Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (メタルギアソリッド3 スネーク・イーター) (commonly abbreviated as MGS3) is a stealth action game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed and published by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan for the PlayStation 2. It was released on November 17, 2004 in North America; December 16, 2004 in Japan; March 4, 2005 in Europe; and March 17, 2005 in Australia. The game, which serves as a prequel to the Metal Gear series, was followed by a direct sequel titled Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, which was released for the PSP in North America and Japan in 2006 and Europe and Australasia in 2007.

Set in Cold War-era Russia, the story centers on FOX operative Naked Snake as he attempts to rescue a weapons designer and sabotage an experimental superweapon known as the Shagohod. While previous games were set in a primarily urban environment, Metal Gear Solid 3 adopts a 1960s Soviet jungle setting. While the setting has changed, the game's focus remains on stealth and infiltration, while still retaining the series' self-referential, fourth wall-breaking sense of humor. New gameplay elements are also introduced, such as CQC and camouflage.

Snake Eater was critically and publicly received, selling more than 3.96 million copies worldwide and scoring an average of 91% on the review aggregate sites Game Rankings and Metacritic.

Plot
At the height of the Cold War, America's greatest agent, a woman known only as The Boss, defects to the Soviet Union. At the same time, an extremist named Colonel Volgin fires an American-made missile at the Soviet design bureau OKB-754, sparking an international incident. In order for America to clear its name and avoid a third world war, The Boss' last apprentice, a man named Jack, a.k.a. "Naked Snake", is dispatched by special forces unit FOX to assassinate the woman who taught him everything.


 * For a full summary of the Virtuous Mission, see here.
 * For a full summary of Operation Snake Eater, see here.

Theme
The major theme in Metal Gear Solid 3 is "Scene", the climate in which events occur and the impact it has upon them. This contrasts with the "Gene" and "Meme" themes of Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2, respectively. Scene deals heavily with relativism, the idea that concepts such as right and wrong or allies and enemies are not absolute or eternal; but instead are personal and transitive, shaped by our cultures and the 'times' we live in.

The Boss is the major illustrator of the "Scene" theme. Her speech before the last battle of Metal Gear Solid 3 poses the dramatically ironic point that in the 21th 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.

It is worth comparing Big Boss and Solid Snake. We know that Big Boss is a major villain from previous games. However in this game we see he is as much of a good guy as Solid Snake is. Because they are genetically the same they should have turned out the same but their Scene was different resulting in Big Boss becoming a villain from Solid Snake's perspective.

All the major characters of Metal Gear Solid 3 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 deterrence, 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.

Gameplay
Metal Gear Solid 3 's gameplay is similar to that of Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2. Snake, controlled by the player, must move undetected through a hostile, enemy-filled environment. Although Snake acquires various weapons, the emphasis is on using stealth to avoid confrontations. A number of objects and gadgets can be found along the way to aid in this, including motion detectors to track hostile soldiers and the Metal Gear series' trademark cardboard box, which Snake can hide under to avoid visual detection. Despite the fundamental similarities, Metal Gear Solid 3 introduces many new aspects of gameplay not present in previous Metal Gear games, including camouflage, a new hand-to-hand combat system called "close-quarters combat" or "CQC", a stamina gauge, and an injury-and-treatment system.

Most of the game is set outdoors in a fictional Soviet Union rainforest, and using this varied environment to its fullest potential is often the key to success. Of the new features, particular emphasis is placed on camouflage and using the jungle environment itself to avoid being seen by the enemy. The advanced radar from previous games has been removed in favor of a simple motion detector and sonar system more suitable for the game's time period.

A percentage value called the "camouflage index" displays Snake's visibility, on a scale from negative values (highly visible) up to 100% (invisible to the enemy). In order to minimize visibility, the player must switch between different camouflage uniforms and face paints to blend in with the environment. Other devices for camouflage, such as a fake "Crocodile Cap" to decrease chances of being detected in water, may also be used, though they must be found by the player as they are hidden throughout the game.

The basic close combat from previous installments has been heavily refined and expanded into the CQC system. When unarmed or using a one-handed weapon, Snake can grab opponents and put them in a chokehold, at which point a variety of actions can be performed, such as choking the enemy unconscious, interrogating them at knife-point to obtain information or slitting their throat. The amount of pressure applied to the button and movement of the analog stick determine the action performed.

While previous games used only a simple life bar, Metal Gear Solid 3 also keeps track of injuries over the entire body. For example, a long fall could fracture Snake's leg, slowing him down until the injury is properly treated with a splint and bandage. Unless these injuries are treated, Snake will not be able to fully recover his health for some time.

The location brings in the need to rely upon native flora and fauna to survive. This is manifested in a stamina gauge, which constantly depletes during gameplay. Failure to restore the gauge by eating has detrimental effects on gameplay, such as decreasing Snake's ability to aim his weapon and being heard by the enemy due to Snake's stomach grumbling. Food can be stored in Snake's backpack until it is needed. However, some types of food rot over time, and consuming rotten foods may result in Snake developing a stomach ache, causing the stamina gauge to deplete faster.

Development
The game was originally supposed to be developed for the PlayStation 3, but due to the long wait for PS3, the game was instead to be developed for the PlayStation 2. From the outset, Hideo Kojima wished to drastically change the setting from previous games in the series. He stated that the jungle setting is what both his development team and the Metal Gear fans wanted. However, he acknowledged that the elements of a jungle environment, such as the weather, landscape, and wildlife were features that would present problems during the game's development. Whereas in previous installments the player starts out close to, or even within, the enemy base, Kojima wished Metal Gear Solid 3 to be more realistic, with Snake starting out miles from the enemy and having to work his way to the enemy encampment.

Kojima commented that the outside environment was very difficult to create. He explained that the reason previous games were primarily set indoors is because the current consoles at the time were not powerful enough to portray a true jungle environment. In contrast with urban environments, the outdoors do not have a flat surface, resulting in Snake having to cross uneven terrain such as rocks, dirt mounds, and treestumps. As a result, the collision engine used in previous installments could not be used, and a new one had to be built. Setting up the motion capture technology to fit with the terrain was also a challenge during development.

With all the features and graphics that were implemented, the game was given a lower frame rate at 30 frames per second, compared to Metal Gear Solid 2 's 60 frames per second.

Many fans wanted Metal Gear Solid 3 to use a interactive camera rather than a fixed camera, but this was ultimately not implemented in the game. Kojima viewed Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Metal Gear Solid 3 as a trilogy, and wished to keep the camera the same as the previous two in order to keep the feel of the three games the same. He did, however, acknowledge that the current trend for video games is to use the interactive camera. This camera was later implemented in an updated version of Metal Gear Solid 3 titled Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and was also implemented in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Kojima designed Metal Gear Solid 3 's boss battles to be different from those in previous Metal Gear games and from any other game. He said that the boss battle with The End best represented free, open gameplay in the game, as the battle with The End is fought in a large, open environment in the outdoors rather than within a building. The player also has the ability to both avoid this boss battle altogether by killing The End earlier in the game; or save and quit during the fight, wait a week, and reload the game to find The End having died of old age. Kojima commented that features like this do not appear in other games.

In one of his blogs, Kojima stated that in early development, the game's storyline featured a space development theme. However, as the game's development progressed that theme lost its significance, so the developers ultimately removed it from the game.

Music
Metal Gear Solid 3 's musical score was composed by Norihiko Hibino and Harry Gregson-Williams, who provided material for both cutscenes and the game itself. The game features a largely orchestrated soundtrack, along with the return of "Metal Gear Solid Main Theme." Hibino wrote the game's opening theme, "Snake Eater", a distinctly James Bond-like vocal track performed by Cynthia Harrell. Composer and lyricist Rika Muranaka provides a song called "Don't Be Afraid" which is played during the game's ending, performed by Elisa Fiorillo.

In a break from tradition, one of the ending themes of the game is not an in-house production, but Starsailor's "Way to Fall." Kojima later revealed in his blog that he originally wanted to use "Space Oddity" and "Ashes to Ashes" by David Bowie for the ending themes because of the space development theme of the game that was in the game's early development. One of his colleagues then advised him to listen to Stellastarr*, though Kojima instead listened to Starsailor. He liked the song "Way to Fall" and chose it as an ending theme.

Reception
MGS3 was a commercial success and has sold more than 3.96 million copies worldwide. Although this is considerably lower than Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, which sold more than 7 million copies, critics were pleased with the new protagonist, after fans were disappointed by Raiden in MGS2.

Metal Gear Solid 3 was critically acclaimed and was given high scores by some of the most prominent gaming critics. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game has an average score of 91% based on 92 reviews. On Metacritic, the game has a metascore of 91 out of 100, based on 68 reviews. IGN awarded the game a 9.6/10 and Edge rated it 8/10. GameSpot, who granted it an 8.7/10, commented that the game is "richly cinematic" and "a great achievement." GameSpy hailed it as "probably the best Metal Gear Solid game yet", giving it a 4.5/5, and Eurogamer called it "overwhelmingly superior to MGS2: Sons of Liberty", giving it an 8/10. IGN users voted it the 5th best game in the 2008 Top 100 list.

Reviewers had mixed opinions about the game's camouflage system. Edge commented that "laying, camouflaged, in short grass inches away from a patrolling enemy is a gripping twist on stealth," while GameSpy criticized it as "just a number to monitor and not a terribly interesting one." Out of the variety of new features, GameSpot called it "the most important and best implemented." The game has also been criticized for its low frame rate, which has been reduced to 30 frames per second, compared with 60 frames per second in Metal Gear Solid 2.

The cutscenes of Snake Eater have been called "visually exciting and evocative, beautifully shot" by Edge. However, they commented that the script "ranges from awkward to awful" and criticized David Hayter's performance as Snake, concluding that the speech of Metal Gear Solid 3 is "not up to the standard of other games, let alone cinema." GameSpot said that some of the humor "falls flat, as if lost in translation from Japanese" and "should appeal to ... hardcore fans but ... takes you out of the moment."

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
In 2006, Konami released Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. This release was the Director's Cut, in which the game had the interactive 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. Subsistence contained two discs, labelled Subsistence and Persistence, with Persistence containing a number of extras not included with Snake Eater. 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 20th Anniversary Edition of Snake Eater released in Japan includes the first disc of Subsistence, with a second disc containing the MSX2 versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, without the other extra game modes that were featured in Subsistence. On March 18, 2008 Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence was released for Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection but left out the second disc, Persistence.

Trivia

 * This is notably the first canonical Metal Gear game to not have a Metal Gear threat (as the Shagohod was actually an entirely different development project from Metal Gear).
 * The song, "Snake Eater" is also a song that can be sung in Konami's Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 for the PlayStation 2.
 * Metal Gear Solid 3 contains many references to musician David Bowie's Major Tom character. Major Zero uses the alias Major Tom briefly, though he mentions its a reference to one of the tunnels in the 1963 film The Great Escape. The Fury is a former astronaut and wears a protective uniform that resembles a space suit. Both his final words, "I'm coming home", and his outfit is a reference to "Major Tom (Coming Home)." Kojima also originally planned to have Bowie's songs "Space Oddity" and "Ashes to Ashes", both of which feature Major Tom, play during the end credits. During an early radio conversation, Snake asks the major, "Can you hear me, Major Tom?", which is a direct quote from "Space Oddity."
 * During the development of Metal Gear Solid 3, Kojima and other staff members were originally planning on visiting the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. to gain more ideas for the Cold War setting of the game, but their plans were put on indefinite hold and eventually cancelled due to the Beltway Sniper Attacks.
 * Originally, Metal Gear Solid 3 was supposed to take place during August 24th, 1963, which was also Hideo Kojima's date of birth. However, he decided to make it a year later in order to factor John F. Kennedy's Assassination into the plot.