People could argue for hours on end about which Metal Gear Solid game was the best. Some would say that the original PS One release can’t be beat; others feel that Peace Walker was a significant move forward for the series; and some will even swear up and down about Sons of Liberty rocking hard, even with the odd inclusion of a nude Raiden. However, most of the consensus believes that Snake Eater, the third chapter in the series, is truly significant, if only because it takes place in a different time, telling the story from a new point of view. And if you somehow missed this story, you have another chance to catch it, this time on the Nintendo 3DS with Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater.
The story is roughly the same as before. Instead of controlling Solid Snake, you’re instead placed in the shoes of an agent back in the 60’s by the name of Naked Snake. His mission is free and clear – in order to prevent fallout that could lead to a nuclear war, he must eliminate someone known as The Boss, who in fact mentored him a while back. But getting to her isn’t easy, as he must also deal with agents within her Cobra Unit, including The Fear, The Sorrow and, in a fight that many feel is one of Metal Gear’s biggest highlights, The End. Yep, all of those moments have been thrown in here.
We’ve already seen reduxes of Snake Eater on other platforms, including Subsistence on the PlayStation 2 and Snake Eater’s inclusion in Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 last year. But this version is different because, well, it’s portable, and it’s in 3D. Konami has actually done a superb job cramming this game into the 3DS, and making it look just as crisp and detailed as the console versions.
But with that cramming comes certain limitations, mainly in pausing. We found ourselves traveling and needing to find a save point for the game, but, unfortunately, between the cut scenes that can’t be skipped and the CODEC conversations that seem to drone on longer than we’d prefer, we ended up having to start the system back up and go back to the last starting point. It would’ve been more convenient for Konami to throw in some kind of quick save feature, so we didn’t have to interrupt the experience or unnecessarily go through it again.
As for the experience itself, it remains truly mesmerizing for dedicated Solid Snake fans. Every bit of the game’s action and stealth elements remain intact, and you’ll still need to think your way through a good portion of its segments, particularly the boss battles. These aren’t just guys you go in blast. You need to figure them out – which is part of Metal Gear’s true appeal. And we like how gyrosensitivity comes into play in certain parts, requiring you to tilt your system to keep Snake from falling off a beam.
In addition, the visuals really do stand out in 3D. Though better manual camera control would’ve been appreciated (it supposedly works better with the Circle Pad Pro, if you can find one), the graphics really shine, with brisk animation, great settings and the kind of elegant design that’s right up Hideo Kojima’s alley. The audio is good too, with plenty of music perfectly suited for the game (love that theme song) and decent dialogue.
We’ve played this game before, so we already know how it ends up. However, even if you think you know everything about Snake, you’ll want to give Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater a chance anyway. Everything stands out better in the third dimension, and the fact the entire experience, for better or worse, is crammed in is really something. It’ll be interesting to see what Konami cooks up next. How about Peace Walker?