PRE-GAME
Snake is back in the third installment in the monumental Metal
Gear Solid series. Prepare to enter new arenas of game play while
moving back in time. Welcome to the 1960’s. Welcome to the Cold
War. Welcome to the jungle.
EYE-SPY
THE
HOOK: For anyone who’s ever played a Metal Gear Solid game before,
getting this game shouldn’t even be a question. For those of you
who haven’t, this is a great place to start.
HOW IT LOOKS AND FEELS: Metal Gear Solid games
have always looked good, and this one is no exception. This one
definately tops the other games in the looks department. The level
of detail in the environments is astounding. From the swaying of the
grass as you move through it, to the many animals roaming the
environment, everything looks good.
The controls work pretty much the same as in
the past. There have been a few tweaks here and there. The melee
combat has been improved quite a bit. Despite the drastically
different story setting, the game still plays and feels like all of
the other Metal Gear Solid games.
HOW IT SOUNDS: This game sounds just as good as
it plays. Men talk like men. Gunshots sound like gunshots.
Footsteps are distinctive. Even the rustling of the grass sounds
like you’d expect it too.
The voice acting is well done and fits the
story, which is good since you’ll be hearing a lot of talking. The
music in the game really captures the feeling of the 1960’s.
EXTRAS: There’s an extra mini game, Snake VS
Monkeys, available from the main menu. In it your mission is to play
as Snake and have him stun then capture a number of monkeys. You
start with 3 levels available at first, but after completing the
main game once you unlock an additional two levels.
There’s also some extra camouflage patterns
you can download to your memory card if your PS2 can go online.
Right now there are 2 available, but more may be made available
later on.
There’s
one more extra you can find while playing through the main game.
I’ll try not to spoil too much, but at one point in the game Snake
is taken prisoner. During this you get the chance to save the game
while Snake is locked in a prison cell. Well, save here, then turn
off your game. When you reload at this point you’ll get to play a
special mini game only available by loading from a save at this
point .
CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE: This game feels like your
playing a movie. With several hours worth of cinema’s you just may
be. As with everything else in this game, the cinemas are great. The
characters move realistically, and look great. They convey a great
amount of action, helping to make the characters feel alive.
BEST PLAYER: Well, considering there’s only
one playable character, I can easily say Snake is the best player.
CHEAT CODE YOU NEED: There are no cheat codes
for this game and you should be ashamed to even want them!
CHEAT CODE YOU WANT: The only thing I could ask
for is the option to change difficulty levels on the same save file
after completing the game.
OH MAN! MOMENT: The End.
GLITCH ITCH: I hate to even say there’s a
glitch in this game, but there was one thing I could think of.
Sometimes while crawling along part of Snake’s body will get stuck
on part of the environment and he’ll stop moving. When this
happens just switch to first person view for a second, then switch
back. You may also have to adjust the direction he’s crawling in,
but it’s not really that serious an issue.
FAN
SERVICE: Plenty of fan service to be found here. Despite being set
in an earlier time period, this game manages to make several
mentions to previous Metal Gear Solid games. For example, in one of
your radio conversations with Para-Medic, she tells Snake that maybe
one day he’d be able to turn invisible, referencing the stealth
camo from Metal Gear Solid 2. That’s kind of minor. There are
better examples in the game, including lots of cheap shots at a
certain character from Metal Gear Solid 2.
As far as traditional fan service, it’s in
there, but you’ll just have to trust me on that. I’d hate to
spoil the story by citing examples here.
END
GAME:
As
far as I’m concerned this is the game of the year. It exceeded all
my expectations. It improves on an already good formula, expanding
upon it and making it feel fresh.
The story in this game is awesome. It feels
like something out of a James Bond movie, and it manages to stay on
track while moving along at a good pace. Also, it manages to not get
away from itself. By the end of the game it will have resolved
itself while leaving just enough hints to make you want more. Unlike
Metal Gear Solid 2, which got kind of complicated and confusing
towards the end, this game manages to tie up its loose ends, and
even fills in some gaps from 2.
This game adds several new elements to the
tried and true Metal Gear Solid formula. The biggest of which is the
Camouflage system. Depending on the type of camo you’re wearing,
your chances of being spotted by guards will rise or lower. From the
menu you can access several different patterns that allow you to
blend in to various different backgrounds. For example, when
crawling on your belly through grass, you’ll find that the Leaf
pattern will work better than the Snow camo, which is better for
areas with lots of white colored objects. You also have a number of
face paints to choose from that also add to the camo index. You’ll
start the game with a variety of choices, but you’ll find several
more throughout the course of the game. You can also download some
additional patterns to your memory card if you have a network
adapter for your PS2.
Two more of the new additions are the Food
system and the Cure system. In this game, Snake will get hungry and
he will get injured. Getting hungry will drain Snake of his stamina.
When low on stamina Snake’s vision will start to darken, his hand
will shake when aiming, and his health won’t regenerate as
efficiently as it could. To replenish stamina, go into the Food menu
and choose an item for Snake to eat. Food is gathered from the
environment. Almost any animal you see can be killed and eaten, as
well as several plants and mushrooms. You’ll also find rations and
other prepackaged foods to eat. Just make sure to not let the food
spoil. If it does it’ll make snake sick.
When Snake receives a serious injury he’ll
need to perform medical treatment on it. This is accomplished
through the Cure menu. Some of Snake’s ailments include cuts,
burns, gunshot wounds, poison darts and arrows, leeches and broken
bones. He can also be poisoned by some of the animals in the games.
When this happens you’ll go into the Cure menu and use various
medical supplies to heal him, such as a knife for removing bullets,
splints for broken bones, ointment for burns, bandages, and serum
for poison.
The game features an interesting cast of
characters, some of whom fans will recognize, but a lot of new faces
as well. You’ll play as Snake of course, but you may find some
surprises from him. Also in this game is a young, impressionable
Revolver Ocelot, known simply as Ocelot in this game. His inclusion
helps tie the various games together, and you get to see the events
that help make him the formidable foe he is in the other games. Of
course this game introduces a new group of over-the-top Boss
characters for you to face. While trying not to spoil everything,
let's just say that if you don’t like bee’s, you’ll hate one
of the earlier bosses in the game.
Concerning
the game’s story, the worst thing I could do is tell you
everything. I know if someone had spoiled it for me I would have
been very angry. So I’m going to avoid mentioning any plot details
here. The game plays out almost like a James Bond movie, with some
of the character’s seeming like they’re taken straight off the
movie screen. One of the characters is even a Bond fan. Thankfully
the game doesn’t let the story get out of control. Anyone who
played Metal Gear Solid 2 can tell you that towards the end that
story, things got a bit wild and uneven. This game manages to keep
itself firmly on the path it sets out on, and when its finished you
should be greatly satisfied.
If you’ve read any of my other reviews you
may have noticed I tend to tear the games apart. This game however
managed to completely satisfy me. I couldn’t find anything wrong
with it. It’s the best game I’ve played this year, and easily
one of the best PS2 games of all time. It’s certainly the best of
the Metal Gear Solid games. What are you waiting for, go out and buy
this game. You won’t regret it.
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