Konami has just released Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3 patches, which finally turn them into the ports that we should have gotten a year ago.

Konami deserves a lot of credit for this. The devs, under the producer Noriaki OKamura, have been working on the many issues of the first Metal Gear Solid Master Collection for the past year. We finally got 360-degree analog control in MGS1 and fixes for launch problems that prevented players from downloading the international versions of MGS2. MGS2 even has a pause option. Imagine!

But the best was still to come. Konami has just released the 2.0 patches for MGS 2, 3 and 4. These patches add new internal resolutions and upscaling features that make these games look much better on modern displays. The studio has done the work that has been done by dedicated modders until now.

You can select "Adjusted Mode" in the launcher of each game before you begin playing. This will change the internal rendering resolution from 1080p up to 4K and the scaling to any value between 1080p and 4K. This affects both cutscenes and moment-to-moment game play. You can also mix and combine settings with a customized mode.

I'm not a member of PC Gamer's Hardware team, so please don't take what I say as definitive or exhaustive. However, it looks fantastic to me. I've played both MGS2 & 3 on my 4K TV with all the new features enabled. They both look sharp and clear, especially when compared to what you used to see on high-res displays before.

I also tried them on Steam Deck (where their original resolution wasn't an obstacle anyway) and they looked great there too. It's been almost a full year, but I think these two games finally have PC ports that are worthy of their legend. This is exactly what I wanted when I first launched them last October. The video above shows it in action, and I've made a comparison myself (with an added bonus of being able to make Snake blink). Although it might not seem like much from a small screen, the difference is quite noticeable on high-resolution TVs and monitors.

The patch includes a number of other improvements, including graphical ones. Both games also have new gamepad settings, which allow you to rebind controls. There is also a new keyboard layout (plus you can create your own custom one if you wish). MGS2 has new mouse support that lets you aim, use your weapon, and ready it in first-person.

Konami is not a company I want to sugarcoat. The games should have been in the same state when they were released, not nearly a year later. But as a MGS addict, I'm thrilled to have versions that feel definitive. Now that I'm able to bear to watch the game on television, my long-delayed MGS3 re-play can finally begin.

MGS1 is a game that will certainly elicit different opinions. MGS1 is a barebones PS1 emulator that runs the original PS1 version. It hasn't received a 2.0 update like its sequels. You can still get a better experience by using Duckstation or another PS1 emulation (though it is a bit of a hassle). MGS1 is a game that runs so well, I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to play it. However, I wouldn't mind if Konami released a similar whizzbang update for the original 3D Metal Gear.