So is this thing any good?

I'm mega into Metal Gear and all that so I've always wanted to check out ZoE(ZotE?) but I wanna know if its like, broken or whatever y'know. As someone who's never played the games before is it a well done collection or is it totally fucked? Also are there any significant differences between the 360 and PS3 versions that make it worth picking one over the other? I would probably get it on 360 cause its where I play most stuff and Im into achievements and that but if the 360 version is totally borked then I'll pick up the PS3 version.

I think the HD versions are a bit botched with frame rate issues. You could probably just skip the first game anyway.

The first Zone of the Enders runs fine, but it's a headache to get through even as short as it is; one of the whiniest protagonists I've ever heard. The second game has some performance problems, with the 360 version slightly edging out the PS3 in some cases. However, it's not that big of a deal, especially considering the PS2 original didn't run that great either.

Agreed.

Since I bothered to get all the achievements in this collection I would say if you muscle your way through the first one, the second one becomes more enjoyable. Otherwise it might be more likely you'll be "what's the big deal?"

I also went into this series with expectations that it would be as good as MGS and it was not even close. I can't say why this is so popular tbh, I enjoyed the second one a tiny little bit and the first one not at all.

They suck

If you were comparing the series to MGS, I don't know what you were expecting going in. Zone of the Enders and MGS couldn't be more apart.

@hailinel: I went in thinking like this guy. I'd just finished the HD collection and really enjoyed and just felt like I needed to play something else Kojima had made. I knew that the gameplay would be different but I expected the story to atleast be on par

If you can get past the atrocious voice acting, the gameplay is pretty good if not somewhat repetitious.

Still fun, didn't run into any technical hitches on 360. The first can be beaten in 4 hours and is ok in a simple way, but it has a couple sections that'll just make you wanna go to part two. And that's really where this collection gets awesome. Huge fan of two. The gameplay is more refined, the story is pretty cool, and you start to feel the Kojima touch. I'd recommend it.

@euandewar: http://www.destructoid.com/zone-of-the-enders-hd-frame-rate-patch-coming-to-ps3-252957.phtml

The PS3 patch is available for download on the Japanese PSN, it'll work on any profile after installation. At least the first encounter of 2nd Runner was rock solid, I couldn't bear it before and just played through the PS2 original again.

Kojima still cares!

He cares about PS3 users. He doesn't give a shit about those of us who bought it on the 360. I personally bought it on 360 because it was the better running version at the time and I wanted to support the franchise, so I'm glad Kojima decided to give me the shaft. That's cool, thanks man.

I got it (360) and played through the first game (having never played it originally) and I found the voice acting to be truly awful and the gameplay pretty mediocre and, at times, tedious. I will still play the second one though and see if it gets better. I'm a pretty big metal gear fan too and, so far, it hasn't evoked metal gear feelings too much.

Kojima was only a producer so you probably shouldn't expect it to feel like Metal Gear.

2nd Runner is actually a good game, a prime example of a sequel kicking it up a notch. The first one's pretty terrible by today's standards but it has its moments.

I think they patched the PS3 version only because Kojima wanted to appease the local fans after just dashing their hopes for a sequel. Shitty practice but still more love than what the Silent Hill collection got.