The "Metal Gear Solid" Master Collection is here, which means two things: first, that the series deserves to be under the control of a company willing to spend a little money to produce a decent, modern PC port, and second, that it's time to go over the various data files with a fine-tooth comb. The second is that it's time to go over the various data files with a fine-tooth comb.

In the 24-plus hours since the "Master Collection" was released on Steam, data collectors have been at work and have found new evidence that "Peace Walker" and "Metal Gear Solid 4" will eventually be ported to the PC. decompiled the MGS 2 Master Collection launcher and discovered a "load assets" feature for Peace Walker, MGS 4, and MGS 5. Nervous?

While it is not confirmed that these games will be released, it would not be a shock if they were. For one thing, Konami explicitly calls the MGS 1, 2, and 3 collections "Volume 1" of the entire Master Collection, and while it would be very strange to leave them as is, I doubt even a company as impenetrable as Konami would do so. There is also the fact that references to MGS 4, Peace Walker, Ground Zeroes, and Phantom Pain were found hidden on the Master Collection website back in June.

So, hey, wow, MGS 4 was released 15 years ago, but since then it was marooned on the PS3's cell processor architecture and no one without that console had access to it. It's great that it will finally be freed up and playable, but after the subtle release of "Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1," it's hard to hold out much hope.

As we discussed yesterday, players are not happy with the quality of Vol. 1. MGS 1 is a slightly dodgy emulated version of the original console game (which runs horribly on my relatively high-powered PC), even though the native PC version was ported back in 2000 It is. MGS 2 and MGS 3, on the other hand, are 720p ports of Bluepoint's 2011 Xbox 360 remaster, with no keyboard or mouse support.

Future hypothetical ports of MGS 4 and Peace Walker will similarly rely on the goodwill of modelers to reach modern standards; it seems increasingly likely that our hopes of a liberated and (mostly) functional port of MGS 4 will be realized, but monkey paws We'll just have to wait for the fingers to bend.