Metal Gear Solid 3DS 'looks better than the HD update' - Edge review

CDK1986 on 20 Feb '12 said:

I suppose it would look better as rather than a "remaster" it's a genuine remake and has all the new code to go with it, the PS3 / Xbox 360 HD remasters still look great though

BLARRG on 20 Feb '12 said:

tbf its on a smaller screen so it was always going to look better

metallicorphan on 20 Feb '12 said:

not if that screenshot is anything to go by,look at that Anti-Aliasing (or non should i say)on The Bosses Nose!!,looks like a staircase

lonewolf2002 on 20 Feb '12 said:

not if that screenshot is anything to go by,look at that Anti-Aliasing (or non should i say)on The Bosses Nose!!,looks like a staircase

but surely it would not look that bad on the 3DS itself as the images have been stretched?

Gambini on 20 Feb '12 said:

Lol, edge.

Wakacha on 20 Feb '12 said:

Well seeing as it isn't a straight port of a PS2 game I would expect no less.

Only problem is, the game itself controls like ass. In the demo the movement and shooting felt bad. The FPS view in particular was atrocious, the movement was floaty and laggy as hell and it took close to, if not a second after pressing the fire button for it to work. The cutscenes were quite laggy as well and the 3D was crap.

The demo was an all round disappointment.

laslowoodbine on 20 Feb '12 said:

tbf its on a smaller screen so it was always going to look better

This.

TheCrimsonFenix on 20 Feb '12 said:

After attempting to give it a go, I got to say, no it doesn't. Not in terms of graphics quality or design. Like someone else said, the lack of anti-aliasing let's the game down and in a lot of ways any other 3DS or handheld game. It all looks so blocky. It's nothing to ruin the experience if you haven't played the game before and are used to the ol' brickwall syndrome but when it comes to saying it looks better than an HD update.. no, just no.

I tried giving the game a proper full go on my brother's 3DS and I have to say I just can't adapt to the controls even with the additional slider add-on he bought. Even with some possible adjustment to sensitivity, it's clear that the digital button setup feels like it's there and doesn't at all feel like it benefits from the analog slider. A quick circle rotation still ends up feeling like the camera/aiming reticule is moving horizontally then vertically rather than in an actual smooth circle. He says it's the same with Resi Revelations but maybe he just didn't try out some adjustments idk.

Data Ghost on 20 Feb '12 said:

I know what you mean Wakacha, but In fairness though you are basing your experience on a work in progress demo rather than the finished game.

To be honest tho it will have to be good to reach the standards set by resident Evil Revalations which is excellent!

Wakacha on 20 Feb '12 said:

I know what you mean Wakacha, but In fairness though you are basing your experience on a work in progress demo rather than the finished game.

I fully understand that, I just can't help but feel that way. I'm a big fan of the MGS series, so seeing a version of MGS3 being this bad is immensely disappointing. I can only hope that only the demo is this buggered up.

I don't plan on getting it, but I don't want someone's potential introduction to MGS3 to be a shoddy port.

Bjsfreaked on 20 Feb '12 said:

The thing I found with the demo is that its was hard to do many things within game. I love the MGS series and thoroughly loved snake eater on my ps2 and now my ps3 and xbox 360 (yes, i bought it on both - i know i'm sad )

an example that comes to mind is with peace walker. The controls on peace walker on the psp were hard and annoying and angered me a lot, yet on PS3 / Xbox, they work better and I can do things like use the camera a lot easier.

I think they over complicate the controls and game system for hand-helds because hand-helds in my opinion are more for picking up, playing put down then on a home console where you'd more likely to do a long stint. Things like that make more people want to trade in games than finish them off.

humanhand on 20 Feb '12 said:

bla bla bla, let's point out that this game should be played with the circle pad pro until they release a new version of the 3DS with two nubs. And it's a Demo... d e m o. As in not finished.

Im_Money on 20 Feb '12 said:

Anyone else notice the 3D going off and on when you got into first person mode? Does the same thing when he is prone in first person and you move.

I don't know whether to get this on my 3DS to have with me at all times where ever I am or buy the HD collection and play it on a bigger screen.... Oh and I came across this today for those interested http://sirtobbii.deviantart.com/#/d4nzgaa

The Bossman on 20 Feb '12 said:

^ Good comparison, the 3DS does look more detailed but the pics show a lot of jagged edges and the controls are crap so it balances out.

Image he posted:

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/029/7/c/mgs3_comparison_by_sirtobbii-d4nzgaa.jpg

I'm loving the MGS collection, haven't played it as much recently thanks to Skyrim but I'll get back into it eventually.

DemonGhostPirate on 20 Feb '12 said:

Having played the demo, I definitely thought it was a good port. However, I thought that the new interface seemed fiddley and the 3DS screen was far too small for this game. Everything seemed cluttered as Snake himself took up the majority of it. Also, the visuals were no way as good as the HD remake. They simply weren't as detailed or sharp.

liveswired on 20 Feb '12 said:

I'm just going to disagree with everyone here and agree with EDGE.

AA or no AA the game is a marked improvement. The increased detail is easily noticeable, from the character models to the textures, foliage and lighting - even for a work in progress demo - the 3D is also the best example of 3d I've seen.

Also remember demo's are usually from code that is often more than 2 months old. Demos go through a certification process that takes time, maybe a month or more - ps3 gamers such as myself are well used to playing demos that feature slowdown and multiple graphical issues and only to find the final release game void of all issues that plagued the demo!

The controls are manageable - though obviously a second analogue would have made them issue free. I was born on digital FPS, so the FPS mode feels natural - also I've been a huge Killzone 2 player and it feels pretty close to that.

And also - what exactly are all you moaning about? A significant number of console games have NO AA and instead feature edge blur!!!

humanhand on 21 Feb '12 said:

Exactly. See how everyone shut up now. Some people. +1 to liveswired

Wakacha on 21 Feb '12 said:

Except that everyone shut up because this is at the bottom of the news list. Not because they seen his post.

AJDarkstar on 21 Feb '12 said:

I enjoyed the demo once I got used to the controls, but the framerate is a little iffy (even with 3D turned off - no difference at all) and the camera is too close to Snake. Other than that (and the game weirdly switching to 2D when aiming in first-person), I was quite impressed. But I won't get it simply because I got the HD collection recently, and it seems pointless buying one game for £30 when I got that and two more for less (five games in all counting MG & MG2:SS). 3DS cards must have enough memory to store MGS2 & PW too? A 3D remake of Twin Snakes would be an instant must-buy.

Cogglesz on 21 Feb '12 said:

tbf its on a smaller screen so it was always going to look better

I gave the demo a go today, it looks pretty, but textures are pretty low on the ground, and trees and plantation gets incredibly jaggy with what seems like no AA whatsoever, however switching to 3d didn't slow it down but i noticed cutscenes had some lag to them and were looking better both with and without 3d than while playing in-game, however I'm gonna presume its because its a demo and a download, I'm still gonna buy it, it runs and looks great in 3D, just would have liked the jaggies to be less in your face.

humanhand on 21 Feb '12 said:

Except that everyone shut up because this is at the bottom of the news list. Not because they seen his post.

No it's back at the top.

Wakacha on 21 Feb '12 said:

Not for me, it's nowhere in sight. The only way I can see it is by clicking more news at the bottom, then scroll down a day.

TheCrimsonFenix on 21 Feb '12 said:

Focus on the graphics has shifted from the whole game to extra details on character heads, leaving the rest of the game world a bit bland in comparison. I wouldn't exactly consider that a marked improvement. That'd be like downsizing textures on the first Tomb Raider for the sake of better hair and saying that looks better. The AA complaints are understandable as this is a handheld screen and in turn appears worse than a bigger screen seen on a telly. Personally, the fancy looking faces are redundant if it looks like I'm watching them on a handheld television from the 90s

TheCrimsonFenix on 21 Feb '12 said:

Hand is probably also talking of the "view your posts" news feed every time somebody comments, not the actual main page of news.

humanhand on 21 Feb '12 said:

The only way to view... I mean come on!

Wakacha on 21 Feb '12 said:

Well that explains that.

liveswired on 22 Feb '12 said:

Focus on the graphics has shifted from the whole game to extra details on character heads, leaving the rest of the game world a bit bland in comparison. I wouldn't exactly consider that a marked improvement. That'd be like downsizing textures on the first Tomb Raider for the sake of better hair and saying that looks better. The AA complaints are understandable as this is a handheld screen and in turn appears worse than a bigger screen seen on a telly. Personally, the fancy looking faces are redundant if it looks like I'm watching them on a handheld television from the 90s

Hi Crimson, this isn't aimed at you but just a general comment I thought I'd add to the board.

I'm just after playing MG3 on my old ps2 and I can tell you the textures are certainly no less detailed in the 3DS. They are in fact simply sharper on the 3DS screen, in some instances they look slightly improved, there also seems to be more particle FX and lighting in the 3DS version. As for Aliasing, it's worse on the ps2 version. The ps2 never had AA built in and most games were a jagged mess remember.

The 3DS is a console punching slightly above Wii territory - it's not a bethemoth and doesn't pretend to be. The upped polygon counts and detail on character models is a complete welcome - I only wish Konami added these details to the superb HD collection!