a flamethrower-wielding astronaut (you heard us) to an unsettling slog through a river where a spirit forces you to avoid the ghosts of any enemies you've previously killed, each encounter is hugely memorable. After being mostly starved of decent boss scraps in recent years, it's so refreshing to see them done so gloriously right.
16 comments so far...
Bezza89 on 26 Jan '12 said:
I loved reading through this review in the mag... no idea who wrote it though - Dan someone or other. He had no face picture so I assumed he doesn't actually exist.
As the game that got me into gaming though MGS will always be the best bit of stealth and action around. Everyone should buy and experience the mental-ness of the games.
CunningSmile on 26 Jan '12 said:
I've always been put of by the movie length cut scenes. I like plot as much as (if not more than) the next guy, but I also like to be able to set the length of play time myself without worrying that a cut scene is about to start and swallow the next 45 minutes of my life.
Bezza89 on 26 Jan '12 said:
I haven't played MGS4 but hear that is like that, not played mgs3 or peace walker but haven't heard anything bad about their cutscenes. MGS2s aren't 45 minute ones, but some do last 10 minutes. Brilliant game though. Cardboard boxes > Mark and Execute.
gooner77 on 26 Jan '12 said:
Looking forward to MGS3 the most. Not sure if I'll bother with Peace Walker
Bezza89 on 26 Jan '12 said:
I think you can download them separately... Ed - confirmation?
bamozzy on 26 Jan '12 said:
I have MGS4 on the PS3 but I played about 10mins in the first 2hrs (or so it seemed) with all the overly long cut scenes GRRRRRR!! It may look good but it isn't my idea of what playing a game is all about!!! If I wanted to watch that much I would put on a movie!!
Bezza89 on 26 Jan '12 said:
I have received MGS4 yesterday, will play after I finish 1-3 + PW, I think the cutscenes are so long because Hideo is obsessed with films. I reckon I'll still like it as I'm quite obviously a mgs nut.
B1zuk on 26 Jan '12 said:
Had it on pre-order for a while now and I'm counting the days until it's finally released!
Anyone know the actual reason why the EU release was delayed by a few months?
OXM ETboy on 26 Jan '12 said:
I doubt they'll release the games individually on Live - if they were planning to, they'd have done it already.
Furie on 26 Jan '12 said:
It actually makes me sad to see comments from people who haven't played MGS3. Snake Eater was a masterwork back in its day and still holds up today. I was a smoker back when I played the game and still remember stopping to roll a cigarette as Snake had entered a pitch black cave. As I smoked I left the game running and noticed that, over time, the cave was becoming better lit. Snake's eyes had adjusted to the dark, allowing him to see details in a cave he would have stumbled around in (until finding thermal vision glasses later on) otherwise. This is the sort of attention to detail that the entire game gets. Play it and you wont regret it.
Bezza89 on 26 Jan '12 said:
Yeah my anticipation to play 3 is pretty huge, why I'm commenting so much really. Had an Xbox after my PS1 so only got to play 1 + 2, now I have them all (well, next friday I will).
Ed - Ah it's just Hideo said they would be released as separate downloads back when he revealed them. He isn't one to stick to things though I suppose. I'll let him off, he is pretty awesome.
msbhvn on 26 Jan '12 said:
I hope they aren't available separately. MS's policy on XBLA disc collections means that even if you install them to your HDD, they run from disc anyway. Since I don't want my non-Slim 360 to melt into a puddle, I can't play XBLA games from disc for very long.
Having your DVD drive making enough noise to drown out a jet engine will ruin the feeling of sneaking around silently.
Anyway, back on topic, I'm looking forward to MGS3 as, like Bezza, I never had a PS2. The thing about Snake's eyes adjusting to the light sounds cool, but I heard something a few years ago about him having to hunt animals to survive, but when you killed one, they turned into a ration power-up. They might have fixed that for this version, though.
It's a shame they couldn't put the Twin Snakes version of MGS1 on here, but Nintendo are tenacious with their exclusives. I think only Resident Evil 4 managed to go multi-platform and I bet it cost Capcom a fortune to get the rights back.
comabob on 26 Jan '12 said:
Whats the RRP for this?
Not sure whether or not it will be worth it just for Snake Eater.
2 is a good game but ive played that to death and peace walker dont interest me.
Bezza89 on 26 Jan '12 said:
£30
They aren't xbla at all, they're full games with 2000 GS (1000 for PW, another for MGS2+3) - however Hideo said they'd also be available for download Games on Demand style. But it doesn't look like that has happened.
Plamsa wing on 27 Jan '12 said:
I already own all the Metal Gears games, well apart from MGS4 since I haven't upgraded to PS3 yet. So i'm not sure if I should get this or not.
Now I think about it, it's the same with Devil May Cry, except I hvaen't played DMC4 so I might get it on the 360.
Ninja Squirrel on 16 Feb '12 said:
The only way his could of been a 10/10 is if they had put the PS1 MGS in with it. not that im bitter about it at all Konami you bastards