It’s hard to say exactly why this game is so good because everyone is going to be in one of two categories: the long time fans of the series that already love the game and the people who can’t understand why this series is so popular. This game wraps up the Metal Gear Solid storyline perfectly. There may be more Metal Gear games, but it closes Solid Snake’s part of the series.
The stealth action continues to get better. The already good controls have been tweaked to near perfection. Although it takes several button presses to do a simple action (like aiming your gun), the scheme is so intuitive that it quickly becomes second nature.
The aiming moves a bit slower than I liked and it lead to some confusing moments during some of the more intense battles. Many people won’t like the game’s slow pace, but that is exactly why I loved it. Waiting for the perfect moment to pop out and quietly take down one guy is so much more rewarding than mowing down a hundred enemies while running through a level at full speed. Instead of having to switch camouflage like in the last game, you get a new suit that automatically takes on the pattern of anything you lay down on or lean against. This makes sneaking around a bit more fun, but still keeps the challenge because you will have to be extra careful when going through an area with several different floor patterns. It is also much easier to run and gun in this game than past ones, but I still wouldn’t recommend it. In addition to monitoring Snake’s health, you now also have to keep an eye on his stress level. Actions like getting shot at, being spotted by the enemy, or even just walking around in the open will raise his stress. If Snake gets too stressed, he will not perform as well in combat.
One of the reasons it is a bit easier to get away with not sneaking is the addition of the character Drebin (and his always entertaining hairless monkey with a soft drink addiction). He is an arms dealer that you meet early in the game who will allow you to buy weapons and ammo from him using Drebin points. You can also automatically sell any weapons you find to him as soon as you pick them up as long as you already have another one in your inventory. This adds a new, unexpected aspect to the game. After watching a squad of rebels get mowed down by the enemy, I would debate whether or not it was worth it to expose myself to gather their weapons or just play it safe and move on. By the end of the game, it is possible to have so many points that ammo will never be an issue. Some players will like this, while others will feel it isn’t really faithful to the series since in every other game, you had to work so hard to conserve ammo.
The boss battles are hit and miss. Some are a ton of fun and quite memorable while others are completely lame. All of the bosses are named for the bosses in the first metal Gear Solid and are a bit similar, but still unique. The Screaming Mantis battle was awesome and reminiscent of the Psycho Mantis battle. I can’t really describe it without ruining it for you, so you will just have to take my word for it. The Crying Wolf fight, however, was disappointing. The series is known for it’s sniper boss battles, so I was ready for a long fight. I ran to a tank to hide under it and was able to see the boss. I shot her with my rifle which caused her to run around looking for me. When she was done running around, she returned to the same spot and I could shoot her again. After repeating this several times, I won the battle. Even though this fight was a little boring, it doesn’t even begin to compare to how bad the final fight is. The final boss battle is a fist fight and the controls are completely changed. I had to die a few time before I even got the feel for how to fight. Even once I got the controls down, the fight is so poorly constructed that I died several more times. The hit detection basically doesn’t work and always seemed to favor your enemy. I would throw punches and my hand would go right through them. They would swing at me and clearly miss by a couple of feet but it would still register as a hit. During the fight, Snake only takes small steps and cannot run at all, making avoiding attacks near impossible. After an insane amount of practice, I got to the point where I can win the fight most of the time, but I still hated it.
The cutscenes, as always, are top notch. Every camera shot and angle is Hollywood quality. Although they are impressive, many of them drag on way too long. It will take more than a half hour from the first time you put the game in your PS3 to the time you actually start playing. There are a few scenes that are about forty five minutes long. The final movie, including credits, is almost an hour and a half. You can pause during these movies, but you cannot save and quit. If you don’t have more than an hour of free time, you might as well play something else and wait until you have some more time on your hands, because you won’t get anywhere with this one. The game took me about eighteen hours to complete, but I would guess that less than ten was actual gameplay.
Even though the scenes can be lengthy, the story is amazing. The main purpose of the plot is to explain all the past games, so newcomers will easily get lost. Just about every question you ever had is finally answered. What happened to your allies from the first game? Why is Snake so old? Why can’t Vamp seem to die? Hell, they even go as far as to explain why the guard in the first two games had stomach problems that made him go to the bathroom so much and tie that into the story. How’s that for closure. Almost every character from the series makes an appearance (some only in flashbacks) and everyone has an impact on the story in some way. I can’t think of a better way to tie up the story I have been following for ten years and three console generations.
This is the just about the perfect end to the Solid Snake saga. Aside from a few poorly designed boss fights, I loved every bit of this game. Finally, there is a reason to own a PS3.
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