Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was released in November, 2004. It introduced new gameplay elements to the series such as hunting for food and using camouflage to hide in plain sight, and gave players larger, more open-ended areas to sneak through and explore. Like all the Metal Gear games, the game still emphasizes (and rewards) stealth over straight-up run-and-gun action, while using a series of inventive boss battles to keep things exciting.

Story-wise, the game is a major departure from its predecessors. After setting the stage for the series' final conflict in MGS2, Kojima chose to flash back to where it all began in the next two games, MGS3 and Portable Ops. While Metal Gear Solid 2 ended with more than a few loose ends crying out to be tied up, MGS3 doesn't address any of them directly. MGS3 is set in 1964--45 years before MGS2--and focuses on an almost completely different cast of characters. While the rest of the Metal Gear games take place in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, MGS3 is set deep in the heart of the Cold War.

Let's just get this out of the way: Solid Snake is not the main character of MGS3. In fact, he's not even born until eight years after the events of this game. The main character of MGS3 (and Portable Ops) is Solid Snake's father, Big Boss: a man who will eventually become a legend in his own time--first as the greatest warrior of the 20th century, and many years later as a nuclear terrorist and a traitor. On the surface, Metal Gear Solid 3 is the story of how Big Boss destroys a dangerous super-weapon to prevent the outbreak of World War III, and is recognized as one of his country's greatest heroes.

The price he pays for these accomplishments is the loss of his innocence. In fulfilling the mission his country has set before him, Big Boss gains uncomfortable insight into the forces that drive the government he serves. For the first time, he truly realizes that even the noblest and most loyal heroes are only pieces in the grand game of politics--pieces to be used, then blithely sacrificed the moment it becomes advantageous to their players. At its core, Metal Gear Solid 3 is the story of a man who saves the world, but loses everything he believes in.

I'll cover the evolution of Big Boss's character in more detail later. For now, it's time for me to get playing!