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| | Title:
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
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System:
Playstation 2
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Genre:
Action
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Publisher:
Konami
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Developer:
Kojima Productions
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Release:
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
M
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Snake is back. But not the Snake you and I have grown up with for the past few years. This is an entirely new Snake, and for that gamers should be thrilled. I must be honest, after Metal Gear Solid 2 my opinion of the series wasn't as high as it used to be. Of course a game that is more story than game play that doesn't feature the true hero would make one tend to doubt. Hideo Kojima would have to come up with a killer sequel for me to be impressed again. One that not only fixed all the problems of the past but also made up for them. Let's just say he exceeded my expectations.
This isn't the perfect game out there. Many other franchises have taken the stealth game play and molded it into a form that is near flawless (Splinter Cell). What Snake Eater is, is the perfect Metal Gear Solid game. While it borrows from some of the flaws unique to the series it also fixes a good number of them.
A blockbuster story
It's hard to find good stories in video games these days. Even blockbusters like Halo 2 are riddled with clichés that lead to a very dry plot. So to find that Snake Eater's story is not only a good one but also swallows its clichés whole is a huge relief. You take the role of Snake. This is not the Solid Snake though we've been accustomed to playing. Basically, (I apologize in advanced how complicated this sounds), you take the role of the man Solid Snake was cloned from; Big Boss. In Snake Eater, Big Boss was given the code name of Snake during the mission that made him the legend he is. As you can probably guess this game takes place during the past, the 1960s to be exact, during the Cold War. Snake is sent in to rescue a scientist who is creating nuclear weapons for the Russians and wants to defect. Let's just say things don't go the way they were supposed too. Snake finds himself being betrayed be his mentor, left for dead, and his mission failed. It's here where the game takes off.
What's so great about the story is it has heart. Snake has a true personal stake in his mission; his mentor The Boss. He feels broken, betrayed, this was the person who he spent most of his life with. Why is she defecting? This coupled with the threat of WWIII, looming, a love interest, and one of the best Metal Gear Solid villains since Liquid Snake gamers are going to have a blast completing this game. Best of all is that Kojima listened to gamers about the long cut scene and those have been significantly reduced.
But I can name all the trees…
For Snake Eater, Hideo Kojima wanted to try something new. For the past two blockbusters Snake has been sneaking through an urban environment. Hallways, rooms, stairs, it was all starting to look a little repetitive and honestly needed a shot of something innovative. So Snake has been taken from his cozy indoors and plopped smack dab in the middle of a forest. No lockers to hide in here kids when the Russians come charging. About sixty percent of Snake Eater takes places in the outdoors. Snake will venture through a variety of scenery each looking more gorgeous than the last. Dense forests, calming springs, and cascading mountains are just some on the impressive list. Kojima's legendary attention to detail is evident in every area too. How he took the same level intricacy that worked for indoors and applied it to a forest is beyond me.
But this forest is not for the tourist. It's crawling with Russian soldiers all on the lookout for Snake. To survive Snake has to blend in with his environment and to do so must employ his large list of camouflage. When the game starts, Snake has about four to five camouflage outfits along with face paint that he can interchange at a whim. Each one works only for a specific area. In the upper right hand corner of the screen a percentage will grade how well Snake is hidden. Ninety or above is where you want to be. Thankfully, there are easy to understand names that reduce the learning curve to about nil. The grass camouflage obviously should only be used when lying down in tall grass; same for the bark camouflage should only be put on when Snake's back is up against a tree. There really is no problem with this system and the drive to collect more (some of them even being ridiculous or offering up special abilities) adds a good amount of replay value to the game.
Bad Snake Bad!
But not all is good in the world of Snake Eater. Like in every MGS game of recent years the camera could still use some serious overhaul work. How long must we beg until Kojima finally gives us a fully controllable third person camera? The lack of one results in some very cheap “gotcha” moments that otherwise wouldn't be there. My favorite is walking past a crossing that I can't see down and standing there is a fully armed and alert Russian soldiers. Thanks, there goes my sneaking mojo. The problem persists in boss battles too. At times you completely lose track of where the boss is and on harder difficulties that is the difference between life and death. Snake Eater did try and “help” us by making the camera moveable from a certain viewpoint but it's not enough.
The other gripe I've found with Snake Eater was the huge number of Russian soldiers when caught. They just keep coming and coming and coming, the only way to stop this is to hide. For those who love to mess around and kill a bunch of people that's great but it severely departs from the realistic which hurts the game. Finally, there is still clumsy control set up for shooting off any of the numerous guns Snake gets his hands onto. Although there is auto-aiming in the third person view now (which helps), it is still way too inaccurate. Switching to first person does grant a lot more control with the gun but when running and gunning standing still really doesn't make all that much sense.
The problem with hand-to-hand combat has been fixed (thank god) with the introduction of CQC. Players no longer have to worry about getting too close to an enemy solider only to have them kick Snake to the ground. Instead getting close enough and hitting the correct buttons will result in a number of melee attacks that range from the lethal slitting of the throat to the trash talking beat down. It's really effective and makes up for the shortcomings mentioned above. Get good with CQC because it helps with the last two boss battles.
Okay…that's a new one…
Speaking of bosses, Snake Eater features the best list of unique and fun boss fights ever seen in the series. Throughout his ventures Snake will run into The Cobra Unit. Trained by Snake's mentor The Cobra Unit is a mixture of weird and creepy (with names like The Fear and The Pain you know something is up). Each boss battle requires the players to use a certain set of tactics to take down the boss (a much needed change from the bland bosses in MGS2). But one deserves being mentioned above all the rest. The boss battle against The End is by far the best in recent times across all platforms. It can take anywhere from thirty minutes to hours depending on which difficulty and how sneaky you are. I won't spoil it for you.
Overall, I'm giving this game a 9.5 out of ten. This is the best Metal Gear Solid game out there yet. The shortcomings take just enough away that Snake Eater misses out on the perfect ten. But if you are a fan of the MGS franchise or want a game that is truly a testament to detail this game is for you. A 9.5 out of ten.
| The Core Score |
Overall
9.5 |
| Fun |
|
10 |
| Gameplay |
|
9 |
| Graphics |
|
9 |
| Audio |
|
10 |
| Replay |
|
9 |
|
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