Rugged James Bond in HD
Metal Gear Solid 3 HD Edition is bundled as part of the MGS HD Collection and MGS Legacy Collection. This MGS3 Subsistence version with few removed features like the special movie/trailer section and the Guy Savage nightmare scene.
The game is set in 1964, Cold War era. The prologue scene is Virtuous Mission where Naked Snake (not Solid Snake) is tasked to rescue a scientist named Sokolov and escort him out of Russia. Then suddenly Snake's mentor, The Boss arrived in the scene revealing that she defected to the enemy along with her Cobra Unit. Snake failed but Major Zero, his commanding officer have one last mission from the government for Snake to complete. The operation's name is Snake Eater and Snake's objective is to rescue Sokolov, destroy the enemy's secret weapon, eliminate the Cobra Unit and kill The Boss.
The story is awesome. It's full of deception and conspiracy with lots of twists. It's like a rugged and extreme version of James Bond.
GAMEPLAY
MGS3: Snake Eater's gameplay and standard elements (like the codec) stays the same if you played MGS and MGS2 with new gameplay mechanics. The Subsistence version have lots of improvements/tweaks from the already impressive MGS3 gameplay. The HD edition doesn't offer anything new but it gives you much better gaming experience.
It's now in 3rd person (back of person) view, you can switch to overheaded view by pressing R3. First-person aiming is still the same in MGS2, pressing R1 to enter first-person view, then L1 to aim and hold the gun's trigger by soft-pressing Square, hard pressing the Square button then releasing it will fire your weapon. It's cumbersome in today's standards, but in the PS2 era this is effective especially on holding up enemies.
MGS3 introduces CQC, an effective form of hand-to-hand combat. You can now grab enemies and interrogate them by pressing and holding CQC button (Circle), then pressing L3. Throwing and taking down enemies is now more effective by going near the enemy (tilting the Left stick) and pressing the CQC button. CQC have different moves for you to try on the enemies.
This game is about Snake's survival so MGS3 now have a Menu screen that can be accessed by pressing Start button. The menu is called the Survival Viewer. I will be discussing the most used categories in this menu. Trust me, you'll be accessing this menu alot.
You can equip/unequip the items and weapons you need/don't need by selecting Backpack. Now your equipment in your HUD will not be as long as the item/weapon list in MGS1 and MGS2.
Snake will eventually get injured and sick that will restrict/reduce Snake's HP recovery and maximum HP. This is where you need to use Cure menu. Here you can treat Snake's injuries by using lots of first aid items like, sutures, medicines, ointments, bandages, etc. Every type of injury/sickness is different so treatment method is also different. For example, Snake got a broken arm, you're only going to need splint and bandages to cure it.
Asisde from getting sick and injures, Snake can also get hungry and tired that will degrade his performance, this can be monitored by looking at the stamina gauge below the HP bar or just simply hearing his stomach growl. Selecting Food from the menu will take you to food selection screen. Food inventory can be stocked by pickuping rations or by capturing/killing animals in the jungle. Eating foods will restore Snake's stamina gauge but some animals and plantlife can be bad to Snake, and also some food will get rotten if left in stock for a long time.
Another new to MGS3 is the Camouflage. Snake's mission involves passing through the jungle and infiltrating buildings. This camo system will help Snake to sneak pass enemies easier. Snake will find lots of camouflage uniforms through his mission. Every type of camo raises Snake's camo index the higher the percentage the more harder for the ememies to spot him (except for dogs). These uniforms are effective on certain terrain or environment, so you'll be switching uniforms often. Camouflage have two types: face camo and camo uniform.
Oh, there are no Soliton Radars here, well because it's 1964 and they still don't have the tech to make one. You are only provided with standard radars and motion sensors.
GRAPHICS
Now that MGS3 is in HD, it now run at silky smooth 60 frames-per-second without any slowdowns. The HD version is now have clearer view, the environment looks sharp and the 3D character models looks good. And the game looks like it a very early PS3 game. That blurry effect is now gone too, so it's easier to spot enemies from a distance and small critters and plant-life are now a bit easier to find.
Cutscenes are now in full screen but can also be shrunk down just like how the Ps2 version cutscene look like in the options menu.
One thing I noticed in this game is that the character's lip-syncing is weird. No facial motion capture done here. It's like when a voice actor speaks, the character's mouth will open contiuously until the sound of the voice actor stops... kinda like a toy that can only move by hearing a sound. To prove it, try accessing the Healing Radio on the codec, select a music then zoom-in Snake by pressing R3, you'll notice that his lips is moving while the music is playing.
MUSIC
The game's awesome music is composed by long time MGS soundtrack composer, Harry Gregson-Williams. The music selection very old-school and it'ss fitting to the game's timeline. The intro music, Snake Eater, makes you want to wear a suit/tux.
REPLAY VALUE
The game encourages multiple playthroughs. After completing the game you will unlock items and weapons. There are lots of hidden Kerotans that needs shooting to unlock a special item for Snake to use in the new game plus, they're really hard to find. There are also lots of rankings to achieve that will also unlock some items/weapons.
This game also have the classic Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid snake that can be accessed in the main menu.
The HD version doesn't have Snake vs. Ape mode.
CLOSING REMARKS
If you're one of the unfortunate ones that didn't have the chance to play MGS3 on the PS2 and have a Ps3/XBox 360 then here's your chance. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD still not only retains the charm and greatness of the old version but also enhances the graphical, visual quality and performance of the game, giving it a new life. There are some small elements removed but the main game is still intact. I just wish they included some new stuff like new camos/skins in the HD version.
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