Metal Gear Solid 3 takes a new turn on Snake's story and adds quite a few new systems that freshen the game-play a lot.
User Rating: 9 | Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater PS2
After finishing the second chapter in the Metal Gear Solid series I was ready for a bit of a change in the game-play mechanics that were virtually the same from MGS I to MGS II. Hideo Kojima probably felt the same about the game-play and how it used a static camera and a map in the corner of the screen to show not only where enemies were located but the direction they were facing. The problem with this mechanic was it made the stealth element a little on the easy side and the tension a little too dormant to amount to any excitement from pulling off flawless stealth maneuvers through a room. One easy way to remedy this by not breaking canon in the series is by having a prequel of sorts. In steps MGS III, where the story is set in the midst of the cold war where high-tech electronics were in their infancy and a spy had to rely more on their wits than machinery to get them through a tough spot. So what the game did was eschew the mapping of the enemies system and allow 360 degree movement of the camera so that the game player would actually have to spot enemies on screen, not on a map. Also some other cool new game elements that Kojima offered to make the game feel more like a survival mission was the introduction of the stamina bar, which affected your aim, speed and sight. To replenish your stamina was food and wildlife that you had to either capture or kill, which gave the game a more realistic feel to it. You still have some useful gadgets at your disposal like sonar and a motion detector but the best way of finding the enemy is old fashioned spotting. Everything you have is circa 1960's, in which the game is set. The cold war is ablaze, and the Russians are suspected of creating a moving tank that can fire nuclear weapons, a.k.a. Metal Gear. Snake, er, well not quite Snake (you just have to play the game to find out what I mean) is sent in on a sneaking mission to rescue the scientist responsible and bring him to America so that he can reunite with his family (and of course give the secret info of Metal Gear to America!). If you have played a MGS game before you will only notice the differences above as the cinematic cut scenes and storytelling that have polarized people are still present. The game is very fun with the new mechanics that freshen the gameplay and make it different enough so as not to tire the control system from games past. Overall the game is a stunning achievement in what it means to make an immersive video game that allows the player to feel as if they are starring in a big budget action movie. There is a bit of everything in the game from romance to war and there are a few stories that will change the way you think about the video game industry as a mindless market and more of an art form. Hideo Kojima set out to surpass the mega-hit MGS II with it's jaw dropping visuals and head spinning story and nearly achieved that with this new iteration. If you have played any of the previous two games or own a PS2 or backwards compatible PS3, you owe it to yourself to play this game. 
