Metal Gear Solid HD Collection's Vita-exclusive controls

At the PlayStation Spring Preview event yesterday, I had a chance to get some hands-on time with the Vita version of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, specifically Metal Gear Solid 3. The game looks as well as can be expected from an HD re-release of a PS2 game, and everything from the original appears to have been faithfully replicated.

However, new to the Vita version are touch screen controls.

You can now select items and weapons by tapping the lower corners of the touch screen. During cut scenes, you can pinch to zoom in and out. Swiping the rear touch pad will also let you use your knife. Finally, in the original MGS3, you can interrogate enemies after placing them in a choke hold using the L3 button. Since the L3 button isn't available on the Vita, that function requires tapping on the rear touch pad instead.

It's unclear if these Vita-specific controls will have their own tutorial. At the event, a Konami producer walked me through these new features. While some may find these additions gimmicky, the controls felt good because they weren't intrusive.

Snake's jungle journey looks even better than ever

Finally, Konami has confirmed that unlike the HD releases on Xbox 360 and PS3, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker has been omitted from this compilation. Instead, it will only feature Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, the original Metal Gear, and its sequel Metal Gear 2.