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Can This Franchise Get Any Better?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 23 / 26
Date: April 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Ever since the first "Metal Gear Solid" brought stealth-gaming, cinematic storytelling, and the franchise to a new level back in 1999, this series has gotten nothing but better. This latest entry is an expanded version of "Snake Eater" (first released Nov. 2004). To all new gamers, do not let this series' long-standing reputation intimidate you. Believe me, this newest entry in the acclaimed series is one for everybody. To anybody who plays video games, this is one to check out.

For the newcomers, the "Metal Gear" games require the player to avoid enemy conflict and reach their objectives through stealth and covert tactics. The previous games took place in more industrial settings like warehouses and weapons factories. This time, lead protagonist Snake must survive the jungle using camoflouge and the utmost caution. But to as much of a stealth game as this is, it also a fierce yet poetic one. From a tense sniper battle in the jungle, to a gruesome and sadistic torture scene. From a deadly escort mission with plenty of carnage, to a one-on-one confrontation amidst white-flowered fields. It's also a pretty damn funny game sometimes. The sexual tension in this game is both alluring and shamelessly exploitve...I'll leave it at that. I must admit that I find the prologue chapter (which will take a new player about an hour to finish) to be kind of dull until its closing cutscene. But be patient, and you will be rewarded.
Playing through the other two "Metal Gear Solid" games makes the story clearer and more meaningful. However, I say with confidence that because "Metal Gear Solid 3" features a more direct plot than the cryptic second title, newcomers should get into this one fairly easily. Honestly, you need not to have played any "Metal Gear" game for this gripping story to make sense. Will you get more out of it as an experienced player: Definitely! Can you still appreciate this exciting, suspenseful, character-driven, and intelligent tale without the background: Definitely!

For those who've already played through "Snake Eater" (the original PS2 version), there is more additional content that is well worth checking out. The most popular addition is a new camera system that allows players to avoid the top-down perspective, and better see their surroundings as if it were a jungle version of "Splinter Cell". Although this makes the game a lot easier to play, some of the presentation is lost. Hideo Kojima created some of these levels with a cinematic flair, and you don't get as much suspense when you can see everything. The good news, which somehow wasn't advertised very well, is that you can pick either camera view whenever you want. You, the player, are in complete control of how you want to play this game at ALL times.

Disc 2 features some excellent content. A new Theater lets you watch some outlandish parodies of some of the "Snake Eater" cutscenes. The CIA Director's revenge on Snake, Snake's HALO dive going terribly wrong, and my personal favorite---Raiden's desperate need for the spotlight and the resulting "time paradoxes" he causes. These alternate reality scenes are hilarious! The complete library of the original cutscense is available on the first Disc from the get-go. There is some Online versus modes that deathmatch fans will love. And for the true "Metal Gear" fanboy - the MSX versions of the first two "Metal Gear" games, which were terribly butchered on the NES (sorry, Nintendo).

So, should those who own the original "Snake Eater" pick up the expanded version of "Metal Gear Solid 3"? My answer is absolutely! Trade in your old copy, and pick up this version immediately. It's very fair-priced for 30 bucks or less, and the Extra content is excellent. I love all of the "Metal Gear Solid" games, in all of their iterations. What's special about this game is that for the third time running, Hideo Kojima's beloved "Metal Gear Solid" franchise surpasses all expectations that I have no doubt that "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" on the PS3 is going to be amazing - such faith in a video game series is rare!

FOR THE NEW PLAYERS
Original versions
"Metal Gear Solid" (PSone, 1999) and (PC, 2001)
"Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" (PS2, 2001)
"Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" (PS2, 2004)

New versions of the old titles
"Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes" (Cube, 2004)
"Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance" (PS2/X-Box/PC, 2002)
"Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence" (PS2, 2006)

A must have for stealth fans

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 27
Date: April 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The Metal Gear series has brought ever-improving fun of stealth combat and intricate plot lines. With Subsistence, you've pretty much maxed out your PS2!

You don't have to have played the previous Metal Gear entries to enjoy this game. It's a stealth shooter much like Splinter Cell. You have a vast array of weapons, are sneaking through jungle scenery and taking out your enemies as stealthily as you can.

The graphics are really quite impressive for the PS2 - perhaps the best they could be. The sun dapples down across the jungle floor. Beams of light shine down through gaps in the trees. Waterfalls splash, leaves wave as you sneak through the canopy.

The character movements are of equal quality. When your character runs, crawls, presses against walls and performs other movements, it really is uncannily like there's an actual person following your directions.

The sound is very immersive. There aren't blaring rock music soundtracks in the background. When you creep through the jungle, listening intently to figure out where the sniper is hiding, you haer your footsteps, the stream gurgling near you, the birds occasionally singing overhead. The smallest sounds can really help you track down your enemy.

It's cool how the game tries to keep things "real". When you find forest animals, you can kill them for their meat. If you get injured, you have to patch it up properly - use serum if there's a poison, dig out any darts, bandage the wound, and so on.

That being said, I do find it really funny that your enemies sit around and patiently wait for you to do these things. I realize why they have to do that for gameplay reasons. Still, when you're facing an arch enemy who is about to pounce on you, it's vastly amusing for you to sit down for 5 minutes and do intricate surgery on yourself - and then use your radio to call in to your friends and chat about strategy options. When you're done, there your enemy is, being a gentleman and letting you get prepared before the assault.

There is a SUPER funny sequence in here when you are talking to a scientist, and he explains the concept of a "metal gear". It is completely nonsensical, which of course makes it so funny. It's one of those classic dialogue sequences that you record to your computer and forward around on the web.

The game really shines in many ways. You have a lot of cool technology at your disposal so you have numerous ways to achieve each goal. You can use your heat sensors ... or motion sensors ... or just watch very carefully with your naked eyes. You can experiment with a variety of camo and paint options to see what helps you best blend into your environment. You can go for a frontal assault or sneak around the back way. You always know what your objective is - but how you choose to achieve it is completely up to you.

As if this wasn't all great enough, there are a TON of extras in this set. There are hilarious extra videos. There are a bunch of online games as well as additional mini-games and older games included for free in the set.

Highly recommended!

One of the best games in recent years...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 22
Date: May 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The first hour or so i played this game i was very disappointed. It starts off extremely slow with a boat load of boring on screen text. Heck, your 'boss' will remind you about 15x that you should use stealth to complete your mission. Yawn...

But when the prologue ends and the meat of the game begins... you are in for a treat.

Everything single part of this game is practically flawless. From the graphics, to the weapons, to the enemy design, to the voice acting, and especially the in game cut scenes.
Some of the cut scenes are so friggin entertaining that its scary. They are so good that they made a special dvd that compilies every cut scene into a feature length film!

Plus, with this special 'Subsistence' edition you will get a whole lot more than the original game. You will get two super old school Metal Gear games for the MSX console which are over 15 years old, bonus 'blopper' movies which are a joy, a light hearted monkey catching game, and more. Getting all of this bonus content for 'free' is beyond awesome.

If youre looking for an action packed, mature, brilliantly executed game than look no further. This game is all you need for pure gaming pleasure.

Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: October 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

MGS3 Subsistence is the updated version of the 2004 gem MGS3 Snake Eater.Everything that was in "Snake Eater" is in this game plus loads of extras let me sum them out for you:

*Metal Gear Online-The MGS series go fully online in Subsistence allowing you to play multiplayer and still download those camos

*New low angle 3rd person camera-now we no longer have the crappy 2D BEV camera from Snake Eater and beyond

*More Snake vs Monkey missions-additions to the minigame from Snake Eater

*Secret Theater-parodies of the cutscenes from the main game.quite funny some of them are.

*Theater Mode-watch all the cutscenes from the main game here.Get them all and you have a peep show with EVA

*EVEYTHING from the main game("Snake Eater") but with the new camera and some graphical fixups such as glitches have been fixed

*The very first Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake from the '80s fun to play, even now 20 years later.

If you have never played MGS3 i urge you to buy this, its completely worth the 30 bucks it has a great story,graphics,music etc combined with these new features.If you've never played MGS, its a sneaking game where you have to try sneak past soldiers to complete your objective.GS3 has the best gameplay by far as you use camouflage to disguise yourself and eat jungle animals to keep your strength up aswell as an advanced combat system called CQC based on real US Army fighting techniques.

The Online play is great even though I've seen better but it stands out as one of the best PS2 onliners.But cheaters and glitchers exist but I still have an occasional blast on the game.

Now I shall rate this game:

Story 9/10
gameplay 8.8/10
graphics 9.6/10
music 9/10
sound fx 8.5/10
camera 8.5/10
Online 8/10
secret theater 8/10
speacial theater 8/10
MG1 and MG2SS 9/10

overall:9.2/10

so add this to your PS2 collection ASAP you won't regret it if you like this kind of game.

MGS goes Fully 3D - Complete Control Over the Camera! (Press R3)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 19
Date: May 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Naked Snake! CQC - Close Quarter Combat Advanced A+

To think I almost gave the original MGSIII Snake Eater 1 star! "Metal Gear Solid 1" October 1998 designed to save the Playstation1 from the Ninento64 "Golden Eye" (released in September 1997) was a new type of `cinematics' game that the N64 cartridge could not do (playback of movie scenes on a disc is "MGS1"), MGS1 is about 4 stars at best or five if you really thought it was the bee's knees, maybe the preferred "Golden Eye" for 5 star treatment. Playstation2 hype, Christmas 2001 "MGS2: Sons of Liberty", created a big five star stomping fan base (see the reviews), but most of us could see how phoney "MGS2" was. I gave "MGS2: Sons of Liberty" 3 stars back then (maybe much less now considering), boring cinematics and constant in-game radio stops made it horribly annoying; flat game play often simply unplayable out of restriction. Quite limited in movement considering the excitement, the character of Raiden was also not Solid Snake either. The oil tanker was cool as a map for the first hour but not the whole game! In 2005 I played "MGS3" for thirty minutes and boxed it shaking my head. I went back to it again for another attempt last week. Let me explain. All is forgiven... and then more some.

The good news is that MGS3: Subsistence is now the first fully 3D MSG game. Press R3 and it is like the camera on Resident Evil 4. Press it again and it reverts back to the fixed camera mode. You can basically see everything you want now. So wow wow wow. "MGS3: Subsistence" is a Solid Five star game, the best MGS experience besides not even being MGS at all at times (this is why it is better), maybe as good as the experience of playing "Half-life 2" till the end, I am not a MGS fan (still not; skipped `MGS2.5: Subsistence' totally) but I played this like it was the best thing since "GTA: San Andreas" or slice bread. The video cut-scenes are the finest on the PS2 yet (or any game for that matter; some elements are PS2 rendered; wear the zombie mask camouflage for best cut-scene effect!), "MGS2" had great graphics, but MGS3 is all about the all-too-very real jungle and wildlife around you (Yes PS2 graphics are nothing compared to a PC ATI 256mb pro card, but Snake Eater lives!) LISTEN NEXT - William Ewart Fairbairn, General List, was born February 28, 1885 in Rickmansworth, Herts, England. Prior to the Second World War, Fairbairn was the Chief Instructor at the Shanghai Municipal Police from October 1907 to March 1940. Fairbairn joined SOE in March 1942 with the rank of Captain, having previously been an instructor at the War Office Special Training Centre in Scotland in July of 1940. He founded CQC (see review title). CQC is employed in MGS3 as a means to effectively fight and ground the enemy with Judo type throws and holds and "Tenchu" style executions, use him as a human shield or interrogate the enemy for mission information (yes you heard right), you can also select several types of camouflage (play `Barbie' every other new area you explore, but still come out feeling more like a man) MGS3 has the most realistic jungle terrain accomplished in a game since "Far Cry", as you crawl your way very slowly through miles of Russian woodland for a few days (literally), also hunting the wildlife to feed yourself and a self-administered x-ray medical scan system that allows you to select treat various wounds with different medic tools, I came out the other side of this EPIC INSTANT CLASSIC thinking that there is a future revolution in gaming waiting to happen as a result of Solid Snake, you should support this game! Why? Solid Snake gets you doing things in the jungle that you have never done before in a `game'. At one stage I could see my own vomit on infrared because of a bad animal I killed and ate. This hot zone gave me away to a sniper called `The End' who eradicated me because of it. Towards the end of the game things get more urban. I hope MGS4 is in Tokyo City but just like the jungle here! I find the following most logical. You must find your own way but - see map, camouflage gear (check halfway through map again), first-person quick look, infrared look, sonar ping, crawl, kill rat food, ping again, crawl slowly to bad guy, CQC grab (Choose CQC mode), interrogate, kill, CQC ground smash three other enemies there and then, hide in bushes, set TNT, crawl away, detonate if bad guys come, eat hunted food, try CQC three more enemy, accidentally fail with CQC on one who alerts six other enemy, take them out with up to twenty weapons of various types or CQC them all, blend into the jungle and run away, the choice is yours until you get to the other end of the map where a video will play and although the story is ten times better than MGS2, it is still Japanese, so these things will always remain illogical to us Westerners, still works better than most PS2 attempts, at times Manga quality, this is one of the most memorable games I have played in my lifetime. Also now that most of the PS2 stealth games have come and gone the jury is in. MGSIII simply owned them all hands down. Now with the new 3D mode it is worth playing it all over again.

Use your sonar, map and equipment and play the game SLOWLY (not GTA madness!) as in crawl for miles and miles in the right frame of mind and you will appreciate how significant things really are. Subsistence also includes MULTIPLAYER and will 0WN YOUR BROADBAND! Given the fact

New Features:
- Fully 3D by pushing the R3 button.
- Demo Theater, Extreme difficulty level, Duel Mode and more Snake vs. Monkey missions.
- More Camouflage and face paints.
- Cutscenes theater parody.
- Plus some other extras.

Pros:
- The first true stealth game you will ever play.
- Likely the last true stealth game you will play until the PS3.
- CQC.
- Russian Jungle

Cons:
- HIGHEST PS2 LEARNING CURVE. Takes hours to break in properly. Intro does not appear until a few hours.
- Does not last forever.

Online Mode, New Extras, and a $30 Price Tag - What Else Can You Ask For?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I heard this game was about to be released, I sold my MGS3:Snake Eater here on Amazon and immediately pre-ordered this game. After playing Subsistence, I can honestly say that it was well worth the money.

The initial main draw for me was the new addition of the Online Mode which has some nice variety in mode selection and a lot of replay value once you get the hang of it. At first I was concerned with the quality of online play mechanics and potential lag, but haven't encountered any serious problems yet! Once in a while you will run across the occasional cheater, but it's not typical of the online experience and you can set the game to boot them automatically. Also, it's very easy to set-up for online play and is free of charge.

But the fun doesn't stop there. The new Boss Battle mode is another great addition. I didn't expect this to be much fun when I first heard about it, but after playing it I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised. In some ways, the Boss Battle mode can be even more addictive than the Online mode.

Overall, this is a great purchase and has a lot to offer, especially at the price tag of $30.00. I can't imagine anyone would be disappointed with this update to MGS3:SE. And if you're looking for something more, you might want to check out MGS3:Subsitence LE, Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1 DVD, and the MGS3:SE soundtrack - all easily acquired on eBay.

Stays true while adding more to the MGS series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: August 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is a remake of the 2004 smash hit Snake Eater by Konami, but with some added goodies. This is cool because Subsistence manages to clear up the confusing storyline of the Metal Gear games, yet manages to set in motion that very same confusion. Superb.

The story of Subsistence/Snake Eater is pretty intense, and would take some time to understand & explain. To put it simply, your character Jack (codenamed Snake but later earns the famous title of Big Boss used throughout the rest of the MG titles) has to basically stop an all terrain nuclear missile launching vehicle named the Shagohod and kill his former mentor who was not only defected but was being blamed for a nuclear attack on a small research facility in Russia. While on that mission he uncovers a huge & complex conspiracy that entertwines the Soviet Union, China, and the United States which affects later games in the Metal Gear saga. You just \have to play the game to really appreciate the story.

The ending of the game will surley touch & play upon your emotions, guarenteed. I actually felt bad ffor Jack when he had to finally take on his old teacher & comrade Big Boss.

The graphics in this game are absolutley some of the best I have seen in any video game. From thick dense jungles, caves, to military complexs all look nearly lifelike - sometimes it is hard to differenctiate between reality and just a video game. The cut scenes look amazing, so much detail was done to each and every character - from hair lengths, eye movements, body language - help to give all characters a unique personality and also help to let the player connect to a certain character. Take when Jack was being tortured by Volgin: I literally felt every blow Jack suffered by the hands of his tourmenter, and felt that I must give Jack the revenge he deserves against this mad man. The Shagohod itself is absolutley a must see..

The music in this game is just like every other Metal Gear - perfect. However, unlike Twin Snakes or Sons of Liberty, this game has more acoustic songs which really help to create an atmosphere of peace & love at times, especially in the FMV sequences of Jack & EVA. Also, Subsistence/Snake Eater has it's own theme song which sounds like something from a James Bond movie... so yeah, it helps add to that whole "stealthy spy" feeling the game is meant to have. Not to mention it just sounds nice to hear.

Its hard to compare Subsistence to any of the other Metal Gear games because it really has it's own style. Sure it has the same idea of being stealthy and quiet while finding weapons & only using them as a last resort, and taking down bad guys. What truley seperates this title from the others are the following: you must find, use, and combine different styles of camo to remain hidden (hence the whole 1 to 2 hour learning curve). Hunt and eat food such as mushrooms, mangos, rabits, and obviously snakes to keep you're stamina up. Take care of wounds you sustain in the battlefield from cuts, burns & broken bones, to hornet stings and food poisioning by using bandages, splints, ointment, serums, etc. A new "free roaming" camera angle that the player can control unlike the "fixed overhead" camera found in the other games. A mini game involving the monkies from Ape Escape. Two old NES Metal Gear games (one that wasn't even released in America). And finally, online capabilities.

To begin, if you have the network adapter for the PS2, you can download new uniforms & face paints to use in-game. Now, for the first time ever, you can challenge other players around the world to either join a team deathmatch, team capture the "Kerotan" (which is this little frog thing..its basically a capture the flag sort of game), free for all deathmatch, or a "Sneaking" game which pits one person playing as Snake against an army of soldiers while trying to capture a Microfilm & bring it back to one of two bases. You can choose a bunch of weapons like a shotgun, handguns, greneades, porn mags, and other items. Along with that you can choose the music you wish to hear (that includes music from the two NES games found in Subsistence, boss battles from Snake Eater, and music from all Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty).

In this game you will see some familiar faces. Some you may like and be interested in, like the young Revolver Ocelot... and some that you MAY not like... like a character who not only looks like MGS 2's Raiden, but is plainly seen as Volgin's man-lover.

Replay value of the game is high only because there is so many things to unlock, different routes to go, different ways to defeat enemies (like draining their stamina instead of actually killing them).. you get the idea.

To sum it up, you NEED to get Metal Gear Solid: Subsistence. I highly recomend it both for its single player campaign & online capabilities.

Worth buying a PS2 for.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: July 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've been a fan of the MGS series ever since I played the first game on my friend's Playstation. I could never afford one until recently, so with my last paycheck I set out to the ol' EB Games and picked up a used PS2 along with Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.

Two weeks, a Maui vacation, and 20 hours of gameplay later, I beat it.

And I am simply stunned.

The gameplay is just amazing. There are so many open ended ways to tackle an objective, and I already want to play through again just to see what I can do differently. Director Hideo Kojima has an obsessive attention to detail, and it shows. Everything in this game looks right, shoots right, sounds right, feels right. The motion-captured cinema scenes are breathtaking. The characters are memorable. The plot is gripping, entertaining, and the ending to this game is one of the most incredible endings I've ever witnessed, be it movie, video game, or novel. Kojima also has a real nack for creating a fun story that pulls off a serious, emotionally compelling message, while injecting it with a good dose of humor. And you've just gotta love the Bond-esque "Snake Eater" theme song. It even starts playing during a few very pivotal sequences in the game, and it just adds to the experience. Must be played to beleived.

Pure Excellent

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is an improved version of the original Metal Gear Solid 3. Now you have the option of playing the game in the orignal top-down view or the third-person view. The third-person view is easier to control and is more realisitic. The biggest improvement is that you can play this game online now, which literally changes the game dynamic. Online games are alot more action/shooting than the single player story mode. Still, its online mode is more tactical than most first-person shooting games on the market. In case, you do not know this game at all. This is a stealth game, and the graphic, voice, action is great. This version has everything the orignal has and more. It also has two very ancient metal gear game from the nintendo era, I mean the original nintendo era.

*Update* Most unfortunately, the online server in North America is closed. We may no longer play this game online. Very disappointed.

You Gotta Play This!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Even though I already own MGS3 Snake Eater I just had to try Subsistence.
It's the exact same game as Snake Eater except with many many more extras. The most noted addition is the new camera. Many people dislike the MGS series because of a clumsy camera and I can understand why. Subsistence did away with the old camera and now a fully controllable third person camera. It plays like a completely different game.
If you are unsure of buying this game or not, I say "Go for it!"

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