Review of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD

I skipped over this one briefly, but I feel it is time to return to it. This is Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, the first Metal Gear game I truly played. (I promise this is the last review for a while. I wanted to round out my favorite games.)



Naked Snake, minus one eye. (At this time, he is Big Boss.)

Platforms - Playstation 2(Original), Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation Vita (HD version), Nintendo 3DS (3D version)


Story - 9
The base story was about as good as that in Metal Gear Solid 2, but was much better implemented. There were more reasons given for things, and less unexplained plot holes. It takes place before the other games, in the Cold War. You play Naked Snake, the genetic father of Solid Snake, the protagonist of the other games. The biggest plot problem - You couldn't pick up enemies weapons, which should have been possible before the nanomachines were integrated into soldiers systems (An explanation given in earlier, and upheld in later, games.)

Graphics - 7
The graphics here are pretty great. They are rather nice, if a little jittery in some places. And now for a screen shot -


Screenshot of the Vita version of the HD re-release. This person obviously does not understand how camouflage works.

Features - 8
This game introduces the Camo Index, a score that shows how well hidden you are. The top right corner of the screenshot above. The percentage there is 0. Hidden well you can usually get to 90 or 95, and there is one suit, that, in certain circumstances, gives you 100. You also have stamina, not present in Sons of Liberty, which is the bar divided into four at the top right. It goes down over time, and you will heal slower and your hands will shake if you have low stamina.

Gameplay - 8
The gameplay in Snake Eater is definitely better than that of Sons of LibertyThere is a lot of fun to be had playing this game. There are many ways of sneaking around, and some ways are almost comical (The box, and the crocodile cap, for instance.) There are also tons of different weapons, and many different camouflages with different abilities.You are given incentives for using non lethal weapons, (In the Vita version at least, there is an award given for killing no-one while playing. I missed it by one person, but I'm pretty sure that was because another soldier shot at me, I dodged, and it hit and killed another soldier.) Defeating bosses using only non-lethal weaponry also gives you special camouflage.

Perhaps the best stealth innovation since the cardboard box.

Content - 7
There are many hours of content, and decent replay value in this game. Note that, while this is a war game, it is NOT a fighting game. On normal difficulty, or anything above, straight up fighting is likely to just kill you. To get everything is quite difficult, and takes a long time. A normal play through takes maybe 10 hours, to do it on beginner (assuming you know what to do) takes maybe four to five hours.

Difficulty - 7
On normal difficulty, this game is pretty hard. You really need to use stealth to get through, and ration the usage of your weapons and healing supplies. Extreme is very difficult, I can't even get past the first boss. European extreme is ridiculous. You have to complete the game without being seen. On the traditional scale of 1-10 this difficulty gets an 11. Seriously, it deserves it. I predict maybe a couple hundred people have ever beaten European Extreme. With a game that sold 3.6 million copies, that truly isn't that much.

Sound Track -10

The sound track is amazing. The Snake Eater rendition of the main theme is the best, in my opinion, and then there are the songs "Snake Eater" and "Way to fall". Snake Eater is as catchy as the cold. The credits theme "Way to Fall" by Starsailor is so appropriate, I'll probably do another post on how excellent of a choice that was, and just how well it foreshadows things, and shows everything, and is just... Well, Perfect. Excellent job Kojima, and Starsailor.

Voice Acting - 10

Again David Hayter is beautiful as Snake, although this time he plays Naked Snake, also known as Big Boss. The voice actors for the others were also great, the only one I truly dislike being that of the Fear, which is not as creepy as it could have been.

Rating - M
Very appropriate, with mild language and heavy violence. Although non-lethal options are encouraged, there are some pretty violent ways to kill people. Also, EVA and the Boss have some scenes with partial nudity, so, this is quite a good rating.

Overall - 10
This game was so great, I can't even explain all of it. The mastery was amazing (Spoilers abound through the rest, so skip if wishing to avoid.) How many games have you come face to face with those you killed, having you question your actions? That was a stroke of brilliance, and everything was well implemented. And the ending? I leave EVA's final words - "Everything she did, she did for her country. She sacrificed her life and her honor for her native land. She was a real hero. She was a true patriot." (In regards to the boss.)

The Boss.