by
Ted Kritsonis
Faze Video Game Editor

With a premise that is just like the previous games (averting a nuclear disaster), the era, locales and enemies are what differ this time. It’s 1964, and the Cold War has firmly polarized the world into two camps: East and West. When the CIA discovers that Russia is building a new nuclear weapon, thanks to a Russian scientist the U.S. had to give back as part of the agreement to end the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Snake is sent in to rescue him and destroy the new device.

Snake soon figures out that a renegade Russian group called “The Cobras” threatens to take over the country and launch a nuclear war against the Western world. Wading through the jungle in a remote region of southern Russia, you come into contact with this group, while dealing with everything else like wildlife, fatigue and, of course, patrolling guards along the way.

The key aspect that sets MGS 3 apart is the new list of features associated with Snake’s person. There are a variety of camouflage outfits and facepaint that you can put on him to blend in with the environment. A “camo index” gives you a percentage of how much you blend in with the environment. The higher the percentage, the tougher it is for the enemy to see you.

A stamina meter has also been added, which plays a huge role in the course of this game because it will go down thereby forcing you to eat food to replenish it. So, this means that you’ve got to hunt while in the jungle too. It’s not as hard as it sounds because there are plenty of animals and plants that Snake can eat. Snakes, rabbits, frogs, mushrooms, bats, rats, and the list goes on. There are some packaged foods like noodles and rations that also help too. Not all the food tastes good though, and it will spoil if you don’t eat it soon enough.

You can also heal Snake’s body through the various medical items you have. For instance, if Snake has a burn, you can apply ointment and bandage it up. Broken bones, cuts, gunshot wounds and even poisoning can all be cured — even during a battle. Left untreated, your wounds will eventually drain your stamina, and ultimately kill you, so it’s important to always keep an eye on your health, especially that stamina meter.

Though the enemy AI is sometimes dumber than expected, the lack of any real radar makes movement more difficult than it would be in the previous games. This is why the camouflage outfits are so important to keeping you alive and invisible.

The clipping issues in the game can be frustrating because they can mean the difference between dropping a guy quietly with a tranquilizer and getting caught. One example of this was while lying under a truck, I crawled out enough so that I was clear of the truck’s bumper, fired a shot, only to have it somehow clang off the truck. This obviously alerted the guard I was trying to hit, who then subsequently called in reinforcements.

Despite incidents like that, MGS 3 is one of the best games of 2004. It may have been overshadowed by games like Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but it certainly deserves recognition as one of the best. The story is engaging, the voice acting is excellent, the graphics are beautiful and the gameplay will make it difficult for you to put your controller down. What more can you ask for than that?

Publisher:
Konami

Platform:
PS2

Rating: 9/10