Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Snake Eater's story takes place during the 60's, long before the events of Sons of Liberty.  New characters take on a starring role, characters that, judging by the following games you will not see again.  Or will you?

Hideo Kojima will never, ever complete the story.  If he did, there'd be nothing left to intrigue his fans for another sequel.  He does, however, answer many of your questions about the past by revealing more about Solid Snake and his greatest adversary.  Saying anymore would spoil the game for anyone who hasn't already caught on.  The trailers revealed a little more than they should have.  As always, it's best to have a clear head when playing a Metal Gear Solid game.  The less you know, the more you'll enjoy the surprises.

Never one to give us a rehash, Hideo Kojima turned Snake Eater into an interesting game of sneaking, hunting, and surviving. 

Survival has been the aspect Konami has focused on most in their promotional campaign, but that's not all there is to this game.  While some parts of the game are quiet and nearly peaceful, others are a frantic blood bath.  Enemy territory is heavily guarded.  Weaponry isn't always in decent supply.  Being outside means that any sound – even light footsteps hitting a patch of tall grass -- can trigger the enemy's attention.  MGS wouldn't be MGS without stupid guards, but they're a little less stupid this time around.  You won't overtake them if you don't have any patience.

Hideo Kojima's trademark controls have been adapted to make the new environments more immersive.  Trees can be used in the same way that walls are used in the previous games (lean up against them and peak over to hunt oblivious enemies).  The camera is no longer stationary until that point.  Whether you're sneaking or not, moving the right analog stick will lift the camera further into the air, allowing you to scan the area.  This is a first for the series.  Before it wasn't necessary to scan the area because you could see all that was in front of you.  But with trees, plants, terrain and other vision blockers standing in your way, the only way to survive is to look ahead.

Sharp-eyed gamers may have noticed a number on the top right of some of the screenshots.  That number is Snake Eater's biggest innovation: your camouflage rating.  Snake can change his camouflage to blend in with most environments.  Light green will work best with short grass, but your existence is still clear.  Maybe if you stand completely still it won't be, but move an inch and the enemy will see you.

Tall grass is easier to sneak through.  You're not as likely to be seen while crawling through it.  The same goes for standing near a tree versus leaning up against it.  With the appropriate camouflage, leaning on a tree makes Snake nearly impossible to see.  The proof is in the camouflage rating, which will be very high.  Move a few inches away from the tree and your rating will drop.  Snake becomes more susceptible to attacks, and you become less likely to kill the enemy before his comrades are alerted.

Stupid camouflage – it's too dark!  Now they can tell I'm visible! 

As a game of survival, Solid Snake is without a single ration.  He's in the jungle though, and he's got a few strong weapons.  Time to create your own rations.

Creating rations is not hard to do.  Find an edible creature, slay it, and watch it turn into a ration.  A very weak ration mind you, but a ration nonetheless.

The hard part is finding something edible.  They're plentiful, but animals aren't stupid.  They know of your existence.  Even if you're able to kill them without failure, you have to take into account the fact that enemies could be lurking nearby.  Firing a weapon will once again make them aware of your presence.

Should you be foolish enough to feed Snake food that's spoiled, he will almost certainly get sick.  Curing him isn't easy.  You must have the appropriate medical treatment items.  Otherwise Snake will stay sick and his life bar will continue to be drained.

This is also true for Snake's injuries.  If he becomes injured you may need to perform surgical treatment on him to stop the bleeding. 

Who is that?  Is she good?  Is she evil?  If she is good, then why is that gun pointed at my—! 

Snake Eater isn't a breakthrough game for PS2 like Sons of Liberty was, but the graphics are still jaw-dropping.  The lighting, shadow and weapon/explosion effects are unbelievable.  The outdoor areas have so much detail in them that you'll almost forget how old PlayStation 2 is.  Your interaction with these environments, and the way the game reacts to your camera changes is not quite perfect, but it's close enough to fool each and every one of us.

More than seven million gamers experienced Sons of Liberty, and 99% of them walked away wishing they had an MGS starred Solid Snake.  This is that game.  It's the game you wanted to have three years ago.  The story is less convoluted (but still very intriguing and confusing at times), and you don't have to worry about playing as Raiden.  Oh no – I spoiled the surprise.  Snake Eater stars Solid Snake, not Raiden.  You never saw that coming, did you?  Hideo Kojima heard us loud and clear.  This time he gave us what we wanted.

Gameplay: 9.5
Metal Gear Solid controls, Metal Gear Solid executions, and an all-new way to survive.  Anything that could influence your success in a real jungle can influence Solid Snake in this game.  Wind, uneven terrain and several other real-world aspects take effect in this game.  Try crossing a wobbly bridge as a gust of wind blows through.  Now put a couple of enemies on the bridge, and try to pick them off before you're spotted.  The loud gunfire could alert the others, or the power of the wind might make Solid Snake unstable, causing him to fall.

Graphics: 9.5
Stunning.  Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is one of the best-looking games of the year.  Halo 2 has the higher resolution advantage, but Konami's artists added realistic details to this game that you won't find in any Xbox game (except for Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid's most dangerous adversary).

Sound: 9
Another stellar soundtrack from film composer Harry Gregson-Williams.  His work can be heard in dozens of movies, but his greatest accomplishment was writing a song for Sons of Liberty that has now become the theme of the series.  Images of the game pop into my head whenever I hear it.  I see the image of Snake on the tanker in MGS2, and an image of Snake standing in front of a flame in the jungle.  When a composer accomplishes this, you know that he's more than just a composer.  Harry Gregson-Williams is a musical genius.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard

Concept: 8.9
It's a new time for Metal Gear Solid fans and an entirely new setting.  Technically this is the third game in the series, but the story takes place before the first MGS.  Awesome ideas are presented, an excellent story develops, and the gameplay is nothing less than what a Metal Gear Solid fan could desire.

Overall: 9.5
For every Metal Gear Solid fan on the planet.  All seven million of you.  Like the first game, you can't play through it just once.  You have to buy this one.  It's worth every penny.  There are some frustrating moments and a few times when you'll feel like you're going in circles -- that's true of all the games in the series.  But when this game is on, it's on.  Nothing can compare to it, not even Splinter Cell.