Words can not explain enough about how amazing Metal Gear Solid 3 is. The overall variety of gameplay and setting is absolutely stunning. Not to mention the perfect story that recreates the feeling many people felt playing Metal Gear Solid for first time. What made MGS such a memorable game was the atmosphere in the gameplay and the story’s ability to draw you in. I can without a doubt say MGS3 has a feel of stealth/survival though out the whole game. I often felt that I was actually in a jungle, all alone trying to survive from the guards and the nature. It brings back the spy feeling because of the very realistic recreation of the jungle and the very dense story told though the cutscenes that are quite frequent at first part of the game.

One of the greatest things about the whole game is, it feels like it was made just for the fans. There are lots and lots of subtle hints and lines that are placed just for the fans who played the previous MG games and loved them. There are quite a few events and major lines in the game that will make the hardcore fans go “HOLY S***”, while the casual gamers just absorb in the new pieces of information, because they don’t know the relevance of it. In the past some people complained about the amount of cutscenes and more importantly the length of codec calls present in MGS2. Hideo Kojima came to a compromise by reducing the required radio calls and increasing the gameplay. I personally felt the cutscenes were just as abundant as they were in MGS2. But the ratio of gameplay to cutscenes is different from MGS2, so it all works out for the best. The cutscenes this time are very action packed and very interesting. You will never see a cutscene in MGS3 where all it is about is 2 people standing there talking. All the cutscenes have something going on in them that makes them very interesting. For most part the cutscenes were at most during the start, middle and end of the game. In other parts it is usually just surviving in the jungle or in a base with only in contact with your support team though radio. Another cool feature in the cutscenes is the player’s ability to press R1 during some parts of the cutscenes to see the event though the eyes of snake. Note: Make sure to Press R1 during your talk to Granin in the Lab to see some very interesting things on his table.

One of my minor complaints about MGS3 radio is the lack of “talking heads” past Metal gear games had. I know it’s not very important, but at times I felt it would have been good to have something to focus you attention on during the long radio calls. Unlike MGS2, you will not find overuse of radio to explain huge plot details or twists that would have been better if they were told in cutscenes. But this reduction of forcing huge radio calls has also reduced some complex details that in MGS2. But one of the things in MGS3 is much of the information is optional. If the players decide they want to know more about a certain event, character or place all they have to do is call one of the support team members to get a long detailed explanation about it. This is one of the merits in MGS3 that would have been very useful in MGS2. Some casual gamers don’t want a 20 min lecture on what type of missile launcher Shagohod has. But if they player does want to know, all they have to do is call Signit at right time in the game and he will give detailed explanation. So in many ways the story is as complex and detailed as the players want it to be. If you only stick to the required radio calls and cutscenes you would get barely get any details on each individual member of Cobra Unit. But if you decide to call team members about a certain boss, you would get detailed information about the person’s life and his background. Unlike past Metal Gear bosses, Cobra Unit members has short hellos and short goodbyes. In other words they don’t tell there whole life story just before there death. At time it does make them bit shallow, but it is the player’s choice to either get more information on them or to just continue with the game. Not only this but there is also lots and lots of extra conversation over the radio with each team member. I almost never has any repeated conversations with the members even if I just stay in one place and keep calling them back.

Another great thing about MGS3 is how well the story is presented to the players. The story is told in a very understanding manner that can be compared to MGS storytelling. Also there is a very big improvement on character development of people other than the main character. The relations and background of Ocelot, Boss and Volgin are very well portrayed in MGS3. Unlike MGS2, these 3 people get quite a lot of “screen-time” and development. Instead of making most of the game about twists, deception and only “good guys,” MGS3 has development of characters and story in a manner that is not confusing or boring. I can’t emphasis enough on how well such a complex story is explained in MGS3 without compromising any of the things we cherish (story complexity, details, depth, philosophical meaning, overall theme).

As for the gameplay in MGS3, it is very unique and different from all the past Metal Gear games. In reality, when it comes to gameplay differences between MGS and MGS2, it’s just evolving over already set standards. MGS3 on other had added totally new elements of gameplay and changed the overall setting of the game from MGS2. Gameplay wise, the leap from MGS2 to MGS3 is bigger than the leap from MGS to MGS2. Many previews and even a review suggested that MGS3 controls are lot similar to MGS2 with some new options added. In general I have to disagree with them on that. Metal Gear solid 3 has a feel of “newness” that does not even feel like MGS2. Even when sneaking around the indoor segments of the games, I never felt it was like MGS2. While the “moving left analog stick to move and X to couch” is basically the same, the gameplay evolved from MGS2 controls. There are many new equipment and moves that are totally now. Players have to realize that this is not MGS2 and they need to try different tactics to get around the jungle. While basically the moves from MGS2 are all intact in MGS3, they are not meant to be the only thing that players have to relay on the get though the jungle safely.

Without using right equipment, camouflage and food, players will often find themselves in tight situations which they have to resort to violence to get out. It took me a while to get hang of the gameplay, but once I realize you can not just sneak around like in MGS2 I had no problem evading the guards and playing the game as it was meant to be played. But one of my disappointments about MGS3 gameplay is same as it was in MGS2. Quite a lot of new gameplay elements are not put to good use. Players are almost never given a chance to hang from a tree to shoot the guards or are there many chances to use the crocodile hat to scare the guards. But these are minor problems that the game makes up for with many hidden features. Metal Gear Solid 3 has the most replay value of any MGS game’s first release (not counting Substance, which is an add-on). There are many hidden items, weapons and camouflages throughout the whole game. Some camouflages give you special skills while others are just plain humorous. Not only that but MGS3 has quite a lots of hidden videos and mini games you can unlock by saving at right time and loading back certain time later. Hint: Save in middle of The End battle and load it back in 2-3 days to see a very special sequence. Not only are but there are goofy cartoonish frogs “Kerotin" scattered though out the game that players can collect to unlock many things in the game. This game has so many extras and hidden things than any other Metal Gear game before. MGS3 has very high replay value not just for the extras but also the amazing gameplay.

As many people may be wondering if there are many big shockers and surprises waiting for them in MGS3 which Hideo mislead them about with the trailers. The answer is yes and no. Overall there is no huge twist/surprise like Raiden in MGS2, but there are numerous things Hideo Kojima mislead people about using the trailers. Overall the whole story is a amazing that out did every Metal Gear game in my opinion. Gameplay wise it perfect with so much variety and special missions/tasks that are not present in any other Metal Gear game. There is a good reason this review does not consist of a numerical review score. People tend to ignore all the points and explanations made though out the whole review but place too much emphasis on couple of numbers placed at end of the review. If this was an unbiased review from a general gamer, it deserves a 9.5 on a scale of 10. But I am not an unbiased reviewer, but a big fan of Metal Gear series that enjoyed MGS2 story, which most of the general media complains about. Hence it is unfair for me to give it a numeric score. I have given my reasons to why I think Metal Gear Solid 3 is the best Metal Gear game ever made. Use the whole review to make your judgment on the game or better yet buy the game and then decide if you agree with me or not. But one this is for certain, Sam and Gabe are no match for the legendary Naked Snake.

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