Shifting up a Gear

The Playstation Network: A great place to catch up on gaming history by purchasing classic PS1 titles for use on your current Sony console. At least, that was the idea. Unfortunately, it seemed as though Sony had completely forgotten about those of us in the western world, giving us a mere few dozen titles of the thousand or so available, and not a good few dozen at that. But all of a sudden, they've remembered us! The surprise E3 announcement of Final Fantasy VII was the start, and now they've followed it up with the release of another classic title - Metal Gear Solid.

Ah yes, Metal Gear. I'm sure there are many among you who have very fond memories of this game, or even the whole series, and I can understand why. Of course, regular readers may remember that I wasn't always such a fan of this particular title, but over time I came to appreciate how fantastic it was. But I won't go into that again right now.

What I am going to do, though, is head on down to the ol' Playstsation Store and pick myself up a copy. I know that I just started playing FFVII again, but that game could take me months; Metal Gear Solid can be finished in just a couple of days. In fact, this was one of the reasons I wasn't so fond of it when it first launched. But I won't go into that again right now.

There is one thing I'm curious about, though. I seem to remember a few puzzles in the game that might not work quite so well with a digital copy playing on the PSP. Fans are sure to know what I'm talking about. I realize that MGS is over ten years old at this point and I'm probably safe to just come out and say what those puzzles were, but I just don't like spoiling things, ever.

So anyway, if sneaking around in cardboard boxes is your thing, grab your PSP or PS3 and pick get a copy while they're still in stock. For just $9.99 you can enjoy one of Playstation's finest hours, if you have time with all the FFVII playing, that is. I really hope these games mark the beginning of a new era for the Classics section of the PS Store, and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next. And if we happen to get Abe's Oddysee at any point soon, well, I might just have to dig up that old "I ♥ Sony" t-shirt!