Some Days You Feed On A Treefrog

Long time no see,

Gentlemen, behold! I have created....this thing! In honor of the approaching trailer for Hideo Kojima's latest entry into the venerable Metal Gear Solid series, I thought I would review the masterpiece that is MGS3: Snake Eater. Despite some deep design flaws, it is the best game in franchise, the greatest stealth game I have ever played and probably my favorite PS2 title ever.

Snake Eater takes place prior to the MSX Metal Gear games. Rather than taking control of beloved franchise badass Solid Snake, players are thrust into the role of Jack, aka Naked Snake aka the man who will become Big Boss, progenitor of Les Enfantes Terribles. The adventure unfolds in an unnamed South-Asian jungle, against a backdrop of Cold War tensions and internal Soviet power struggles. While I am admittedly a sucker for 60's spy thrillers, I feel that the setting is one of the game's greatest strengths, lending it a distinct personality and introducing a welcome chance from the industrial settings the series was known for.

Due to the fact that much of the game takes place outdoors in forests, caves, rivers and mountains, a camouflage system is introduced. Brilliant in concept, this allows players to hide just about anywhere with varying levels of success. A percentage in the upper right hand corner of the screen tells how much Snake is hidden from enemy patrols and it varies depending on player movement and position. Lying prone and still in a patch of grass with the appropriate camo makes you virtually invisible, unless a guard accidentally steps on you. Conversely, running around is a sure way to get you shot. However, the system is far from perfect. The game allows you to pause and switch clothing and face paint instantly at any point, thus removing any planning from the equation. It also serves to break up the action and remove a degree of tension from the experience. Lastly, the each option has a number next to it that indicates its precise effect on the camo index in relation to their position, meaning players never have to choose for themselves what the best choice is; it is always obvious. While this does ensure that players don't have to continually pause and try different options to see what gives the greatest stealth boost, I feel as though realtime camouflage would solve this by forcing them to learn, plan and adapt.

The problem of pausing extends to the health, stamina and first aid systems as well. Snake Eater changes things up a bit by having Snake take far less damage, and have his health very slowly regenerate with time. It also introduces a stamina bar that slowly depletes depending on the players actions; running, climbing and other strenuous activities drain it faster, which then affect his ability to perform them, as well as slows his health recovery. You can regain stamina by hunting and eating some of the flora and most of the fauna found in the environments. Lastly, Snake can sustain a number of injuries, ranging from burns to lacerations to broken bones, which require medical attention, lest he gradually lose health and stamina. Very cool ideas all, but flawed in their execution. Rather than having to find a relatively safe hiding spot to tend to your wounds ASAP, then work as quickly as you can before you are discovered, everything is performed in the safety of a paused menu. Adding to this, the treatment can be performed in any order; players can bandage a cut and then stitch it up, which makes no sense.
Making the surgery a little more involved would go a long way towards making it more satisfying. Eating suffers the same problem: running low on stamina is never a problem because you can always just pause, eat something and then resume.

Inventory management is unfortunately plagued by issues as well. For some reason, players are given two separate areas to store items; one that gives access directly by pressing L2 or R2, and the other that exists in hammerspace. The more weight stored in the former, the faster stamina depletes, but the things carried in the other seem to have no effect whatsoever. Compounding this issue it the fact that it is possible to transfer items between the two inventories at anytime. Why even bother with that system if that is the way it works? Additionally, stored food and medical supplies don't seem to be placed in either and in fact occupy their own dimensions. Personally, I feel like a Resident Evil 4 style backpack would be a much better design choice. This would force players to choose their camo, food, supplies weapons, equipment etc more strategically, rather than just carrying around a mine sweeper on the off chance it'll be useful. The game's theme is survival and it would make sense that Snake would carry only what is absolutely vital (at the discretion of the player) and leave behind unnecessary, seldom used items.

All of these design decisions make more sense when you take into consideration an important idea that got cut. Kojima said before its release that, while there would be no major character twist, there would be something to replace that this time around. Apparently, it was going to be necessary to beat the game without dying. While saving was possible, saves would be erased upon restart. With this in mind, giving the player these ponderous advantages makes more sense. However, there seems as though there was not enough time to change the game after that feature had been dropped.

Anyway, what happened to the praise from the first paragraph? I've been criticizing the game to high outer heaven. Well, you see, all of these issues would have sunk a lesser game. What amazes me is how Snake Eater still managed to be so enjoyable despite all my complaints.

The game is gorgeous. The environments are incredibly lush and detailed and really bring the jungle to life. Character models are superb and their animation is just as varied and detailed as one would expect from Kojima Productions. The realtime cutscenes are well directed and stylish, without resorting to The Twin Snakes' over-the-top acrobatics. Though the framerate only runs at 30 fps, compared to 60 in Sons of Liberty, the trade off in terms of map size, activity onscreen and visual polish more than makes up for it.

The soundtrack, as usual, is great. Harry Gregson-Williams and Norhiko Hibino managed to retain the spirit of the earlier games, while expanding on it and really capturing the essence of the setting and gameplay. The effects are satisfying and the ambient sounds perfectly convey the environments. The voice acting, again as normal, is top-notch with David Hayter reprising the role that made him famous and a slew of newcomers that really sell the story. The theme song also deserves mention, as it is a totally great James Bond parody, sung with gusto by Cynthia Harrell, of Symphony of the Night "I am the Wind" fame.

Being a Metal Gear Solid game, the story plays a huge role. Unlike in 2, the plot is relatively
straightforward, without nearly as much in the way of conspiracy theories or plot twists, at least
until the very end. It does a great job explaining the origins of the saga and even sheds some light on the mysterious Patriots. While some of the cinematics are lengthy, they never quite cross into the realm of Sons of Liberty, and are always interesting; there are even points in the middle of the cutscenes at which the player can hold R1 and look around in a first-person view. The game never takes itself too seriously, which isn't new to the series, but is done in a different manner than its predecessor. Radio conversations exemplify this well, including conversations about old movies, Snake's eating habits and cardboard boxes. Humorous references to previous games abound, providing tons of entertainment for fans of the series. Despite what some detractors would have you believe the dialogue is never that bad, and in many cases it is really good. My only complaint about the story is that it drags a bit early in the early parts of the Virtuous Mission, especially when The Boss is going on about the place of a soldier.

The game design, besides the aforementioned flaws, is great. It allows players to tackle any situation as they want to; brute force is more of an option here than in previous games, as the inclusion of a shotgun makes it easier to fight your way out of an alert and get to one of the game's numerous hiding places. Boss encounters are creative and memorable, particularly an epic sniper battle with The End. Every map offers its own unique challenges and obstacles, and the game is long enough to feel satisfying but never dull. It also helps that the game gets better as it progresses; there is an amazing action set piece towards the end that completely blew me away. Being a Kojima game, there are tons of small touches to appreciate, from food spoiling to killing a boss by waiting till he dies of old age, to hidden story bits if you meet certain conditions. Contol is tight; I especially like the inclusion of the new close-quarter combat system which makes Snake feel much less helpless at close range.

The game was re-released as MGS3: Subsistence with a slew of new content, including the unfortunately now defunct Metal Gear Online. This is the one to buy, as it gives the option of changing the traditionally overhead camera to a fully controllable one, which was one of the biggest complaints about the original Snake Eater.

All in all, it feels like a true sequel to the original Metal Gear Solid, even moreso than 2. Highly recommended if you are at all interested in Metal Gear.

Time Paradox,
Eva