Remember Metal Gear on the NES? We’ve come a long way since Snake uttered the words, “UH OH THE TRUCK HAVE STARTED TO MOVE!!”
Metal Gear Solid 1 for the PlayStation was a great game. It really kicked off the whole “sneaking mission” genre. It was a little heavy on lengthy radio discussions, but you could forgive it because the story and gameplay were so fresh and enjoyable.
”Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of liberty” on the PlayStation 2 was also a great game, but – strangely enough -- it failed to live up to the expectations created by its demo. As it turned out, the area presented in the demo was by far the most enjoyable part of the game, after which you took the role of a whiny kid named Raiden who is involved in the silliest, most far-fetched conspiracy I’ve ever played through. The graphics and game engine were incredibly polished, but the setting they dropped you in was a dull hexagonal oil rig. Combine that with even more lengthy radio conversations and the almost non-existence of Solid Snake himself and you’ve got a game that you probably won’t want to play through more than once.
So how is “Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater?” I was surprised to find myself really enjoying it. Set in the early 1960s instead of the present or near future, it is unique in that you play as the man who Solid Snake from the other Metal Gear games is a clone of, and who later becomes the elusive villain, "Big Boss." MGS3 also has the distinction of being the only game I know of to actually have Lyndon B. Johnson as a character. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a positive, but it is interesting nonetheless. It’s a story full of intrigue, Russian defectors, an expectedly crazy cast of villains and allies, and as the name implies, the consumption of reptiles.
Much of your time in this game is spent sneaking through the jungle and changing your camouflage to blend in with different environments, all the while killing animals and harvesting plants to maintain your stamina as you subdue or outmaneuver guards. Become injured and you have to use your medical supplies to treat the wound (disinfectants, splints, suture, etc.). It’s all a lot more fun than it may sound.
Every aspect of the MGS game play has been improved, but the happiest improvement for me is the sheer volume of incredibly beautiful game-engine cinematic storytelling (as opposed to text spoken over the radio). There’s never a dull moment, and there are often multiple ways to achieve a goal.
Boss fights are clever rather than especially difficult, which is a plus. One fight is a sniping duel that can take a very long time to complete and requires skill and patience. Other sections have you performing unique tasks such as gunning down enemies as you ride in a motorcycle sidecar in a dramatic escape from a pursuing nuclear tank.
The bottom line: If you loved MGS1 but were left a little sour after playing MGS2, don’t count this one out. It nicely ties up the Metal Gear story by explaining a bit of its origin (including a young Revolver Ocelot) and even making MGS2 seem a bit less confusing in the process.
Okay...some of the cheesy dialogue aside, this was definitely the best of these games to date. I even enjoyed watching it.
Posted by: choppi | April 09, 2005 at 08:43 PM
I feel asleep!
Posted by: DarkSol | April 10, 2005 at 01:36 PM
You fell asleep playing this game!?! How much had you played?
Posted by: SuperPope | April 10, 2005 at 04:50 PM
He used the Force to play. He's that good...
Posted by: Momotaro | April 12, 2005 at 11:15 PM
No, no, no, SuperPopey. It's a quote from the very first Metal Gear. It's bad engrish from one of the guards who, I am assuming, meant to say, "I fell asleep."
MGS3 is a good game though. I've only played through it once, and on the easiest of difficulty levels too. (Hey, I'm just not super good at MGS) I'll play through it some more once I have some more free time though.
Posted by: DarkSol | April 16, 2005 at 09:48 AM
Gotcha. Sorry I missed the reference!
I played through MGS3 on Normal, but I'm never good enough to bother trying anything harder.
Posted by: SuperPope | April 16, 2005 at 10:12 PM