I just replayed MGS3S for the first time in years. I'm not sure how to feel about it now.
Don't get me wrong, there's a ton I still adore about this game. The sheer attention to detail is staggering, even by modern game standards. There's so many big-brain strategies that, against all odds, work wonders. I truly doubt there is any single person who knows every single Easter egg this game hides. Hell, we'll probably learn about some absurd secret hidden under our noses years from now.
It's such a shame then that so much of the game's core mechanics and features make this sort of experimentation feel so tedious. I don't like to throw around claims like "this game's controls have aged badly" or something. I think the controls in MGS3 work exceptionally well for what they were first designed for: Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2.
MGS3 has a completely different flow to the previous entries. Where MGS1 & 2 have a fast, arcade-like pace to their stealth, where many of the game's systems are binary, MSG3 is a slower, more open-ended game. MGS3 has you navigating fields of tall grass more often than the metal hallways of previous entries. Enemies can see you from further and there's more to keep in mind. The camo index, your inventory of food, the survival viewer, your backpack, etc. While I know MGS3 pros have mastered the controls and can pull off incredible feats, I don't think Snake's robotic movements and archaic way of handling firearms is a good fit for the more freeform nature of MGS3's levels and encounters.
Purists can say that I'm not giving the game enough of a chance and maybe I'm not. I may have platinumed the HD version years ago but I'm writing this review after only playing through the campaign for the first time in over half a decade. Maybe MGSV has spoiled me, but I think it's telling that every mainline MGS game after 3 used more conventional controls, especially for aiming and crawling about.
It's disappointing because I love almost everything else about MGS3. It has the tight level design, memorable bosses, and loads of character that MGSV utterly lacked but it mechanically feels a lot more unintuitive than contemporaries I played at the time, like the early Splinter Cell games. I suppose I should just be thankful I replayed this game using the HD collection's Subsistence version and not the original Snaker Eater one that exclusively featured the camera style from MGS1 & 2.
Fuck anyone that doesn't like The Pain, though. A man covered in bees that he sends to do his bidding? All while cackling like a little goblin? Beautiful.
Don't get me wrong, there's a ton I still adore about this game. The sheer attention to detail is staggering, even by modern game standards. There's so many big-brain strategies that, against all odds, work wonders. I truly doubt there is any single person who knows every single Easter egg this game hides. Hell, we'll probably learn about some absurd secret hidden under our noses years from now.
It's such a shame then that so much of the game's core mechanics and features make this sort of experimentation feel so tedious. I don't like to throw around claims like "this game's controls have aged badly" or something. I think the controls in MGS3 work exceptionally well for what they were first designed for: Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2.
MGS3 has a completely different flow to the previous entries. Where MGS1 & 2 have a fast, arcade-like pace to their stealth, where many of the game's systems are binary, MSG3 is a slower, more open-ended game. MGS3 has you navigating fields of tall grass more often than the metal hallways of previous entries. Enemies can see you from further and there's more to keep in mind. The camo index, your inventory of food, the survival viewer, your backpack, etc. While I know MGS3 pros have mastered the controls and can pull off incredible feats, I don't think Snake's robotic movements and archaic way of handling firearms is a good fit for the more freeform nature of MGS3's levels and encounters.
Purists can say that I'm not giving the game enough of a chance and maybe I'm not. I may have platinumed the HD version years ago but I'm writing this review after only playing through the campaign for the first time in over half a decade. Maybe MGSV has spoiled me, but I think it's telling that every mainline MGS game after 3 used more conventional controls, especially for aiming and crawling about.
It's disappointing because I love almost everything else about MGS3. It has the tight level design, memorable bosses, and loads of character that MGSV utterly lacked but it mechanically feels a lot more unintuitive than contemporaries I played at the time, like the early Splinter Cell games. I suppose I should just be thankful I replayed this game using the HD collection's Subsistence version and not the original Snaker Eater one that exclusively featured the camera style from MGS1 & 2.
Fuck anyone that doesn't like The Pain, though. A man covered in bees that he sends to do his bidding? All while cackling like a little goblin? Beautiful.