This review contains spoilers
”A host of sorrows... And you are one of them. I am The Sorrow. Like you, I, too, am filled with sadness. This world is one of sadness. Battle brings death. Death brings sorrow. The living may not hear them. Their voices may fall upon deaf ears. But make no mistake, the dead are not silent.”
Oh my God. I don't think there’s anything I could say that hasn’t been said before, but I'll try my best.
What becomes immediately noticeable as soon as you gain control as Snake is that you now have full control of the camera, I cannot stress how good it feels to finally be able to do this. Don’t get me wrong, I think the fixed, bird’s eye view camera from the first two games is great, but this just feels so much more natural and like an actual step forward from a technical standpoint. I also like that the game still lets you choose between the new and the old camera angles, because it ended up being pretty helpful in some scenarios.
As for the stealth mechanics, they just keep getting better with every game. There was huge improvement from the first Metal Gear Solid to the second, and the leap to the third now is even more apparent. This shit feels like it was made today, but it came out almost two decades ago. I can’t begin to imagine what it must’ve been like to play this in 2004 when it originally came out. There are so many new ideas being thrown it, and they all feel so complete and integral to the experience the game is trying to create, nothing feels out of place or unnecessary. The camouflage system is the real standout to me. Finding all the different camo outfits was always a joy, and then getting to actually use them in important moments made exploration that much more meaningful and important. I remember always trying to find what position or location I could get Snake in to get the highest camouflage percentage. Having enemies come super close to you and just barely not find you because of that new suit you just got is also incredibly satisfying and it makes me wish more games did this nowadays. Also, I can’t prove it, but this feels like the game that invented going prone in tall grass, so congratulations to Metal Gear Solid 3 for inventing a trope that is in literally every AAA game nowadays. You’d think that this would mean that I wouldn’t enjoy the feature, but no, because it makes total sense in this game, and it’s actually properly implemented, unlike what a lot of games are doing today.
Another new stealth mechanic that I thought was a great addition was how the silencers are handled. The previous Metal Gear games also made use of them, but not like this. The change that was made here was that your suppressors have a durability meter now. This is amazing. It creates interesting scenarios where you have to make these on the fly decisions on whether to take the safe way out, by shooting the guards nearby, or the more dangerous way out, by trying to sneak by without using any guns. This freedom to your approach is what made me fall in love with the gameplay loop of the original Metal Gear Solid and it’s so amazing to see all these old systems and mechanics evolve over time.
While I love seeing all these improvements off the foundations the first two games laid, I also loved the new mechanics the game introduced. The survival aspect of the game is a lot of fun, and it makes for an interesting secondary gameplay loop. Hunting down the different animals, sneaking past a pack of sleeping crocodiles, and having to find the right medicines or surgery equipment to heal yourself is awesome. It’s amazing how well the CQC stuff was implemented into this as well, after all, in the jungle, sometimes it's better to use a knife than a gun.
The level design, both in the more open forest areas, and the walled off laboratory settings, has seen an amazing improvement. I talked about how cool the Big Shell was in Metal Gear Solid 2 but this shit is on another level. Crawling through tunnels and caves, slowly walking through a foggy, shallow lake full of crocodiles, always having alternate routes in each location, making use of the verticality of every area, this is all outstanding. I can’t think of a single location I didn’t like, they all felt like they had the same amount of care and polish given to them. Also, it’s worth noting that areas all feel very distinct from one another. They have similarities that reassure the player that these are all situated in the same general location, but they each have their own identity, which is really difficult to pull off.
Now then, even though all these new and evolved mechanics feel incredible, and so perfectly balanced, they actually weren’t my favorite aspect of the game, so let’s talk about the story.
Every single one of these characters is spectacular. Of course Snake has returned as the protagonist, but he’s different. Of course, with the game taking place before any other the other Metal Gear games, this is not the man we know from Shadow Moses or the Big Shell. Seeing him have to choose between his own morals and the mission objective is genuinely saddening and frustrating. You and Snake both know what you have to do, but neither of you want to do it.
Unlike previous games, there are very few friendly faces. Eva is great, and the entire reveal at the end had me in shock(though there was one other reveal later on that got me even more, but I’ll get to that in a second), and it was always fun to have her interacting with Snake. Even though she was always super light hearted and loved messing with Snake, when she got stabbed I honestly thought this person was going to die and that I had to get her to safety as soon as possible. The Major and Sigint were also great but I really loved Para-Medic. Hearing her ask Snake about movies when this man has clearly never been inside a cinema was never not funny and endearing.
The villains were also great. The Cobras were all interesting, and their boss battles all so unique, really selling how each of them specialized in different aspects of warfare. I wanna give a special shout out to The End, this is exactly what a boss fight against a sniper should feel like, tracking each other down always with the rising tension that he’ll spot you before you spot him. Volgin is also pretty cool, he feels like he’s just strong enough where he’s threatening, but also impatient enough where somebody could take advantage and double cross him and you’re left wondering when it’s going to happen. There’s also The Sorrow, I’m not completely sure whether he still counts as one of the Cobras given his situation, but regardless his boss fight had so much anticipation and build up and when we finally get there it is incredible. This battle is a ludonarrative treasure. Not only does it make you reflect on your actions throughout the entire game, not only does it do it without you even knowing, but it does it through fucking gameplay. This shit is ludicrous. Also, leave it to Kojima to add a little fourth wall breaking, fucking brilliant.
There are two more characters who I haven’t talked about yet, and anyone who has played the game will know exactly who. I’ll start off with Ocelot. He has been in every game so far but this is the most compelling he’s ever been. I don’t know how the fuck Kojima managed to one up himself from Metal Gear Solid 2 Ocelot, but he did. He’s just so interesting, and just like Snake, you can tell he’s sort of new to all this war stuff. The final showdown with him at the end is also one of my favorite parts of the game, and him telling Snake that he won’t forget his name is so cool when you know what they’ll mean to each other in the future. Also, about that reveal I was talking about earlier, HOLY SHIT that phone call with Ocelot after the credits rolled, what the fuck Kojima, you genius!
In the end, there is one more character I want to discuss: The Boss. She is one of the most interesting characters I have ever seen in a video game. I'm not even sure I should call her a villain. She commands every scene she’s in, she feels like the greatest threat we’ve ever had to deal with, but she also creates this immense sense of sympathy. Her fight at the end is my favorite in the entire game. A field of white flowers, an invisible timer, and no music to push you forward. The game is screaming at you to not kill her, but at this point we know we have to. You can try to avoid her all you want, but, slowly, the Snake Eater theme starts to play, letting you know that by the time the song has finished she must be dead. You get to hear her final words, and then the game makes you pull the trigger yourself, after all, ”One must die, and one must live”.
Metal Gear Solid 3 is not only one of the most important games ever made, it’s not only one of my favorite games ever, it is the perfect Metal Gear game.
Oh my God. I don't think there’s anything I could say that hasn’t been said before, but I'll try my best.
What becomes immediately noticeable as soon as you gain control as Snake is that you now have full control of the camera, I cannot stress how good it feels to finally be able to do this. Don’t get me wrong, I think the fixed, bird’s eye view camera from the first two games is great, but this just feels so much more natural and like an actual step forward from a technical standpoint. I also like that the game still lets you choose between the new and the old camera angles, because it ended up being pretty helpful in some scenarios.
As for the stealth mechanics, they just keep getting better with every game. There was huge improvement from the first Metal Gear Solid to the second, and the leap to the third now is even more apparent. This shit feels like it was made today, but it came out almost two decades ago. I can’t begin to imagine what it must’ve been like to play this in 2004 when it originally came out. There are so many new ideas being thrown it, and they all feel so complete and integral to the experience the game is trying to create, nothing feels out of place or unnecessary. The camouflage system is the real standout to me. Finding all the different camo outfits was always a joy, and then getting to actually use them in important moments made exploration that much more meaningful and important. I remember always trying to find what position or location I could get Snake in to get the highest camouflage percentage. Having enemies come super close to you and just barely not find you because of that new suit you just got is also incredibly satisfying and it makes me wish more games did this nowadays. Also, I can’t prove it, but this feels like the game that invented going prone in tall grass, so congratulations to Metal Gear Solid 3 for inventing a trope that is in literally every AAA game nowadays. You’d think that this would mean that I wouldn’t enjoy the feature, but no, because it makes total sense in this game, and it’s actually properly implemented, unlike what a lot of games are doing today.
Another new stealth mechanic that I thought was a great addition was how the silencers are handled. The previous Metal Gear games also made use of them, but not like this. The change that was made here was that your suppressors have a durability meter now. This is amazing. It creates interesting scenarios where you have to make these on the fly decisions on whether to take the safe way out, by shooting the guards nearby, or the more dangerous way out, by trying to sneak by without using any guns. This freedom to your approach is what made me fall in love with the gameplay loop of the original Metal Gear Solid and it’s so amazing to see all these old systems and mechanics evolve over time.
While I love seeing all these improvements off the foundations the first two games laid, I also loved the new mechanics the game introduced. The survival aspect of the game is a lot of fun, and it makes for an interesting secondary gameplay loop. Hunting down the different animals, sneaking past a pack of sleeping crocodiles, and having to find the right medicines or surgery equipment to heal yourself is awesome. It’s amazing how well the CQC stuff was implemented into this as well, after all, in the jungle, sometimes it's better to use a knife than a gun.
The level design, both in the more open forest areas, and the walled off laboratory settings, has seen an amazing improvement. I talked about how cool the Big Shell was in Metal Gear Solid 2 but this shit is on another level. Crawling through tunnels and caves, slowly walking through a foggy, shallow lake full of crocodiles, always having alternate routes in each location, making use of the verticality of every area, this is all outstanding. I can’t think of a single location I didn’t like, they all felt like they had the same amount of care and polish given to them. Also, it’s worth noting that areas all feel very distinct from one another. They have similarities that reassure the player that these are all situated in the same general location, but they each have their own identity, which is really difficult to pull off.
Now then, even though all these new and evolved mechanics feel incredible, and so perfectly balanced, they actually weren’t my favorite aspect of the game, so let’s talk about the story.
Every single one of these characters is spectacular. Of course Snake has returned as the protagonist, but he’s different. Of course, with the game taking place before any other the other Metal Gear games, this is not the man we know from Shadow Moses or the Big Shell. Seeing him have to choose between his own morals and the mission objective is genuinely saddening and frustrating. You and Snake both know what you have to do, but neither of you want to do it.
Unlike previous games, there are very few friendly faces. Eva is great, and the entire reveal at the end had me in shock(though there was one other reveal later on that got me even more, but I’ll get to that in a second), and it was always fun to have her interacting with Snake. Even though she was always super light hearted and loved messing with Snake, when she got stabbed I honestly thought this person was going to die and that I had to get her to safety as soon as possible. The Major and Sigint were also great but I really loved Para-Medic. Hearing her ask Snake about movies when this man has clearly never been inside a cinema was never not funny and endearing.
The villains were also great. The Cobras were all interesting, and their boss battles all so unique, really selling how each of them specialized in different aspects of warfare. I wanna give a special shout out to The End, this is exactly what a boss fight against a sniper should feel like, tracking each other down always with the rising tension that he’ll spot you before you spot him. Volgin is also pretty cool, he feels like he’s just strong enough where he’s threatening, but also impatient enough where somebody could take advantage and double cross him and you’re left wondering when it’s going to happen. There’s also The Sorrow, I’m not completely sure whether he still counts as one of the Cobras given his situation, but regardless his boss fight had so much anticipation and build up and when we finally get there it is incredible. This battle is a ludonarrative treasure. Not only does it make you reflect on your actions throughout the entire game, not only does it do it without you even knowing, but it does it through fucking gameplay. This shit is ludicrous. Also, leave it to Kojima to add a little fourth wall breaking, fucking brilliant.
There are two more characters who I haven’t talked about yet, and anyone who has played the game will know exactly who. I’ll start off with Ocelot. He has been in every game so far but this is the most compelling he’s ever been. I don’t know how the fuck Kojima managed to one up himself from Metal Gear Solid 2 Ocelot, but he did. He’s just so interesting, and just like Snake, you can tell he’s sort of new to all this war stuff. The final showdown with him at the end is also one of my favorite parts of the game, and him telling Snake that he won’t forget his name is so cool when you know what they’ll mean to each other in the future. Also, about that reveal I was talking about earlier, HOLY SHIT that phone call with Ocelot after the credits rolled, what the fuck Kojima, you genius!
In the end, there is one more character I want to discuss: The Boss. She is one of the most interesting characters I have ever seen in a video game. I'm not even sure I should call her a villain. She commands every scene she’s in, she feels like the greatest threat we’ve ever had to deal with, but she also creates this immense sense of sympathy. Her fight at the end is my favorite in the entire game. A field of white flowers, an invisible timer, and no music to push you forward. The game is screaming at you to not kill her, but at this point we know we have to. You can try to avoid her all you want, but, slowly, the Snake Eater theme starts to play, letting you know that by the time the song has finished she must be dead. You get to hear her final words, and then the game makes you pull the trigger yourself, after all, ”One must die, and one must live”.
Metal Gear Solid 3 is not only one of the most important games ever made, it’s not only one of my favorite games ever, it is the perfect Metal Gear game.