Snake Eater Review
Here's an MGS3:SE review I wrote a while back.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater tells the past, and, at the same time, tells the future.
Metal Gear Solid 3, the fifth game in the Metal Gear series (we're not even getting into Ghost Babel or Snake's Revenge) sets gamers down right into the beautiful Soviet jungles of 1964, playing as Naked Snake, a former Green Beret and member of the CIA's covert-ops unit FOX. Gamers must use a slue of new gameplay features, as well as familiar old MGS tactics, to get through the jungle alive and complete his mission. Along the way, a straight-forward, yet intricate plot unfolds, building to an amazing, climactic ending.
So, what about the story? Readers who felt that, as a game, Sons of Liberty made a good movie, will be excited to learn that cutscenes and codec conversations rarely devour the compelling gameplay. That's not to say the game lacks breathtaking scenes or story progression. The game follows a simple, yet effective, formula: get from A-to-B, watch cinema, telling some more of the story, and directing you to point C. Get from B-to-C. No more “Jack, do you know tomorrow is?” and no more plot twists being shoved down your throat at every corner - and hey, I'm a Sons of Liberty fan, but the Snake Eater progression comes at a very welcome change of pace. Only in the first and last hour of the game do cutscenes take precedence over the gameplay, but that's natural. It isn't like gamers should mind all that much - they'll be too busy captivated by the visuals to care.
If I said Snake Eater had the best graphics of any game ever released... well, I'd be wrong, because Half-Life 2 just came out. If I said Snake Eater had the best graphics of any console game ever released, you'd be hard-pressed to find fault with the statement. The whole game through, I told myself again and again that the Playstation 2 should not be able to produce the beauty that it had. Say goodbye to Sons of Liberty's flat, bland graphics, and hello to the lush and vibrant environment of Snake Eater. There's nothing like it, and nothing as beautiful.
The sounds aren't nearly as good as the graphics, but they hold their own. The soundtrack is highlighted by “Snake Eater,” an infectious James Bondian theme that fits in right with the time period. Most of the sound effects should be similar, as the weapons sound the same, but this time they're augmented by the realistic sounds of nature. The voice-acting is above average, and David Hayter once again turns in a superb performance as Snake. Most of the game's dialogue is Russian, but gamers hear it as English - thus none of the “wonderful” Russian accents of Sons of Liberty. Other actors turn in respectable performances, and for the most part, the voice-acting is good, if innocuous.
But that's not what you came to read about, is it? How does the game actually play? That's the real important part, and that's where MGS3 shines the most. First of all, let's get things straight - you won't be able to run ten feet in front of a guard and expect to not be spotted. Konami went through great lengths to improve the AI, and that fact is obvious. Guards can see just as far as you can, and they can hear footsteps just as well as you can. Second of all, you can no longer utilize the Soliton Radar system of MGS1 and MGS2... after all, this is 1964, with no nanomachines to be found. However, Snake Eater offers new gameplay elements to help gamers adapt.
The first new feature is camouflage. You can now change fatigues and face paints, as well as acquire new ones along the way. Naturally, certain camouflage works better than others in different environments. You can tell how well your camouflage is working by the Camo Index, a percentage that indicates how well you blend in with the environment. Also, some camos come with neat side effects, like eliminating footstep noises. It is possible to get 100% in certain areas, and guards literally have to step on you to find you. It's also possible to get a negative camouflage index by running around like a madman in bright colors with guns-(or torch)-a-blazing. Naturally, staying low and being quiet are essential to stealth, so you'll spend much more of your time crawling through the game, and using the D-Pad to move around, which makes you move slower, but also keeps you quiet.
The next big change in gameplay is the new stamina bar. Similar to bosses from MGS2, you now have both a health and stamina bar. However, instead of healing yourself directly with rations, your health slowly regenerates over time, based on how full your stamina is. You can replinish your stamina by saving and turning the game off (Snake will “take a nap”) or by simply hunting and eating food (such as snakes, natch.) Stamina slowly decreases over time, and the more items you are carrying, the quicker it depletes.
Another new aspect is the cure system. Sometimes, when you're shot in battle, slashed with a knife, or hit with an explosion, you become seriously injured. To fix this, you must go to the start menu and apply medical supplies to yourself. For example, for a gunshot wound, you must dig the bullet out with a knife, disinfect the wound, apply styptic to stop the bleeding, and finally, apply a bandage. In the meantime, Snake's maximum health goes down until the wound is cured. The system discourages an all out rampage as supplies can be somewhat hard to come by if you get scarce.
However, probably the best and most fun addition to the game is CQC, or Close Quarters Combat. Using CQC, Snake can do the familiar punch-punch-kick combo, slam his opponents directly to the ground (instant KO), or place them in a chokehold. From the chokehold, Snake can interrogate the enemy for useful info, slit their throat, choke them out, or toss them to the ground for a quick hold up. Sure, you can go through the game more or less MGS2 style: staying our of sight and tranqulizing every enemy you see, but it's a much more fun and rewarding gameplay experience to CQC everything in sight. Nothing beats killing a room full of guards with nothing but a knife, without raising a single alarm.
Finally, there's a negative, likely the only negative in the game: the camera. The camera should be familiar, it's the old over-head view with a twist: you can now adjust the camera slightly in any direction so you can see a little farther ahead of you. It works fine for a sneaking camera, but in some of the more action-oriented sequences of the game, when you screwed up, or you just have the urge to send hundreds of bullets tearing through the bodies of Soviets, the camera can be quite limiting. A rear-chase camera, like the Splinter Cell series, or the ability to move in first person, could've vastly helped, as well as opened up more gameplay options. Maybe in the future we can get that.
However, aside from the camera issues, it's hard to come up with any detriments about the game. It surpasses the previous four games in every category, and is one of the most memorable and engaging games ever made. A must buy.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater tells the past, and, at the same time, tells the future.
Metal Gear Solid 3, the fifth game in the Metal Gear series (we're not even getting into Ghost Babel or Snake's Revenge) sets gamers down right into the beautiful Soviet jungles of 1964, playing as Naked Snake, a former Green Beret and member of the CIA's covert-ops unit FOX. Gamers must use a slue of new gameplay features, as well as familiar old MGS tactics, to get through the jungle alive and complete his mission. Along the way, a straight-forward, yet intricate plot unfolds, building to an amazing, climactic ending.
So, what about the story? Readers who felt that, as a game, Sons of Liberty made a good movie, will be excited to learn that cutscenes and codec conversations rarely devour the compelling gameplay. That's not to say the game lacks breathtaking scenes or story progression. The game follows a simple, yet effective, formula: get from A-to-B, watch cinema, telling some more of the story, and directing you to point C. Get from B-to-C. No more “Jack, do you know tomorrow is?” and no more plot twists being shoved down your throat at every corner - and hey, I'm a Sons of Liberty fan, but the Snake Eater progression comes at a very welcome change of pace. Only in the first and last hour of the game do cutscenes take precedence over the gameplay, but that's natural. It isn't like gamers should mind all that much - they'll be too busy captivated by the visuals to care.
If I said Snake Eater had the best graphics of any game ever released... well, I'd be wrong, because Half-Life 2 just came out. If I said Snake Eater had the best graphics of any console game ever released, you'd be hard-pressed to find fault with the statement. The whole game through, I told myself again and again that the Playstation 2 should not be able to produce the beauty that it had. Say goodbye to Sons of Liberty's flat, bland graphics, and hello to the lush and vibrant environment of Snake Eater. There's nothing like it, and nothing as beautiful.
The sounds aren't nearly as good as the graphics, but they hold their own. The soundtrack is highlighted by “Snake Eater,” an infectious James Bondian theme that fits in right with the time period. Most of the sound effects should be similar, as the weapons sound the same, but this time they're augmented by the realistic sounds of nature. The voice-acting is above average, and David Hayter once again turns in a superb performance as Snake. Most of the game's dialogue is Russian, but gamers hear it as English - thus none of the “wonderful” Russian accents of Sons of Liberty. Other actors turn in respectable performances, and for the most part, the voice-acting is good, if innocuous.
But that's not what you came to read about, is it? How does the game actually play? That's the real important part, and that's where MGS3 shines the most. First of all, let's get things straight - you won't be able to run ten feet in front of a guard and expect to not be spotted. Konami went through great lengths to improve the AI, and that fact is obvious. Guards can see just as far as you can, and they can hear footsteps just as well as you can. Second of all, you can no longer utilize the Soliton Radar system of MGS1 and MGS2... after all, this is 1964, with no nanomachines to be found. However, Snake Eater offers new gameplay elements to help gamers adapt.
The first new feature is camouflage. You can now change fatigues and face paints, as well as acquire new ones along the way. Naturally, certain camouflage works better than others in different environments. You can tell how well your camouflage is working by the Camo Index, a percentage that indicates how well you blend in with the environment. Also, some camos come with neat side effects, like eliminating footstep noises. It is possible to get 100% in certain areas, and guards literally have to step on you to find you. It's also possible to get a negative camouflage index by running around like a madman in bright colors with guns-(or torch)-a-blazing. Naturally, staying low and being quiet are essential to stealth, so you'll spend much more of your time crawling through the game, and using the D-Pad to move around, which makes you move slower, but also keeps you quiet.
The next big change in gameplay is the new stamina bar. Similar to bosses from MGS2, you now have both a health and stamina bar. However, instead of healing yourself directly with rations, your health slowly regenerates over time, based on how full your stamina is. You can replinish your stamina by saving and turning the game off (Snake will “take a nap”) or by simply hunting and eating food (such as snakes, natch.) Stamina slowly decreases over time, and the more items you are carrying, the quicker it depletes.
Another new aspect is the cure system. Sometimes, when you're shot in battle, slashed with a knife, or hit with an explosion, you become seriously injured. To fix this, you must go to the start menu and apply medical supplies to yourself. For example, for a gunshot wound, you must dig the bullet out with a knife, disinfect the wound, apply styptic to stop the bleeding, and finally, apply a bandage. In the meantime, Snake's maximum health goes down until the wound is cured. The system discourages an all out rampage as supplies can be somewhat hard to come by if you get scarce.
However, probably the best and most fun addition to the game is CQC, or Close Quarters Combat. Using CQC, Snake can do the familiar punch-punch-kick combo, slam his opponents directly to the ground (instant KO), or place them in a chokehold. From the chokehold, Snake can interrogate the enemy for useful info, slit their throat, choke them out, or toss them to the ground for a quick hold up. Sure, you can go through the game more or less MGS2 style: staying our of sight and tranqulizing every enemy you see, but it's a much more fun and rewarding gameplay experience to CQC everything in sight. Nothing beats killing a room full of guards with nothing but a knife, without raising a single alarm.
Finally, there's a negative, likely the only negative in the game: the camera. The camera should be familiar, it's the old over-head view with a twist: you can now adjust the camera slightly in any direction so you can see a little farther ahead of you. It works fine for a sneaking camera, but in some of the more action-oriented sequences of the game, when you screwed up, or you just have the urge to send hundreds of bullets tearing through the bodies of Soviets, the camera can be quite limiting. A rear-chase camera, like the Splinter Cell series, or the ability to move in first person, could've vastly helped, as well as opened up more gameplay options. Maybe in the future we can get that.
However, aside from the camera issues, it's hard to come up with any detriments about the game. It surpasses the previous four games in every category, and is one of the most memorable and engaging games ever made. A must buy.