It’s hard to explain what exactly defines a great game in modern times. Most will say that a title’s gameplay is the most important and that everything else the game brings to the table is trivial. Today’s most popular titles are those that strive to push the envelope in every area, gameplay, graphics, sound, etc. However, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid series is something that has defied the traditional way of criticism of how videogames are judged.
The Metal Gear Solid series is an experience, a form of entertainment that transcends gaming and cinema. The praise these games receive rarely, if ever, stems from the gameplay found within them but instead from the exhilarating experience delivered thanks to a plot filled with twists and turns, and character development that rivals the best novels and films.
The newest title in the series, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, is without question the best Metal Gear Solid game to date. It’s got the action. It’s got the story and characters. And, in what may be a bit surprising for some, the gameplay is extremely enjoyable, but of course it plays second fiddle to the cinematic aspect of Snake Eater.
Better Than Going to the Movies
The cinematic aspect of Snake Eater is beyond anything seen in any videogame. It even surpasses its predecessors and the noteworthy Max Payne 2. Its cutscenes are found in abundance and at times can often stretch out for more than twenty minutes. Of course, there are bound to be many players who are sickened of lengthy cutscenes in games. However, the way the scenes are portrayed depicts emotion in a fashion that most Hollywood directors love to dream of.
Emotions are just so well displayed, especially those of love and anguish. And for those action buffs, the action sequences in Snake Eater are just as spectacular. You’ll encounter brutal and bloody fist fights that will probably be some of the best ever seen in a videogame, and near the game’s end a spectacular interactive motorcycle chase that utilizes unique camera angles to make it seem like it has been ripped straight out of some James Bond film.
Speaking of Bond, Snake Eater feels like a 007 flick at times. No, the game doesn’t feature high-priced supercars or cigarette pistols, but the feel of 007 is there. This becomes apparent when thinking of the voluptuous blonde vixen "Eva," and the game’s Bond-like intro sequence and song, complete with funkadelic visuals and female vocals. Though, the 007 references don’t end there.
The codec conversations held with a character by the name of “Para-Medic” often make reference to classic action and science fiction films from the 50s and 60s, and at one point early on 007 is brought up. Snake expresses his distaste towards the films which then causes for his British-born superior "Major Zero" to pop into the conversation and start ranting about how great 007 is and how Snake would’ve loved to have had the cool gadgets Bond does on his missions. The skit is quite entertaining because not only does it make fun of the game itself but also praises the films it’s partially inspired by.
The Return of a Hero
After playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, many fans of the original were (to put it nicely) displeased with the fact that the larger portion of the game wasn’t played as Solid Snake, but instead as the blonde-haired pretty-boy known as Raiden. As a fan of the series, I can see why so many were pissed. Simply put, Solid Snake is one of the greatest videogame characters ever conceived. He’s a true hero, a total badass, a dog of war, and to some extent, a tragic hero. While playing Metal Gear Solid 2, simply seeing Snake reappear and join the fight, alongside Raiden in the latter half of the game, brings a tear to the eye. He’s just that admirable of a character. Luckily, Metal Gear Solid 3 keeps players as their hero, as Snake (kind of), and I doubt fans would have it any other way. And to bring Raiden back into the picture, Snake Eater teases his character to an extent.
Unrivaled Storytelling
Snake Eater’s plot may initially come off as bit confusing to those who’ve played the previous Metal Gear Solid games. The reason for this is because Snake Eater is actually a prequel to these titles, taking place during the Cold War of the 1960’s, which as you can imagine plays a monstrous role in the events of the game.
In an effort to keep the game enjoyable for those who have yet to experience it, I will withdraw any potential spoilers. Snake Eater is just one of those ingenious tales that shouldn’t be ruined for anyone. No one should ever be denied of the full experience. However, what I will say is that just like the previous two games, while the game may touch serious issues of honor, loyalty and patriotism, there are some things that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. In specific, the game’s villains. They’re outrageous and larger-than-life, and some even beyond the grave. Interestingly enough, the codec conversations held with a Para-Medic are often
"...Snake Eater is without question the best Metal Gear Solid game to date."
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there to remind players that the outrageous characters and events depicted in games and movies are meant take people out of reality in order to truly enjoy these forms of entertainment for what they are - stories of fiction and fantasy.
It’s No Splinter Cell But it’s Still Pretty Damn Good
When diving into Snake Eater things initially feel a bit uncomfortable, because after playing games like Splinter Cell and its sequel one realizes that the best way to play a stealth game is with a behind-the-back, free camera, third person perspective.
The static overhead perspective featured in Snake Eater just isn’t good enough, and in fact, it often presents most of the difficulties experienced within the game. Not being able to see what’s ahead of you is a bit of a nuisance, as is pressing R1 to switch to a first person point of view, and this time around there isn’t a radar to tell you were enemies are, or where their attention is aimed at.
Similar issues of control haunt the game as well. It just doesn’t seem to have evolved much from its predecessors. Analog control isn’t really taken advantage of as it should be. While pressing the "fire" button is useful when wanting to put away a weapon, it sucks to have to switch from the analog stick to D-pad to stealthily creep from point to point. Even more annoying is the fact that in order to get up from lying stomach-down on the ground you have to press the X button twice to get back onto your feet. During the heat of battle this can become a bit frustrating, especially when being shot at by an enemy.
Starting the description of the title’s gameplay on a negative note might not be too appealing to those reading this. However, let it be known that players will get adjusted to such things and once this occurs Snake Eater becomes a much more enjoyable game, without question the most enjoyable Metal Gear Solid game to date.
Welcome to the Jungle
If you haven’t already known, Snake Eater primarily takes place outdoors in a jungle/forest environment. Each one of these outdoor environments are massive in size, a huge change from the small in size rooms and corridors of the previous games. To say the least, these areas are exotic and not only do they allow for players to camouflage themselves in tall blades of grass, but it also allows for them to tred through ponds of mud and alligator-filled streams, providing some unique and memorable experiences that are taken advantage of fully in Snake Eater.
One of Snake Eater’s unique features is the ability to have Snake blend into his surroundings thanks to the use various camo attires and face paints. Using the the camo gear given at the beginning of the adventure, as well as using those acquired during the
"...the way the scenes are portrayed depicts emotion in a fashion that most Hollywood directors love to dream of."
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adventure, allows for Snake to hide himself from enemy soldiers. No longer will players have to resort to hiding in a cardboard box to keep themselves hidden (although they still can). This new emphasis on blending in with the game’s surroundings is truly an improvement that is welcomed with open arms. Of course, if choosing attire foolishly, Snake can easily be spotted when wearing white snow camo in a green and brown setting.
Increasing the effect of this all is the emphasis on crawling through blades of grass and all types of surfaces to keep oneself out of an enemy’s point of view. The lower one is to the ground, the less are the chances of being detected. And to go back to the camo aspect of things, players can change Snake’s gear at any time, even during a shootout or boss fight. Of course, this new emphasis on camouflage and stealth is a key gameplay element that helps Snake Eater distinguish itself from its predecessors, yet it’s not the only one.
In Snake Eater players can also feed Snake and mend his wounds. These new features add an enjoyable survival aspect to the game, and just like the camo features, they’re a welcomed addition.
As Snake exerts his energy while running, climbing, and crawling around, he’ll eventually get to the point where he’ll get exhausted, and this will be shown as he begins to move slowly and have trouble aiming a weapon with steady hands. In order to get his stamina back to where it should be, he’ll have to feed on animals, fungi, and prepackaged foods acquired throughout the game. In order to do this players will have to kill or capture animals, etc., storing them in them in Snake’s backpack to feed on when needed.
Oddly, Snake has a near limitless amount of storage for foods and because of this players will never really feel as if they need to hunt. Most likely they’ll come across something to eat and it will come in handy when the time comes. Interestingly, dead meat can spoil over time and if Snake eats spoiled meat he’ll have to give himself some medical treatment. However, he’ll have to treat himself in more serious conditions and injuries as well.
As a lone soldier in a hostile environment it’s pretty much a given that Snake will receive tons of injuries in battle, including bone fractures, deep cuts, gunshot wounds, and burns. In order to keep Snake in tip top shape and regenerate health after being battered up, players will have to press "start" and go to the "Survival Viewer" menu. In this menu players will use medical equipment to heal Snake’s wounds. It is an easy-to-do process since the game often guides players on what operations are needed to perform in order to mend injuries. For instance, to mend a bullet wound players will need to use Snake’s knife to remove the bullet, a styptic to stop the bleeding, disinfectant to clean the wound, and bandage to finish things off. Unfortunately, players won’t see Snake doing any of these things (which takes away from the effect) and the procedures are a bit too easy to perform for their own good. It would’ve proven much more challenging to follow an order of operations since players could often make mistakes and waste their limited materials (which can also be found throughout the game in a number of ways) as a result.
Tactical Action Espionage
As in any good stealth game, Snake Eater present players with a multitude of ways to approach scenarios. They can attempt to sneak past enemies (crawling through grass, through tunnels, and moving past them when their back is turned), get their attention by making some noise (by tapping on wall or tree), or if players choose to do so, run into things with guns ’a blazing. Of course, it’s wise not to do the latter since a squadron of enemies will be sent your way, but at times it’s unavoidable. In these types of situations other than fighting your way through waves of enemy soldiers, players can attempt to hide in a crack underneath a
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building (or something of the sort) and wait for the "alert" clock to wind down until the enemy lowers its guard. As you can imagine this takes some time, but patience is a virtue that will benefit players in Snake Eater (or in any Metal Gear Solid game). However, if you’re one that wants to head on into battle, take note that combat in Snake Eater has improved drastically over its predecessors thanks to the inclusion of CQC, thus rushing into combat is more enjoyable than it ever has been.
CQC is an easy-to-use technique that allows Snake to perform interesting hand-to-hand combat maneuvers and to disarm enemies in close combat and put them in a headlock of sorts. Because of CQC, a whole new dimension of combat is added to the game, a huge step forward ahead of its predecessors "punch, punch, kick" combos. If desired, while players have their enemies in this headlock they can use them as a "human shied" in gunfights, interrogate them for useful items, or if desired (and something which I did way too often) take Snake’s knife and cut their throat open (gory indeed). Initially, CQC doesn’t seem to be a gameplay changing factor but once learned it adds a new level of enjoyment to Metal Gear Solid games that never exited beforehand. CQC is easily my favorite gameplay feature in Snake Eater. However, beware of killing far too many soldiers, because who knows what kind of SORROW you’ll endure... (heh)
Boss Battles Are Kickin’ Ass!
From game to game, boss battles have improved in the Metal Gear Solid series. When going back to play some of them, especially the hand-to-hand battle with "Liquid Snake" in the PSone or GameCube remake of the original, they begin to feel a bit dated. Thankfully, Kojima-san has once again improved on the boss battle aspect of things in Snake Eater providing the best encounters in the series to date.
As with the game in general, Snake’s camouflage abilities and stealth abilities are often put to work in boss battles, the most notable of which is the boss battle with a soldier by the name of "The End." Many will probably compare this battle to the sniping battle with "Sniper Wolf" in the original Metal Gear Solid. However, Snake Eater’s rendition is far more impressive and at the same instant very time consuming. You see, because this sniping battle occurs in the jungle, not only can Snake camouflage himself, but so can "The End," and to add to the grand scale of the battle, both Snake and "The End" run to different points across the massive jungle battlefield. Don’t be surprised if you experience or hear of this battle taking more than twenty minutes or more to overcome, because in my experience it had stretched out for quite that long of a time.
Snake vs. Monkey
After completing the main adventure players can always go back to it to experience the thrills and excitement of Kojima’s brilliant storytelling and approach the game’s gameplay sequences in a multitude of different ways (and trust me, there’s a load of different ways to approach them with). Chances are, because the game is just so damn enjoyable, players will indeed do just that. However, Snake Eater shows off its humorous side in a gameplay mode called "Snake vs. Monkey." In Snake vs. Monkey, players can enjoy themselves in a trivial game that makes players sneak up on and capture the monkeys of Sony’s Ape Escape franchise. While it may sound stupid, it is rather enjoyable, but definitely not what players paid the price of admission for. Interestingly, unlike the main game, "Snake vs. Monkey" actually has players playing as modern day ’Solid Snake’ from the two previous Metal Gear Solid games.
Can the PS2 Get Pushed Any Further?
Amongst the gaming community there are fans who like to downplay the PlayStation 2’s visual capabilities and okay... the GameCube and Xbox have been proven to be the most powerful of the three home consoles available on the market currently. However this is not to say that the PlayStation 2 cannot pump out games that are visually stunning, and Metal Gear Solid 3 is quite possibly the best example of the visual capabilities of the PS2. It is simply one of the best-looking games available on home consoles this holiday season.
What makes Snake Eater a beautiful game are a number of things. For one, the character models are more impressive than they have ever been, high in detail and featuring the best facial animations available in any game title (although the presentation of things could’ve been benefitted with better lip synching). Two, the graphical effects the game features are flawless in execution. And most importantly, the game’s environments are just massive and heavily detailed, featuring large amounts of plant life, moving grass and good-looking textures (that get a bit blurry at closer perspectives), all being shown at a rock solid frame rate that never flinches at even the most intense times. However, aliasing issues that have plagued PS2 games for years haunt Snake Eater a tad bit as well. However, players should become adjusted very easily and won’t really be bothered by these aliasing issues unless they go and play a clean-looking game such as Metroid Prime 2 (which just so happens to be something that I had done).
With all of this said, Snake Eater is one of the most beautiful games available on the PS2 and on any one of the industry’s three home platforms. It pushes the console to an extent that makes one question if it can be pushed any further. Not only this, but the game also delivers an auditory experience that is usually nothing short of astounding.
Snake Eater, of course, continues the tradition of its predecessors of delivering a powerful soundtrack. However, it’s a bit disappointing to find out that the main theme of Metal Gear Solid 2 isn’t heard much in the game (actually just once during a cutscene and at the end of the game’s credits). The reason this is such a disappointment is because it’s such a powerful and memorable theme. Despite this, composer Henry Gregson-Williams still manages to provide an excellent soundtrack for Snake Eater.
Oddly enough, the James Bond-like theme mentioned earlier is highlighted quite a few times during the game and it ends up being quite fitting at the times when used, the oddest of which is when Snake is climbing up an almost never-ending ladder. Seriously, it may have taken a good five minutes or more to climb up this thing, and what would have otherwise been a nuisance instead ends up becoming an interesting gameplay scenario due to the vocals of that Bond-like theme being played in the background.
As for the game’s voice acting, it’s just as great as it has always been. If you haven’t known, every piece of dialogue in Snake Eater, or in past Metal Gear Solid games, is completely voiced and the quality of this voice acting, most often that of David Hayter’s as Snake, is highly commendable. Snake Eater displays the same quality as the previous titles. Sure, some of the villains may sound a bit over-exaggerated but it seems to be intentional due to the fact that they are indeed larger-than-life characters. However, I frown upon the voice acting for a character by the name of "Sokolov." He just doesn’t seem to be acted out too great and listening to him takes a bit away from the overall effect of some of his scenes.
The game’s sound effects are just as commendable as the rest of the game’s auditory qualities. They help the jungle come alive with the sounds of wild animals and the brushing of blades of grass, and, like always, help with the stealth aspect of the game as players listen for enemy footsteps, etc.
Bottom line: Metal Gear Solid 3 is the total audio and visual package on the PS2.
More than Just a Game
There’s not much else that can be said about Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater that hasn’t already been said in this review. It truly is one of the best games available for the PlayStation 2, although saying that alone doesn’t seem to do the game enough justice. Snake Eater is an excellent videogame and cinematic masterpiece. Those who are fans of the series know that a great experience awaits them from Kojima-san and crew, and those who have been foolish enough to pass up on the games have been depriving themselves of one of the greatest videogame series in modern times. Every gamer owes it to himself to experience Metal Gear Solid 3.
