Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

"There's only room for one boss and one snake."

- The Boss

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is the third in game in the Metal Gear Solid Series. It introduced CQC and involved Snake having to eat plants and wild animals to survive. It was set during the Cold War.

Story Overview
The story of Metal Gear Solid 3 takes place in the mid-60's just before America had entered into the Vietnam War a year later. It was a time of tension as both sides of the world's superpowers collided against eachother. The United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics went head to head with the use of threats presented by the new technological weapon known as the Nuclear Bomb. Now, with the help of the US Goverment and a Goverment funded project with collobration of the CIA, a new Special Forces Unit was created known as FOX. Its purpose was to go behind enemy lines and do the wet work without the other side knowning who it was. Major Zero leads the newly formed FOX unit into its first mission in the heart of Russia with their first candidate...a veteran of warfare -- Jack, aka Naked Snake.

The Virtuous Mission
On August 24, 1964, Naked Snake, an operative of the newly formed FOX Unit was sent to Russia to rescue Sokolov, a defecting Russian scientist. He was being held in Rassvet which was surrounded by guards. To get to Rassvet, however, Snake had to parachute in by performing the world’s first ever HALO (High Altitude - Low Opening) jump, landing in Tselinoyarsk. His support team who kept in touch with him via Codec were Major Zero, Para-medic and The Boss.

Snake familiarized himself with the area and the members of the FOX unit, and then proceeded to Rassvet, to meet Sokolov. As Snake and Sokolov began to make their way to the extraction point, they were ambushed by KGB operatives and held at gunpoint. The KGB agents were then surrounded and killed by the Ocelot Unit being led by Ocelot, part of a rogue GRU faction intent on capturing Sokolov for themselves. Snake, using his hand-to-hand CQC techniques, managed to disable all the Ocelot Unit members while Sokolov escaped.

When they reached the rope bridge Sokolov pointed to the top of a nearby mountain, where Sokolov’s Shagohod, a huge tank capable of firing a nuclear missile across large distances, was being tested. On their way over the bridge they were greeted by the Boss, only to find out that she had defected to the Soviet Union. Sokolov was then captured by the Cobra Unit, and The Boss explained that Sokolov, along with a couple of Davy Crocketts (miniature nuclear shells) were her gift to her new hosts. Colonel Volgin, a man who carries an electrical charge of ten million volts, joined The Boss and Snake on the bridge. Volgin then told The Boss that she had to kill Snake, because he had seen Volgin's face. She attempted this by breaking his arm and throwing him off the bridge, secretly knowing full well that he would live through the fall.

Snake did survive, and tended to his wounds with the help of Para-Medic. Then something unexpected happened. Colonel Volgin decided to test one of the Davy Crocketts out, completely wiping out the OKB-754 research facility. This then led Kruschev to believe it was the US who blew it up as there was a US plane in Soviet air space, which was the AC-130 the members of FOX were stationed in. In order to clear the United States' name, Snake would have to go back and eliminate Volgin and The Boss.

Operation Snake Eater
On August 30, nearly one week after the failure of the Virtuous Mission, Snake is once again deployed into Tselinoyarsk by a D-21 drone launched from an M-21, with Sigint replacing The Boss on his support team. Snake then had to meet ADAM, a KGB agent sent to assist him during Operation Snake Eater, at Rassvet. On the way to meet ADAM, Snake ran into the Boss and she tried to stop him from carrying on with his mission, along with dismantling his gun. He then reached Rassvet and waited for ADAM but instead EVA showed up. As Snake rested and EVA kept a look out, the Ocelot Unit showed up. EVA woke Snake up and he told her to go and hide, while he took care of them. After defeating the Unit, Ocelot grabbed EVA. She managed to escape and hop onto her bike, as Ocelot ran away. EVA then mentioned she had to get back before he did, and she cleared a path for Snake. Snake then headed to Graniny Gorki to see Sokolov. On the way he battled Ocelot overlooking a crevice. Once Ocelot was defeated the area was swarmed by Hornets, and Snake fell down the crevice into the cave below.

Snake then ventured around the cave, eventually finding the exit. On his way he was attacked by The Pain. Once Snake had beaten The Pain, he left the cave and headed toward a warehouse. When he got there he looked on with his scope and saw The End being pushed in a wheelchair by The Fear, along with Volgin, The Boss, Sokolov and Tatyana.

He then reached Graniny Gorki, where he thought he was going to meet Sokolov. Instead he found Granin, another Russian scientist, who was quite drunk. Granin told Snake about his Bi-pedal Tank which he explains as “a sort of… Metal Gear,” (named so for being a missing link between infantry and artillery) and insulted Sokolov's Shagohod. Granin then gave Snake a key card to help him get to Groznyj Grad, Volgin’s near impenetrable fortress. Granin then told Snake about a secret tunnel that runs around the perimeter of the base. Afterwards Snake left and headed towards the mountain Krasnogorje to meet up with EVA. As he walked back to the warehouse he passed earlier, he is ambushed by The Fear. Once The Fear was beaten he carried on towards Krasnogorje.

After leaving the warehouse again through the door he could only now access thanks to Granin, Snake was called by EVA to tell him that The End was waiting for him up ahead. On his way through the jungle Snake heard The End calling out to him, saying theirs will be a grand battle. After a long and tiring battle in which The End was eventually defeated, the way to Krasnogorje was opened up and Snake makes his way to the mountain to meet up with EVA. When they met up, Snake saw EVA getting changed and figured out that she was also Tatyana. She then handed him a key that he could use to get into the underground tunnel. Snake stepped out onto the mountain side, and caught a good view of Groznyj Grad. He looked through his scope, and saw Volgin pummeling away at an oil canister, with blood seeping out the bottom. When Volgin hit it up into the air, Snake noticed Granin’s lifeless body fall out of it.

On his way to Groznyj Grad via the tunnels, he was confronted by the last member of the Cobra Unit, The Fury. After yet another battle Snake defeated The Fury and was chased into another tunnel by blazing trails of fire caused by The Fury's exploding corpse.

Snake then headed up a ladder, infiltrating the heart of Groznyj Grad. Snake proceeded to locate and knock out Major Ivan Raidenovich Raikov, in order to use his clothes as a disguise and get closer to Sokolov. After finding him he obtained the launch data for the Shagohod and told Sokolov that he plans on destroying it. But as he went to leave he was caught by Volgin and The Boss. He was then captured and tortured by Volgin shortly after Volgin killed Sokolov. A while later Volgin cautiously accused The Boss of being a spy and told her that, to prove her innocence, she must cut out Snake's eye. Just as she was about to, Tatyana (EVA) pulled her away, demanding that she stops. Ocelot then accused Tatyana of being a spy and puts her to a test of luck. He juggled his three guns (with one containing a single bullet) and fires one randomly six times. As he was about to shoot her, Snake knocked into Ocelot making him fling one of his guns into the air, and as Ocelot caught it he accidentally shot Snake's right eye out. The Boss then shot a transmitter into Snake's leg, and gave him an unloaded SAA without anyone noticing.

Snake then escaped from Groznyj Grad with the help of EVA, and made his way into the underground sewer system being chased by Ocelot and his Ocelot Unit. Just as they caught up with him he leaped off a drainage waterfall into the river below. He started drowing and had a near death experience in which he met The Sorrow, who showed him the souls of everyone he had killed during the mission. Snake passed the Sorrow's test by escaping their restless spirits and awakened, choking on water below the surface of the river. Having drifted much further downstream, he swam to the riverbank, and went on to meet up with EVA in a nearby cave. She gave him some stolen C3, and told him he could use it to blow up the Shagohod. Snake headed back into Groznyj Grad.

Once inside he planted the C3 onto various liquid fuel containers scattered around the Shagohod’s hangar before being spotted by Ocelot and Volgin. Volgin declared that he had discovered that Tatyana was a spy and explained to Snake about The Philosophers Legacy, a vast sum of money collected by the most powerful men in Russia, America and China, known as the Philosophers. Snake and Volgin then fought and Snake valiantly defeated Volgin and escaped from Groznyj Grad with EVA, just as the C3 went off. But on their way to the exit of Groznyj Grad, the Shagohod burst from the hangar, with Volgin in the driver’s seat. He then chased Snake and EVA out of Groznyj Grad and the two managed to blow up a bridge outside of Groznyj Grad (which EVA had planted C3 on earlier) hoping to take the Shagohod with it.

At first it seemed they were successful but the Shagohod shot out of the water and onto the cliff where Snake and EVA were. Snake and EVA then drove around the Shagohod, destroying it’s main controls. Volgin then stepped out of the Shagohod, ripping various cables and holding onto them, using his bodies’ electrical current to control the Shagohod. Eventually, Snake shot Volgin and Volgin stopped, having become quite exhausted. A storm had formed around them, and from it a thunderbolt struck Volgin. This caused the bullet bandoliers he had strapped around his chest to explode, killing him in the process.

Snake and EVA then headed to the WIG they planned to escape in. Snake then left EVA temporarily, in order to go and fight The Boss. The Boss talked told him about how she once had a child on the battlefield, and how that child was taken by The Philosophers. She also explained how she picked him as a pupil because they were both Atomic test subjects, as well as infertile. She explained that she was the first American to be sent into space, and how it was kept a secret from the public. She then declares that Snake’s mission is to defeat her, whether he wants to or not. It is his mission, and he must see it through, and whoever wins will also win the title of Boss. The two then have a huge and epic battle, both of them putting their heart and souls into the fight. Snake eventually defeated The Boss and they share a final moment together before she requested that he shoot her with her own gun, The Patriot.

Snake then went to the WIG to leave with EVA, but as they were leaving Ocelot arrived and challenged Snake to one last duel.

"You're not a snake and I'm not an ocelot. We're men with names. My name is Adamska. What's yours?"

- Ocelot

"John"

- Naked Snake

"Very well, John. Plain name, but I won’t forget it."

- Ocelot

After the two draw, Ocelot jumps out of the plane. Then after near collision with the mountains, they are intercepted by two armed Mig-29s ready to shoot them down, but soon disengage after receiving direct orders from Kruschev. When they get to Alaska they joke and share a night of passion together. The next morning Snake awoke, only to find an audio message waiting for him. It was left by EVA and she explained that, from the beginning she was a Chinese-American spy, sent by The Philosophers to get the Legacy back for China. She then explained about the true meaning of The Boss’ last mission.

From the beginning The Boss knew that she was to fall to Snake. Her final mission, given by the U.S. government, was to be killed by her most beloved pupil. That was her mission, and she saw it through to the end, like a true soldier. Snake was arranged to see President Lyndon Johnson. Johnson awards Snake the title of Big Boss, and offers his hand for a handshake. Big Boss reluctantly shakes his hand, and turns away. The director of the CIA also offers his hand, but Big Boss leaves. Devastated, he goes to The Boss’ Grave which reads “A Patriot, Who Saved The World.” Big Boss laid down a flower, the same ones that were at the field where they fought and he also laid down The Patriot, The Boss’ gun. He salutes as tears began to fall down his face.

After the credits rolls, Ocelot is heard talking with the head of the CIA, stating that the copy of The Philosopher’s Legacy handed to Big Boss (which EVA eventually stole) was a fake. Ocelot anticipated that EVA would steal it and gave Big Boss the fake. The Legacy makes its way back to America in the hands of Ocelot, who was triple crossing Volgin and the CIA. He is actually a soldier of The Philosophers, and he planned on using the money to revive their American faction.

Theme
The major theme in MGS3 is "Scene" - The climate in which events occur and the impact it has upon them. In contrast to "Meme" and "Gene" themes of MGS2 and 1, respectively, Scene deals heavily with Relativism - That is to say that things change from a point of view, and events change based on the climate surrounding them.

The Boss is the major illustrator of the "Scene" theme. Her speech before the last battle of MGS3 poses the dramatically ironic point that in the Twentieth Century, America and Russia may no longer be enemies. The Boss is a victim of circumstance. Her "scene", Cold War Era America, forces her to, ultimately, give her life. Naked Snake is forced to kill his former mentor due to a "Scene" he not only has no control over, but has no knowledge of.

All the major characters of MGS3 are affected by the scene. EVA is forced into a deadly game of espionage in which she falls in love, ultimately causing heartbreak. Sokolov is forced to build weapons as a result of the climate of fear and deterrance, which nearly led to his death. Volgin becomes consumed by power due to the legacy he inherits. The "Scene" of the Cold War consumes him, turning him into a madman consumed by the desire to 'win' the Cold War - by deposing Khrushchev and creating the perfect weapon. He also suffers death from the "Scene".

The Sorrow is a foil through which the tragic scene of The Boss is shown. The Cold War, the "Scene" that splits the Cobra Unit apart, causes The Boss to kill her former lover. The Sorrow refuses to let go, clinging to the place - the "Scene" - where he was killed.

Re-release
In 2006 Konami released Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. This release was the 'Directors Cut' in which the game had the 3D movable camera similar to Portable Ops. The package also had Metal Gear Online add-on as well as the first release of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake outside of Japan. In the limited edition, there was also a 3 hour cut of the game sequenced as a film edited for the purpose of being viewed by those who were unable to finish the game, but still wanted to know the story. If pre-orders were made, then it was bundled with the Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1 documentary set.

The Japanese recieved the 20th Anniversary edition, which includes all games from Metal Gear to Metal Gear Solid 3 and Portable Ops.

On March 18, 2008 Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence was released for the Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection but had certain specials removed such as Metal Gear Online.