Very good, but also to my surprise, my least favorite of the first 3.

There's a lot to like here. for a PS2 game this was gorgeous, and even in 720p on the Switch it often shines. I like the survival mechanics a lot, they are very easy, but they add charm to the game (luv 2 stab a frog). The new camera angle feels a lot more modern than the other games, whjich is... mostly good (we'll get there). There are all sort of fun little Kojima Touches hidden in the world too, just a lot of great care put into the experience.

When this game is in the standard "sneaking loop" it is VERY fun... until you get caught and have to wait for that timer to tick down for ages. That's not unique to THIS outing, but it felt especially slow here, and I sometimes just ran into bullets to get it over with and retry.

The story is good, but feels like a step down from 2 and even 1 to an extent. A lot of the most interesting characterization gets backfilled in the ending monologue, but the ending does pop when you get there, and there are interesting themes to chew on. I do really wanna shout out EVA as well, what a queen.

My biggest issue with the game are the boss-fights. I tried to play them non-lethal and I can't say I recommend it. While some were fun, I found others frustrating and gimmicky when attempted nonlethal. Also rewards are almost universally bad and they just die anyway if the narrative needs them to. It felt like 1 and 2 were better for being more limited here: they were able to play to their engine's strengths. The modernized camera means the game suddenly expects precision from you in the bossfights but buddy, these are not precise controls.

The new health system also hurts these fights: taking a ration and healing up was very easy in the older games, but now you either have to wait for health to slowly tick up or use a very rare item to heal. That being said, a must more Sweaty Gamer friend of mine also played the game at the same I did and seemed to really enjoy all the boss fights so YMMV.

Also that escort section near the end? Aggravating. Bad. Kojima go home.

All in all, it's a very good but occasionally hair-pulling game. I'm glad I played it... but I'm a little relieved it's done.

Super fun shooter, will give you the most enjoyable panic attacks you've ever had.

As a person who cares not a HOOT for completionism or heavy exploration, I appreciated how optional secret-hunting was here. It's a great system: you get a lil reward for looking around and being clever, but you're not forced to if you just wanna get to the next gunfight. I enjoyed splitting the difference, looking for secrets if a detour caught my eye, but mostly pushing forward in an aggro fashion.

The combat is very satisfying: while the game doesn't directly encourage this, I found gunfights became a trial-and-error game of rock-paper-scissors. I developed and remembered lil systems for taking down each enemy. I've heard the next game goes all in on this concept, and I think I'll enjoy that.

The story is enjoyable set dressing, the graphics look pretty even years later, and the music rips. It's not the deepest experience, but it was a grand way to spend 20 hours!