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PS2 | Action | Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

Boxart for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence 78 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.5
  • SOUND: 5.0
  • CONTROL: 4.5
  • FUN FACTOR 5.0
  • AVG USER SCORE 5.0
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.7
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Review: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

Review by Sid Shuman | 03/14/2006 | 14:02:13 PM PST

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater gets new content and online gameplay in this tremendous update.

You can sum up Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty in one word: disappointing. The grandstanding storyline -- some crap about life, love, and no more nukes -- seemed strangely out of place in a game chock-full of shooting, stabbing, and bloody-bones butchery. And the less said about pretty-boy protagonist Raiden, the better, thankyouverymuch.

But to the delight of series diehards, 2004's Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater paved a different path, delivering a truly worthy follow-up to the first, legendary Metal Gear Solid. Set in a steamy Russian jungle (who knew Russia had jungles?), Snake Eater's edgy Cold War-era tale advanced the stealth action that made the series famous while shedding more light on the mysterious background of series mainstay Solid Snake.

Now creator Hideo Kojima is back with a companion piece, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. If you missed out on Snake Eater the first time around, you missed one of the top games of the year. Luckily, Subsistence is the perfect chance to play catch up.

"Call Me Snake..."
The core single-player experience of MGS3: Subsistence is not radically different from that of MGS3: Snake Eater. You'll notice a few tweaks here and there -- there are now two new difficulty levels, "Super Easy" and "European Extreme" -- but the overall experience is the same. That's a good thing, as Metal Gear Solid 3 still stands as one of the top action games of all time.

The most noticeable change in the single-player game is the new dual-analog stick camera system. It's a definitely improvement, particularly for players used to more modern action games like SOCOM and Halo. Kojima didn't forget about old-school fans, though, and the traditional top-down camera view is still available. As a whole, the controls feel tight and responsive, and have evolved by leaps and bounds since the early days of the first MGS on the PlayStation. The first-person shooting elements feel slick, though it can be clumsy to rapidly draw a bead on multiple opponents.

Black Mamba
In a series that has so far included giant walking nuclear tanks and computer simulations masquerading as reality, MGS3 sometimes seems downright bizarre. One boss character shoots lightning from his fingertips; another controls swarms of hornets. The characters and scenarios might seem over-the-top, but there's no denying the skill and flair of the MGS3 design team. Even the Hollywood-style cinemas, which weigh in at ten minutes or more at a stretch, are uncommonly fascinating. Melodramatic or not, this is one game with style to spare.

As in the original game, the visuals in Subsistence are stunning. From the truly cinematic in-game movies to the actually gameplay, MGS3: Subsistence is truly one of the best-looking games on the market. Only some slightly boxy-looking designs detract from the sense of really slogging through a vast jungle.

The glossy soundtrack keeps the tension running high, oscillating between urgent staccato beats and shrieking action anthems. The voice acting is predictably professional, though the windbag dialogue and dramatic grandstanding will definitely make you cringe from time to time. Then again, fans will recognize the corny dialogue as quintessential Kojima.


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