Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Originally written for Nuclear Geek.com

As Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is just around the corner, I have recently played my way through MGS2 and MGS3 (I’m currently bidding on a copy of MGS: Twin Snakes…fingers crossed I’m the winning bidder). Most of my gaming friends have commented that they couldn’t quite get into MGS3 for various reasons, and that they consider MGS2 to be the pinnacle of the series. I don’t agree. I love MGS2, I even accept Raiden as a protagonist (to play as the au fait Snake would have weakened the plot), but the game doesn’t have the same pull for me as MGS3: Snake Eater. As ridiculous as its subtitle is MGS3 stands out on top. Not over MGS1 mind, but that’s another story for another day. Read on to find out why, in my humble (and very long) opinion, MGS3 has sneaked its way past MGS2.

And beware, there be spoilers abound.

Hideo Kojima was once infamously quoted, “The human body is supposed to be 70% water. I consider myself 70% film” It’s a peculiar statement, but one that no gamer would reject having played through the entirety of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty, a title so unashamed in its cinematic roots it devotes entire sections of the game to cut scenes and codec conversations, some clocking in at over an hour. While this makes Metal Gear so enticing for some, it is the source of chagrin for others, who reject the game based on its standing as an ‘interactive movie’.

How did this influence Kojima’s approach to the third stealth-action adventure? The answer, of course, is not at all. Kojima has a vision: that games and movies can be intertwined with a finesse that surpasses anything put to celluloid, and he’s not afraid to demonstrate this in his games. MGS3’s gameplay is frequently halted by protracted cut scenes, some full of action, others of plot exposition. The first hour and a half will most likely see you holding the pad for only a third of that time, at most.

Is this necessarily a bad thing? Frequently removing control from the player is certainly at odds with the interactivity that defines videogaming, but Kojima has a deft touch, one that lends itself to the crafting of cut scenes that settle nicely in and around the gameplay. If they weren’t entertaining there’d be a serious problem, but they are. As with all Metal Gears the characters are as ostentatious as ever, the action on par with the best Hollywood has to offer, and the voice acting is yet to be bettered (although GTAIV may be a strong contender).

If you’re willing to sit through well scripted, acted and choreographed cut scenes (and you’d be crazy not to) then it’s easy to see how they inform the gameplay – characters open up, their actions taking on a greater consequence, and narrative events and subsequent objectives are given more significance. The assiduous nature of Kojima’s vision ensures that gameplay and cut scenes segue smoothly, each enhancing the other with a tightly interwoven narrative. The lengthy codec conversations present more of a problem, especially for those players whose concentration drops without visual stimulation.

Snake Eater, chronologically, is the first story in the Metal Gear saga. You’re in the boots of Naked Snake – the man who’s destined to become Solid Snake’s nemesis in the original Metal Gear: Big Boss. If you weren’t a fan of the decision to play as Raiden in MGS2 have no fear. Naked Snake is pretty much identical to Solid in appearance and demeanour – not surprising as one is a clone of the other. Your mission is to infiltrate a Russian weapons research facility, destroy the Shagohod (the 60s era version of Metal Gear) and kill Big Boss – the woman who was once Naked Snake’s mentor but has now defected to the Soviet Union.

The labyrinthine plot contains the many twists and turns we’ve come to expect from Kojima, but this time the videogame auteur has been reined in, to an extent. While MGS2’s convoluted narrative crippled under its own weight towards its end, MGS3 is a little less demanding. The double, triple and quadruple crosses we’ve become accustomed to still occur, but feel diluted; less entangled in the political intrigue and brain frazzingly complex plot threads that run through MGS2. Instead, MGS3 riffs on the human condition, allowing the military and political musings to take a background role in the narrative.

However, more on this later. First let’s concentrate on the gameplay elements that make MGS3 stand out. The most evident change is a first for Metal Gear; gone are the drab, metallic corridors that have characterised the series so far, instead replaced by verdant, forested environments. The animal life and excellent sound design lend the woodland an authenticity almost on level pegging with the surroundings we’re becoming used to in the current generation. Noticeable features such as the plant life’s reaction to player movement could be considered a precursor to modern games like Crysis.

Still, it’s not long before the jungle reveals itself to be a closely disguised deception. Games like FarCry 2 are now representing forests as wide-open environments to be explored, something that resonates much more effectively with the human mind than the boxed in areas that make up Snake Eater’s woodland. The game does allow for small, open areas of exploration, but generally it’s a headlong charge.

The second biggest change, and perhaps the most controversial, is the game’s lack of Soliton Radar. Typically Snake, or Raiden, would have a head start on the world around them, aware of enemy’s positions and field of view. Naked has no such luck, and must rely on his sonar and motion detection tools, devices that, while a little anachronistic, at least attempt to keep the gamer rooted in 1964. What may seem an unnecessary annoyance to some is actually a well conceived design decision that serves to reinforce the main principles behind MGS. This is a game about sneaking, using the environment to your advantage, and staying observant. By removing the radar Kojima forces players to use their wits as well as their eyes, meaning this is one of the tensest Metal Gear Solid’s yet.

Removing the radar is one way of altering gameplay, another is the addition of new elements that, perhaps, are not Snake Eater’s strongest concepts. The player must now keep one eye on Snake’s ‘Camouflage Index’ – a system that monitors his visibility to the enemy. In order to stay hidden the player can use the pause menu to switch between various camouflage uniforms and face paints to blend in with the environment. Watching Snake’s gear magically change colour after a quick trip to the pause menu is a sign of the counter-immersive nature that the Metal Gear Solid series has never been afraid to flaunt (Colonel Campbell ordering the player to turn off their PS2 in Sons of Liberty being a prime example). This, the new ‘Cure’ menu, and the Stamina gauge (which must be refilled by eating, amongst other things, the eponymous snakes) add an extra level of tension and exemplify the sequel’s attempts at new gameplay. Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine the game would be radically different without them.

As ever the collection of characters and enemies is as diverse as it is imaginative. From the despicable Colonel Volgin to the seductive Eva, the fresh-faced Ocelot to obligatory scientist-in-distress Sokolov. The range of characters ensures that the aforementioned cut scenes rarely drag, as each individual highlights the narrative in their own way. It’s arguably The Cobra Unit that stands above the pack, more so than even MGS1’s FOXHOUND or Son’s of Liberty’s Dead Cell. The Pain, The Fear, The End, The Fury, The Sorrow and The Joy are a combination of boss fights that cannot be criticised for lack of variety. They provide the interesting dynamic that is evident in all Metal Gear’s: supernatural individuals juxtaposed to a world that is otherwise portrayed with a very real aesthetic.

The series’ proclivity for outlandish characters really knows no bounds, but it is the focus on the human, and altogether more real, aspects of the human soul that defines MGS3. The details behind Big Boss’ transformation from loyal soldier to dangerous enemy were never documented before now, and the consideration applied to the story perfectly sets up Naked Snake for the change, while totally altering your preconceptions of him and his motivations. While before he was nothing more than an antagonist, Snake Eater portrays him and his actions as something born of tragedy.

Big Boss is easily one of the most malevolent villains to have appeared in any videogame series, so to witness the origins from his perspective – to experience the turmoil that shaped Naked Snake into Big Boss – it’s hard not to feel for him. To have his spirit and sense of duty utterly destroyed by those he trusted most Snake is irreversibly changed, and in the context of the other Metal Gear games we get to see just how ugly that transformation was. Never has Metal Gear’s message of the hypocrisy of war been more effective when viewed through the eyes of the ‘enemy’. It’s arguable that Big Boss is one of the most tragic characters in modern videogaming, second only to the Boss herself, whose selfless sacrifice in face of extreme adversity carries a weight not commonly encountered in a videogame.

The series’ running theme of what it is to be a soldier, and how this manifests itself in a human being, remains the foundation of the story. MGS1 dealt with the receding role of soldiers in a world that doesn’t need them anymore, and MGS2 the theme of what it is to be a soldier in the modern world and how technology continues to blur the line between programming and training. MGS3 continues the theme, this time focusing on the more human aspects of war – the difference between honour, loyalty, duty and fealty, and the lengths a solider will go to hold onto their beliefs.

So why do I like Snake Eater more than Sons of Liberty? Is it the less convoluted story? The lush environments? The sound design? It’s all these things and more. The dedication to character and story is not new to a Metal Gear game, but the emphasis on altogether more ‘human’ themes marks MGS3 out as an wholly mature title – one that resonates on a deeply emotional level – and for this it can be considered a more ‘next-gen’ videogame than many titles out there right now. Let us hope that MGS4: Guns of the Patriots holds true to the core principles that make MGS3 an adventure to remember.