Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

1. Official Site
2. Platform: PS2
3. Publisher: Konami
4. Developer: Kojima Productions
5. Release Date: 03/14/06
6. Genre: Action/Adventure

by Mitch Youngblood

It is a sincere hope of mine that Hideo Kojima continues to make espionage films for a long time, especially since he appears to have switched over completely from the games industry. Watching Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence was an interesting experience made all the more riveting by actually getting the chance to participate in a few heated and well choreographed boss battles! On occasion I even was able to move the main character Snake through various jungle environments and buildings while dodging patrols and interacting with the supporting cast via the radio.

It has been a while since I visited the world of Metal Gear so this flashback to the early 1960s felt like a terrific way to establish back stories for everyone in the saga. At no point did it feel like I was playing a game so Kojima should absolutely pat himself on the back for creating a (borderline) interactive film that in no way put this reviewer to sleep at least three times. Kudos all around!

Konami has now issued a double-dip for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in the form of Subsistence. It is extremely cool to have the original Nintendo Metal Gear games on the second disc, as well as additional online modes and various downloadable camo patterns, but does the addition of a controllable third-person camera (a series first) to the game and a few extras on a bonus disc justify a re-purchase?

It appears that even after all this time the PS2 remains capable of beautifully rendered visuals because Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is gorgeous. The cinematics are exceptionally realized and the missions themselves are very well done. Kojima and his team took the concept of using the environment to enhance your options for stealth and ran with it. Snake has several camouflage options and more that he’ll find through the course of the game and part of the challenge is knowing when to mix and match what you’re wearing with where you’re standing.

Whenever Snake lays on the ground and crawls into a duct or through a patch of grass the camera shifts to a first-person view. It’s at this time when you can watch individual blades of grass sway with the breeze or rustle on account of a snake slithering through them. Old and decayed buildings look like the jungle has swallowed them because they feel appropriately run down and rusted out. The attention to detail on even the slightest of things is great, and it all combines to give Snake’s world a realism that especially helps when the game ventures close to the supernatural. It should come as no surprise that some of Snake’s opponents have "special" abilities and if things were less well-rendered then it could have been a deal breaker. As things stand the visuals perfectly compliment whatever is on screen at any time regardless of how off kilter they may appear.

This series is all about mixing in a hearty dose of melodrama with high tech and it would all flounder if the script wasn’t delivered with the utmost conviction. Everyone brings their A-game to their readings especially David Hayter who returns as the voice of Snake. Since he’s technically playing a different version of Snake, he has been given a little more leeway in how he explores the character and Hayter surprisingly slips some nuanced work into the game. Snake needs to know why he should be on the battlefield other than merely following orders and Hayter does terrific work convincing us of Snake’s struggles with himself and the situations he winds up in.

He’s matched by Neil Ross as Colonel Volgin and Lori Alan as The Boss who both turn in equally solid performances. Ross is a hoot as the electrifying Volgin who’s gone mad with his lust for power and never can resist the chance to show off. He never comes off as anything less than ruthless and is so wonderfully over the top that one imagines Ross giddy at the opportunity to pole vault over his role. Alan is a little different though as Snake’s former mentor. She’s given the trickier role as someone who wants to do right by Snake, but also do right primarily for herself. Her interactions with Snake are among the highlights of the game, and Alan gives a superb performance.

The sound effects and music are also used well throughout even if it sounds a little cartoony when a guard reacts to something that falls behind him. Alerts, gunfire, ambient jungle noises (including one used in the movie Predator), and the sound of Snake crawling on the ground are all well integrated into the film… uh, game. The cinematics are not only a visual treat but the sound effects are equally fantastic. I loved an early moment when a femme fatale introduces a villain to her motorcycle for a lot of reasons but the way the bike roared and thumped according to what was on screen was priceless.

The controls take some getting used to because they’re not what the standard PS2 control scheme is. I don’t know who it was that felt the circle button should be the activate button and the X button should be the back button but that’s not funny. My Fair Lady wondered why my face had turned red before I even began playing and I replied that I’d been going in circles for the last few minutes with the menus just trying to start the game. Had there not been a manual included I might still be stuck there.

The button scheme changes based on the conditions Snake finds himself in so it pays to mind your surroundings. Hitting the X button in the field will drop Snake to a crouch and pushing forward on the analog stick will drop him to his belly. But if Snake is up against a wall he will flatten himself against that if you press X. Also, X will take you back to the previous menu if you are browsing through the Start menu. Just FYI.

The circle button is for close combat fighting and rapidly pressing this in hand-to-hand scenarios leads to great combo moves. The R2 button will open up Snake’s weapons menu and the L2 button will open up his items menu. Simply hold either button and move the appropriate analog stick to switch between items then let go of the button and Snake will be armed with his weapon or item of your choice. The triangle is the action button which activates Snake’s climbing a tree should it be covered in vines, and it also opens lockers and doors. The square button fires Snake’s weapons or brings his knife into play. Overall, the control scheme feels more than a little cumbersome and it’s disappointing that it wasn’t designed to be more intuitive. Working to recall what button does what while you’re face down in the mud and two guards are slowly but surely walking up to you and a poisonous snake crawls past you is not the stuff of fun gaming.

As previously stated, there is a heck of a story here that doesn’t wallow in the techno-babble melodrama of the previous installments. The story is sure not lean but it is very serious and delivers on thrills and emotions from start to finish. The caveat being that at no point does it feel like you’re playing anything other than "connect the cutscenes." Do we as gamers really gain anything from watching a young Revolver Ocelot spin and twist his revolvers around for close to two minutes straight? Is it entertaining for at least the first 60 second? Absolutely. But it’s this sort of thing that crosses the line between enhancing the story and over-indulgent film making.

Here’s a word problem for the mathletes in the audience. If I’ve just come out of a 10 minute cutscene and it takes me only 12 minutes to sneak through a building before the game kicks off another 10 minute cutscene, have I been playing a video game or an interactive anime?

What game play is here is vintage Metal Gear because if you are not as stealthy as a ninja you will soon find yourself looking at the Game Over screen. The guards in every situation are perfectly spaced so that gamers are always on their toes yet retain some flexibility if they are very patient. Gamers who come fresh to this series without ever experiencing it will be in for a surprise if all they’re used to is first-person shooters. It is very possible to sit still for several minutes as you wait for a particular guard to cross a bridge or get close enough for you to sneak up behind him and sack him. This would be fantastically challenging if the maps were larger. The good news is that each map is extremely detailed complete with several ways of approaching your objectives so variety remains the spice of Snake’s life. People can also choose to sneak past guards, hit them from a distance with a tranquilizer, or launch a full on assault with guns blazing.

The 1960s setting is brilliantly utilized in the game world because there are few if any items that could upset the game’s balance. If you have to pull out the big guns then you probably did something wrong. The way Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence sets up levels where you truly need to use your wits and stealth feels like an intensive puzzle game with knives. It would have been nice if the ability to interrogate soldiers played a bigger role in the game because while you might obtain a code from every one out of five soldiers the rest of the time Snake is just taunted. It’s also too easy for great details to slip by unnoticed. For example, if you have some explosives you can destroy a nearby ammunition or food shack that affects the guards’ performance.

If only this were a game where the focus was on such wonderful elements and didn’t spoon feed the entire storyline to you (complete with flashbacks to scenes players will have just seen)...

The wonderful story by Kojima and his team is absolutely worth revisiting, and I have high hopes that someday it will see its way onto DVD. Until then, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence will have to do so I will content myself with running through maps to get to watch the rest of the story. Each of the bosses is a fun mini-game by themselves and as usual all of them are elaborately crafted puzzles.

The gameplay itself is fun while it lasts but there is far too little of it for true stealth fans to enjoy. The reasons to hang onto this game are to enjoy the cinematics, the presentation and the chance to play the first two Metal Gear games ever. This is a great throw back for those of us who remember what a big deal it was to actually be penalized for shooting things on the original Nintendo system.

It absolutely boggles my mind that anyone could find watching a game for 10+ hours and interacting with it for less than half that a quality game. Kojima and his team created a high-tech choose your own adventure where everything follows a indulgently written script and the only difference the player makes is how the main character physically advances from point A to point B. While that may be true of any other game the veil of hiding the rails is completely lifted with this title.

There is a heck of a good story on display in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence that is expertly crafted and well told through the (endless) cutscenes. But to go so far as to call this a game borders on insulting. With a little more work, Kojima may as well have reduced the interactivity down to hitting the directional buttons on your DVD remote ala Dragon's Lair. The next game in the series may as well be that limiting because if this one were any more limiting on the amount of interactivity, I could have easily paused the movie then fixed something to eat in the kitchen or done the laundry.

If you already bought this when it was called Snake Eater, then the bevy of extras may entice you to upgrade your game library with this one. As a DVD collector who is sick to death of studios double-dipping us ten months after the first version streets this reviewer would like to warn everyone that this one is more of the same with a few extras thrown in to make you buy it a second time. Personally, I see nothing here that makes the original pale in comparison.

Gaming Trend Score

79

1. Graphics: 95
2. Audio: 95
3. Controls: 80
4. Gameplay: 65
5. Value/Replay: 75
6. OVERALL:79