The perfect blend of pure stealth and high octane action. Presented with amazing visuals it's something very special.
The name Snake Eater refers to one of the games objectives, taking out a group of elite super soldiers known as the Cobras.
The game's story is set in the 60's Cold War era and follows an ex Green Beret turned CIA field agent as he attempts to rescue a Russian scientist forced to work on some kind of new weapon. The game begins with the main charecter, known only as Snake, is dropped into a jungle with just a knife and dart gun as he goes after the scientist. Things go wrong later and a splinter faction of the Russian army grab the scientist from Snake and thier comrades with the help of the Cobras and their leader, the enigmatic and brilliant, Boss. The Boss is apparently the greatest soldier alive and she's Snake's former teacher and lover, but has minimal feelings for him now. And so Snake must head back into the jungle and find a heavily hidden and armed base, resuce the scientist, kill the Cobras and destroy the weapon being built. There's a lot more to the story and charecters but I won't say anything to ruin the surprises, but trust me when I say the script, acting and cutscenes are some of the best ever in gaming, this seriously put most blockbuster movies to shame.
Controlling Snake in the game is at first a clumsy affair of trial and error. The MGS games have a very unique type of control system that can be frustrating to get working. Really the only way around this is to start playing the game and to keep going until your familar with and able to use the controls, then your ready for a treat.
Gameplay here is something that just clicks into place perfectly. SE is a game where you can go pure stealth Splinter Cell style or wreak havoc with an AK-47 or anything in between. The stealth is very, very different to SC though, in SC you are given obvious stealth routes through levels. Here you need to find it all for yourself. The bets way to play this game is approach each new section with stealth in mind, but then once the enemy spots, (and when playing the game for the first time trust me they will) go into a guns blazing firefight. There are dozens of tense and exciting combat situations in the game, some worth the price of a new game alone. Like going up a mountains side and being attacked by choppers or running through the jungle with bullets flying everywhere. This is on par with most high end PC FPS easily when it comes to action.
Where the game really shines though is with the boss fights. These have always been staples of the series and SE has some of the most memorable boss fights ever. Each Cobra has a different name and style of combat, there's the Fear who can control a cloud of hornets, the Pain who is like an evil SpiderMan, the End is a century old sniper who's fight takes place over three large outdoor maps as you move through the jungle trying to find him. He'll lie camofladged in the jungle and is a complex but overall enjoyable challange. There are a few bosses including the The Boss herself and a special customer known as the Sorrow and trust me, he's something very special.
The games graphics are one of its biggest drawcards, every charecter model is animated to near perfection with a lot of motion capture using real actors being the obvious source. The environments are lush, vibrant places with the jungle maps all displaying plenty of living flora and fauna. The environment plays host to one of the games most unique and orignial concepts, food and stamina. Snake can heal he's injuries and recover health easily enough, but this will depend on his stamina. If his stamina goes low then you aim with weapons gets worse and you slow down. To replenish stamina you need to find food. This will involve hunting for animals or getting fruit from trees. The levels all feature an abundance of food and its quite easy to amass a collection of meat and fruit to keep you going.
Overall this is a brilliant game, mixing stealth and action with great new ideas to excellent effect. The cinema quality cutscenes and engaging story line only adds to the enjoyment. Oh and the ending is really cool, in fact its one of the best endings ever, in games, novels or films.
The fact of the matter is this, MGS3:SE is one of the best games ever released on the PS2 and one of the best games eve released period.