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Metal Gear Solid - Master Collection Vol 1 is out, bringing MGS3 to PC for the first timeBossing it
Bossing it
Image credit:Konami
Image credit:Konami

Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAA - Oh, there you are, Snake. This is just a quick Codec to let you know that Konami’sstealthblockbuster bundleMetal Gear Solid - Master Collection Volume 1is now available to buy. Did you ever play Metal Gear Solid, Snake? It’s this sprawling philosophical epic about war, surveillance, AI, nationalism and anti-heroism, a baroque metafictional saga spanning generations that is also a complex series of videogame design experiments. I know - it’s a lot to take in, Snake, but you can sort of boil the series down to the difference between two varieties of wall. There are the ones you hide behind, so as to get the drop on your foes, and there are the ones you break, because they’re fourth walls, Snake. Do you see?
Right, that’s quite enough of that. Available onSteamorHumble, The Master Collection Vol 1 contains the originalMetal Gearand Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for MSX2, the breakthrough PS1 titleMetal Gear Solidand the PS2 sequels,Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of LibertyandMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. You’ll also get a bunch of bonus SE gubbins, including the non-Kojima-developed standalone sequel Snake’s Revenge for NES, a couple of Metal Gear digital graphics novels and a soundtrack. It’ll set you back £50 or $60. Here’s a promotional image with more.
Image credit:Konami

The standout here is MGS3 - this is the first time it’s been released for PC, and it’s the HD remaster to boot, so hopefully it’ll scrub up nicely on your desk and/or laptop. Konami are also working ona full Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, which you might consider either an incentive to replay the original or an incentive to steer away from it, so as to go into the remake fresh.
Many and ferocious are the battles fought over which Metal Gear Solid is bestest (the first two games tend to get left out of the discussion, because they don’t have 3D graphics and as such, are no longer considered to be Real Videogames). Purists will of course favour MGS1, which I adore for being a free-wheeling experiment with 3D spaces and perspectives. Metal Gear Solid 3 is great for people who love survivalism and relatively unfussy (relatively, mind you) storylines: it also has my favourite “villain” of the series in the shape of Big Boss’s mentor, the Boss. Sons of Liberty is your go-to for unpleasantly enduring cautionary tales about global politics and digital technology. It also has Raiden in it, who didn’t go down well with fans at first, but who would later star in the awesome, Platinum-helmed Revengeance.