Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

We battle through jungle and engage online.

	Version PS2, PSP	Developer Konami	Publisher Konami	Genre Action

By Joseph Jackson

With the flood of great games that landed on store shelves in late 2004, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was easily one of the best games of that year. Featuring a somewhat convoluted but compelling storyline that's typical of the series, Metal Gear Solid 3 brought the series brand of stealth-action play to a new level by introducing a variety of cool new features. Some of which included a new Close Quarters Combat system (CQC) that allowed Snake to perform some close range knife + gun combat techniques that were quite effective in the game's unpredictable jungle environment.

There was also a new camouflage index system that allowed players to hide in plain sight by camouflaging themselves to blend in with their surrounding environments. Lastly, the game also featured a health system that had players maintaining Snake's stamina by having him live off the land with food captured out in the wild, as well as tending to his injuries by utilizing various medical supplies tucked away in his trusty ol' survival pack. The new play features certainly added a great deal to the Metal Gear Solid experience, that along with the intense boss battles and varied gameplay mechanics players experienced throughout the game made for a truly great and memorable game from start to finish.

Short of releasing a brand new Metal Gear Solid game, Konami has gone and done the unthinkable (well, maybe not so unthinkable) by updating the Metal Gear Solid 3 engine with some cool new features, including a brand new 3rd person camera view which is a first for the series, and Online play. Titled Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, this two-disc update (3 discs if you managed to score the Special Edition version) features a solid set of extras that ups the ante with a much-improved camera system, feature-rich online mode, loads of extras, and PSP connectivity, making it the definitive version of Metal Gear Solid 3 to those that either missed out on Snake Eater the first time around, or to those that loved Snake Eater and have a PS2 broadband adapter to make getting this update worthwhile.

The first disc titled, 'Subsistence' is basically Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater with the new 3rd person camera view and some new camouflage added to the game. While that might not sound like a big deal to some, the new 3rd person camera actually improves the feel of the game a great deal. No longer are players restricted by the game's default camera system which provided an overhead, birds-eye view of the action with very limited camera control allowed. While Snake Eater also featured a first person viewing mode, Snake was rendered immobile while in first person view, limiting the use of it to surveying your surrounding areas as well as aiming and firing your weapons.

With the new 3rd person camera system in Subsistence players can easily switch between the game's original bird's-eye camera view and the newly implemented 3rd person camera on the fly by simply clicking the right analog stick (R3) during play to toggle between the two viewpoints. While in third person view mode, players are provided with more control over the camera, allowing them to rotate the camera view around Snake in various directions. In addition to using the R3 button to switch the camera view in real-time players can also perform the same function through the options menu where they'll be provided with additional camera control options.

While there are some that probably won't care enough to replay through Metal Gear Solid 3 with the new 3rd person camera, those that do are definitely in for a treat as it significantly improves the MGS 3 experience. As players re-work their way through the dense jungle setting to the Soviet mountains, they'll be provided with a better view of the action, allowing them to quickly spot enemies in the distance and take action. While the game still has a few minor flaws here and there that were previously mentioned in our Snake Eater review, we'd simply be nitpicking by bringing them up again since none of the issues really detract from the overall greatness of the game.

Moving past the first disc we finally get to the meat of this update. The second disc titled "Persistence" packs quite a wallop as it not only contains Metal Gear Online, but also a host of extras as well. For those that are already set up for online play, Metal Gear Online can be a fun and rewarding experience. For those with high-speed connections and are interested in the online aspects of the game but have no broadband adapter, the device is incredibly simple to install and costs a mere $19.99 at select stores like Best Buy. Once installed, the setup process is pretty painless and straightforward.

Getting to the meat of the game, once up and running, Metal Gear Online actually works quite well. Our online sessions ran pretty smoothly with very minimal lag and were a whole lot of fun. The seemingly countless hours we spent in team deathmatches is testament enough to that. Metal Gear Online supports up to eight players and sports an easily navigable interface with standard online gaming features such as a lobby menu, a ranking system as well as text and voice-chat features.

Metal Gear Online is comprised of 5 different game modes that players can select from an available host list while navigating the game's lobby menu. After setting some optional parameters and selecting a game type to take part in players will be able to go all out in standard Deathmatches and engage in Team Deathmatches where two teams go at until there's a decisive victor. Sneaking mission puts a player in the role of Snake who's outnumbered and must steal some microfilm and reach the goal point before he's taken out of play by the opposing team. In Rescue mission, two teams battle for control over a toy object. One team has to maintain their possession of the rubber duck toy while the other team must retrieve it and get it back to their goal. Lastly, there's Capture mission, where the two teams must capture and battle for control over an object, and the team that can keep the object at their respective goal point for a certain period of time, wins.

While the gameplay of Metal Gear Online can be quite hectic and brutal a lot of times with fellow teammates and opposing team members appearing all over the place and blasting each other to hell and back in the Deathmatches and Capture mission modes, there's a great deal of fun to be had within the game's team-based environments.

The gameplay moves at a moderately fast pace and implements many of the same elements from the main adventure into the online mode. Players can select from a weapons list that appears when first joining or re-joining a game and utilize various types of guns, rifles, and machineguns, as well as incapacitate their opponents with stun grenades, and plant claymore mines. Players can also make use of various hiding spots throughout the levels, utilize sniper techniques to pick their opponents apart, as well as use Close Quarters Combat techniques during close range encounters with members of the opposing team.

In addition to sporting a new 3rd person camera and some pretty solid online modes, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence also comes packed with a number of extras that span both discs. Returning is Snake vs. Monkeys, the wacky Ape Escape themed mini-game that was originally included with Snake Eater and had players chasing down and capturing monkeys throughout the jungle. And like Snake Eater, Snake vs. Monkey has also seen some small improvements with the benefits of the new 3rd person camera view and some new levels added to the monkey-chasing mini-game.

Other extras include a new Duel mode, which is basically a Boss battle mode where players will be able to battle all of the bosses from the game with various weapons at their disposal. There's a Demo theatre mode, which is basically a movie gallery where players can view all of the game's cutscenes. In addition to that there's also a Secret Theatre Mode that presents players with various MGS3-related video parodies that help highlight the game's wacky brand of humor.

In addition, players can take advantage of the game's connectivity feature with Metal Gear Ac!d 2 for the PSP, and fans of retro classics, as well as Metal Gear fans who missed out on Snake's 8-bit sneaking missions on the NES can enjoy English translated versions of the superior Japanese versions of the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, both of which were originally released for the MSX computer system in Japan and never officially washed up on U.S. shores until now, allowing those that bother checking them out to gain further insight into the world of Metal Gear.

While the graphics of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence have remained virtually untouched from that of Snake Eater, thanks to the new 3rd person camera, players are provided with a closer view of the game's beautifully modeled and richly detailed environments as they make their way through the game's dense jungle setting.

In addition to the game's great visuals which still hold up quite well a year and a half after the release of Snake Eater, the audio portion of the game also remains on the impressive side with natural environmental sounds helping to bring the game's Soviet jungle to life. On top of that you've got a pretty solid voice-cast, a great soundtrack provided by series' composer, Harry Gregson-Williams, as well as Dolby Pro Logic II support to make for both an audio and visually impressive game.

All in all, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is a shining example of an update done right. It features all of the winning elements of Snake Eater while adding a highly addictive online mode, a bevy of extra features, and a cool new camera perspective. While this review is based on the budget-priced standard edition, a limited-edition version of the game also exists - if you can manage to track down a copy without breaking your wallet. The only difference between the two versions is the inclusion of a third disc that features all of the game's cutscenes edited into a three and half hour long movie for an additional $10 over the price of the standard edition. Anything much higher than that simply isn't worth it really.