Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2 Review -This Is Good, Isn’t it?
18 years ago, Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions released Metal Gear Solid 4 on the PS3, the climactic end of the Solid Snake saga. Since then, Old Snake has been locked away in a cell-processor prison, and the only way to play this masterpiece has been on a PS3 or through emulation on PC.
Well, no more, as after a nearly two decades of fans begging Konami to port the game over to modern platforms, they have finally answered those prayers, with the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2. Packed with a newly updated Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker, Vol. 2 collection finally delivers the complete Metal Gear Solid experience to a brand-new generation of players, letting them witness the legendary soldier’s final mission without the hardware shackles of 2008.
For fans of the franchise worried that Konami would repeat the sins of Vol. 1 with Vol. 2, I can confidently say this collection surpasses the originals.
Kept You Waiting, Huh?
What can I say about Metal Gear Solid 4 and Peace Walker that hasn’t already been said in the last two decades? While I have some opinions on Peace Walker, the two entries are by far some of the best the series has to offer, with Metal Gear Solid 4 tying up as my favorite one right beside Metal Gear Solid 3. I know, I know, the game is more cutscenes than gameplay. It took me maybe a little over 10 hours to beat it on my first playthrough, and about 8 hours of that was cutscenes. And in case you still didn’t know this fact, 18 years later, Metal Gear Solid 4 still holds the Guinness World Record for the longest cutscene sequence in a game, with the final one lasting 71 minutes. Think about that; there are movies out there shorter than that, and I love every minute of it that plays out.
You all have to understand, Metal Gear Solid 4 was supposed to be the last Metal Gear Solid game in the franchise. This was Kojima’s swan song, a monumental, uncompromising finale meant to tie up every loose end, answer every lingering question, and give Solid Snake the definitive, emotionally devastating send-off he truly deserved. As someone who started their journey with the first Metal Gear game, working my way through its sequel to the eventual first 3D game, Metal Gear Solid 1, and then 2, 3, and finally 4, experiencing Snake’s journey in its entirety made every single minute of that cinematic ride feel earned, unforgettable, and entirely worth the wait.
It was a culmination of everything we loved about the franchise, and at the time, the most “Kojima”has ever been allowed to be, well, Kojima, in a game. It pushed the boundaries of interactive storytelling, unapologetically embracing its own absurdity and melodrama while delivering a poignant, masterclass conclusion that still resonates almost two decades later.
God, I love Metal Gear Solid 4 so much. It’s a game I have thought about probably every single day since its original release, and one that my group of friends loves talking about from time to time. I probably invested 100-200 hours in it alone on my original PS3, which sadly died towards the end of the PS4 generation. I eventually bought another PS3, but knowing the game was locked to the platform two console generations later made me extremely sad. How can I recommend a franchise to someone, knowing that they could never play through its conclusion without jumping through hoops? Well, now I can, all because Konami has finally listened to the cries of millions of fans. All you diehard fans out there wondering if Konami took shortcuts with this re-release, you can rest easy knowing that I’ve been playing this on PC, and it’s easily, without a question, the definitive way to play Metal Gear Solid 4, and Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker.
I’ll be biased here, and likely talk more about Metal Gear Solid 4 over Peace Walker, so don’t take me talking less about that game as a sign of something wrong. Far from it. It’s an excellent port that I’ll talk more about later, but for now, let’s look at the Metal Gear Solid 4 port.
War Has Changed
On PC, Metal Gear Solid supports full 4K resolution at 60 FPS. The framerate doesn’t go much beyond that, which, in all honesty, I’m not too concerned about because we can expect mods on PC to unlock it further. I play almost all my games at 60 FPS anytime I target 4K, too. Anyway, to learn from their mistakes with Vol. 1, Vol. 2 comes with some dedicated graphical settings. It’s not much compared to other games on PC, but players can select settings for things like effects, shadows, textures, and graphics.
Naturally, I cranked everything to the max because I wanted to experience this in the best possible way. After all, this was the flagship PS3 game at the time, a title that was meant to truly show what the PS3 was capable of, squeezing every ounce of the raw power the Cell Processor could give, and serve as Sony’s ultimate technical showcase. And for 2008, it very much was that game, so much so that even going back to the original PS3 release, it’s impressive just how much Kojima Productions managed to push out of the hardware.
With the resolution now in full 4K, and a performance that didn’t see a single drop during my multiple playthroughs, I’ve come to appreciate the work that the original studio achieved, to the point that there were some moments in the game that made me go, wow, this looks better than some of the current-gen stuff out there. Don’t get me wrong, overall, you’ll know this is a PS3 game, but Konami has really outdone themselves here with this remastering. As mentioned, image quality has seen a massive uplift, going from its internal 1024×768 resolution, or close to 720P, to a full, native 4K. At the time of release, televisions were better at handling lower-resolution games.
I’m sure you’ve all had that feeling where you see a really old game on a modern television, and you go, “this did not look like that, I remember it looking way better before!” Well, go play the PS3 version of MGS4 on a modern TV set, and you’d be surprised by how blurry it looks. I don’t remember it looking like that, but that was also the norm for that generation of video games, where what we got was the best it was. Performance-wise, oof, playing the native PS3 version, I didn’t realize just how inconsistent it originally was. I always thought it was locked at 30 FPS, but the opening hours made it clear that it often dipped below 20 FPS. Our televisions handled those lower frame rates much better back then, and with all the advancements in tech over the last 20 years, we’ve gotten used to 60 FPS-plus gaming.
Anyway, MGS4 plays like an absolute dream on modern PCs. It’s an old game, sure, but it was designed for hardware that most PCs still struggle to emulate today, and even then, it still has issues. I’m quite impressed by what the team at Konami has delivered in terms of performance.
The best way to describe how the original one looks is that it’s akin to a really compressed YouTube video, only that’s just how it looks directly in its original form. Pictures don’t really do it justice; with all the anti-aliasing improvements, there are far fewer jaggies during motion in this remaster.
Beyond the visual improvements, there are additional changes, from new voice lines (yes, you are reading that right) to updated controls. I’ll highlight the voice line change in another article, but for controls, the aiming and shooting buttons have been remapped to the trigger buttons rather than the bumpers. It’s a small change, but it does make for better controls. Don’t expect a whole lot of changes in the gameplay department, outside of special unlocked items now being unlocked differently. There’s no password menu for beating the game, so those unlocks you could cheat to get, such as the Assassin’s Creed outfit, will need to be unlocked the legit way.
Which, speaking of the real-world collabs, as far as I’m aware, everything is still there. Playboy, iPod, Sony Ericsson, the PS3, and PSP (whether those are in the Xbox version, I have no clue), along with several licensed guns, are still there. That’s not true of Peace Walker, but that is the HD Remaster version previously released on the PS3, which already cut some of that stuff out. Motion controls are there too, even on the Steam Deck for those wondering. If there are any drastic omissions from the campaign itself in MGS4, I haven’t noticed them. It’s not to say there aren’t any
Sadly, because there is no long in-game installation as the original PS3 version had upon boot, a generation of gamers will miss out on watching an old man take a 20-minute cigarette break. Look, that might seem like an odd thing to say now, because who wants to see an old wrinkly man smoking for 20-minutes? It’s about the experience, and at the time of the game’s release, long installations were very much a thing in gaming. This was Kojima’s way of making the wait entertaining. Since waiting for game installations is essentially a thing of the past, the scene has been removed. Makes sense, but I would have loved to see it be part of the game’s launcher menu, instead of the featured box art cover.
I’m also bummed out by the omission of Metal Gear Online 2 from Metal Gear Solid 4, but that does seem to be a hard trend for older games getting remasters. I mean, I get it; they would have to redo the entire online infastructure, which includes rebuilding the whole Konami ID and Game ID system. It was a pain to deal with in the original, and I suppose that’s just an endeavor too big for Konami to undertake. Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker thankfully comes with online play, but it’s built on an entirely different system than MGO2. So while I’m disappointed MGO2 is still locked to the PS3, I also fully understand the potential technical reasons it’s not included. All I can say is, Konami, please, give us an MGO Vol. collection!
Additionally, full online support is available. Because we were only allowed one review code, we couldn’t test the online option. I’m not too worried about that; Co-op was fun back then, it was fun in the HD release, and I’m sure it’ll be fun here. The good thing this time around is that it’s releasing on platforms that’ll stick around indefinitely, meaning the online will at least be played much longer than the re-release. Full custom controls are in too, which is a neat quality-of-life improvement; otherwise, the game is mostly unchanged from its HD release, aside from the improved resolution and cutscene quality.
For more of the diehard fans out there, each game also comes with a Database, Master Book, and Screenplay Book if you want to look through every line of dialogue in each game, explore the definitive timeline, and more.
That’s the Snake I Remember
It took eighteen years, but Old Snake is finally free of his cell architecture prison. It shines strong on modern platforms, which is surprising, considering how Vol. 1 turned out. But it seems that Konami has taken all the criticism to heart, pouring the care, polish, and respect into Vol. 2 that this legendary saga deserved from the start. It’s the kind of game preservation that I feel every remaster should aim for, and I cannot recommend this collection enough.
Whether you’re a long-time veteran returning to watch the sun set on Solid Snake’s final mission or a newcomer finally getting the chance to experience the complete timeline from start to finish, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 is an absolute must-play. It honors Kojima’s original cinematic vision while stripping away the technical limitations of 2008, delivering a definitive package that ensures Snake’s legendary farewell will live on for generations to come.
Seriously, guys, this is it. This is what all of us Metal Gear Solid fans have been waiting for all this time.
Pros
- MGS4 remains an outstanding conclusion to Solid Snake's story
- Higher-resolution textures, improved shadows, effects, draw distance, and anti-aliasing
- Excellent 4K/60 FPS performance on PC
- Updated controls make aiming and shooting feel better
- Peace Walker includes online play and custom controls
- MGS4 remains an outstanding conclusion to Solid Snake's story
- Preserves the original game's licensed content and collaborations - Excellent preservation of the original games with minimal compromise
Cons
- No Metal Gear Online 2
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