2008 Woodie Awards
Snake Eater Does Not Live up to its Predecessors
Kristen Bussanich
Issue date: 11/24/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Some people pray to God for money, fame, or success. Others pray for world peace. I have always prayed for Hideo Kojima to keep making video games. Now the supplications of many a gamer have been answered with his latest installment to that timeless series: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Konami / PS2 / $49.99). But can the game live up to such high expectations?
This new game has made major changes to the series, with some more appealing than others. This game is actually a chronological prequel to parts one and two, and is set in the 1960's. The Cold War is going on, and special CIA operative agent codenamed Snake must rescue a scientist being forced to work on weapons for the Soviet Union. This is how the story begins, but knowing Kojima, this plot is bound to become much more complicated than that.
As before, computer animated cut scenes with the story characters are intertwined with actual historic footage. Real stories, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, are presented, and then given an interesting Metal Gear twist, tying in some of the major characters in the fictional story. The Metal Gear Solid series is known for its storylines, and during the first few hours of play, there is actually less action than non-interactive story being presented. These plot sequences are not actually boring, but the game eventually balances them out with the action.
The first big change MGS3 brings to the series is the environment. Gone are the metallic hallways of high-tech government facilities. Snake now stalks his prey in the jungle, giving the game an almost Rambo-like feel. The new surroundings are a definite plus, and force the player to develop different strategies for both stealth action and full-out attack mode. The jungle becomes Snakes ally. He relies on it for every aspect of survival, from the camouflaging cover of tall grass, to the nutritional sustenance of a tree frog.
Yes, you must find and hunt your own food in order to survive (hence the game's title). New to this game is the stamina meter, in addition to the classic health meter. Snake keeps his stamina meter up by eating healthy things found in the jungle. If it stays high enough, his health meter will replenish itself over time. The player must also perform various other maintenance tasks to keep Snake both safe and healthy. Snake is equipped with various camouflage outfits, which he needs to change depending on his surroundings. If he receives a serious injury, such as a gunshot wound, the player needs to cut out the bullet with a knife, disinfect, suture, and bandage the wound. All of these things are done within the game menu. These new expansions neither add to nor take away from game play. If anything, these are just mundane tasks which create tedium. Having to stop in-game action to press buttons on the menu screen needlessly takes the player out of the immersive game world. This seems especially ironic, since the additions were implemented to make the action all the more realistic.
This new game has made major changes to the series, with some more appealing than others. This game is actually a chronological prequel to parts one and two, and is set in the 1960's. The Cold War is going on, and special CIA operative agent codenamed Snake must rescue a scientist being forced to work on weapons for the Soviet Union. This is how the story begins, but knowing Kojima, this plot is bound to become much more complicated than that.
As before, computer animated cut scenes with the story characters are intertwined with actual historic footage. Real stories, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, are presented, and then given an interesting Metal Gear twist, tying in some of the major characters in the fictional story. The Metal Gear Solid series is known for its storylines, and during the first few hours of play, there is actually less action than non-interactive story being presented. These plot sequences are not actually boring, but the game eventually balances them out with the action.
The first big change MGS3 brings to the series is the environment. Gone are the metallic hallways of high-tech government facilities. Snake now stalks his prey in the jungle, giving the game an almost Rambo-like feel. The new surroundings are a definite plus, and force the player to develop different strategies for both stealth action and full-out attack mode. The jungle becomes Snakes ally. He relies on it for every aspect of survival, from the camouflaging cover of tall grass, to the nutritional sustenance of a tree frog.
Yes, you must find and hunt your own food in order to survive (hence the game's title). New to this game is the stamina meter, in addition to the classic health meter. Snake keeps his stamina meter up by eating healthy things found in the jungle. If it stays high enough, his health meter will replenish itself over time. The player must also perform various other maintenance tasks to keep Snake both safe and healthy. Snake is equipped with various camouflage outfits, which he needs to change depending on his surroundings. If he receives a serious injury, such as a gunshot wound, the player needs to cut out the bullet with a knife, disinfect, suture, and bandage the wound. All of these things are done within the game menu. These new expansions neither add to nor take away from game play. If anything, these are just mundane tasks which create tedium. Having to stop in-game action to press buttons on the menu screen needlessly takes the player out of the immersive game world. This seems especially ironic, since the additions were implemented to make the action all the more realistic.