Despite not seeing a new release in the series since 2018,Metal Gearfans were treated quite well at the recent PlayStation Showcase. Aside from the confirmation of the rumoredMetal Gear Solid 3remake, Konami is also bringing the first threeMetal Gear Solidgames to the PS5 via theMetal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1. While this collection only includes three games, it opens the door for the rest of the series to hit modern platforms down the line, includingMetal Gear Solid 4,which has remained trapped on the PS3.
Included in Volume 1 of theMetal Gear Solid Master Collectionis the originalMetal Gear Solid,Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and the originalMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. While these games have been re-released before in collections such asMetal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collectionfor the PS3 and theMetal Gear Solid HD Collectionfor the Xbox 360 and PS3, these titles have not been available on PlayStation consoles since. However, as nice as it will be to have these titles on PS5, rescuingMetal Gear Solid 4from the PS3 should be a top priority.
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The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Paves the Way for Metal Gear Solid 4 on Modern Platforms
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriotsoriginally released in 2008 for the PS3 and follows Old Snake, who has rapidly aged due to genetic changes as part of his cloning process.Metal Gear Solid 4’s story sees Old Snakeface off one final time with Liquid Snake, who is inhabiting the body of Revolver Ocelot in one of gaming auteur Hideo Kojima’s near universally acclaimed masterpieces. WhileMetal Gear Solid 4has become a beloved entry in the franchise, it’s had unfortunately limited accessibility due to its status as a PS3 exclusive.
Due to the unique architecture of the PS3, newer PlayStation consoles like the PS4 and PS5 have a difficult time emulatingPS3 games likeMetal Gear Solid 4without heavy alterations. While the hardware of the PS4 simply wasn’t powerful enough to handle the emulation of PS3 games, the PS5 boasts the specs necessary but would still have a hard time replicating PS3 titles without having to make fundamental changes to the original games' source codes. As such, most developers have not found the time or resources necessary to port PS3 games to modern consoles worth the investment, but theMetal Gear Solid Master Collectionshows that Konami may be willing to try.
The announcement states that this will be Volume 1 of theMetal Gear Solid Master Collection, implying that additional volumes could be on the way. It’s likely that Konami is testing the waters for theMetal Gearseries with this collection and theMetal Gear Solid 3remake in order gauge whether bringingMetal Gear Solid 4to the PS5 is worth the investment. Depending on how well these projects do, the company could see the value in bringing more classicMetal Geartitles to modern platforms.
AMetal Gear SolidMaster Collection Vol. 2could include not onlyMetal Gear Solid 4, butMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walkeras well as the classicMetal GearandMetal Gear 2titles to give players access the completeMetal Gear Solidsaga on the PS5. While this might be an ambitious undertaking given the notorious difficulty in porting PS3 games,Metal Gearfans are long overdue for a chance toreliveMetal Gear Solid 4outside of its initial release. However, the fact that this collection is labeled as Volume 1 is a great sign thatMetal Gear Solid 4might finally see the light of day once again.
Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1releases Fall 2023 for PS5.
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