Getting to play Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on anything other than the PlayStation 3 is a crazy thing for gamers who were around at its launch to consider. The game, thought to be forever confined to its PS3 prison, is now free from its shackles and available for everyone to enjoy as part of the new Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol 2.
The first of these compilations, Master Collection Vol 1, was a nice way to play the first 3 Metal Gear Solid titles (along with Metal Gear and Snake’s Revenge) in one place. However, those games weren’t lost to a tangled mess of custom coding and Cell Engine architecture, and while it was an attractive package, it didn’t seem as necessary as this new one, since they all have re-releases on newer hardware. Vol 2 restores a piece of gaming history and allows current-gen owners to finally see what the fuss was all about.
Of course, Metal Gear Solid 4 isn’t the only game in the collection; we also have the often-overlooked Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker to accompany 4, as well as a cheeky little bonus game we will get to later.
So, after spending some time with Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol 2, is this one worth picking up, or should MGS 4 have stayed locked up on the PS3?
After all, war has changed.
"War has changed. It's no longer about nations, ideologies, or ethnicity. It's an endless series of proxy battles, fought by mercenaries and machines."
Sitting here in 2026 reviewing Metal Gear Solid 4 is honestly bewildering. It was a game lost to time, most thought, and even when the first collection came with the Vol 1 tag suggesting further collections to come, many in the Metal Gear fandom said that there was no way that 4 would be part of the next one. And yet here we are.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is Kojima’s magnum opus. He went on to make Metal Gear Solid 5, but the tales of that development and the strained relationships that led to Kojima’s departure from Konami are now ingrained in gaming history. The unfinished nature of MGS 5 is such a sad way for the series to fizzle out after the glory of Guns of the Patriots.
Now, you will get those who play this game, and from that iconic live-action interview with David Hayter himself, will sit and think to themselves that this is the ramblings of a madman. And they would be correct.
Kojima was a madman, a beautiful, film-obsessed genius of a madman, and you either love his work or hate it. But regardless of your stance, you have to admire it. Sure, even I will admit his work outside Konami, with the Death Stranding franchise, is not my cup of tea. However, getting to see a brain like his at work in this day and age is something we should relish, and I’m sure scholars will debate far into the future - provided society doesn’t ignore his warnings peppered throughout each of his games and annihilate itself, that is.
I digress, but to cover any of these classics without touching upon the madness/ genius that is Hideo Kojima would be sacrilege. In my view, having “handlers” like Konami to rein in the wackiness is what allowed his stories to be somewhat understood by average gamers. Let's be honest - Death Stranding is full-on Kojima unleashed, for better and for worse.
That isn’t to say that you can’t enjoy his creations. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is a much more straightforward adventure, even though it's tied to the overarching franchise narrative. But to jump back to MGS 4 - this game isn’t just barmy - it's almost not even a game!
When we first take control of Solid/Old Snake in MGS 4, we are introduced to a future where war is a constant part of life. Dropped into the middle of a warzone, Snake is on a mission to not only track down his brother Liquid, but to fight against Father Time himself as he battles the rapid aging caused by the FOXDIE virus in his system.
Have I lost some of you? That will likely be because you haven’t played the games preceding this one to learn that the now-missing chief medical staff officer, Dr Naomi Hunter, injected Snake with FOXDIE right before his mission at Shadow Moses in Metal Gear Solid. It’s a lot, I know.
As a whole, Metal Gear Solid hasn’t been the most welcoming franchise for newcomers (or vets, for that matter) when it comes to the obtuse and confusing story and timeline of the games. Coming only second to Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear may be quite off-putting for those keen to learn the ongoing narrative.
And that isn't due to a lack of cutscenes or storytelling.
If you count the playtime where you are actually controlling Snake vs the time watching cutscenes, you may have a meltdown. The majority of the time, you are getting heavy character-building moments, flashbacks, exposition dumps, and long-winded speeches from other bizarrely named characters. Back when this launched on PS3, even the initial load time of the game, which is now thankfully gone, ended with Snake/Hayter’s raspy iconic line, “Kept you waiting, huh?” Like I said - genius.
There aren’t many, if any, directors out there who could conceive a game like Guns of the Patriots; the movement, shooting, and stealth all have stood the test of time, as have the boss fights, dialogue, and the future-based setting we find ourselves in. But some will hate the constant barrage of cutscenes, codec calls, and wacky moments with characters like Johnny (Akiba).
And yes - this is the game infamous for having a cutscene that is over an hour long.
If you don’t get Kojima’s style, then 4 definitely is not the game to introduce you to the franchise. I would recommend Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater Delta or the first Metal Gear Solid before you sink your teeth into this one. It is the culmination of decades of well-laid-out absurdity wrapped around stealth gameplay and secret government conspiracies, not an entry for newcomers.
Which brings us to another option if you fall into that camp: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Originally released in 2010 for the PSP, it is the second game in this collection. Unlike 4, Peacewalker has since been re-released as part of the HD Collection for PS3 and Xbox 360. Thanks to Xbox Backward Compatibility, Peacewalker can be played today, albeit on the Xbox One or Series S/X.
MGS Peace Walker has a much easier-to-follow narrative. The game serves as a chronological follow-up to Snake Eater and Portable Ops, and stars Big Boss rather than Solid Snake. So if you have recently finished Delta, this is the one to play next.
The story follows Big Boss as he investigates a mercenary group in Costa Rica with his newly formed unit, Militaires Sans Frontieres (Soldiers Without Borders). Of course, nuclear weapons are involved as we witness Big Boss's downfall from a betrayed military legend to the eventual antagonist of the original Metal Gear.
Originally a handheld title in the days before the likes of the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch 2, the mission size reflects the on-the-go nature that portable consoles needed at the time. Bite-sized is putting it lightly.
But don’t let the short missions fool you.
While some missions may take no time to hit the objectives, and there are smaller areas rather than big open zones, Peace Walker is actually on the longer side when compared to other games in the series, clocking in at around 30-odd hours just to beat the story - with 200 hours estimated to see the true ending thanks to 100s of side-ops, the Mother Base construction and building Metal Gear Zeke (which requires a ton of grind). In comparison, MGS 4 will take around 20 hours - and half of that is watching cutscenes - no, I’m not kidding!
Its predecessor, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, was clearly a test of the hardware; Peace Walker is a full-fat Metal Gear adventure that deserves its “main game” status that so many often brush aside in favor of the numbered games. It is the perfect companion to Guns of the Patriots and shows the care Kojima gave his series, even at a time when handheld releases were seen as lesser titles.
So, what else is included in the package? Well, I got a nice surprise, since I hadn't realized another game was included in Vol 2; but when I opened the extras section, there it was - Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel sitting there, looking at me as an additional title to play. This is an often-overlooked Game Boy title that is a whole lot of fun.
I owned this one as a kid and spent hours trying to beat it, yet never could. Ghost Babel is an alternate sequel to the original Metal Gear. While simplistic in its looks, the series' staple features are retained, and while you may not spend the majority of your time on this neat little extra, I would say it is way more playable than the original 2 games included in Vol 1.
To top it off, you get the digital soundtrack and digital books that are always way too awkward to read on a TV screen, but if you like the lore and art, there is plenty here to sink your teeth into, despite the physical book versions being the superior way to check these out. Peace Walker also comes with new graphical options, including a high-resolution mode that makes the game look better than ever.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol 2 is an incredible piece of gaming history, simply for bringing Metal Gear Solid 4 back from the dead for modern audiences. On top of this, Peace Walker is a fantastic companion game, and the digital extras, including Ghost Babel, are a nice little touch. Despite Vol 1 containing more games, the fact that we have MGS 4 here in its entirety (minus Metal Gear Online, which was removed on later PS3 releases) is a moment that deserves all the attention.
If the franchise keeps selling well and we get a Vol 3 with those last few games like Rising and Portable Ops (throw in Acid 1 & 2 also), we will be in the perfect place for Konami to finally make an attempt at their very own Metal Gear… just don’t even mention Survive.
