Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection

Well I played Metal Gear Solid 4, and after I beat it I wanted to know more of the back story. I looked up Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection, for this offered $30 for all 3 games. This was perfect, no searching around everywhere buying separate overpriced games.MGS1 was early PSX technology, it was one of the newer 3d games at the time. Like all MGS's it's mainly stealth gameplay. The enemy soldiers are the easiest of the MG series. It's a good introduction into the gameplay until later titles. Your main character is Solid Snake who has to rescue 2 hostages, but the mission becomes much more. He has to stop the Metal Gear, a weapon of destruction. The villians in this one as well as other Metal Gear's are strange and introduce you to their back stories along the way. You'll meet up with Meryl in the game, a lady soldier who helps you out at times. This game is actually my 2nd favorite MGS game after 4.MGS2 has some mixed reviews, let's just say you won't play Snake the whole time. You'll also play as Raiden a new soldier being sent out to rescue the president, and prevent an explosion and environmental disaster on a water base. You do get the impression of him being a rookie, he complains at times, and seems to be learning with each new sitution. He's an ok character to me.The thing I don't like in this game mainly for me is the base itself, it seems like your going back and forth in circles. Like go to Strut A and to Core 2, to Strut AB. You do this alot. The spy robot are also a pain, I prefered the cameras. Now the story is good, like the other MGS's. This is the least favorite game still out of the series, not good exactly overall but ok.MGS 3 is the hardest out of all MGS's for me. I've died quite alot. You play Big Boss when he was younger, known now as the original Snake. You'll have a lot of enemies bunched together. It's a harder to stealth enemies. You have the added camoflouge in this game accordingly to the envirionment your in. For example dirt plantless environment, dark, forest, etc. The enemies are hard to see themselves, they take on the color of their environment. This game has the best story in my opinion, but it's hard and can be frustating.The enemies in this are crazy as always, a guy with bees and a 100 year old sniper or some of them. In all the MGS's you get a radar, in this game you only get sonar. The sonar you have to click the R3 button, so it's tougher in this one. You can change the camera angle in this subsitence version, the older MGS 3 you couldn't. The camera change in this does help somewhat.There's just no beating this deal. If your interested in even 1 MGS game, just get the whole pack it's $30 anyways. I'm glad I have the whole story line now, and going through them a second time should be easier. Remember some of them you get away less with stealth than others, so be wary. I really enjoyed this series.

This essentials collection without a doubt is a true bargain for $24.75(after they've charged you $4.75 shipping#. You receive: Metal Gear Solid#PS1#; Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance#PS2#; and Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence#PS2#, but I admit that it does come with notable flaws.1# For the Metal Gear Solid#PS1# you cannot save any of your game progress whatsoever onto your PS2 memory card. You can only save onto a PS1 memory card or a PS3 hard drive, and this is a true letdown as this collection was aimed mainly at a PS2 audience and could not be fixed.2) The original Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence came with two discs. The first disc had the actual game, along with some new camoflauge patterns and a newly improved camera angle. The second disc included an online mode#which is no longer supported as Konami shut down the servers in April 2007#, a movie theater where you could view all of the game cutscenes seperately, and a few other features that I cannot recall right now. Now the PROBLEM is that in the collection version, you ONLY receive disc 1. The most likely explination for this is, due to the previoulsy stated fact, that online is no longer supported by Konami. Even without the online I still would have liked to have received disc 2. I think Konami was just flat out lazy for not being able to just give us disc 2 with the online feature completely removed.3) A very minor flaw, for me at least, was the box art for each of the game cases. To me they seem very plain , and I would have much rather preferred the original box art for each game. Again, a VERY unimportant flaw, but sort of a let down to any strict clollectors out there, and me.The first two points truly are the only major vices that this collection has#along with the 3rd minor one). But still, for a grand total of $24.75, this collection was definately worth the purchase, considering that most new PS2 games cost $20 each these days, and that you receive what are some true masterpeices in PS2 and PS1 gaming still available today. This set is also a very affordable way for any gamers new to the series to learn up on the plotline going into Metal Gear Solid 4#PS3).

This has to be one of the funnest Shooter Game/Strategy that I have ever played. ALL the games are fun, even the first Metal Gear (which looks like PS1 graphics). This is recommended for anyone who never played Metal Gear and would like to own it. Get this collection now, don't buy them individually, it's a better value for the buck. Especially the 3rd game, which cost as much as this entire package.If your someone that is timid about shooters I'd recommend this as well. This game is so fun that you'll forget about the shooting(depending on which version) and instead wonder how to sneak around that enemy near that left wall, or perhaps lure that other enemy into a trap? This game is focused on stealth, and although you can fight enemies (which at points you have to) it's better to avoid detection.The characters are also "realistic", even in the PS1 version. From Snake's "quirky" comments and attitude, you'll enjoy the variety of personalities within each character and how they react to each-other as well. If Snake dies in the game, the characters will scream his name in desperation. Which can be a little sad.My only con is the memory card. The game did not "read" the memory card on the PS2 (This is the original PS2 memory card) and therefore I could not save. I turned the system off, back on, same result. I then cleaned the slot and card. Same. So then I had to reset the machine and pull the memory card out, then put it back in without the CD. Funny thing is that the system read the card itself. So I'm not sure if it was the game's fault itself, but I was finally able to save after deleting some free space and having to go up against another "no memory" lapse even after deleting some space before I was finally able to save.