Metal Gear Solid 3: The Snake Eater
How does the season's slickest stealth number stack up. We sink our fangs into ten key features -- five good, five not so good.
Stuff we sank our fangs into...
King cobras
Snake Eater's best boss battles are brainy. Take your encounter with The End for
instance: Sure, the grizzled sniper seems harmless and spends most of his time snoozing
in a wheelchair, but the geezer can also shoot bull's-eyes while blindfolded. To get a
bead on him (you've got a couple of equally clever options), you'll have to experiment
with every gadget in your bag of spy gear, scanning your environment for any sign of the
camouflaged old coot. When the hour-long showdown draws to a close, you'll have a classic gaming moment under your belt to rival Metal Gear Solid's bout with the mind-reading Psycho Mantis.
Snakes in the grass
Gorge on rancid rations, and you'll get the runs. Lob a grenade in a croc's chops, and the
lizard goes kablooie. Let the live cobra you caught loose on a guard and you won't have
to worry about wasting limited ammo. Take a second to scope out perky she-spy Eva's
medical history while you're healing her wounds, and you'll learn about her womanly
"enhancements". In short, Snake Eater sweats the details. We love Easter eggs, and this
basket's brimming with 'em.
Snake bites
Snap a twig, get spotted, and the game goes on. Here, unlike some stealth series (see
Splinter Cell), no hard-ass back at HQ will pull the plug just because you botched
protocol. When you do manage to sneak up on your quarry, Snake's close quarters
combat moves are killer. Shake him down for ammo, interrogate him for info, clobber
him cold, choke him unconscious, take him hostage, or use him as a human shield -- each
takedown has its time and place.
Snake tales
No amputated arms that take over transplant recipients. No vampires, incestuous
romances, or virtual reality twists. Unlike the last MGS, most of Snake Eater's story
actually makes sense. It's not too plausible, but it isn't predictable either. Big why-didn't-
I-see-that-coming twists build tension throughout (and there's a lot of tale to tell) and
interactive cutscenes let you look around for additional clues during cinematic downtime.
Snake eyes
You've been a pair for some time now, and your PS2 probably doesn't surprise you much
at this point in your relationship. Like a stop at the day spa, Snake Eater shows that your
digital love can look even better than you bargained for. Its big bad bush not only teems
with trees, vines, ferns, and vibrant terrain, but critters too. And if the wildlife doesn't
wow you, water-filled caverns where light plays on the walls and ceilings, and a battle
against a flamethrower-wielding wacko in a blazing inferno will.
Five flaws we slithered away from...
Snake oil
So you won't have to battle a morbidly obese bomber on rollerblades, but what about a
walking beehive? Snake Eater makes more sense than the last installment in the series,
but it still isn't up to Tom Clancy's standards. Snake walks around the woods, nibbling
on irradiated wildlife one week after the spot was nuked, and fusses over a land-based
nuclear launch pad, what when a Soviet sub could just as easily surface off the coast and
empty its payload on the capitol. Say what?
Snake healer
Dig the slug out, disinfect the wound, stitch it, and wrap it -- unless you perform on-site
surgery, you'll leak stamina when you're shot, burned, or limping on a broken limb. Sure,
it sounds realistic, but because you've got to press pause and apply the Band-Aids from a
sub-screen each and every time you catch a slug, the feature breaks up the action and
becomes annoying fast.
Snake handling
Thanks to a radar that reads the environment, the enemy's location, and the limits of his
perception, camera control was never a problem in previous Metal Gears -- what you
couldn't see onscreen showed up on your scanner. Snake Eater strips you of that sixth
sense and gives you less effective equipment that mixes up man and animal, forcing you
to verify threats from first-person view. You'll come to grips with switching perspectives,
but it's about time the series went with a Splinter Cell-type setup.
Gardner snakes
Not all of Snake Eater's bosses are as badass as The End. In fact, a few -- like the
beekeeping bozo who stands around talking nonsense while you shotgun him and his silly
hive -- are blowovers.
Forked tongues
Let's hope our boy has a super calling plan; he spends enough time on the horn. Snake
Eater cuts down on the chit chat over Snake's Codec communication system, but talking
heads still take up a good chunk of the game. To its credit, witty repartee and rollicking
in-jokes make much of the banter worthwhile.
-- Shawn Elliott
