Reviews// Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The way that the storyline grips you can also have a major influence on the way that you play the game. If you've watched the whole intro about the Cold War backdrop, and you're hanging on each word over the voice communicator, analysing your surroundings and planning each move like it was your last, then you'll progress slowly and steadily. For the first few hours, the game might begin to feel a bit samey at that pace, but presumably the reason that you're still there is because you've chosen to wriggle in the grass the whole way. If you've been taking it all with a pinch of salt, and just want to get in there and tackle some bosses, you can actually nail those bits without having to be too stealthy. On the easiest setting, you can just run straight past most of the early guards. It's actually quite a pleasant surprise, considering how pedantic MGS2 was at times. It means you can take it at your own pace and that’s always appreciated.

There are still legacies of MGS2 that haven’t been shaken off. The static camera angle would be one possible gripe for many, but it does add to the unique spirit of MGS and it could be argued as a strength. Although it does mean that you have a limited view, in a game where awareness is key, unless you keep zooming into first person view, it does make proceedings feel more cinematic. Thanks to the glorious visuals, this is one of those games where good players will make it all look more stylish, and the fixed camera helps that along. The incentive to race through the game performing violent and silent executions and sneaky, cheeky evasive tactics in the coolest way possible also means the game has replay value. The abundance of hidden unlockable goodies also helps on that front.

Of course, one of the principal new things about Snake Eater is, as people who can read might have gathered, about eating snakes. But Snake is no snakivore and his diet extends to all manner of junglistic delicacies: hornet nests, rats, frogs, you know the sort of thing. We’re all hunter gatherers at heart, so it should need no explanation, but in case you’ve forgotten, here’s what you do. First, wander around the jungle and/or military installations. Second, hunt edible type things i.e. moving or marked ‘rations’. Third, gather them. You put them in your backpack for safekeeping and then snack on them when you’re peckish. They’ve got to be fresh though. Anyone who’s eaten a rotten frog will know it gives you the runs something awful, and that can be inconvenient on a stealth solo mission of global importance. But, assuming it’s fresh, it will add to your stamina meter: this, in turn, dictates your life self-recovering skill, the steadiness of your aim and the ability for you to hang off things with your fingertips. It’s just like Ray Mears promised.