Welcome to our review of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1, bringing back the classic Metal Gear Solid games to modern consoles.
The origin of stealth action returns. METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol. 1 unifies the beginning of the METAL GEAR gameplay experience in one single package. Infiltrate enemy fortresses all over the globe, complete your missions with stealth and experience the thrilling cinematic story of the METAL GEAR series.
Volume 1 line-up features the original titles and beginning of the METAL GEAR series, including the original versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid (which also includes VR Missions/Special Missions), and the HD Collection versions of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
Each main title in the line-up will also include an exclusive digital Screenplay Book and Master Book that details the story and characters in that game. This collection includes the classic versions of the games, complete with only minimal edits to copyrighted contents. Those who purchase Volume 1 will also have access to a variety of bonus content including the two regional versions of Metal Gear, the original version of Snake’s Revenge, the first and second Digital Graphic Novels in video form, and a digital soundtrack.
Metal Gear
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear Solid (Including VR Missions/Special Missions)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (HD Collection version)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (HD Collection version)
Metal Gear (NES/FC version)
Snake’s Revenge
Metal Gear Solid is possibly one of the best-known game franchises out there and I do not think I am exaggerating when I say it is almost a genre in itself. Created by Hideo Kojima, you know, the guy behind not only Metal Gear but also Death Stranding, and the upcoming OD … Being a producer on games like Lunar Knights, Zone of the Enders, and the marvelous Boktai games, the man has earned his name and place in the gaming industry. On a fun side note, that doofus who hosts the game awards, can'( stop mentioning he knows him personally…
Anyway, back to the games, I should not say game, because this is really a more experience-like package with the earliest of games in it, and well, prepare to be struck by the hammer of nostalgia or disappointment. The initial MGS games are VERY old skool and they can be a tad disappointing if you are not familiar with them, they are from the NES era and come with all the glory those days represent. From an awkward soundtrack on the first game to unusual mechanics that you have to figure out by clicking on the option to go to the online menu, always a pain to browse that one on an Xbox, Edge is just a bad browser, and quite frankly, the manuals should have been included on the downloads by default. This applies to pretty much any game, in this collection or not, if a gamer buys the digital version, make it download everything. Like at one point I had to manually download the Japanese audio for a game that seemingly only had Japanese audio, really? So weird as a design choice.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think that these issues are mostly personal, just minor annoyances as you want to play a game but get stuck with having to suffer through a session of Edge browsing… But back to the games, for me, the VR missions are the ones that really shined the brightest, a massive tutorial basically. Talking about tutorials, the lack of a tutorial in games of this genre, baffling. I can see the disappointment of young kids 35 years ago when they first popped in the cartridge of this game and then had to figure out most things on their own. Of course, back in those days, games still came with a manual, but who really read those, right?
While I did get annoyed a few times on the first few games, I will say I understand that they were groundbreaking as a new genre back in the day. Being able to crouch, evade guards, fighting your way out of nasty situations, basically bringing the puzzle genre into the action realm, it shows why Hideo Kojima is often called one of the greatest of all time, I would even place him in the same class as Yuuji Horii, Gunpei Yokoi and Miyamoto himself. It is one thing to be a game maker, but developing a new genre, that earns you some creds on top of things.
Now, what I would also like to say, these games did not stand the test of time very well, they do however showcase greatly how far we have come from the early NES days to the more modern games. You can literally see Snake become more and more able to do things, a feature I have rarely seen in other games so far and honestly, only Hitman really comes to mind as an alternative. High praise and deservedly so.
Now, are the games fun? That is very personal and while I struggle to say they were fun, I would not really use the word fun, but I would say they were interesting, not just as a piece of history but as a reminder of how far we have come. I do intend to play a lot more and once we get that volume 2, I do hope to be able to play that as well. I do enjoy exploring games I missed out on in my teens.
In conclusion, Metal Gear Solid may not have aged very well, but this is still a massive collection to add to your collection.
