SUMMARY: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is a game worth playing, but it's nothing to write home about.

Gameplay - 5/10
Story - 5/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 9/10
Overall - 6/10

When Bob got me this game for Christmas, the first thing going through my head was; "Oh boy, I'll play this last, since it'll probably be the best game I got this Christmas." Sure enough, it was the last game I played. Just the same, I was disappointed. The last two installments involved a lot more stealth, a complex and involving storyline, and a feeling of accomplishment when I finished the game. This game fell short in all of those fields.

Gameplay - I'm not sure what the developers honestly intended the gameplay to consist of, but I found that most of my time playing I was trying to fool myself into thinking that camouflage (or stealth in general) was important. While stealth is an option, without radar or a camera that moves, it is far too difficult to bother. Even when in an "alert" situation, all you need to do is run up to an enemy, and use CQC to throw them to the ground, and they are no longer a problem. Weapons? Unnecessary in most generic encounters. Camouflage? It's simply too time-consuming to use it, when it does so little. If missing a radar wasn't enough to make stealth hard though, even if you move at the slowest possible speed, as you near your victim, he will notice you. It's very possible that you can take him down or incapacitate him this way, it is so much easier just to shoot him in the head, or go through the area rambo style.

The boss battles are supposedly supposed to be some of the best in the Metal Gear series. I found them to be riddled with gimmicks, where there was one obvious best way to go through them, and fifteen crappy ways. All of them were very short and easy when I found out the "trick" to them, except for one battle in the entire game. One boss battle that was worth my gameplay value. Best in the Metal Gear series? They don't cut it for best in any series.

Also, throughout the game when you are damaged, the game encourages you to tend to your own wounds. 90% of the time you really don't need to bother (the other 10% is in emergencies or when you have toxins of sorts in your system). Just the same, food is just a technicality. It will never be a problem for someone who bothers to make sure they're stocked up once in a blue moon.

Story - The previous Metal Gears had storylines with many twists, turns, and nice tricks thrown in. I learned a little about life, and all was well with the world. Word goes though, that Hideo Kojima received complaints about Metal Gear Solid 2's storyline being too complicated. I understood it, so it couldn't have been THAT complicated. Either way, those of you who didn't understand that game, are in luck. Metal Gear Solid 3 has a storyline for those who are storyline-challenged. I found myself trying to predict all sorts of cool twists and turns that the story could go. I was disappointed on almost every prediction.

The storyline being simple isn't necessarily a bad thing. What makes the storyline bad is the fact that it doesn't bother to explain common sense. A perfect example is the boss battles. I'm fighting these people...okay, they're acting under orders. So what? I felt like I was running a gauntlet of pointless battles that are there just to bring the gameplay up to satisfactory levels (but as I said in my previous section, it failed there). Most of the game is either left open, or doesn't explain why. "Oh, so that's what that was about. That's a knee-slapper...wait, why?" Real people don't use such poor logic. If there is logic, real storylines don't just make plot holes.

Graphics - The graphics were oftentimes impressive, but at times it seemed like they fell short. There were nice detail some places, painted on details in other places. I'm not a big graphics freak, so that's just about all you're getting in this section.

Sound - What can I say? It sounded like the jungle. Very nice sound effects the entire game. The game's music consisted of only a few songs. Most of them aren't at a time where you're playing the game, or just don't try to be impressive. The one that you hear several times throughout the game (you'll know which one when you hear it a second time) is pretty good. It has actual significance to the game itself, and it's nice to listen to. Really though, with all the great music I've heard in other games, I feel there was room for more (not better, more).

Final notes - To be honest, throughout this review I was probably comparing it to the other two Metal Gear Solids in the back of my head. This is as unbias a review as I can put out after being such a die-hard fan of the first two. In either case, this game is worth playing. I know Subsistence fixes some problems of the original and gives more (specifically online play), so...yeah. If you want to rent, this game will give you your fill in one play-through. If you want to buy, I suggest getting a different game, or getting Subsistence instead.