One of the major complaints casual gamers had about MGS2 was the lack of gameplay the game provided in proportion to the amount of cutscenes and codec calls in the game. Hideo Kojima proved that he listened to fans, by drastically cutting down on the cutscenes and radio calls while increasing the gameplay. If the game is properly (i.e. sneaking, not run and gun tactics) played, it will provide about 5-6 hours extra gameplay over the amount of gameplay provided in MGS2. Not only that, but MGS3 contains so many new features and peculiar gimmicks only a talented game developer like Hideo Kojima can manage to successfully add into the game without cluttering it.

One of the most obvious new gameplay features is snake's ability to change camouflage uniform and apply face paint to blend into the surrounding he is in. The top right hand of the screen has something called a “camo index” which shows in percentage value of how well Snake is blended into that certain area. As snake moves around the percentage value changes in real time to illustrate how well he is hidden. At 100% snake is virtually invisible to the guards unless he bumps into them or attracts attention to himself by making too much noise. But the right camouflage uniform also requires the right face paint. With only the camouflage uniform snake will only reach the maximum of 95%. He will require the proper face paint to get the final 5% to make him 100% camouflaged. This feature itself is very novel idea, but Hideo Kojima takes it further by including many special camouflage uniforms and face paints. Few added just for visual enjoyment of the players, while others provide special powers. Hideo Kojima used the face paint feature to add many comical face paints like Geisha, death and frog. As for the camo uniforms there are numerous humorous uniforms that exist solely for laughs. But beside that there are quite a lot of special uniforms that give special skills to snake like bigger O2 gauge, repelling fire, and reduce stamina consumption by half. Not only that, but players can receive Boss camouflages either though certain automatic events or killing them though using only knockout darts. Certain Boss camouflages are required for story progression (like Sorrow's sprit camo) while others are optional yet highly valuable (like Fear's camo which allows you to be “invisible”, but reduces your stamina bar in fast constant rate). Also make sure to check Ivan's locker on your second visit to Groznyj Grad to receive the black version of the suit Boss wears in the game and we see Snake wearing in the trailers. It provides some special abilities that will come very handy in the future boss fights.

While camouflages are mainly for outdoor environment, they can also be used indoor inside the occasional ammo/food bases and bunkers present in first half on the game. But as you progress further into the story, you are required to sneak into a massive lab ( Graniny Gorki). But to get inside you have to wear a scientist disguise to fool the guards.

These disguises replace the camouflages inside the bases. This is where MGS3 indoor sneaking differs from MGS2. Instead of relying on radar and sneaking abilities, you can use disguises to get though certain parts of the base. But unfortunately the people you are trying to masquerade as can tell that you are in disguise and raise the alarm. So it is impossible to fool scientists while using scientist disguise. Later on in the game you have to sneak into the main base (Groznyj Grad) and require a certain high ranking officer's uniform to successfully get inside. To complete the disguise you have to wear a mask that will make you look just like him. This man you are masquerading as looks eerily similar to a certain protagonist from a past Metal Gear game. There are quite a few other disguises in the game including a mechanic disguise you have to use to get inside the hanger of Shagohod.

The actual indoor setting in MGS3 is just as impressive as the outdoor setting in MGS3 is. Unlike MGS2, the indoor areas look different from place to place and don't have any futuristic “metallic” walls like MGS2 had. The massive main base (Groznyj Grad) has to be one of the most amazing settings of all Metal Gear games. The whole base contains numerous floors with different levels, furniture and “realistic” feel to the whole place. The base overall consists of many connecting buildings, floors and areas. It has a lower level prison area, massive “parking lots” with military cars, armored trucks and tanks. Not only that but the base consists of numerous bunkers where you can actually see guards resting. The place also consists of a weapons testing/lab area and the hangar that is holding Shagohod. While you don't come to this base until last part of the game, there are other small and mid-sized bases earlier in the game. The first half of the game consists of small bases/bunkers than usually just contain some food and ammo. There is also a mid size base earlier and you also get to infiltrate the research lab ( Graniny Gorki).

While the indoor sections are huge and amazing, the massive jungle areas are just breathtaking. But unfortunately there is not much side/alternate paths in the jungle. The progression from screen to screen is very linearly with no optional side areas which you can wander off to. But nevertheless the huge jungle areas that come up occasionally more than make up for the lack of alternate paths. No area to area every looks the same or seems like a carbon copy design with some changes. Each area actually feels like a new segment of a large jungle you are sneaking though. But there is no Grand theft auto style jungle freedom like some people have imagined. But once people realize that is not how MGS3 is, they will be more than shocked at some of the beautifully rendered areas.

Not only that but the whole environment is very interactive. There are hornet's nests you can shoot down, rolling barrels that will explode on impact, and fallen logs you can hide in. There are also many varieties of traps like foot snares that if you step in lift Snake up into a tree. But these don't do any damage, unless enemies nearby see you. All you have to do is press triangle to cut your foot loose. Some trip wires cause explosives to go off, and some cause spiked logs to swing down from the trees above. And then are pitfalls where you die instantly. To make sneaking even more hard there are cans filled with rocks stung up in the trees and attached to wires on the ground. If you trip on of those wires, the cans will make quite a lot of commotion, attracting all the guards and dogs nearby. But fortunately you can see all these traps easily by wearing thermal goggles and can avoid them.

Another thing that is commendable about this game is how stamina and eating/hunting is added into the gameplay. Players basically have to get stamina by either hunting for animals or searching for food. The players can also steal ration like food from the bases in the jungle. This stamina bar dictates how well snake can aim, stalk and even how well he can see. Not only that but snake can suffer major injuries like broken bones, cuts, gunshot wounds and illnesses. These major injuries reduce snake's maximum health capacity if the injury is not treated. To treat snake, players have to utilize the CURE option in there survival viewer. Here players have to use the right tools and medicine to cure the specific injury. Certain injuries require medicine and injections that are items you have to collect. Most of the medicine needed for the Cure option can be found in the bases. But for some illnesses, players would be required to find a certain plant or mushroom to make a medicine out of it. Off course curing snake is only optional. Players may choose to let snake naturally heal over time. This off course reduces the stamina bar pretty fast.

But if you save your game and turn off the console, the injuries cure themselves eventually in real-time if you don't play the game for long enough. But if you don't play the game for 2 or more days, most of the food in your inventory gets spoiled. This spoiled food will make snake sick if he eats it. Also another interesting aspect of the game is that the animals at night time are different from what you can hunt during day time. At night you can find king cobras, owls, Flying Squirrels, bats and many other nocturnal animals. But unfortunately Spotting guards and animals is very hard without the aid of one of the gadgets snake carries.

As I mentioned earlier MGS3 has many little gimmicks that make it different from so many other stealth games that tried to copy and fail. One of very interesting trick in the game how real world time affects the events in the game. Depending on where you save and how long you wait before your next play, you can unlock many extra cutscenes, mini games and extras. Make sure to create a save prior to the prison scene at Groziny Grad and load back from it to play a very special segment. Also enemies can be interrogated to learn all kinds of new information like the location of weapons, guards ahead and even secret radio frequencies. Some of these frequencies contain music from 1960's era, while other frequencies have cryptic messages. Also guards at certain areas only have limited amount of ammunition, so in they run out of ammo they either run off or try to stab you with a knife.

Another very important option in the survival viewer is the map. Due to the lack of a solid radar in the game, players have to often refer to this map to make sure they are going to the right area and check for any guard/item location on it. After receiving any intelligence on anything from either a guard or a support team via radio, it gets marked on this map. Players also have to often use this map in few boss fights.

Another smart difference in MGS3 from past MGS games is the inclusion of numerous weapons and spy gadgets that are not only useful but trendy. Players get a massive choice of weapons to acquire and carry. Some of the most memorable and unique weapons/items are: Torch, Fork, M63 MG, Scorpion SMG, fake death pills, TNT, Mousetraps and RPG-7. Not only that but players can do gun tricks with the Colt Single Action Army revolver just like ocelot at certain points in the game. You use the Fake Death Pill to pretend you're dead in the prison cell after the “event.” After seeing you “die” Johnny opens your door at which time you can use Revive pill to get back up and knock Johnny out. You can use the Fake Death Pills any time you like, as long as you use a Revive Pill within 30 seconds, or Snake dies for real. Also if players choose to start the game on very easy, they acquire a gun called “Easygun” which looks lot like the gun from Snake vs. monkey mini games, only it's an electric taser here.

There is also massive variety in kinds of guards and enemies in the game. There is regular patrol guards, guards that come in teams of four, guards that have dogs along with them. More different guards in the mountains with flamethrowers, guards than rappel down for the Hinds and also guards on the flying platforms. This is just listing the guards in the out doors and not including the different and special units found in different areas. Each guard has there own specialty and pattern of behavior. Some guards in certain patrol areas have limited ammunition. While the patrol of four don't appear to have limited ammunition and also fight offensively unlike the other lone patrol guards that retreat to get closer to other guards. Also the flamethrower guards can easily be defeated by just shooting there backpack, which makes them explode and set them on fire. This variety of weapons and tactics used by each different set of guards is what makes this game so interesting and have lasting appeal.

Like every other gem, MGS3 is not without faults. One of the biggest problems in the game is the inflexible camera. The little control given to players over the camera is quite useless when it comes to properly sneaking around in the jungle. It is very hard to note the enemies movement and there location. Not only that, but at times when you don't have at least 90% camo, it would be good to have a responsive camera that can be used to see what is around the area so you can plan on how you can get from point A to point B. But unfortunately this camera problem usually gets the player caught while they are in middle of sneaking and forces them to use violent methods to get away from the alert team. My other minor complain is the lack of putting all these new gameplay elements to proper use. Just like MGS2, there are numerous items and moves that are barely used in the game, because the players are given not many chances to utilize them.

Overall the game should be about 16-20 hours for a Metal Gear veteran if he takes time to truly enjoy the game and sit though all the cutscenes and make some optional radio calls. The gameplay of this game is quite original and does not have many similar tasks that give you a déjà vu like MGS and MGS2 did. There are quite a lot of unique events and tasks in the game that makes MGS3 a total new experience and provides as much surprise in gameplay as there is in the story. This is easily the best Metal Gear game from gameplay standpoint.

On the side note, the mini game: snake vs. monkey actually unlocks quite a few surprising things in the main game.

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Here is some interesting details on 3 separate boss fights that are my favorites.

The End

End is a 100 year old sniper who stalks around the huge jungle area to set up in a sniping position to wait for you to come in range and shoot at you with his tranquilizer darts. This darts cause some health damage, but players are to quickly go into cure option to use the knife to remove the dart. If you do not do that, slowly the screen starts to fade black from the outside until snake gets knocked out. The whole post of the battle is for snake to spot End at his sniper points. Once you do that, the area gets automatically marked onto the map.

The End: His sniper points are marked on the in-game map as Snake spots them. The battle takes place over three massive areas. You can use your scope or SVD to look around to spot sun glare off his scope, so you can shoot him. Once you shoot him few times he will start moving to next sniping point of his choice. If you spot him in all points, he tends to return to the same spot after a while. So you can use the map to get from one point to another and try to find it. You can either set down and wait for him to come and kill him with SVD or try your luck by actually going to the snipping points he choose, in hopes of catching him off guard. If you do get close to him while he is searching for you, you can kill him easily using the shotgun. He may try to throw a flash grenade and get away, but if you keep firing you will be able to kill him.

Note: you can find his parrot on top corner of the ammunition storehouse at the first area. Killing End's bird aggravates him to try kill you faster.

The Sorrow

This “battle” is actually a very nice event where you have to get to end of the river to touch sorrow's dead body while he brings up ghosts to try stop you from reaching there. Sorrow is already dead so you can not physically hurt him so you have to keep walking downriver, as the ghosts of all the enemies and bosses you've killed appear. If they touch Snake, he loses small part of his life. You have the Colt SAA during this battle, and you can keep the ghosts from touching Snake by shooting them. As you get further downstream, more ghosts try to touch Snake rather than let him walk by. Sometimes the Sorrow emits a spirit wave that knocks snake back into the water. This doesn't do any damage unless he knocks down Snake in the middle of a large number of ghosts or when a boss's ghost is around. When you reach the end of the stream and touch The Sorrow's corpse, Snake dies instantly. However, you can still open the item window and use the Revive Pill.

Note: Make sure to keep a very good eye on the ghosts that appear. You will find some you will really like.

Shagohod

The premise of the battle begins after the bomb in the hanger goes off and 100s of guards are chasing you along with Shagohod. Guards on flying platforms, cars, and motorbikes are all hot on your trail. At this point you can equip any of your current weapons and get unlimited ammunition. I used M63 and RPG-7 to take down all these guards. It's amazing how they pulled off this sequence without any visible slowdowns. This has to be the most action packed amazing part from any metal gear game. After taking down most of the guards, you have to immobilize Shagohod by shooting its drills using RPG. The weak points are at back of the drills and you have to wait for EVA to drive around behind before you shoot it. After the Shagohod stops moving, Volgin jumps out and rips out cables out of Shagohod and attaches it to himself. At this point Volgin chases EVA around the runway, while you are on foot. You can use the stationary machine guns set around the area to shoot him until he focuses his attention on you and starts to shoot missiles and machine gun bullets at you. At this point you should leave that area and run around as he tries to chase you and run you over. At this point you can shoot Volgin on top when he passes you. After 7-8 shots to his head, the battle should end.

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