Pre-E3 trailer for Zone of the Enders: HD Collection

Last year, Konami announced plans to release the first two Zone of the Enders games in an HD collection, much like they did with the Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill games. Now they have revealed the trailer for the collection as well as the new anime-style intro sequence, made by Sunrise. Zone of the Enders is a series that I missed out on during its original release, due in large part to limited releases of the games and the fact that the game did not gain the reputation it has today until quite some time after it came out. I'm a huge fan of Hideo Kojima's work with the Metal Gear Solid series, and I happen to enjoy mecha anime, so you can bet I will be purchasing this HD collection when it hits store shelves before the end of the year.



Here is the newly-animated intro.



Also, in case you didn't hear, Kojima is releasing the HD collection as part of the build-up to a brand new entry into the Zone of the Enders series. Freaking awesome.

Xbox 360 review: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Back in 2008, Konami released the Metal Gear Solid Essentials Collection shortly before the long-anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The Essentials Collection was comprised of the first three Metal Gear Solid titles, and served as a refresher for veterans of the series as well as an inexpensive means for newcomers to get acquainted with Solid Snake and Big Boss. Now Konami is at it again with the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, and gamers can revisit three games from the series on the current gen consoles. Included in the HD Collection are Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and Peace Walker. For those not so familiar with the chronology of the series, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a direct sequel to the PS1 Metal Gear Solid, while 3 and Peace Walker act as prequels to the original MSX Metal Gear games.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is divided into two chapters. The first puts you in control of Solid Snake as he sneaks aboard a US Marine corps tanker making its way down the Hudson River. Otacon has uncovered information that the Marine corps has been developing a new type of Metal Gear, and Snake's mission is to locate it and snap some photographs that they can leak online and expose the military's unethical decision to construct such a machine. The situation quickly escalates as Russian soldiers board the tanker and take out the guards, and Snake barely manages to send Otacon the photos before Revolver Ocelot shows up, steals the new Metal Gear RAY, and sinks the ship into the river. The first section lasts an hour at the longest, and serves primarily as a tutorial section, allowing you to familiarize yourself with the controls, sneaking tactics, and a brief boss battle.

Two years later, Raiden is sent into a water decontamination facility known as Big Shell, in order to rescue hostages from the terrorist organization known as Dead Cell. This second chapter, known as the Plant Chapter, has Raiden sneaking around guards, disarming explosives, swimming through flooded areas of Big Shell, and going toe-to-toe with the four members of Dead Cell. The Plant Chapter has a greater variety of gameplay, and also lasts significantly longer. Many of the areas in Big Shell look similar, and it can be easy to get lost early on.

Raiden can be whiny at times, but he's nowhere near as unlikable as his girlfriend/radio support Rosemary, who can't seem to remember that Raiden is on an important mission and should not have time to chat about her feelings. Meanwhile, the odd behavior and unique abilities that each member of Dead Cell exhibits makes them quite interesting. The story may be slow-going at first, but the darker tone and multiple plot twists that unfold during the last few hours make it all worth the trouble. Metal Gear Solid 2 may not control as smoothly as the other two titles, and there are moments that prove rather frustrating. But the boss fights are epic and the story has a downright brilliant conclusion.

Easily the best of the bunch, Metal Gear Solid 3 follows Naked Snake as he is sent into Russia to stop a separatist group known as GRU and their leader the sadistic Colonel Volgin from usurping Khrushchev and developing the Shagohod, an all-terrain tank armed with nuclear missiles, in order to start a war with the US. Snake must make his way through the jungle and use various camouflage and face paints to blend in with his surrounding and avoid detection by the enemy. The rate at which Snake recovers health is determined by two factors - how hungry he is, and if he is injured in any way. Snake has a limited number of rations and medical supplies at the outset of Operation: Snake Eater, though wild animals can be killed and eaten, while bandages and splints can sometimes be found in warehouses and supply rooms.

Snake's mission is two-fold. While he maintains his focus on stopping Volgin and destroying the Shagohod, he is constantly reminded of the fact that he must face down the elite members of the Cobra Unit and The Boss - their leader and his former mentor. Snake also becomes romantically linked to one of his contacts, a blonde code breaker named EVA, and shares a rivalry with a young Revolver Ocelot. All of this culminates to one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game. What Hideo Kojima has accomplished with Metal Gear Solid 3 is unrivaled by many a novel, film, or television series.

Finally, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker sees perhaps the boldest undertaking by Konami, as it was originally released for the Playstation Portable and has been ported over to consoles. Peace Walker takes place ten years after Metal Gear Solid 3 as Naked Snake (now known as Big Boss) is in the process of training his own private army after having left the United States behind. He is asked to intervene in Costa Rica, where a series of AI-controlled mechs are being developed.

Peace Walker's level design is similar to that of Metal Gear Solid 3, with small areas connecting to one another, though Peace Walker shrinks these down and sets up barriers in order to make gameplay more linear. The game adopts an RPG element of recruiting troops and developing weapons, the results of which are mixed. On the one hand, putting the time and effort to experiment with this can unlock different weapons and make your experience different from anyone else's. On the other hand, it can prove annoying when a certain weapon or item is required to progress to the next mission and you must grind through the optional missions so that the research can progress.

Peace Walker's visuals don't quite hold up to the other two, but for a handheld game it looks pretty darn impressive. There's a great attention to detail, and colors pop nicely against the backdrops of different environments. Traditional cutscenes are thrown out in favor of a gritty motion comic style. Some of these sequences involve quick time events, and all of it plays out well - it's a great artistic direction for the game and provides an extra level of immersion. While the Metal Gear series has a long history of great soundtracks, Peace Walker's might be the best yet.

Not all HD collections are made equal. There have been some in the past couple of years that left players disappointed due to a lack of content or aesthetic alterations. With the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, it's a completely opposite scenario. Despite the fact that the first Metal Gear Solid is not included, the bonuses of MGS2's VR missions, Peace Walker's online multiplayer, and the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake provide plenty of replay value after the main three games have been completed. When other companies look into releasing HD collections of classic games, the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection should be their primary reference.

My rating: 9 (out of 10)

HD Collection wishlist

It seems that HD collections of games from last generation's consoles are all the rage right now - at least, from the developers' standpoint. And frankly, any given one of them - from the largely criticized Silent Hill HD collection to the more graciously accepted Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid HD collections - are solid packages for the price. Paying $30 to $40 for two to three games, each of which lasts significantly longer than many current gen titles is none too shabby. Personally, I would like to see some more of these HD collections hit store shelves. I realize that the some of the games listed below have a much better chance of seeing inclusion on an HD collection than others. But this is my own personal wishlist, and if I want to bend the rules a little bit, I shall do just that.

With the WiiU on the horizon, Nintendo could break into the market of these HD collections by turning to releases from the purple lunchbox. While I personally stuck with the Gamecube through thick and thin, there are quite a few gamers who opted for the Playstation 2 or Xbox and in turn missed out on some great gems. Nintendo does like to group games based on the audience they are catering to, and as such I have organized two hypothetical Nintendo HD collections by the ESRB ratings of the included games.

The first is the 'E for Everyone' collection, whose main attraction is Super Mario Sunshine. Mario Sunshine is an underappreciated entry into the plumber's adventures, and has a lot to offer in terms of playability. Included with it would be Pikmin, a brilliant little strategy/adventure game, and Kirby Air Ride, a very different experience with the pink puffball than his traditional side-scrolling platformers.

The second collection would include games labeled with the 'T for Teen' rating. At the forefront would be Metroid Prime, which is hands-down one of the best games from last generation's consoles. The second entry would be Star Fox Assault, one of the most graphically gorgeous games on the Gamecube. The story mode is linear in comparison to Star Fox 64's multiple routes. But switching between vehicles provides dynamic gameplay and the multiplayer is surprisingly addictive. To top things off, F-Zero GX would be included for the gamers who want an extra level of challenge (which isn't to say that the other two are a cake walk).

I love what Konami has done with the Metal Gear Solid HD collection, and I really commend them for porting Peace Walker over to consoles. I would like to consider the possibility of them creating another Metal Gear Solid HD collection, and including The Twin Snakes and Portable Ops. This might not seem as substantial a package as what the first MGS HD collection offered, but if they were to include the original Metal Gear Solid (accessible from the menu of The Twin Snakes in the same manner that Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake were accessible from the menu of Metal Gear Solid 3) and the VR missions, as well as everything included with Portable Ops and Portable Ops Plus, the sum of those parts would serve as a nice rounded out package. I'm not knocking the original MGS. But the character models and environments are really nothing spectacular considering the graphical limitations of the original Playstation. That's why I would feature The Twin Snakes as a prominent part of the package. But if both tellings of the Shadow Moses incident can be incorporated into a second Metal Gear Solid HD collection, then obviously players should have their choice.

Capcom loves to repackage and re-release their games as many times as possible. While the HD versions of Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica did not make as big of a splash as Capcom had probably hoped, they could easily make up for this by releasing a proper physical HD collection to follow up those two games. Should Capcom choose to revisit the formula that the older games in the series followed, my suggestion would be that they stick with the earliest events in the Resident Evil chronology. As such, the games I would include in a second Resident Evil HD collection would be Resident Evil Zero, the Gamecube remake of the original Resident Evil, and Resident Evil 2. The two Gamecube entries present the classic horror style that the series is known for, and look downright gorgeous for the hardware they originally ran on. Resident Evil 2 certainly looks more dated, but is one of the most popular entries in the series, and would be more warmly received than either of the Outbreak titles or Dead Aim.

Finally, an entry that I really cannot see happening anytime soon (if at all) would be a Sonic Adventure HD collection. This collection would include both Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, as those versions of each game would make for a more completed package. It's possible that SEGA could tack Sonic Heroes on as well, but beyond that there are really no other 3D Sonic games old enough to be considered for such a collection. The reason I consider a Sonic Adventure HD collection so unlikely is that Sonic Adventure was ported to the Xbox Live Arcade not too long ago, and SEGA even went ahead and released a Dreamcast collection disc that included the likes of Space Channel Five and Sonic Adventure. Also, Sonic Generations is still relatively recent in gamer's minds, so I can't see SEGA jumping on an HD collection anytime real soon.

Konami announces HD collections

As a pre-E3 announcement, Konami has revealed three HD collections that will see release for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. Arguably the most exciting is the Metal Gear Solid three pack, which will include Sons of Liberty, Snake Eater, and Peace Walker. Peace Walker reportedly will allow players the option of transferring data over from their PSP copy of the game. The Silent Hill collection will include Silent Hill 2 and 3, while the Zone of the Enders collection will include both Zone of the Enders and The 2nd Runner.

I really liked how Konami and Capcom went ahead and did complete collection releases a few years back, with game series like Metal Gear Solid and Devil May Cry respectively, and these new HD collections are equally as appealing to me. While I think this is a great move on Konami's part, I'd personally like to see Capcom and others cash in on this. Perhaps a Resident Evil HD collection? As much as I enjoyed Resident Evil 4 (which was a lot), it's seen release on the Gamecube, PS2, Wii, and... iPhone. So I'd prefer to see the first two games, plus maybe Code Veronica or Resident Evil Zero just to mix things up a bit. I also wouldn't mind seeing Square Enix do a few HD Final Fantasy collection releases, specifically with regards to the PSone and PS2 releases.