SNAKE EATER!!!!

Earlier this year, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was made backward compatible for the Xbox One. While it was great to be able to play a Metal Gear game on Xbox One, it was odd how the rest of the HD Collection wasn't included. Whatever the reason was, Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 are now pl??ayable on Xbox One via backward compatibility.

If you happen to own the excellent Bluepoint remaster from ??2011, you ??can insert the first disc into your Xbox One and experience some of Kojima's finest games on your new Xbox console. There isn't any kind of 4K patch for X owners, but just having these titles playable on a modern platform is great.

Major Nelson [Twitter]

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I feel like a proud mama bear showing off her children right now

I'll be the first to admit that my video game collection is quite modest. It only fits into three shelves on an IKEA BILLY, and most of it taken up by mediocre PS2 platformers and GTA games I will probably?? never get round to playing. It's a host of what-ifs, "what-if-I-took-a-sabbatical-to-'find myself'-for-a-year"s and weekends lost to life admi?n and cleaning. You could say it's actually really rather sad. But I'm working on it, and there are still some items in there for which I have real stories to tell.

I'm aiming to build up a solid collection of PlayStation games, though I've branched out to DS games as well. One thing I don't put much emphasis on is how expensive a game is, or how rare it is. None of the games in my collection cost over €20 each, and while I wouldn't be against spending more, I don't think splashing out on more makes you a better colle?ctor. Instead, for me, it's about finding games I'm genuinely interested in or that have a history behind them, and most importantly, games that I will want to play at some point in time.

So, enough jabbering away – what are my proudest acquisitions? Note, this isn't a list of my favourite games, since some admittedly mediocre games have more than earned a place in my collection because of how oddly lovable they are. Let's go!

1. Skullmonkeys (PlayStation, Electronic Arts, 1998)

Skullmonkeys. Ah – where do I start with Skullmonkeys. Well, Skullmonkeys is the game I wish I'd had as a child. Yet som??ehow, I only learnt of its existence aged 25, then bought it immediately.

A bit of background: I loved Wallace and Gromit as a child and had lots of the merch (including this terrific alarm clock). It made for very cozy viewing, given that the famous duo are from Lancashire, which is the rival, neighbouring county to my own home county, Yorkshire. I was absolutely terrified of the skiing robot in Grand Day Out, but warmed up to Feathers McGraw in The Wrong Trousers, and laughed my head off when Wallace's trousers ran away with him. I also loved other Aardman productions, such as Rex the Runt and Chicken Run. My much younger sister, my mum, my grandma and myself would sit together and all chuckle at episodes of Shaun the Sheep. So claymation is very, very dear to my heart.

When I saw Skullmonkeys out in the wild, I was convinced it had to be Aardman-produced. Not just because of the claymation stylings, but because of the slightly off-kilter sense of humour. I was slightly disappointed when I realised it was a Doug TenNapel production and had nothing to do with Nick Park – but it didn't matter. It's gross-out, oddball fun. The game itself is not brilliant: the platforming is pretty inaccurate, it only has a password system instead of being memory card compatible, and it's a pretty frustrating game at points. But the art style and the music are so ahead of its time that it is by far my proudest purchase for my collection. Now we just need a Neverhood/Skullmonkeys/Armikrog HD bu?ndle for PS4 that fixes some of the technical niggles and I will be an extremely happy bun??ny.

2. Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection (PlayStation 3, Konami, 2011)

I'm a real fan of HD triple-packs. Let's save on all that plastic ?packaging a little bit a?nd shrink things down to a more user-friendly size, please! 

I just had to pick this up after playing Metal Gear Solid V (or at least part of it – bloody Man on Fire). I already had the PS2 versions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, which were my very first purchases when I started purposefully collecting in July 2015. One of the parts of Metal Gear Solid V that I loved was building up a group of mercenaries and managing them. I'm not one for super painstaking stealth, so the base management stuff stopped Kojima's last big Snake hurrah turning into another boring open-world action game for me. Peace Walker&nb??sp;has that, plus we get to see a less bitter Kaz in? action. Sign me up!

Having three wonderful games on one disc just fills me with joy, and having my collection be more compact through these boxsets is also a great idea when it comes to storage. The same goes for my Atelier HD boxset, though unfortunately if you buy that edition, you miss out on the technical improvements made to Rorona in the Rorona Plus release.

3. Policenauts (PlayStation, Konami, 1996 [JP only])

Man, I love a project. A fixer-upper. That's why I bought Shadow of Memories for the PC and di??dn't sweat it too much when I found out it won't run on Windows 10 c?omputers at all. I will just have to get to the bottom of that particular riddle. (Hey, if anyone's fixed that in a way you can guarantee won't infect my machine with a virus, lemme know.)

Policenauts is my first and only import game. I love PC-98 games and murder-mysteries, so why not combine the two into one glorious sinner's sandwich? It seems that in Japan at leas?t, the game isn't particularly rare on PS1, s?o a copy only cost me around the €20 mark again (maybe a little more with shipping). The ethical tinkerer side of me wants to crack this baby open and create a ROM I can affix with the English language patch and run on an emulator from scratch. Plenty of people will yell "are you insane?!", urge me to leave its pristineness well alone, and instead just get the ROM online. I haven't quite decided what to do yet, so it's sitting there, waiting for me, beckoning to me with its moody cover and punderful name.

4. Killer7 (PlayStation 2, Capcom, 2005)

I have mixed feelings about a lot of thematic video game producers: by that, I mean people you can point to and say all of their games have a continuous style. This counts double for Suda51. I adored No More Heroes and had a great time with Let It Die; I found Lollipop Chainsaw a little duller than I would have liked, and I'll probably come round from my strong dislike of Killer is Dead someday.

Most of all, there is the big cloud hanging over his games (for me) of how they treat women. Lollipop Chainsaw in particular was very in-your-face with female sexuality in a quite gratuitous way, and looking back, I'm not sure the portrayal of Bad Girl in No More Heroes was in particular good taste. But there is a lot of back and forth here in my head as to whether this is a legitimate issue I should have with the games, or whether it is consistent with Suda51's gaudy, vivid style. Let's not start on Shadows of the Damned.

I want to understand the man better and his vision, since his games manage to be both compelling and grotesque. My favourite games are always those that depict vibrant, twisted worlds that are impressive to look at but I don't want to be a part of under any circumstances. To get a grasp on all that, I wanted to return to an earlier production of his, Killer7.

Talking about it with friends in school eleven or twelve years ago, I thought it seemed like the most sophisticated game ever made. Now I want to dig in deeper on?? how it deals wit??h mental health issues and what the different personalities represent. Unfortunately, I don't have the superior GameCube version, but I'm sure I'll get the historical insight I'm looking for just fine from the PS2 edition.

5. Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gute und Böse (PlayStation 2, Namco, 2005)

The "other Beyond Good and Evil" is a bizarre addition to my collection, given that I don't own Episode I or Episode III. But you see, my friends, there's a problem. For I live on the huge land mass that is continental Europe, and there was no PAL release for Episode I or III. So, us folk from the future who speak funny languages and eat plentiful good cheese are stuck trying to discern the sta?rt and the beginning from Let's Plays and Wikipedia entries.&??nbsp;

I got this game sort of as a fluke – the eBay seller also wanted to get rid of his copy of Digital Devil Saga 2, so I bid on that and Xenosaga Episode II and happened to win both. I didn't know much about Xenosaga, Xenogears, or even Xenoblade, except that my boyfriend was obsessed with Xenoblade Chronicles X at the time of ?its release and I had an overworld track stuck in my head ??for two weeks straight.

Now I know more about the release history of the Xenosaga series, Episode II is chilling on my shelf, while I wonder whether it's worth investing to get the whole set or whether it would play well enough as a standalone game. I've never felt easy starting a series mid-entry, and it instinctively feels like a bad idea to do that with something as melodramatic and script-heavy as a Xenosaga game. In general, I find it fascinating that Namco decided to release only the second one in PAL regions – did Episode II really sell that bad that they regretted taking a chance on it in Europe? It's a prime example of how region-locking occasionally screwed over Europe, and we can be mighty th??ankful that the PS3 and ??PS4 are region-free.

Honourable mentions:

This one goes out to my slightly small, slightly pathetic collection of passable-to-great horror games for the PSX. And because I'm a great big wuss, I've yet to play an??y of them. (Again, I'm working on it!)

What are your favourite video games collectibles? Have you got any stories to tell about your own collection? Let me know in the comments down below!

The post These are a few of my favourite things…in my games collection appeared first on Destructoid.

If you can live without the inclusion of Peace Walker in the PlayStation Vita version of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, you'll be pleased to know th??at Konami has set the game's launch for Tuesday, June 12.

While I'm not a Vita owner myself quite yet, I have a feeling that getting big-name games like Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on the system will be greatly appreciated by those of you who haven't been getting much use out of y?our Vita lately.

You ... you do exist, don't you? Tell me I'm not alone in sitting here patiently, waiting for those "killer apps" the legends speak of for the handheld I couldn't resist picking up on day one.

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The well-received Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is making its way to the PlayStation Vita this summer, sans Peace Walker; the original PSP game can be purchased on the PlayStation Store, although not through the Vita, weirdly. However, it will include touch controls specific to Sony's new handheld. Konami brand man??ager Kevin Vlaming walked me through the experience, and I recorded the demo for you all to watch above.

For those who own MGS 2 or MGS 3 on PS3, the Vita HD Collection also lets you "transfar" content from save games. And it includes all the other content that was present on the console HD Collection -- the Substance and Subsistence stuff, as well as the first two Metal Gear MSX games.

The MGS HD Collection launches for the Vita in Japan on June 28. There's no American release date yet, but it's s??et for release here t??his summer.

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So far we know that some additions are coming to the 3DS production of Snake Eater, but what about the Vita version of the MGS:HD Collection?

During the same recording session we reported on previously, Kojima highlighted a new feature for the upcoming Vita title: rear touchpad support. Evidently if you flick the back of the Vita you'll be able to slit enemy's throats with a knife. Additionally, if you're aiming in first person, you'll be able to utilize the rear touchpad to manipulate the camera in some way (he was vague on exactly what this entailed).

While knife support almost seems pointless, manipulating the camera on paper sounds like a pretty decent addition, because your hands won't be taking up the front touch real-estate, blocking your view. If you're thinking of picking up a portable Metal Gear Solid in 2012, make sure and pick up the Vita version (if you can) over the 3DS version -- three games for aro??und the same price is better than one.

Metal Gear Solid HD Vita?? r?ear touch controls detailed [CVG]

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Hideo Kojima is showing off something we can't have again. Between tweets about how he's eating pasta (seriously, the dude always eats pasta!) we found this picture of a PS Vita running what looks to be the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. This would be the menu screen to pick either MGS2 or MGS3. 

The accompanying tweet says that this picture was taken during a recording session fo??r the PS Vita version of the? collection. It's nice to hear that they're progressing on this title. Gimme.

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Today, Mash Tactics is slipping into their sneaking suits and going behind enemy lines in Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection. With Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance finally being confirmed, it's time to get excited about Metal Gear all over again. Come watch the guys get quickly confused by cutscenes and codec conversations, and maybe play some Peacwalker online.

Mash Tactics airs Monday through Friday at 4pm Pacific. Watch Jon Carnage and Wesley Ruscher down energy drinks and freestyle rap about the human perineum on Destructoid's Twitch TV channel. Also, there are videogames being played. Join us for your chance to win prizes, t?alk to industry guests, and witness all of the glorious antics.

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Metal Gear Solid is very much a love it/hate it series. Those that become absorbed in its shifting narrative, stealthy gameplay and unapologetically eccentri??c nature become obsessed, while those who find the series convoluted and confusing will likely never regard it with anything more than contempt. 

For those in the former category, the purchase of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection simply is not in question. Nevertheless, one still has to wonder how well Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty have aged, and whether the inclusion of PSP title Peace Walker makes for a valuable package overall.

Then again, when one of those titl??es is worth the price of admission alone, it is perhaps not a question that needs to be asked.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed])
Developer: Kojima Productions, Bluepoint Games
Publisher: Konami
Released: November 8, 2011
MSRP: $49.99

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection brings together the series' two PlayStation 2 outings and adds the console version of former PSP-exclusive Peace Walker. As is the case with similar HD remasters, the games have been preserved faithfully, with no major changes added outside of a fresh coat of paint to make the titles look more attractive on HDTVs. Each game comes with ?its own digital manual and a brief summary of what that particular chapter is all about. Its game selection screen is glossily presented, complete with the sketch-like artwork that has become a series trademark. 

The Xbox 360 version ships on two discs -- one containing the PS2 titles, the other containing Peace Walker -- and whatever version you get, Snake Eater is presented as the first title, with its narrative repr??esenting the earliest chronological point in MGS' overall story. 

Playing Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater feels just as fresh today as it did back in 2004, remaining one of the few games to truly stand the test of time. Graphically, it has aged incredibly well so the HD enhancement feels like a true compliment to the already superb animation and outstanding art direction. Only the relative simplicity of the game's textures indicate Snake Eater's age, and playing the game on an HDTV only reinforces just how terrific the title looked for its time. In fact, it could give a few modern?? titles a run for their money, as far as I'm concerned?. 

Thanks to a range of unique features that are yet to be replicated even in successive Metal Gear Solid installments, Snake Eater's gameplay seems just as fresh as the visuals. The open-ended approach to stealth combat with bosses that present multiple tactical options, the range of animals to capture and eat, as well as the in-depth camouflage system, are st?ill brilliant additions that no other title has exploited since. That said, the game's innovations definitely go a bit far at times, with the constant need to open menus and tend to Naked Snake's injuries proving particularly frustrating. Nevertheless, this is still one of the greatest videogames ever made, with its beautiful story, enriched gameplay and incentive for multiple playthroughs. Not to mention, it is one of the last bastions of legitimately brilliant boss encounters, and that fact alone secures its place as a memorable, remarkable experience. 

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is one of the most controversial sequels of all time and may still be regarded by fans as the "worst" chapter in the series. Nevertheless, it remains one of my favorites in several ways. The introduction of R?aiden as protagonist was a crucial element in the development of Solid Snake's character, while Solidus is a tremendous example of a villain with noble intentions condemned by irredeemable actions. Even the sub-plot involving Revolver Ocelot's spooky arm is delightful in its bizarre campness (it was often maligned for jumping the shark, but in a series with telekinetic freaks and ghost rivers, can we really single it out?). 

While I still have a distinct fondness for the game, there's no denying that MGS2 has aged considerably. Lacking the depth of Snake Eater, Liberty's simple environments and inflexible stealth gameplay doesn't hold up anywhere near as well as the game that would follow, and playing it so soon after beating Snake Eater, ?its flaws are magnified to a capacious? degree. 

That's not to say the game is bad. As an experience, at least, it's still got a lot of merit. The "Big Shell" environment is unlike anything else seen in games, and one grows quite attached to it the same way PSX players did with Metal Gear Solid's Shadow Moses. While its boss fights aren't as engaging as Snake Eater's, there are still quite a few ambitious encounters, and there are plenty of easter eggs and extras to uncover. My advice would be to give it a week or two between games if you plan on playing Snake Eater first. 

Both Snake Eater and Sons of Liberty come packaged with their "Subsistence" and "Substance" extras, respectively. These special edition versions come with extra content and options, meaning that Snake Eater gets the incredibly welcome camera movement addition, as well as playable MSX versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The "Substance" iteration of MGS2 comes packed with a huge range of VR missions and the story-based "Snake Tales" chapters that show Snake's perspective of the Big Shell Inc?ident. 

The only alteration to these editions is the removal of Metal Gear Online and the Snake vs. Monkey mode from Snake Eater. While MGO isn't something worth missing, it's certainly a shame to be without the rather fun Monkey missions. It should also be noted that the Xbox 360 con??troller doesn't feature the pressure-sensitive input that were a big part of the combat in these two game??s. However, aiming and relaxing guns are handled quite adequately with a click of the movement stick, which I actually find more manageable than dealing with varying degress of button pressure. 

Rounding out the package is Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Peace Walker, and I am less so of its console version, mostly because it was so clearly designed for the PSP. Peace Walker's segmented mission-based gameplay and focus on army building and micro-management make for a game best left in the portable realm, where fiddling around with menus and smaller, bite-sized slices of action work best. The lack of a suitable control scheme replicating MGS3 and MGS2 is q??uite a noticeable omission as well, as the game still feels like it has a PSP's control scheme, no matter what input mode is selected. 

Once again, it's not a bad game, it just doesn't quite feel at home in the same package as MGS2 and MGS3. The HD visuals are far less of a step up and the gam?e would just look and feel better on a handheld. 

Played sequentially as presented, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is a product that gradually decreases in entertainment value, starting with a sublime HD version of an already inspiring game and ending with an unnecessary port of an awkward handheld title. The lack of the original Metal Gear Solid leads to a collection that cannot help feeling incomplete. As the most iconic and important game in the franchise, its exclusion is hugely noticeable and remains somewhat disappointing. Despite its availability elsewhere, it w?ould have been the perfect addition. 

All told, however, one must take note of a very simple fact -- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is so damn good that it single-handedly justifies the $49.99 asking price. I would happily pay that for the game on its own, so the fact that it comes with the still-engrossing Sons of Liberty and an extraneous Peace Walker is pure gravy. All told, this is a package that manages to feel like it went over and above despite a handful of glaring omissions, and creates a package that Metal Gear Solid fans won't regret picking up. 

While one cannot call this the ultimate tribute to the Metal Gear Solid series, it is still a glorious production indeed. At the end of the day, I'm still in a dream ... Snake Eater. 

The post Review: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection appeared first on Destructoid.

Konami has announced that the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will be available in North American stores on November 8. This follows word that t??he game has been pushed back in Europe, not coming to PAL gamer??s until 2012. 

The swanky package will include Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker as well as the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. 

As a gibbering fan of Metal Gear Solid, I can't wait?. It's going to be lovely?? to play these beauties on my HDTV.

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I believe this is a first, but an HD collection is getting a limited edition version. Then again, it's Metal Gear Solid, so I think Konami's partly justified in this!

The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection limited edition comes in fancy packaging and includes a 248-page art book. It's not exactly the most lavish of offers, but as a big fan of MGS, I definitely wa??nt it. I?t's going to look damn pretty on my shelf, that's for sure. 

MGS HD is planned for N??ovember 8 and will hit both Xbox 360 and PS3.

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I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to release a bad run through of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD, but here's a look?? at the new game in any case. 

Anyway, I'd like to take this chance to clarify some misinformation in my last Metal Gear Solid HD Collection/Peace Walker HD posts. In Japan, Metal Gear Solid HD will include Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and a PSN voucher for the original Metal Gear Solid. Peace Walker HD will be a stan?dalone game and wil?l include a code for the PSP version as well. 

In the US and PAL regions, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will include Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2, MGS 2, 3, and Peace Walker, and won't include any extra voucher codes like the Japanese version. And to those asking, both regions will be getting the Subsistence version of MGS 3 and Substance version of MGS 2. 

Some how I totally missed the news on the differences. I'm not ev?en going to get into describing all the different collector sets Japan is getting!

[Thanks, Aurain!]

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If you didn't wan??t?? a Vita before, I bet you do now.

Hideo Kojima took the stage at today's Sony TGS press conference here in Tokyo to tell us that both Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Zone of the Enders HD Collection are also coming to ??te Vita. It was already known that the titles were coming ??for the PS3, but now you can get portable versions, or both! Transfarring technology lets you share game saves between the two. 

I'm sure we'll see more on both titles s?oon. 

The post TGS: Metal Gear ??Solid, ?Zone of the Enders on Vita, HD appeared first on Destructoid.

The packaging says that you're getting Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, but that's not quite true. The reality is a little sweeter, as Hideo Kojima has confirmed that you're actually getting Metal Gear Solid: Subsistence. 

For those who don't know, Subsistence is an enhanced version of Snake Eater. As well as the regular game, it also contains the MSX versions of the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. That's like, two extra games, man. 

The Japanese version of the game is going to be different. It won't, for example, include Peace Walker, but instead has a product voucher for the PSOne Classic Metal Gear Solid. Weird!

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Includes Metal Gear So?lid 3: Subsistence [Siliconera]

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!

We know that the upcoming Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is going to look pretty with its visual upgrades, but it may also get an upgrade in the sound department. Check out this recent tweet from Hideo Kojima:

Re-recording for “MGS HD (MGS3)” in progress today, and the voice ??actors from MGS are here from the morning.

Of ?course, that could mean anything. This mention of voice work is probably Japanese anyway. There's no confirmation that anything is being changed beyond the third game, mind you. And it's not t?hat any of the games need new audio, either.

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