Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater review

I got my first glimpse of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater at E3 almost two years ago, and like most of the gaming world was looking forward to another outing of our favourite Snake, enemies to stealthily kill and hours of twist filled cinematics. When my review copy turned up last week I hoped I was in for a good few hours of play. I was not disappointed.

For those unaware of the rest of the MGS series, (and why not?) the games follow a kind of stealth based infiltration mission structure based around some kind of global threat surrounding technology know as a ‘Metal Gear’; a walking battle tank of various designs depending on the game. Metal Gear Solid 3, set in 1964 takes a step back from the modern viewpoint and throws Snake not into an enormous island complex or technological hive built into the jungle, giving him the obligation of finding his own food (comprising normally of the wildlife of the jungle) and surviving in the wild.

When I first was introduced to the concept in 2003, I was fearful that the game would take a step away from the plot based masterpieces of the past. Fortunately, the jungle sections, while stunning and without a doubt essential to the plot do not overshadow the infiltration of various Russian bases dotted around the area, and the plot is definitely as full as the previous games.

Virtuous mission

The game begins with an introduction mission that leads cleverly into the main mission (much like the Tanker did in MGS2). In this, your character’s simple mission is interrupted by the introduction of a couple of familiar characters and lots of plot development in stunning lengthy cinematics that either you’ll love or hate (but can skip if you don’t care about the story).

Gameplay remains similar to the other games, with a few important changes, most notably being the loss of the Radar present in both other games. Now, you must spot all characters with your eyes, going into first person view being a clunky but necessary method most of the time, rather than using the pre-designed camera angle focussed on Snake himself. A Radar is present, but can only be used when selected from the item menu, and a constantly draining battery limits its use, much like the thermal/night vision goggles.

Much of the modern technology in the other games is missing, but I was so occupied by the alternatives that it didn’t bother me at all, and I felt perhaps even more immersed than before. Other extras added to gameplay include a camouflage system that allows you to change face paint and costume at any time to hide yourself from enemies better, and a food system that requires you to eat to keep up your stamina.

Be amazed

Graphically, the Metal Gear Solid series has reached all new heights. Detail such as foliage and variety of location, backed up by the effects wizardry of rain, explosions, sparks and all manner of other realism mean that the game is one of the most stunning PS2 games that you will ever see.

During gameplay, there isn’t a moment of slow down, and the cinematics with beautiful motion capture and cinematography mask any frame rate issues as part of the effect. At some points during cinematics, you can even hit R1 to go into first person view and spot what Snake’s looking at, or even extra plot events that clear various things up. (Yes, there is a moment where your love interest has disrobed to her underwear and you can move Snake’s eyes.)

David Hayter returns as the voice of Snake, providing his fantastically gruff tones for the lead character, and the rest of the voice cast is superbly filled. While much of the dialogue could be delivered poorly, since elements of superpowers are present in your boss enemies, everything is said with believability and humour.

Like other instalments, part of the plot is given to you over the radio from your associates. The Boss, your mentor and source of knowledge about items in the field, Para-Medic, your own personal health guide and the Major, who lets you know what you should be doing and gives you tips about the best way to accomplish certain tasks, such as Boss strategies.

The Cobras

Your enemies throughout the game seem to be a variety of freakish villains, much in the same vein as previous Metal Gear Solid games, and while each one has a specific method for being dispatched explained by the Major if you call him during the battle, some have truly unique alternatives such as changing the clock on your PS2 to take advantage of some knowledge you might have gained during the game.

Unsurprisingly, a love interest is introduced during the game that seems to blossom into a full blown relationship by the end, and after a stunning and climactic finale, you are treated to a clever ending sequence that wraps up a lot of the plot and leads nicely into the other games (since ‘Snake Eater’ is a prequel). As much as I’d love to spoil certain elements, the surprise of recurring characters and plot twists is part of the fun.

With so much stylised towards the 60s, a James Bond-esque title sequence in-between the two missions comes as no surprise, and is a nice throwback to one of the inspirations for the series; but a Bond style game couldn’t be complete without some cheesy psychedelic introduction theme.

Sing it with me

A title theme called ‘Snake Eater’ is performed over the top of the intro and recurs a couple of times throughout the game most effectively. Harry Gregson Williams again provides most of the remainder of the soundtrack, which dramatically and powerfully brings out the cinematic nature of the game.

The aforementioned voice acting, while realistically portrayed does have one small fault that I considered was one of the very few shortcomings of the game. While MGS2’s guards spoke in their native tongue, the Russian soldiers in this game all speak English with American accents; while not a big issue, it does remove a little believability from the scenario, even though Snake is meant to be able to speak and understand Russian. Still, interrogating the enemies (a new skill) wouldn’t work so successfully if you were unable to comprehend the information given to you.

Interrogating enemies can net you all manner of things including them dropping items for you, or giving you frequencies to call on your radio to perform various actions like unlocking doors or calling off alerts, all adding to the number of methods available to you for dealing with each obstacle.

If you have the misfortune to die, you can select continue on the game over screen (which becomes a ‘Time Paradox’ screen if you leave it for a while; after all, you’re still meant to be alive in the later Metal Gear Solid games). Continuing reverts your setup (camouflage and backpack config) back to how it was at the start of the area that you died in, which is hardly a major issue, but can get a little frustrating on higher difficulties if you have to change everything in a boss battle each time you fail.

You made up your mind before clicking the review…

Let’s face it, fans of the series must buy this game. It perfectly extends the series, giving us all more of what we’ve come to expect and demand while bringing a whole load of new features to the table. Newcomers would do well to start back at the beginning of the Metal Gear Solid series, if only for plot twists and recurring themes and characters, and amazingly, the original game still holds up brilliantly against modern games, but they are some of the best games available in this reviewer’s opinion.

Lasting 12-20 hours depending on difficulty level and skill of the player first time round, fortunately replays are more than worthwhile with extra items to pick up, and so many little secrets to find that you’ll still find new things by the time MGS4 is released. An ‘Ape Escape’ inspired ‘Snake vs Monkey’ mode gives even more life, while the heavily expanded and entirely complete Demo Theatre mode lets you watch any cinematics (or all in one go) that you have seen in the full game. With more downloadable (if you’re online with your PS2) or usable (from expansion discs that may present themselves) camouflage skins for you to find, and a gameplay style that is intensely fun, I’ll be coming straight back to MGS3 when I have any spare time.

The game style of MGS3: Snake Eater is certainly not perfect, but it provides an unrivalled single player experience, that director Hideo Kojima should be extremely proud of, as his final jaunt into the world of Snake.