by Scott - December 14, 2004 August 24th, 1964. The world is in a midst of a Cold War, East versus West. A recently returned Russian weapons designer has been discovered working on a new weapon that would put Soviet Russia not only in control politically but by force. The Fox Unit of the CIA sends one man into the forests near the great Soviet fortress of Groznyj Grad. This soldier is given one mission: Recapture the Soviet scientist Sokolov and leave no trace of his presence. This man�s codename is Naked Snake.

A Formula That Gets Better Every Time

Ever saw a great movie or read a book that you just wanted your friends to hear all about but didn�t want to ruin it? That is what it is like for me to write this review. The story of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is filled with its usual blend of plot twists and backstabbery, but this time around you are bound to leave this game speechless and wanting to hunt down an NES and start playing the Metal Gear series.

I�m going to try my hardest to avoid giving any spoilers but if it happens, you won�t be affected until you actually play MGS3. To start out, the controls here on PS2 haven�t changed since Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Picking up the controller will be second nature, but there are some additions. For example, you can now have Naked Snake go prone by holding down the X button. For the environment and situations you�ll be in, this is a necessary addition. Another welcomed add-on is the ability to sneak with the directional pad. Pressing this in any direction will make Naked Snake walk sneakily. This is probably one of the best changes as many a time you will try and sneak up on an opponent and strangle him, only for your thumb to give too much pressure and make a noise. With the D-Pad as a sneak movement, you won�t have to worry about that.

Speaking of the environment, it�s a welcome change from infiltrating buildings and going room to room. Going into the heavily forested lands of Russia not only allows for some interesting routes and situations, but also to take advantage of the new camouflage aspect of MGS3. When you first jump in, you�ll have some face paint and camouflage uniforms that you can instantly switch to in your menu. These aren�t just for looks, as you�ll have to hide and sneak past guards carefully. In the upper right-hand corner is a percent box that shows how well hidden you are. Standing up or crouching can raise or lower the percent, as well as walking and running. Sometimes if you are wearing something that doesn�t belong, like snow camo while laying down on some mossy brown ground, your percent can go negative and you�ll be easily spotted. Always keep an eye on your gauge and your surroundings.

Playing MGS3 you�ll notice a lot of differences between the two other Metal Gears that are forty years in the future from MGS3. First off, you have no radar of your position and enemies in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Instead you�ll have five ways of finding your location and enemies. Your equipment comes with an AP Sensor, Motion Sensor, Sonar, and Directional Mic. Your fifth piece of equipment is your senses. I really do mean your senses, as you�ll notice that some of your equipment has a limited amount of battery. Isn�t 60�s technology fun??? Oh, and if you really want a laugh, check out the early version of the Codec that Naked Snake uses.

Luckily however this time around not everyone and their brother has a radio. The enemies you�ll be up against will have usually one or two radiomen that I recommend should be taken care of if you plan on doing anything in the area. You can either put these guys to sleep, kill them, or my favorite, shoot out their radios and hear them curse and complain while they try to find you.

If they do happen to find you and hurt you, more than likely you�ll have to repair yourself. In MGS3, they implemented a rather interesting way to healing yourself. Much like the generic bandage in the other Metal Gears to stop bleeding, here you actually have to do certain actions to prevent the bleeding. Sometimes you�ll need to remove a bullet, clean it, apply some healing material, suture it, and bandage it up. There are other ways to be wounded and trust me, it never gets old and does nothing to add to the fun.

Being out in the forest with just a mission and a gun, Naked Snake will have to find food and eat it to gain health and stamina. I doubt there was a supermarket out in the forest, so you�ll have to hunt your food. And eat it. And sometimes it�ll be good and sometimes not. But you�ll have to do it or else you won�t be able to heal yourself up quicker or hold your gun steadily.
 

Movie-Like Detail

The guys at Konami never cease to amaze me with their attention to detail and the awesome amount of graphics that makes it seem that the PS2 handles with no problem. It looks more like a next-generation game that would come out on PS3 the graphics is so intense. All of the cut scenes are provided in game, which flows seamlessly with the action. Some of these can be quite long; a few reach more than a half an hour! You may think, �That will be boring! I can�t sit still that long to watch a game!� Trust me, you will. The story and the action in the cut scenes will glue you to your seat and sometimes provide you with valuable information.

The detail of your surroundings aren�t meant to be just eye-candy as they�ll provide you with clues and tips. If you see tall grass moving, it could be a tasty animal to eat or a sneaking enemy. The AI likewise will notice this as well, so it�s best to be careful. Also remember that camouflage NEEDS to blend in with your surroundings. I�m saying this again so that you don�t forget, because it will happen that you�ll get caught up in the moment and when you go to hide, you�ll be wearing brick camo against a tree.

As for the characters, they couldn�t be any better designed. Naked Snake looks like, well, I�m not going to say whom, its too obvious. You�ll also notice a young Revolver Ocelot in MGS3, obviously being the man that gives you a pain. He actually does look like the younger version of Revolver, not some cheaply made villain. You�ll see a lot of familiar faces but I won�t say whom. Just keep an eye out for details!
 

Listen Or Die

What can I say, I love how rich and wonderful the sound is in MGS3. First off, I just want to say that the introduction is a lot like James Bond movies, especially the movie �GoldenEye�. With that aside, the musical score is nothing but genius. Unfortunately the popular theme from the two other Metal Gears is absent, but this is for a reason that you�ll find out when you play, trust me.

While playing MGS3, it is important, no, necessary to keep a keen ear on your surroundings. Your directional mic can help you pinpoint footsteps as well as how close the enemy is. Footsteps sound a lot different on many of the surfaces, from metal to mud to puddles, heck, to anything. Listen for people talking, heartbeats, and the sound of machines, vehicles, and its all here. Being dependant on your senses in the forest really make for a great experience as you�ll be lying down, hidden from the enemy listening intently to their chatter and footsteps, waiting to strike at the right time or, escape.
 

The Baddies

Every Metal Gear game is required to have its fair share of unique bad guys. MGS3 does not give up on this formula, as you�ll discover that this time around, you know you�re in for a treat. With names like The Sorrow, The End, The Fear, The Pain, The Fury, and The Boss. These names may sound generic, but the story is that their codenames are the emotions they hold in the battlefield. Battling these bosses will provide a great time if you don�t flip out at losing, but learning to defeat them is half the fun. My all time favorite is The End. Known as the �Father of all Sniping�, this hundred plus year-old man can take up about an hour of your time at the least. Moss grows on his body, which aid him in blending into his surroundings while he moves slowly and quietly into positions to snipe you. You in return will have to do the same, proving that you have to patient sometimes to get your target. My recommendation is to never give up.

What about the regular AI troops? They�re still not stupid. They will call for reinforcements when they know they�re in trouble, or they�ll run and find cover. What you are dealing with is elite Russian soldiers, so expect flanking attacks and being flushed out with grenades when they have you cornered. You�ll have to be patient and careful with your movements to get past these troopers, as they�ll notice anything out of the ordinary.
 

Go On...Be A Snake Eater!

I may have not revealed everything to you right here, even though it seems like a lot. I did this so that when you sit down and play MGS3, you will be awed and impressed just like I was. MGS3 is bound to be remembered as one of the best Metal Gears there is, and with the amount of hard work put into it, it deserves every award thrown its way. In fact, I will go as far to say that this game would be the reason to go out and get a PS2, it can really give you the best time of your life and after you are done, you�re still not finished. There are always extras out there waiting to be found and new times to be completed. Don�t waste another moment, go and find MGS3 while you can!