As Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots draws nearer to release, gamers were left salivating yesterday when Konami confirmed that they would indeed be releasing the Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection in North America. The pack includes Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PlayStation 2. To celebrate their rerelease, all of the packaging has also been redesigned by artist Yoji Shinkawa. Shinkawa was responsible for the character design in the original Metal Gear Solid.
Unfortunately, we've got some bad news for all the MGS fans in Australia. When contacted for a local release date on MGS:EC in Australia, an Atari spokesperson told GameSpot AU, "At the moment, we don't have plans to release it in Australia." Keep checking GameSpot AU for more news on Metal Gear Solid 4.