Good
- the voice acting is top notch
- very strong and interesting narrative. A lot of twists and turns.
- stealth gameplay is revolutionary for its time
- graphics are phenomenal for its time. A lot of attention to detail.
- there are neat little things snake can do that makes the gameplay unique. Like using ketchup to trick guard. And other little things.
- a large variety of items that help with various things that we take for granted in other games, like taking medicine to steady your scope, and gas mask
- characters had a lot of depth. Their personalities and dialogue really pull you in.
- Each villain had something about them that made them human, and each had a reason to be where they are. You see another side of them. You learn they aren't all bad, and the root of their evil doings was due to their up bringing.
- Being able to communicate with your team constantly throughout your missions gives a sense that you aren't alone. I liked how Mei Ling would drop some words of wisdom from ancient Chinese teachings.
- despite the controls and attacks being pretty basic, some of the boss fights were surprisingly enjoyable
- Psycho Mantis fight was especially cool cause of the breaking of the 4th wall
Bad
- controls can feel clunky and unresponsive at times. Sometimes because of the camera angles. Namely the final boss fight.
- adding a shortcut for a favorite weapon/item or two would have been nice. Scrolling through the item select can feel like a nuisance at times
- inability to skip some dialogue scenes made re-doing battles a little annoying, like Psycho mantis
- some traps were impossible to spot cause of the placement and the camera angle, like I'd walk in a room and immediately get shot cause there was a mounted gun around the corner in a blind spot
- not having a map of the area made backtracking a little confusing. When the hint was the name of an area I visited like an hour ago, it doesn't really help cause I've already passed like 5 different areas.
- there are a number of things the game doesn't explain, but should. Like being able to pick up claymores by crawling.