Review No. 11

A short history lesson for you this week, Metal Gear has been in existence since its first game reached the NES in 1987. The franchise usually follows the world saving adventures of Solid Snake as he confronts nuclear bipedal tanks. Until 2004, the series went in chronological succession and to the surprise of the fans Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater turned the clock back to 1964, during the cold war, where players would step into the boots of Naked Snake, the man who will become the world's greatest soldier.

The game fills in many plot gaps that have been plaguing Metal Gear since its first title. Its focused primarily on a heroic World War 2 veteran known only as The Boss who has defected to the Soviet Union in an attempt to support a faction rivaling Khrushchev. It ultimately falls to Naked Snake to hamper their malevolent operation. Youll encounter familiar faces from the series and witness the epic storyline with thrilling cutscenes and interesting codec conversations.

Snake Eater completely changed the format for the game like the first Solid title did to the original two, presenting large outdoor areas for increased opportunity and restructured boss battles. New features included a backpack, a curing screen, extended melee moves (CQC), camouflage and a stamina gauge.

MGS3 was made available only on the PS2 and had two versions, Snake Eater and Subsistence. The Subsistence alteration included the original NES games, a functional 3D camera and the first formation for online gameplay (now discontinued to support MGS4 online)

Overall Score: 95%
Game Rating: MA15+
Duration: 10 hours (5 hours gameplay)
Difficulty: Hard
Price: $40 US Snake Eater $80 US Subsistence
Replay value: Good (titles and extras to unlock)
Recommended level: Motorbike Sequence

Pros:
+Explains many series plot gaps fairly well
+Jungle setting looks stunning
+Impressive cinematics
+More open ended gameplay
+Bosses and their design
+Voice acting and codec conversations
+Extra features such as Duel mode

Cons:
-Frustrating controls
-Stamina bar not really necessary
-Have to stay hidden
-Lengthy alert phases and slow health regen
-Too many cinematics?

Music Used:
1. Metal Gear Solid - Encounter
2. God Hand - Devil May Sly

Movie Quote: Sin City

Note: Cyberlink isn't being cooperative today, the HD version will be here soon! (less info)