The biggest comeback a series could hope for. Metal Gear Solid 3 will be remembered for years to come.
First of all, one of the most important factors in MGS has always been the story. The first Metal Gear Solid for the PSone was a gem, because it did things never accomplished before in a game, using the narrative. It was truly a cinematic experience for its time, with the great voice actors, the visuals, characters, plot twists and awesome original soundtrack. While MGS2 was a great sequel, and was just as anticipated as the first, storyline elements seemed to have gone too far, confusing just about anyone who tried enough to understand it. Now, Kojima wasn't the only writer on the job and something magical has happened.
The story is just amazing. You play as Big Boss in his early years as a CIA agent under the codename Naked Snake, infiltrating a Russian enemy base during the Cold War. You come across some great characters during the game, like EVA and the Boss, possibly two of the strongest and most interesting female roles I've seen in a game to date.
Much like earlier games, the gameplay is comprised of controlling Snake as he completes his mission: Rescue a certain important person and destroy a top secret weapon of mass destruction. Strangely enough, this has always been like the backbone of the series. Luckily, things have been changed dramatically this time around in the gameplay department. Now you really do have to stay out of the enemy's sight, and you'll manage that using camoflague to blend in with your surroundings. But unlike the famous futuristic "stealth camo" from earlier installments, you'll rely on face paint and uniforms to deceive the enemy. You have an indicator that constantly shows you what percentage of visibility. A small percentage means you'll be easily spotted, while a high percentage means you're successfully blending in. This time around you also have to concentrate on survival, but on a whole other level. Snake spends days in the wilderness during the events. You now must hunt for food in order to survive. Just like the bosses in MGS2, you now have a stamina gauge that drops with fatigue. One last new element of survival added is the need to cure your wounds. When severely injured, the only thing that will replenish your health is time. No more magical rations. Eating only fills your stamina. So you can save your progress, turn off the console and when you go back to play hours later, Snake will have healed his wounds. If that takes too long for you, you can cure your wounds using bandages and suture kits in the CURE menú. Wounds stunt your health and makes it harder to recover.
If all of this seems confusing now, it's only because it takes some time to get used to the game's style. What actually may frústrate some players is the difficulty curve, mostly caused by the dynamic controls. They definitely takes some getting used to. Apart from using weapons, Snake i s able to perform CQC (Close-Quarters Combat), a kind of fictional recreation of militaristic judo. It's awesome, but it can be complicated due to the fact that you do all of it with one button. It's all covered in a tutorial section titled "Basic Actions" but to put it simply, depending on how you press the button determines the action. Pressing it repeatedly results in a punch-kick combo. Pressing and holding results in a chokehold and from there you can interrogate the enemy, throw them to the ground or slit their throat, all depending on how you continue.
The audio is absolutely impressive. Sounds of the wild seem to surround you as you play. There is a sense of depth. Sound has become a far more important part of gameplay as well, and your footsteps can give away your location to enemy sentries. To top it off, Harry Gregson Williams has once again composed a spectacular Original Soundtrack for the series. In-game music changes depending on the situation. No music may be present when hidden, while in the middle of a gunfight, or escaping from the enemy, music will kick in, intensifying or fading in correspondence to how the situation unfolds.
The visuals are also amazing. There's just so many things going on that can easily be admired. There are animals moving around on the floor, flying through the sky and swimming underwater. Character models, especially main characters, are well detailed, both in cutscenes and in-game. Lighting effects from weapons, fire, explosions, sunlight, etc. interact beautifully with the environment. Some sections like caves, require you to use a torch or cigar to explore with ease. One standard that has always been exceeded up until now in the series is the tremendous attention to detail. They're very tiny details that add up quickly, like how every character leaves footprints behind that can be seen with thermovision goggles. Gunshots or arrows impact upon the player and can stay lodged in the exact location they hit. They'll stay there until you remove them with your knife in the CURE menu.
Cutscenes can be dreadfully long at times. Naturally, Metal Gear Solid 3 is just like its predecessors when it comes to storyline. Characters spend a lot of time talking and much of that time is spent explaining things. This is great if you're a fan of the story or find yourself enjoying it like I did. Yet I can imagine how it could bug a lot of uninterested or impatient people.
One of the things most worth mentioning are the boss fights. Every boss is unique and require their own strategies in order to win. Without giving out too many details, two great examples of this would be the fight against The End, an ancient sniper who challenges you to test your patience. Here you first track down the enemy, catch him by surprise and attack. In another fight, you blend into your surroundings and take out your enemy in close quarters combat. The variety of action and stealth factors incorporated into the fights, plus the amount of detail put into each one, make them one of the most enjoyable parts of the game.
Wrapping up, I'd say without a doubt that MGS3 is a must play. If you haven't played it yet, you should. It's got some definitive replay value, and some interesting unlockables and bonus material, like a minigame where you race against the clock and capture monkeys like the ones in Ape Escape. Other unlockables include weapons and camoflauge you can use in the game If you decide to play again. If you're not on the PS2 anymore, but you have a PS3, go for the HD Edition. No one should miss out on this game.