King's Log: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
CRAB BATTLE!If I were to describe Metal Gear Solid 3 in a one-word-review kind of way, ripping off other people's ways of reviewing, it would be: FUCK.
Not only because we can safely assume this is what happens at the end of the game (go, Snake!), but because it is the word that was zooming through my brain most of the time while playing this game.
FUCK, this game looks good.
FUCK, this game has a good story.
FUCK, this game is AWESOME.
Fuck, I haven't played a game this impressive in a long long time. It has EVERYTHING. Not only does it have insanely gorgeous graphics and really cool boss fights, it also has a lengthy story (about 15 hours, chock-full of cutscenes) with a great ending.
Finally Hideo Kojima has gone back to his roots of making a deep story involving war and nuclear weaponry, and no bullshit about clones and virtual reality. Those who are afraid of being screwed over by some insane plottwist near the end do not need to fret for this game, it all makes sense from beginning to end.
Well, that is to say, of course there's a whole SLEW of plottwists in the ending, thrown in for good measure, but they're believable (sorta) and in line with the story. I just wish they'd spread them a little bit more instead of just throwing them at you all at once.
But it all lies in the presentation, which is truely phenomenally ass-kickingly fantastic. The cut-scenes are nothing short of brilliant, and there's plenty of them. Choreography and camera angles are spot-on, and, dammit, most of the time I wasn't even aware I was playing a video game, it's like watching a goddamn movie. A really really GOOD movie. Good storytelling goes a long way in my book and definitely earns extra points, as does good presentation, and this game has got it in oodles, and I don't even know what an oodle is, so that should tell you enough. The scene of the final battle is one of the most beautiful events I've ever witnessed in any game in the history of mankind and forms a suiting end for one hell of a rollercoaster ride.
The story is realistic, based on actual events, but with some fantasy elements thrown in, as usual, and the bosses are a colorful bunch. They're all completely insane and fighting them is sheer joy and difficulty seems to be pitched just right.
Is this game perfect then?
No, of course not.
Fact of the matter is, most of the gameplay is not all that special. You've sneaked around before, but you've probably never done it in a jungle before. This means you get a lot bigger and wider environments than in previous Metal Gear Solids, which doesn't really work to its advantage. I loved the narrow hallways and facilities in the old games, which put a real emphasis on good stealth, but environments are so big in this game, that ofttimes it's just easier to run through from one end to the other, since guards are too stupid to get you anyway.
And that's a shame. Being caught sucks, but it's pretty easy to get away, and chances of your getting killed are extremely slight. You can run through, guns blazing, and you'll be fine most of the time. If you do get caught and you want to retry, swallowing the suicide pill will kill you off quicker than the guards ever will, so that's a helpful addition. Fortunately, you always get to restart at the beginning of the area, so there's not stress at all.
Actually, the producers make it pretty obvious that the focus on this game is not really in stealth, but it's firstly and foremostly in story, what with lengthy cutscenes waiting at almost every corner, and secondly in survival.
And that last element brings two new features into play: Stamina and Cure.
Beneath your health gauge is a stamina bar that decreases as you play. As long as it's high your health will restore automatically at a decent rate. There are no health restoring items, so all you can do is keep your stamina high to stimulate your self-healing abilities.
To keep your stamina high, you need to eat, which is where the title of the game comes into play: You have to eat wildlife and plants. Snakes, frogs, rats, crabs, mushrooms ANYTHING you see can be eaten or used as medicine. You won't run out of stamina restoring items anytime soon, which is good, even though it might get on your nerves every once in a while. In some areas your stamina will deplete like crazy, in others it's pretty much stagnant. These are the good areas.
Secondly, there's the Cure system, where you have to heal your wounds. Snake will get hurt a lot, and every once in a while, he will sustain serious injury, which you have to cure immediately to prevent dying from bloodloss or whatever. You have bandages, splints, detoxins etc. to heal your cuts, gunshot wounds, food poisoning, broken limbs etc. It's a very original idea, but this also will get on your nerves after a while.
A big part of me is screaming to give this game a 10, because the experience just cannot be described. It's something every self-respecting gamer should play, and even though it gets off to kind of a slow start, it gets SO good real soon.
There are however some annoying elements that need not have been there and that take away from the experience. Everything else more than makes up for it though.
Put simply, you HAVE to play this or you will get the chair. And not the comfy chair with soft cushions either, no, the one with the iron clasps and the electrical hat.
It's slightly too pockmarked gameplaywise to warrant a full 10, but I'll give it a 9.8 anyway. Go and get this NOW.
posted by Ingen! @ 11:19 AM
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