Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
Score: 88% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Japan Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 Genre: Stealth/ Action
Graphics & Sound: Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D replicates the classic Metal Gear aesthetic and brings it into the third dimension at the same time. If you played the original release on the PlayStation 2, you have a good idea of what to expect from this game. The jungles of the old Soviet Union are teeming with life, both beautiful and deadly. Naturally, you'll find yourself in military and industrial settings as well. The 3D effect is always a welcome option, but I found myself wanting to turn it off after a while. Don't take that as a knock against Snake Eater 3D's implementation. I honestly feel the same way about most 3DS games. 3D aside, this is still a well-animated game with some really inventive-looking characters. The only real downside to the visuals is the fact that the framerate tends to chug. Save for the obligatory knock against the 3DS's awful speakers, Snake Eater 3D sounds fantastic. The soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams is as exciting and empowering as it ever was. It's lots of classic Metal Gear fare with some jungle motifs thrown into the mix. Of course, the voice acting is excellent across the board. It's unclear when (or if) we'll get to hear David Hayter reprise his role as the gravelly-voiced soldier hero, but he's always fun to listen to. The same goes for the rest of the cast. There are some truly wild characters in this story, and the actors do their best to keep everything believable.
Gameplay: Perhaps it's fitting that the first Metal Gear game to appear on a Nintendo platform in eight years is the chronological first in the series. Yes, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D brings us all the way back to the beginning and reintroduces us to the legend who eventually came to be known as Big Boss. It also offers a unique twist on American history -- something that the Metal Gear series is famous/notorious for doing. The year is 1964. Cold War tensions are reaching a fever pitch. It turns out that the Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved through means other than the ones we were told. Apparently, a defecting Soviet scientist named Sokolov was that means. Turns out, he is instrumental in the completion of the Shagohod, a tank capable of launching IRBMs. With the mind behind the Shagohod back in Soviet hands, the world is teetering closer to the brink of a nuclear holocaust. Enter Naked Snake. He is dropped into the jungle and charged with Sokolov's retrieval. Suffice to say, things don't go as planned and Snake ultimately ends up with a much more complicated mission. I must stop there. Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, being a Kojima product, has an incredibly dense and complicated plot that is impossible to describe in simple terms. You must experience it for yourself, through the multitude of cutscenes and radio conversations. If you don't like watching cutscenes and listening to conversations, you will not like this game. They are too much a part of the experience to skip -- though you do have the option. If you do take that option, you'll find that the gameplay holds up well out of context -- but you won't be getting the complete Metal Gear experience.
Difficulty: Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D is par for the course in terms of difficulty. It's always recommended that you take a stealthy approach to your problems. If you don't, you might find yourself in the Alert phase (or at the amusing Game Over screen) more often than you'd like. Make good use of your tranquilizer darts when you can and shake down your targets to collect resources. Survival isn't as tough as you'd think. Your stamina usually doesn't deplete with any sense of urgency, which makes sense. Think about it: do you have to eat a full course meal every ten minutes? (Don't answer that.) And if you injure yourself or get sick, fixing yourself up is an unbelievably simple process. Perhaps too simple.
Game Mechanics: For the most part, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D is a traditional MGS game. You sneak, crawl, reconnoiter, and use other subtle tactics to get from location to location, pausing frequently for cutscenes and radio conversations. Lethal force is often an option, though it's never the recommended one. Not that you won't get the chance to do some shooting, mind you. Snake Eater 3D's control scheme works well, even without a Circle Pad Pro. Face buttons are an acceptable substitute for stick-based camera controls. The 3DS only has two trigger buttons, so item selection and similar tools are mapped to the touchscreen. This results in a decidedly more clunky experience, but there was no way around it. I remember when Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater came out. The survival-based mechanics were being touted left and right. To be sure, it's a neat concept that hasn't really been seen in other games, but the implementation doesn't go as far as you'd expect the franchise to take it. If you end up with broken bones and lacerations, all you really have to do is go to the Survival Viewer, sift through a menu screen or two, and find the proper item you need. Broke a bone? Use a splint. Cut yourself? Disinfect the wound, sew yourself up, and put a bandage on it. Food poisoning? There's medication for it. I had hoped that the 3DS's touchscreen might be put to interesting use with these applications, but Konami has settled for a straight translation. Oh well. Hunting and gathering food isn't always necessary, but it's fun. As you progress through the game, you'll learn to use your gadgets to spot living creatures. It can feel gamey at times (no pun intended), but it's a fun diversion. It's equally amusing to put poor Snake through the wringer as he eats things that may or may not be poisonous and may or may not taste like pure ass. There's an odd sense of masochistic schadenfreude that comes with it. If you've never played Metal Gear Solid 3 and appreciate video games as a medium for storytelling, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D should be your next purchase. If you have fond memories of the original and would like to revisit it or take it on the go, by all means -- pick it up. It's hard to believe that this game is almost eight years old, but it's good to know that it's still a masterpiece.
-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos
Related Links: Official Website of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D PlayStation Illustrated's Review of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on PlayStation 2 Buy Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D on Amazon
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