Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 are the latest games to come to Xbox One backwards compatibility. The two come by way of their HD ports to the Xbox 360 in 2011 — ports that targeted 60fps and a widescreen 16:9 presentation.
The Xbox One backwards compatibility program gives players several ways to play these games. The original disc version of these games can be popped into an Xbox One, or the games can be downloaded digitally. MGS2 and 3 are available for $20 together on the Xbox Live marketplace.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty originally released in 2001. MGS 2: Substance was an expanded and refined version of that and is used as the basis for the HD remaster. Metal Gear Solid 2 was acclaimed when it was released, although it drew ire from some fans due to its infamous bait and switch. Director Hideo Kojima tricked many following the game into believing they would spend the game playing as Solid Snake. Instead, much of the game had players in the shoes of Raiden, whom many fans criticized.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was the next game in the series and came out in 2004 but not chronologically. Snake Eater went back in time the the 1960s and cast players as Naked Snake, who became Big Boss. An expanded and remastered version of Snake Eater known as Subsistence was released in 2005, which was used for the HD remaster. Subsistence refined the game’s camera and made it fully user-controlled like many modern games. MGS3 was adored by many for its setting and gameplay, and it became integral to other games in the series including Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear series is slowly making its way to the Xbox One via backwards compatibility and new releases. With the addition of MGS2 and MGS3, the Xbox One has more Metal Gear Solid games than it doesn’t. The only mainline Metal Gear Solid games not available on the system are the first and fourth games. Comparatively, the PS4 only has access to Metal Gear Solid V. The Xbox One backwards compatibility program now supports over 500 Xbox 360 and original Xbox games.
