Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PlayStation 2)
Produced by
Konami JapanDirected by Hideo Kojima
I've always been a huge fan of Hideo Kojima's work, the
Metal Gear Solid series especially (it's my favorite video game franchise). But I've also played the original
Metal Gear games for the NES, so I'm very familiar with the franchise.
Here's a little brief history on the
Metal Gear Solid universe:
Metal Gear Solid: (1998; Sony PlayStation)
From IGN.com
The game marks the third adventure for Solid Snake, star of the original Metal Gear and its less-than-spectacular sequel, Snake's Revenge. This time around, Snake is on a mission to infiltrate an American nuclear stockpile in the barren recesses of Alaska. The complex has been overtaken by the forces of Liquid Snake, Solid Snake's arch-nemesis and ex-comrade in arms who is bent on bringing the world's governments to their knees. Taking the role of Solid Snake, it is the player's goal to slip undetected into the complex undetected, disarm the weapons of mass destruction and ultimately confront Liquid Snake himself.
My takeThis is arguably the best game released for the original PlayStation system, and one that any gamer should own. I still play it from time to time, and the Gamecube remake, subtitled
The Twin Snakes, is worthy of a purchase...that is...if you're one of the 3 people who still actually play the Gamecube.
10 out of 10Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 
Here's a breakdown of this classic. The United States Marines have built a new Metal Gear prototype, code named "Ray," (like the manta). It's an amphibious form of the original Metal Gear Rex, and the most advanced of the Metal Gears (every country has Metal Gear capabilities, but the Marines have the most advanced version of it).
It's Snake's job to infiltrate an oil tanker going down the Hudson River, sneak down into the basement area, and take pictures of the Metal Gear, in the hopes that the United States government will pull its funds and the Metal Gear project will be terminated. Well, as in games like this, things turn sour. Snake succesfully infiltrates the tanker, but he's not alone. Some Russian Spetnaz troops infiltrate as well, with the intention of stealing the Metal Gear prototype. To make a long story short, the tanker sinks, the Revolver Ocelot (a Russian turncoat) steals Metal Gear Ray, and Snake presumably dies in the explosion. This all happens in the first 3 or so hours.
The second half takes place on a oil plant in the Hudson River, where the tanker sank. The sinking of the tanker caused the worst oil spill in history, and so the plant was built to contain the oil, until it could be properly disposed of. We find out its actually a front for a new type of Metal Gear, and some weird, philosophical bullsh*t ensues, and all is too confusing to even begin to explain here.
My TakeDespite the convoluted plot (with all the double crosses, its hard to figure out whether or not
you're a bad guy or good guy), this is still an excellent videogame. It's not quite as good as the original, but it's still one of my favorite games for the PS2. My biggest complaint is Raiden, the character you play as for the last half of the game. The story, while hard to follow, is still good, and the game play is awesome.
10 out of 10Now, for my review of
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
Snake Eater is actually a prequel to the previous games. It takes place in 1964, during the Cold War. The description on the back of the box reads:
Rival nations are secretly developing weapons that could threaten the future of mankind. Deep in the jungle, an elite soldier must combine stealth and survival to infiltrate the enemy and stop a weapon of mass destruction from triggering the largest full-scale war the world has ever seen.That's the basic premise of the game. It's been assumed for many months now that the main character of this game could definitely not be Solid Snake (the protagonist of every other
Metal Gear game), and that it would probably, in fact, be his father, Big Boss. The speculation is true, folks. You play as the legendary (in the
Metal Gear Solid series) Big Boss, but this is before he's actually given the title Big Boss. His codename for this mission is Naked Snake, Snake for short.
The game is split into two parts. The first part is called the "Virtuous Mission." You have to locate a Russian scientist, Sokolov. He is the one responsible for building the WMD you've set out to destroy in this game. The weapon is called the Shagohod, which you can consider as an ancestor to the current Metal Gears. You have a support team over your radio, consisting of Major Zero, who is the commander of the mission. There's also a young lady who goes by the code-name Para-Medic, who specializes in...you guessed it...medicine! She has two frequencies on the radio, one for information on foods and animals (I'll elaborate on that later), and one for saving your game. And then there's The Boss, Snake's mentor, and sorta like a surrogate mother. She and Snake developed the CQC (close-quarters combat) fighting skills that you use in the game.
To avoid spoiling any major plot twists or anything, you eventually make it to Sokolov, and from there, things get
really interesting.
After the ensuing cut-scenes, you begin the second mission, known as "Operation Snake-Eater." The term "Snake Eater" is derived from the many boss battles you fight in this mission. The boss's are members of the legendary Cobra unit, and "Snake Eater" sounds much better (and less perverted) than "Snake Beater."
Gameplay wise, this is the most satisfying of the trilogy. The CQC manuevers are choreographed very well, and are fun to pull off. Basically, the CQC button is the Circle button, and depending on whether you press it, or hold it, and which direction you move the left analog stick, Snake will perform a different CQC manuever.
Controlling Snake is just as easy as any of the other games in the series, but some might not like the third-person perspective of the MGS series. I know after playing hours and hours of
Splinter Cell, I had to get used to the different viewpoint of
Snake Eater, but I don't see anything wrong with it. There are also plenty of weapons to choose from (once you acquire them), and they all fit into the time period (Cold War era of the 1960s). Also, the previous MGS games took place for the most part indoors. The jungle setting in this game is a completely new experience, and something you'll have to get used to. Also, the Soloton radar from previous games (that displayed enemy locations, as well as which way they are facing, and their field of vision) hasn't been invented yet in this game, so you don't have it. Rather, you'll have to rely on a motion detector, sonar, anti-personnel sensor, thermal and night-vision goggles, and good ol' fashion hearing to get the drop on enemies.
Another neat innovation is the whole "survival" mechanic in the game. Snake gets hungry, so you have to hunt for food and eat. Para-Medic will tell you what's poisonous, but only you can decide what tastes good, and what doesn't. Overtime, things that Snake doesn't like, he will acquire some sort of taste for. Also, if you keep food in your back pack for too long, it will rot. There's a variety of different flora and fauna to capture, and the hunting mechanic is easy.
Also, since you're in the jungle, Snake tends to get injured from time to time. He suffers cuts, broken bones, and burns, and he can also get food poisoning and venom poisoning. All these ailments can be treated in the Cure subscreen. You're given a tutorial curing and treating yourself at the end of the "Virtuous Mission". It sounds like it could become a bit tedious, but it's really not, and its actually kinda fun, and adds to the realism of the setting. Also, every now and then, a little video plays of Snake treating his injuries. Sure, it can break up the pace of the game, but it doesn't detract enough from the game to warrant any type of reasonable complaint.
Snake Eater has also taken a step in a different direction from all the other stealth games, by integrating different camoflages into the whole stealth mechanic of the game. You have a Camo Index at the top right hand corner of your screen, which displays how well you are blending in with your environment. The higher the index, the more invisible you are. The lower, the most visible. You'll find different camo's along the way, and each one is good in a specific environment. Also, those who love to explore will find special camoflages hidden through the game that have special attributes (one steadies your hand, so as you aren't shaking when you shoot a gun, while another one makes you fire-proof, and there's plenty more).
The story is (thank God) much easier to understand this go around. As I stated earlier, this is a prequel to the other games, so its the beginning of the
Metal Gear Solid story. There's some philosophy involved, government conspiracies, a little bit of a love story, and a tragedy all wrapped up into one. The voice acting is terrific (as always), and David Hayter (the voice of Solid Snake) does the voice for Snake/Big Boss in this game, so its just like playing as the original Snake, although if you can consider Solid Snake a bad-ass, Big Boss was a bonafied genetic freak (although he and his sons are identical, Big Boss had 3 sons cloned from his DNA).
My TakeThis is the best game that I have personally ever played, and in my opinion, the single greatest game of this generation of videogame consoles. The graphics in this game would be considered a huge feat on the Xbox, or even a high-end PC. The controls are tight, the story is superb, and the gameplay completely revolutionized the stealth genre once again. With the addition of CQC, camo, and the hunting and curing subscreens, this is a
must-have for fans of the genre, and just in general. It's funny, Hideo Kojima had to go back in time, to take a step forward for this franchise, and let me tell you, he succeeded. This is the best game in the series, and quite possibly the best game on the PlayStation 2. Buy it!
10 out of 10
