Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

"One of the PS2's greatest games ever gets better."

Metal Gear Solid is perhaps one of the best series of all time. The first installment for the PS1 was so successful due to the unique gameplay. The game was a third person shooter in which stealth elements was used to infiltrate an enemy base and complete your mission. This of course, was accompanied by an amazing storyline, top notch graphics and sound, and an odd (yet much needed) sense of humor. The second game, MGS 2: Sons of Liberty debuted on the PS2 and was also a hit. The game used similar gameplay mechanics as the first and featured a more compelling storyline. Then came Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. What made this game so unique was the real element of stealth no game managed to capture. Using the jungle setting and camouflage to your advantage, the game created a thrilling and fun adventure any PS2 owner should experience.

Before jumping into Subsistence, lets talk about Snake Eater. Snake Eater takes place in the 1960s during the cold war. The game is a prequel to MGS1 and MGS2, so don't worry newcomers. I won't spoil the story for you, but it is absolutely AMAZING. The game takes place in various outdoor environments in Russia. This gives the gameplay so many opportunities, and SE takes full advantage of them. Some of the features of the gameplay are a Stamina meter (players need to eat to keep there stamina high, hence the name Snake Eater), Camouflage (various camos and face paints can be equipped to conceal yourself with the environment), Survival Viewer (players need to cure themselves of ailments), CQC (a Close Quarters Combat system), and much more. The game is a third person shooter with an option to go into first person view temporarily. The graphics and the environment is the best the PS2 has to offer, and the sound effects, voices, and various music scores are brilliant. In short, Snake Eater itself is one of PS2's best games of all time.

Subsistence essentially is Snake Eater, but remade and "perfected". The game comes with two discs packed full of awesome features. The first disc named "Subsistence" features the full Snake Eater game. The most notable change is the new (and much needed) camera view. Instead of using a fixed perspective, the player has full 360 degrees control over the camera. Especially in this type of game, the new camera mode changes the gameplay for the better. The player can now see more of the environment much more easily. Upon starting the game, new difficulties are available such as European Extreme (being spotted results in a game over). This disc also features a "demo theater" mode. This is essentially all the cut scenes from the game put in chronological order. For a game that literally has a cult following, this is a much welcomed feature. There are also new camouflage up for download.

The second disc is named "Persistence". In this disc is a slew of new features. One of them would be the "Secret Theater" mode, a bunch of MGS parodies. This disk also contains emulated versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the MSX (never released outside of Japan). Snake Vs. Monkey also makes a return with new levels. In this mode, you control Snake and help him on his mission to capture the monkeys from Ape Escape. The duel mode is also thrown in from the PAL version of Snake Eater.This mode allows you to take on any boss you want instantly, with nice rewards. And finally, the most anticipated feature of the entire game: Metal Gear Online.

Metal Gear Online features five different modes where players compete in some very awesome matches. The game plays just as the story mode does, in third person. The first two modes are Death Match and Team Death Match. In Death Match players duke it out within a preset time period, most kills win. In Team Death Match, each team has a preset amount of "tickets". Every death results in a loss on one ticket. When there are no tickets left, you lose. The next mode is capture the uh.... frog... There is one frog in the entire map and one team must procure it with the help of the radar and bring it to their base. The team that can keep the frog at there base for a straight 20 seconds wins it. The next mode is Rescue Mission. In this mode, one team must protect the duck (don't ask) and the other must capture it and bring it to there base. The catch is once your dead, your dead for good. Either protecting the duck for the preset time limit, killing the opposing team, or capturing the duck gives you a point. The last mode is Sneaking Mission. You're Snake taking on the "enemies". You're objective is to capture a microfilm and bring it to one of two bases. If you die in the process, someone else becomes Snake. Fun stuff.

We know the features for online, but does it really work out? The answer is yes. Thanks to the broadband only rule, there is no lag for the most part. Weapon balancing is nice too. People running around looking to keep the fire button held down will be greeted by some nice CQC (Close Quarters Combat) action. The game also keeps nice and detailed stats and whatnot as well as a friends list/black list. Most important of all, it's fun. Especially for MGS fans.

However, online does have it's flaws. Although the online mode is user friendly, setting it up for hosting is not. The game requires basic router skills to set up hosting, and apparently not much have this. If the host abandons the game, the game ends for everyone. And this happens a little to frequently. When there is lag, it's bad. Lag usually occurs in CQC situations and some...weird stuff can happen. Only 8 players can play in one game. While this isn't that bad, it should be able to contend with other online shooter's 16 players. The maps can feel cluttered as well, but have overall nice design.

There is also a Limited Edition, that features a third disk with a 3 hour Metal Gear Movie and some fancy packaging. We won't get into that, as I don't own it and is almost impossible to get unless you want to dish out 120 USD on eBay.

Graphics- Hands down, the Best the PS2 has to offer. The environments are also so lively and all of this transfers nicely to the online mode.

Sound- An original music score, top notch sound effects, and excellent character voices. The ability to chose your soundtrack online is nice too.

Gameplay- The story mode has excellent gameplay with unique features such as the CQC system. The new camera mode kicks ass.

Lasting Appeal- Do I have to sum this part up? Amazing story mode, secret and demo theater, Duel mode, Snake Vs. Monkey, MG 1 and 2, and Metal Gear Online!

Overall- This game is possibly one of the best games of all time. With an amazing story and all the blemishes of SE fixed, this truly is a masterpiece. 9.7/10

Buy or Rent?

I recommend this game to all action/adventure lovers. At 30 USD, this is practically a steal! For any MGS fan, this is worth it even if you own SE. For all newcomers, don't miss out on this game! You won't need to know MGS1 and MGS2's story as this is a prequel. Buy!!!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/20/06