Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

He always runs when other walks!

The third game in the series and once again I had to wait until the HD release to play it (although my mind gets jumbled over if I played the demo for the 3DS before or after getting the PS3 version). Anyway, the setting is the cold war and Naked Snake is sent into Soviet territory to extract a scientist that is working on a secret weapon that can shift the terror balance toward the russians advantage, the Shogohan (or however you spell it). It's a prototype metal gear. He lands and extracts him, but is confronted by the Boss, his superior officer that coached him through the mission while on the way to the extraction point. You get thrown of the bridge you stand on while the Boss assembles her former secret Cobra unit and takes of under the leadership of Volgin, a soviet officer working in secret to take over the world. And then fires a nuclear missile which puts the US and Soviet on high alert. After recovering Snake is sent back in to find the scientist, stop Volgin and kill the Boss to clear his name and avoid mutual assured destruction.

And we dance, into the fire

During the game you met up with Eva, a russian double spy sent to help you by the americans and Ocelot who tries to stop you (and later turns into Revolver Ocelot). Your enemies besides the soviet troops are The Pain, the Fear, the End, the Sorrow and the Fury. And your own support team is Major Zero, Sigma and Para-Medic appearing in your codec conversations... I don't think there's really that much else to say about this game. Biggest gameplay mechanic of this game was the new camouflage system in what colours you used or clothes (or even if you were naked) that affects your camouflage score that helps you avoid detection from the wild life and soldiers. Also you have to repair yourselves if you get injured with some improvised surgery or hunt for food by stalking wildlife like snakes and birds. Really interesting concepts. But since I'm lousy at games I play on easy and hardly needs to care.

It was fun playing it, but the story seems to repeat itself. Soldiers who are being used by their governments without care. Of course there is no secret society... or it actually tries to explain where it originated from. So after being captured, tortured and eye blown out and the scientist killed you find out that Volgin is sitting on the philosophers legacy which is apparently some amassed wealth from China, Soviet and the US as part of the second world war push to stop the Nazis. But Volgin tries to use it for his own purposes. So the Americans sent in the Boss to get it, but you didn't know that. Eva is actually a chinese spy working to get the legacy for her side while Ocelot that have been your antagonist through the whole game was your actual contact. Everyone backstabs everyone here and there and after defeating Volgin and the proto-metal gear Snake and Eva escapes only to Snake duel the Boss on a field of white flowers that turns red as she dies on the field. Then they escape again on a plane. While surviving the ordeal Eva steals the secret documents on the legacy and leaves. Snake gets back to the US. Gets a medal and earn the name Big Boss.

We Got all the time in the world!

I really liked the game and it could have been to play with Snake and to hear his constant growling or the fact that it is pretty much a James Bond-movie from the 60's with similar music (the snake eater theme really sound like a classic Bond theme). Also it's a bit more low-tech than the other games. There is no nano-machines. No clones and the rest I get a hang on like the nuclear weapons and such. Plus it's set to the backdrop of the cold war with the Cuban missile crisis. I even know who the world leaders are like Kennedy, Chrusjtjov and Brezjnev are. A simpler game for a simpler time.

Oh and the Bond references are Thunderbolt, View to a Kill and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.