Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Written by Chris Reiter  on November 30, 2004

Review: At last... the main babe of the game really is a babe!

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Fighting tons of guys can be fun, but there's also the cost of both life and ammo to worry about. Ammo, as always, can be found either lying around or taken after Snake drags and drops the body of a guard for a little bit. Life, on the other hand, is replenished with another new feature of the Metal Gear Solid 3 experience: stamina. A stamina bar now appears under Snake's health bar, taking into account the focus of energies he's capable of outputting. More stamina means that Snake's life will return on its own and at a quicker rate too, the more stamina he has. Affecting the stamina is a number of elements. Swimming underwater, for example, decreases stamina rapidly. Low levels of oxygen in a mountain region will push it down too. Stripping Snake of his shirt can chill his body, and in effect drain him of his power. Some bosses will even have an effect on his stability at times too, as they can weaken him in their own ways of war. And it's with this continuance of depletion that Snake must do something you'd never think was possible in a Metal Gear Solid game before...Snake must learn how to hunt for food. No longer does selecting a ration pack from the item list constitute health gain. Now Snake's got to find and capture all kinds of living creatures in order to survive. Crocodiles, birds, frogs, mushrooms, snakes, rats, bats, fish, and even flying squirrels and mountain goats will each become suspect to Snake's rumbling tummy. I mean that in a literal sense too -- Snake's stomach will actually growl whenever his stamina is low. Enemies will catch on and attack. Precision aiming will become more difficult to handle, as will the speed in which Snake can run away from his attackers. Keep a close eye on the stamina bar, and you'll keep Snake alive.

About the meats Snake will eat...what you'll soon realize is that not all tasty treats are so satisfying. In fact, some animal meats are down right poisonous. Through the magic of stamina building, Snake will find some animals to be acceptable while others aren't. The ones that please Snake's appetite are the ones that will aid him more. Other creatures may provide him with very little recovery or disrupt his stomach with food poisoning. That's where Konami's newly appointed surgical station comes in. Through the Start menu of the game, players can enter into a variety of options -- from choosing Snake's camo, to selecting the items he can carry with him into battle (multiple items aren't linked to one chain of similar tools anymore), and finally curing Snake's health status. When Snake gets poisoned from chowing down on rotten grub, he can cure himself here. When Snake is shot and bleeding, cut, burned, or even have his bones broken, the cure viewer fixes Snake right up. This treatment section of the game especially comes in handy for times when you're fighting a boss (who implement all kinds of status ailments), to getting up close and personal with enemy offenders. The interesting thing about that, is engaging enemies head on now is probably the most fun it's ever been. This comes with Snake's mastery skill of CQC (Close Quarters Combat). Getting a hold of enemy patrols by pressing the circle button will give to Snake different options for taking charge of any situation. Snake can now punch and kick guards, throw them to the ground, slit their throat, use them as a human shield whilst also firing a weapon, or even interrogate them to find out facts about the area. Although it's a little tricky to get used to CQC fighting (as the maneuver really depends on the strength and direction you're holding down on the left analog stick), it's an extremely fun feature to mess around with if you're ever in the mood for getting a little messy.

New time. New setting. Much more to see. Metal Gear Solid 3, in its makeover from the usual indoorsy spots, tackles new heights for graphics you didn't know were possible on the PlayStation 2. Konami has proven itself before by mastering the graphical possibilities of the system. Now they're pushing the limits of the console even further by putting Snake in a jungle setting so unbelievably good, you can believe it's real good. But that's not saying Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is leagues ahead of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. In terms of quality contrast, they appear almost as the same game. Snake Eater just puts itself to more practical use by establishing larger and more detailed environments. Replacing the tanker and plant facility from before, Snake is taken to his "true habitat" in the jungle. Where rainy weather, crocodile mud holes, and climbable trees thrive, there are patches of tall grass and leafed areas (each piece being individually animated) to take cover in. Dank cavernous paths and lush green forest closures (with heavenly daylight glow peering through the trees) surround Snake at times, while being submerged in mucky swamp trails (and reflective liquid at that) will slow down his speed elsewhere. Animals of the wild graze upon these locales in good measure too; rats in the sewers, crabs in the caves, fish in the river, birds and bees in the trees, snakes in the grass, etc. Elsewhere, spacious enemy compounds are present to explore, adding to each reachable venue that gives size and depth to the richly distinguishable atmospheres Metal Gear Solid 3 strives to create.

Molded into these enterable sources are once again refined character semblance's that are divine any way you take it. Snake in particular is above all else. Able to interact with his surroundings, you'll find Snake dipping in such substances as water and intake the wondrous first-person view of underwater shadows of crocs or sparkling droplet effects when surfacing to the top. Sinking in mud will dirty Snake as he wades through it. Getting shot and stabbed by enemies will even give to this handsome warrior blood stains seeping through his camo threads. Speaking of which, the camos of the game can alter the demeanor of Snake in an instant. From black-faced and bodied to wearing a certain blonde haired fellow's mask with green soldier wear, Snake can mix and match body and face types, each one wrinkled, shaded, and convincingly conceived to make Snake stand out formidable amidst the game's bevy of beautiful backdrops. Weaving through fights, armed or unarmed, rolling, crawling, punching, kicking, and blasting his way to victory, Snake's motions and the effects that follow draws many inspirational sights in many ways. Snake can tumble forward to foil guards that were once standing, and now knocked to their backside. Snake can grab a hold of an enemy body to slide his knife quickly and deliciously across their neck. Snake can even wield numerous weapons with exemplary results. Shotgun and RPG blasts blow enemies to kingdom come (in explosive flying backwards animations). Snipe guards from afar, and fill them with holes to watch the blood splattering effect, or aim for the arms and legs and examine their limbs tremble from the hurt of it all. Possibly to an even greater effect is the use of fire in the game. Snake can either toss combustive grenades at enemies and watch them dance around and die with some of the most miraculous pyrotechnics to come about in gaming (outward bursts, exquisite texturing, snippets of flame stuck to bodies and all), or ignite the party with gas canisters and char enemy bodies extra black and crispy. Enriched with illuminating superiority in all its visual efforts, through A-plussed achievements in game and in movie dramas (which are enormously gorgeous, by the way), Metal Gear Solid 3 does more than set the standards -- it founds them.

Over the radio and through the woods, to cite the sounds we know. Snake knows the way to tangle and strangle his enemies with deadly blows. Into this jungle, there is a load of authenticity to be found in the way of living as the legend, Snake. Birds will chirp from tree tops and flock when stomping through grassy spots. Snakes will rustle through plants just the same, and reacting with a standing and a hissing if Snake gets too close. Enemy guard dogs will bark, and bats will squeak and flutter around if Snake stirs any volumetric trouble. Acting as Snake though, you'll receive heightening and factual noises. Kneeling down and crawling, Snake's body shifts and slides against the roughened surface of the ground beneath him. Tapping a wall when pressed up against it or getting knifed in the chest produce auras you'd expect, like the sound of a blade piercing through a melon. The same can be said about any of the instruments Snake has to work with. Tinier hand guns submit smaller capsulated noises, whereas the big ones like the flickering of the assault rifles or the boastful burst from the shotgun never fail to meet the capacity for which these items are reflective of in life.

For the second Metal Gear Solid in a row, it was a first in game history when a major movie recording artist accepted the task of originating a dramatic and supremely brilliant score for use in a video game. A second chance has come for that man, Harry Gregson-Williams (whose work is notable for past blockbusters like Armageddon and Enemy of the State), and Harry has taken it. In its electronically recorded stature, the soundtrack of Metal Gear Solid 3 should be known that it's of a completely different flavor from Harry's work in the second game. This is most evident when hearing the game's main theme reminiscent of those oddly styled tracks played before every James Bond movie. Sung with powerful female lyrics, the style is likable, but in my opinion not as captivating as the epic productions introduced in the opening of the second game. Aside from that point of view, music also flares up in the intensity of battles (while sneaking moments is without any), giving off a jungle-like tune that adds an extra spark needed in the game. Of course, the most irresistible moments in any Metal Gear Solid lie in the key work of its story values. Better than paying $8 to see some disappointing trash at the theaters, you can just pay $50 instead to stay at home and get much better thrills and spills with deep insight and intellectual ingenuity (naturally butt loads of over-the-top action-oriented moments too) that are all served with speaking roles from the best in the biz. David Hayter, the lovable gruff-voice of Solid Snake, returns to his position in the third of games to relive the legend. Through radio conversations with important faces like the British-speaking Major Zero and his lovely movie-loving assistant Para-Medic, to guards communicating with the base, to the emotionally gripping sequences of the story arcs, Metal Gear Solid 3 feeds off an entire power house of outstanding vocal talents that you'll remember ages down the road.

Before the year even began, I knew Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater would be the best game I'd ever play in 2004. When I was at E3 in the Konami booth, I reiterated that statement to Konami's face. Here we are at the end of 2004, and I'll say it again. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is 2004's Game of the Year. No one can take that title from you now my friend. My love. My own. My pree~eecious. Thinking about how Hideo Kojima's latest of greats compares not just to the rest of the year, but to his other Metal Gear Solid creations as well, I concluded that this time Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater isn't the greatest game in his arsenal. I love your game Hideo, but this decision spawns from the little things you've neglected. It's the little things that count sometimes, and here they lack in background for the game's composition of easier-than-usual boss battles (I don't want to spoil them, but just know that many of the boss characters are not as interesting as in the other Solids, without a deeper lining of integral plot points), as well as its omittance for dog tag collecting (there is hidden frog statues you can search for and shoot to receive a special prize...however, ripping dog tags off of guards was definitely cooler).