Metal Gear fans have been starved for years, but the beloved stealth franchise has started showing signs of life again. Next year’s Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is obviously the main meal that series fans are really looking forward to, but Konami recently brought back multiple older instalments in the comprehensive Master Collection. There are, however, several ways where the collection doesn’t do everything it can, where the community, as always, has stepped in to offer its own improvements. To that end, here, we’re going to talk about the best PC mods available right now for Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 on NexusMods that will further polish and enhance your experience.
MGS3MC BETTER AUDIO (uploaded by KnightKiller)
Master Collection Vol. 1 launched with a quite a few audio issues, many of which persist even now, though at the very least, where the collection’s version of Metal Gear Solid 3 is concerned, there is an available fix. The MGS3MC Better Audio mod, as its name suggests, targets audio fixes in codec calls, cutscenes, and pre-rendered cinematics. Obviously, it’s not a perfect fix, and you may still run into some issues, but several users seem to have reported notable improvements with the mod.
MGS HD FIX (uploaded by Wintermance)
While there’s certainly no doubting that Master Collection Vol. 1 packs in a lot of value in terms of pure content, it does leave something to be desired where technical enhancements and features are concerned. The MGS HD Fix mod does do a little something to curtail that though. Most significantly, it adds support for ultrawide and custom resolutions, while also bringing a borderless/windowed mode and a 16:9 HUD option, among other things. The mod doesn’t work with Metal Gear Solid 1 though, so keep that in mind.
METAL GEAR SOLID HD (uploaded by Snaksolid)
If you do want to apply similar audio and visual technical improvements to Metal Gear Solid 1, the Metal Gear Solid HD mod is worth looking into. In addition to locking the frame rate at 60 FPS, it applies a CRT filter while running the game in a sized 4K window, reducing input lag. Meanwhile, audio crackling and distortion issues are also addressed. The results are quite effective.
MGS3 – HIGH RESOLUTION TEXTURES (uploaded by liqMix)
Moving beyond technical enhancements and the addition of missing features, there are options available for those looking for just plain improved graphics as well. In the case of Metal Gear Solid 3, for instance, the MGS3 High Resolution Textures mod, for instance, does exactly what its name suggests. It’s not particularly comprehensive in nature, and basically just applies an upscaling pass to everything in the game, but the results can be quite clear in several places, with upscaling being done by up to 4x in various cases.
MGS2 – HIGH RESOLUTION TEXTURES (uploaded by liqMix)
The MGS2 High Resolution Textures mod does for Metal Gear Solid 2 pretty much exactly what the aforementioned mod does for MGS3. All textures in the game (including minimaps) are upscaled by 2x or 4x, which means that, by and large, image quality throughout the experience is notably sharper and higher quality than in the release’s base version.
FRAMERATE UNLOCKER (uploaded by TriggerHappyMGO)
For those who’re willing to experiment with a work in progress mod to potentially play at higher frame rates, the Framerate Unlocker mod will allow you to do just that. Currently, it works only for Metal Gear Solid 3, and as the mod’s creator states on its NexusMods page, it’s still a work in progress and certainly not devoid of any issues, though it should be interesting to see how it evolves and what avenues it opens up for other performance improvements.
MGS3 CROUCH WALK (uploaded by Microzoft)
One of Metal Gear Solid 3’s most frustrating eccentricities is not being able to move Naked Snake while he’s crouched- you can do one or the other, but not both. MGS3’s 3DS version remains the only version of the game that lets you do that, though thankfully, with the MGS3 Crouch Walk mod installed, that feature can be added to Master Collection Vol. 1 on PC as well. You can do both fast and slow crouch walks, enemies react and behave accordingly, and your camo index adjusts dynamically as well. Presumably (or hopefully, at least), we’ll see something similar in next year’s Snake Eater remake as well.
MORE MGSV ACCURATE PARASITES (uploaded by Avaresst)
This one is for the lore enthusiasts, and in particular, for those who want a little bit of Metal Gear Solid 5 in their Metal Gear Solid 3. The More MGSV Accurate Parasites mod does exactly what its name suggests, and applies new cosmetic textures to members of the Cobra Unit – i.e. The Pain, The Fear, and The End – to make them look more similar to The Phantom Pain’s Parasite Unit. Obviously not a major addition, but one that hardcore series fans will likely appreciate nonetheless.
SPLINTER CELL GOGGLES (uploaded by Kyim)
There’s a massive overlap between the fanbases of Metal Gear and Splinter Cell for obvious reasons, and the two beloved stealth franchises have often playfully winked at each other in the past as well. If you want to make that a little more overt, you can use the Splinter Cell Goggles mod, which retextures the Thermal Goggles and Night Vision goggles to make them look more like the iconic goggles worn by Splinter Cell protagonist Sam Fisher. It’s not an exact replica, but it looks close enough.
BLACK SHAGOHOD (uploaded by RayAfgrond)
We’ll sign off with another mod that’s purely cosmetic in nature, but certainly still worth a look, thanks to its solid results. The Black Shagohod mod’s name is perfectly self explanatory. It takes the massive tank’s classic camo look and replaces it with a sleeker, darker, and more uniform colour scheme. Obviously, mileage will vary here, and some will still prefer the tank’s original look, but if you’re willing to try out something new in your next playthrough, this mod is worth looking into.
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