Enter a tactical gaming experience which is both dynamic and interactive; Put together numerous high quality in-game cut scenes and a story plot that would put any regular Hollywood movie to shame, and other than that, mix some solid game play with a player-friendly control system. Putting all these together, you will get; Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Background and Story: As most tactical espionage gaming fans have already known, this is a game that has evolved from a classic to a franchise. Hideo Kojima who is the story generator has a propensity to spin your minds and take it for a wild ride, with all the twists and turns of the story. In MGS and MGS2, you might have experienced some rather confusing and mind-bending plots to the story, plus the familiar "wicked" turn of events. In MGS3, there is of course no difference to his particular way of story telling, but the attractive part is that this game actually fills up the gaps and holes that you might have noticed in MGS1 and MG2, in terms of story. There are new characters in MGS3 and certain familiar characters from MGS and MGS2 in a story regarding their origin and past. Putting all this aside, the story line in MGS3 is well curtailed, with intelligent and breath-taking turn of events when you would not have expected it. It will take you to the edge of your seat, and then somehow brings down the climax. With a military historian on Kojima's side, they have beautifully fitted a fiction into the Cuban Missile affair, and also the Cold War. The scripts and dialogues are smart, with occasional proverbs adopted from Chinese old-sayings such as: "There is nothing such as an absolute enemy, enemies change with time and place". Graphics: While the graphics in MGS2 has succeeded, MGS3 has brought it to a new level, where frame rates are improved and character animations are better with superb facial expressions. The facial expressions are generated with pure sense of emotion and even the eyes appear to be speaking words. This time around, Snake (the main character) will be sneaking around in the jungle and occasionally some army camps or bases. The jungle environment is flowing with natural details, swamps, tree barks, waterfalls and caves; they are all crafted to almost perfection. You can see the leaves swaying along with the wind, movements of the bushes when there is a rabbit hopping around, the hissing sound of the snake, some fruit hanging on a tree branch, bee hives and etc. The colors are well defined, and character outfits are well designed. There are occasional slow-downs during intense boss fights, but these minor drawbacks can be easily neglected. The female side-kick is gorgeous as well. Game play and controls: MGS3 retains most of the control options from the predecessors. Regular fans will find it easy to pick up, while newcomers might require a little time getting used to the pressure sensitive controls. Added new features include the camouflage, which is the main stay of MGS3. Your stealth and survival depends largely on how you dress Snake to blend in with your environment. There is a camouflage index at the top right of your screen to keep track of how well hidden Snake is. You pick up new camouflage uniforms throughout the game, either through boss fights or from secluded locations. Other than that, Snake now has a stamina bar that determines how fit he is, if the stamina decreases beyond a critical level, Snake's movements will become slow, and his aim will be less accurate. You replenish stamina by constantly hunting for food in the jungle, be it animal or plant. The third most important new addition is the "cure" system where you go into a menu and treat any injuries or medical illnesses that Snake might have sustained. You treat fractured ribs, cuts, gunshot wounds and etc from an array of medical equipments and supplies. Just like the regular MGS, you can still communicate with a bunch of specialists through radio/codec, and these people provide tips and hints that are essential to completing your mission. If you feel jobless, feel free to ring them up and chat about trivia such as movies, weapons, food and other funny stuff such as losing weight using calorie mate. In terms of action game play, Snake can now choke-hold an enemy and interrogate him, which is an exciting feature. Other than that, the close-quarters combat allows snake to throw an enemy onto the ground. You can also use an enemy as a human shield, then rapidly enter 1st person view to shoot at hesitating enemies surrounding you. Stealth is the preferred method of infiltrating the enemy bases, but if you don't have the patience, feel free to dash into them and shoot the hell out of the unwary soldiers. Game difficulty is rather lacking, and Snake can amazingly survive tons of AK-47 shots. The fact that you can immediately jump into "cure" mode during thick battle and heal Snake is kind of ridiculous, but like I have said, these are some minor points that can be neglected. Perhaps the strongest point of all MGS games is the dynamic game play. There are different endings to different actions, and once in a while you can pull off some rather funny actions such as shooting on a person's hat, or cut off the hanging bridge and etc. There are hidden cut scenes for you to discover as well. In MGS3 you can enter 1st person view during cut scenes which makes it a cinematic appearance. Press the triangle button and you can zoom in for a better view, though the screen appears stammering when you do that. Sound and background music: Sound effect is generated with Pro Logic II. The back ground music brings a taste of the 40s or even 60s. The theme song is particularly fitting to the story and the nostalgic feeling of the song is touching. Some interesting elements include parts where Snake makes a long climb up a ladder and out of nowhere the theme song will slowly beat into your ears. To sum it up, sound and music is good. Pros: Great graphics and music. Superb tactical and stealth game play. New survival features for the game. A very Compelling story line with numerous twists and turns in the ending. Character designs and modeling are attractive, plus superior cinematic experience. Cons: Slow-down during thick boss fights. Curing fractures in the middle of a battle sounds ridiculous. It's very hard for the hero to die.
Other Helpful Reviews for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The Metal Gear Solid series has been known for it's outstanding graphics, it's brilliant story telling, and it's incredibly complex yet efficient gameplay style. I wasn't sure if I would like the style, the predecessors... Read Full Review
When the prologue to the game took me almost 2 hours to get through, I knew I had something special. After the explosive opening to the game, the beginning credits roll with a song entitled Snake Eater. I was surprised, ... Read Full Review
