Hot tactical espionage action!
Posted by: curt
I just finished my first boss battle, so I thought I would share some of my impressions about MGS3: Snake Eater.
Backstory
To get the most out of this game, you should be familiar with the stories and characters of the Metal Gear franchise. I recognize a lot of names and faces, but I don't fully realize their significance. I don't feel like I'm at a disadvantage, or that the game is different, but I know I'm missing some clues and possibly plot points that connect the games together.
This game takes place in the 1960s, and is full of humor related to that fact. The characters talk about the just-released James Bond movie and how it was so good that Hollywood will probably make 20 more.
Camoflauge
The biggest difference to me between MGS2 and Snake Eater is that there is no radar. Instead you get a camoflauge rating, and a handful of uniforms and face paint patterns. Throughout the game, you'll find new ones, like this Zombie pattern.
Not having a radar forces you to move through the areas much more slowly; You constantly have to switch to first-person view to look around for soldiers that might be just beyond your field of third-person vision.
Survival
MGS3 also introduced the stamina guage. If it drops too low, your hands will shake when aiming and you won't be able to swim or hang from ledges very long. Eating replenishes stamina and you can eat pretty much anything: snakes, crabs, mice, rabbits. Some taste better than others and increase your stamina accordingly.
You also have to heal your wounds. After a firefight you may have to treat your gunshot. After swimming, you have to burn leeches off.
Overall
So far, this is one of the funnest games I've played. It's a slow-moving action game, which is challenging, but not throw-your-controller-against-the-wall impossible. The most frustrating thing is that many actions require half-presses of buttons, and holding them in the half-pressed position. When you're holding down L1, R1 and R2, it's hard to hold square half way down to aim, then press it all the way down to fire, but only release it half way to keep your sights targeted.
Considering I just fought the first boss battle and I've been playing the game more than 5 hours, I think I have plenty of "tactical espionage action" ahead.
