Snake Eater, even before conception, would have a difficult path in front of it, as it had two great games to live up to. These games each had their strengths and weaknesses and to craft the best game that he could, Kojima fused all these positive aspects into one package while minimizing the influence of the weaker parts. The result would be the best installment in the entire series. The major difference between Snake Eater and the last two MGS games is the drastic change in setting. The indoor urban environments have been almost completely replaced with a vast Russian jungle. This change in scenery is accompanied by an entirely different time period, the Cold War. In order to stay true to the setting, a specific Metal Gear Solid convention had to be done away with, the Soliton Radar (since Mei Ling invents it prior to Shadow Moses). In its place is the expertly crafted and integrated Camouflage Index (a scale from -50 to 100 that reflects the likelihood of being seen). Throughout the game, Snake will pick up new face paints and uniforms that can be changed on the fly through the survival viewer. This constant changing accessing of the menu after every new map tends to slow down the pace of the game, which to me was a welcome addition. As the title suggest, Snake has to hunt for food during his stay in Tselinoyarsk. After killing an animal or plant in the wilderness, the body turns into what appears to be a rations tin that is accessible from either your inventory or the Survival Viewer. To give incentive to use this feature, Snake’s ability to shoot accurately, breathe underwater, and hang from cliffs all suffer from a shortage of stamina. Snakes stomach also has a tendency to growl when he’s hungry, which has the potential to alert guards. Hunting will quickly become second nature, and tracking down animals will be simple with the use of either the Sonar or the Motion Detector. The last new feature accessible from the Survival Viewer is the Cure option. The problem with this is that for most wounds sustained through the game, it is not a necessity to heal them. Some injuries drain stamina, but the majority have very minimal negative effects. Rather than increasing the amount of life Snake has left, it simply reduces the size of the red segment of his health bar, and in doing so, changes the maximum effective health he has at that instant if you happen to heal yourself with an LF Med (the MGS3 equivalent to a ration). While it was a noble idea, the execution is rather poor. The Metal Gear series has always been famous (or perhaps infamous in the case of MGS2) for its plot, and this game is no exception. While it does take some time to gain some speed, it is well worth it to trudge through the first hour of gameplay. Not only does this game’s story essentially stretch from the 1960s to the end of MGS2, but it also wraps up a number of loose ends left by itself and those other games. After the credits roll, just like the last two, you are allowed to listen in on two separate phone conversations, both of which caused me to wet myself in excitement. However great and coherent the story may have been, it fails in terms of character development. Most of boss battles are fought against characters you merely known in name, and nothing else. Only three bosses receive a decent enough amount of development to explain why they are what they are. The level of the boss battles in this game far surpasses anything made before it. Long gone are the days of repeating menial tasks (throwing grenades into a tank, freezing bombs, planting claymores in front of an obese man on roller-skates). Every boss battle (with the exception of one towards the end) is unique and some are simply beyond spectacular (the Sorrow, the End, and the final battle). Plus with the wide array of weapons at Snake’s disposal (far too many for me to even consider useful), there are a number of ways to go about beating each boss. Finally, the graphics of the game are incredible considering it is running on a PS2. The Metal Gear Solid games all have a very distinct sense of style to them, but the amazing use of the hardware (evident in the final battle especially, and in the cut scenes) and the new gritty setting all add to the cinematic experience. The camera system implemented in the game does truly begin to show its age with the removal of the radar. You’ll find yourself constantly switching between the motion detector, sonar, and first person simply to determine the position of guards due to the fixed camera angle. This is a minor flaw standing in the way of the best game released on the PS2 thus far. Final Analysis: Easily the best game in the series, and quite possibly the best on the console. Most of the newly implemented features work smoothly and play an important role in the success of your mission.
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