Camp Classic: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Yeah, yeah. I know, I'm late to the party. Shush. You may have noticed my first review was a nostalgia classic. This I will remind you that there is no particular sensical order to my reviews. This is not about recent titles as it stands. This is about video games I personally have played from start to finish in recent days.

So let's talk about Metal Gear Solid. I am a total new visitor to this series, so I consulted several friends and web sources to find out more about the chronological order of the games.

I had the Metal Gear Solid HD collection for PS3 for a while, and as a New Year's Resolution, I swore not to buy any more video games until I beat at least 25 existing titles in my collection I had not previously done so.

Which meant I finally sat down and played Metal Gear Solid 3.

I was prepared to consider it all overrated.

Then I heard Naked Snake's voice for the first time. I am now mourning the voice actor change for five. Anyway. 

I discovered a rather interesting story awaited me. It was full of intrigue and conspiracy. At first it just seemed like a spy story set in an alternate version of history. By the way, that itself is ridiculously clever-rather then world building, the world of Metal Gear Solid built around historical events. Where it could get away with it, the game used historical footage. Effective for story telling plus cost saving.

Of course I soon found out there was supernatural/scifi edge to this game I had been engaged in, and a thrilling plot of deception and betrayal. Also there were so many easter eggs I couldn't stop laughing.

At first I was a bit unhappy with the objectification thing (talking about you, Eva). But on the other hand I had to admit. It was damn effective for her purpose, which was distracting Snake. (Nice one, John.) So as a femme fatale spy, flashing her boobies of distraction worked out pretty well.

Also I soon enough learned why everyone says Hideo Kojima is a troll. Between the religion symbolism that was mocked (ADAM, EVA, SNAKE) and something I won't spoil at the end-well, it was clear the game was not meant to be taken seriously.

In other angles it did seem to be taking a crack at James Bond-hell, Naked Snake himself does it at some point.

Game play? Well, you play Naked Snake (John, sometimes Jack) who has been sent to Russia to break out a Soviet spy. (Short version). Where other games focus on beat it up, turn based, or other things-I was shocked by the difference in game play. Camouflage options to help you blend in (which I misused constantly upon realizing I could render John shirtless the entire game-don't judge me), the sneaking factor, and one particular event that made me reconsider how wise it was to randomly kill all the enemies I encountered. (I strongly recommend you avoid killing wherever possible until the point, you will know it).

But the sneaking factor, the stealth function, and the game play itself was all beautiful to me. It was fun, and for me, brand spanking new. I got attached to most of the characters with some exceptions (VOLGIN-or as I call him, Rapey Sadist Pikachu), and was sucked into the story. The graphics were pretty damn spiffy and nothing to shake a calorie mate at. And the music-well, to be fair, they had Harry Gregson Williams do their sound track. The score was fantastic, and the theme song was utterly haunting-one I still listen to constantly. (At this point its been only knocked out of favorite MGS theme by Heaven's Divide-but that's another story).

So now for the official scoring system:

• Game Play: Innovative, interesting, easy to learn, and fun. Two out of two.
• Story: When you're not laughing about how campy it is, you're deeply involved in the characters or wondering what's going to happen next. Two out of two.
• Graphics: These were pretty damn awesome, won't lie. Amazing textures, and careful monitoring to see which camouflage worked best in which terrains. Two out of Two.
• Music: AHEM I mean. It's just. Fantastic. Its haunting, in one particularly long sequence between areas, the theme pops up as this almost echo in the distance. Its beautiful. Two out of two.
• Bonus Round: I mentioned already I got to objectify my male lead, which was nice. I'll take this break to say I personally have no problem with objectification-as long as it goes for men and women. So for all of EVA's sexual angles and flashing skin, during my play through Snake showed a fair amount too. Also, rather important here. I was able to defeat one of the bosses by faking my own death and literally setting his ass on fire. Two out of Two.

Final Verdict? Ten out of Ten for the classic, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.