KONAMI’s Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 arrives with a rather different proposition from its predecessor. Where the first volume packed in a large number of games and variations, this follow-up is much more focused, bringing together Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and the Game Boy Color curiosity Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. That makes it a smaller collection on paper, and at its asking price there is certainly room to argue that KONAMI could have gone further by including games such as Portable Ops or the Metal Gear Ac!d titles. But there’s also no getting around the importance of its main attraction: after spending almost two decades trapped on the PlayStation 3, Metal Gear Solid 4 is finally available on modern hardware, and that alone makes Vol. 2 a significant release for fans of the series.
For many players, Guns of the Patriots will therefore be the reason to buy this collection, and revisiting Old Snake’s final mission is every bit as fascinating today as it is occasionally frustrating. Set in a world where warfare has become increasingly commercialized and private military companies have gained enormous influence, the game sends an accelerated-ageing Snake on one final mission to confront Liquid Ocelot. It is a premise that carries the enormous weight of the entire series on its shoulders, attempting to reconnect characters, factions and plot threads from across the Metal Gear saga while delivering a definitive farewell to Solid Snake. The result is often spectacular, emotional and wonderfully ridiculous in equal measure. Its convoluted plotting can be difficult to follow and the sheer amount of fan service means newcomers will get considerably less out of it, but for those invested in the series, its biggest moments still have an impact that few games can match.
Of course, MGS4’s reputation for lengthy cinematics remains entirely deserved. This is a game that can regularly take control away from the player for extended stretches, sometimes returning the controls only to interrupt the action again shortly afterwards. That can make its pacing feel positively archaic when compared to modern stealth games, and the bosses are not always among the series’ strongest. Yet when Guns of the Patriots does let you play, it remains a remarkably inventive stealth-action game. The warzone setting creates more dynamic infiltration opportunities than the series’ traditional isolated bases, while multiple routes, gadgets and tactical options encourage experimentation. OctoCamo remains an especially elegant mechanic, automatically adapting Snake’s appearance to the environment, while smaller Kojima-style touches involving distractions, barrels, magazines and the Metal Gear Mk. II continue to give the experience its wonderfully eccentric personality.
The PS5 version gives MGS4 the kind of technical refresh it desperately needed without fundamentally remaking the game. Running at 60 frames per second with greatly reduced loading times, the experience feels considerably smoother and more responsive than it did on PS3. The improvement is particularly noticeable during combat and infiltration, while the near-instantaneous loading removes one of the most obvious frustrations associated with the original release. Visually, however, this is still recognizably a PlayStation 3 game. Some character models and environmental details reveal their age, and this is more preservation than reinvention, but the art direction, animation work and cinematic presentation remain impressive enough that the game still carries plenty of visual personality. Its audio work has aged equally well, with the dramatic score, voice acting and effects continuing to support its blockbuster ambitions.
Peace Walker provides a very different kind of Metal Gear experience. Originally designed around the PSP, its structure is built around shorter, self-contained missions rather than one continuously unfolding campaign, and its presentation still shows the limitations of its handheld origins. The controls are considerably more comfortable than they were on the original PSP thanks to the HD Collection foundation used here, but some of the underlying design still feels comparatively rigid on a modern controller. Even so, the game remains enormously important to the larger Metal Gear story, following Big Boss as he builds Militaires Sans Frontières and explores events that would eventually help lay the groundwork for The Phantom Pain. Its more straightforward narrative approach works in its favour, while its animated comic-book cutscenes give it a distinctive visual identity that still stands apart from the rest of the series.
Peace Walker also remains one of the collection’s most mechanically interesting games. Its mission-based format makes it easy to play in shorter sessions, but systems such as recruiting soldiers and extracting equipment using the Fulton recovery system create a satisfying loop that extends beyond simply sneaking through the next area. Mother Base management would later become far more elaborate in Metal Gear Solid V, but the foundations are already clearly visible here. The return of online co-op is particularly welcome, allowing up to four players to tackle missions together, while competitive multiplayer supports larger groups as well. That multiplayer focus can make parts of Peace Walker feel less satisfying when played entirely alone, but having the functionality preserved is a major positive. The lack of cross-play on PlayStation 5 is less impressive, however, and the omission of Metal Gear Online from MGS4 feels even more noticeable when Peace Walker’s online modes have been retained.
The third game, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, is smaller in scale but far from a throwaway inclusion. This Game Boy Color spin-off offers a top-down stealth experience that sits somewhere between the original MSX games and the ideas introduced by Metal Gear Solid. Its story exists outside the main continuity, but the focused gameplay and surprisingly sophisticated mechanics make it an enjoyable piece of the franchise’s history. KONAMI has also given it some useful modern conveniences, including more comfortable control mapping, display options and a rewind feature. The latter is especially handy when a stealth attempt goes wrong, although it does make us wonder why similar quality-of-life features weren’t extended to more of the collection. Still, Ghost Babel is a worthwhile bonus rather than mere filler, and its pixel art and music remain charming reminders of just how ambitious the series could be on limited hardware.
The digital extras add further value, particularly for dedicated fans looking to dive deeper into the lore. Screenplay Books, Master Books, the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database and a dedicated soundtrack player provide a substantial amount of supplementary material. The collection’s presentation is also functional rather than particularly luxurious, with the individual games essentially operating as separate applications rather than being woven together into a more cohesive package. Given the series’ history and the importance of the games included, it would have been nice to see more ambitious archival material, such as new interviews or behind-the-scenes content.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 is therefore an unusual package to judge. Taken purely as a compilation, it feels less generous than Vol. 1 and leaves several obvious omissions on the table. But the quality and historical importance of the games themselves make that criticism difficult to separate from the value of finally having MGS4 available on PlayStation 5. Guns of the Patriots remains an excessive, occasionally exhausting but hugely memorable conclusion to one of gaming’s most important sagas, while Peace Walker remains a mechanically inventive and narratively significant chapter that deserves more attention than its PSP origins initially allowed. Ghost Babel is a welcome extra, even if it cannot entirely compensate for the collection’s relatively slim game count. The result is a package that could certainly have been more ambitious, but for Metal Gear fans, the chance to finally revisit these games on modern hardware makes Vol. 2 a collection that is much easier to appreciate than to dismiss.
Score: 8.5/10