carninjaalex (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} carninjaalex) wrote,@ 2004-11-19 06:34:00 |
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Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - First Impressions
Wow. That's really just a one word summary of the game so far. Granted, I'm only a few hours in (just beat The Pain, for Isaiah, who I'm guessing is the only other person that would know the game), but it really is amazing so far.
The gameplay mechanics are all nicely done, although pulled from Metal Gear Solid 2, so they feel a bit... dated. Or at least the more basic mechanics. I mean, it's a tried and true system that's worked since the first MGS (with a few tweaks here and there for Sons of Liberty, Twin Snakes, and now Snake Eater), but that doesn't really change the fact that it's the same basic gameplay. At least for that aspect.
The camoflage system had be worried when I heard about it, because it really turns the game into a fairly menu based setup, where as before it was mostly done on the fly. Well, the camo system is done quite well, and it hasn't felt like a major drawback in the hours that I've been playing. We shall see how that progresses throughout the game, but it hasn't become a problem yet. The cure system is also done through menus, and is fairly ingenius and innovative. Using different items, you actually use survival medicine/surgery. Using a knife to pull out bullets, then pouring disinfectant on the wound, stitching it, bandaging it, etc. This is also all done through menus, so with one exception (and that seemed utterly random), I never actually see Snake go through the motions. On the one hand, it kinda sucks, because that'd be cool to see, but at the same time, it'd be time consuming, and would get annoying after a while.
One of the larger reasons I play Metal Gear games is for the storyline. In fact, I'm quite happy that the game is set up to allow me to watch through all the cut scenes/codec conversations after I beat it, because it plays out almost like a movie. A very, very good movie. The story in this one so far, is very, very well done. Much moreso than Sons of Liberty (but that's not saying a whole lot). It's done in the 1960's, when the first Metal Gear (named Shagohod by the Russian scientist who created it) is built. There are a lot of historical references, such as many mentions of the Cuban Missile Crisis and how that affected relations between Russia and America, as well as other things of the time (a mention of Kennedy's assassination, for instance). Combining the historical fiction with a Metal Gear story that feels like it's returning to a Shadow Moses feel, makes me very happy.
The one problem that I have with the game, so far, really lies in the beginning, the first two or so hours. Snake Eater, sadly, suffers from Xenosaga syndrome. Though it was also there in Sons of Liberty, it wasn't quite as bad. By Xenosaga Syndrome, I mean that there is a significant ratio problem between story and gameplay. While yes, the story is quite excellent (much like Xenosaga, in my opinion), it is... far too there. Between starting the game, and getting to actually pick the controller up for real gameplay, there's a fifteen minute difference. Walk thirty feet, climb a tree, and there's another fifteen or twenty minutes of story. It continues on like that for the first while, and as I said, the story's good, but the lack of gameplay was kind of a disappointment. It certainly picks up later on, though. I did notice, however, that there were four hours between the intro and the first "boss" battle. I think that's more because of pacing rather than story sequences taking up too much time, though.
On the flip side of that, there are a number of little things added in for stylistic touches, that really do amaze me. For instance, the first time I actually saved on the radio (ghetto fab codec system), Snake had a three minute conversation with the Para-Medic (this game's save chick) about Godzilla, while tossing in a crack about his penis size. This, as well as other similar quirks, really are what make the game as good as it is. It's a similar vein to Deus Ex, with Gunther and Anna's discussion about the soda machine, and Gunther's hypothesis that there's a conspiracy to keep him from getting his orange soda.
All I can say is, if I didn't have to work tonight at five, I would not be sleeping tonight. No one would hear from me until I finished the game.
Of course, that's what tonight after work is for. Then I get to start up on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, which will also get a first impressions written about it. Full review on both games when they're finished.
Wow. That's really just a one word summary of the game so far. Granted, I'm only a few hours in (just beat The Pain, for Isaiah, who I'm guessing is the only other person that would know the game), but it really is amazing so far.
The gameplay mechanics are all nicely done, although pulled from Metal Gear Solid 2, so they feel a bit... dated. Or at least the more basic mechanics. I mean, it's a tried and true system that's worked since the first MGS (with a few tweaks here and there for Sons of Liberty, Twin Snakes, and now Snake Eater), but that doesn't really change the fact that it's the same basic gameplay. At least for that aspect.
The camoflage system had be worried when I heard about it, because it really turns the game into a fairly menu based setup, where as before it was mostly done on the fly. Well, the camo system is done quite well, and it hasn't felt like a major drawback in the hours that I've been playing. We shall see how that progresses throughout the game, but it hasn't become a problem yet. The cure system is also done through menus, and is fairly ingenius and innovative. Using different items, you actually use survival medicine/surgery. Using a knife to pull out bullets, then pouring disinfectant on the wound, stitching it, bandaging it, etc. This is also all done through menus, so with one exception (and that seemed utterly random), I never actually see Snake go through the motions. On the one hand, it kinda sucks, because that'd be cool to see, but at the same time, it'd be time consuming, and would get annoying after a while.
One of the larger reasons I play Metal Gear games is for the storyline. In fact, I'm quite happy that the game is set up to allow me to watch through all the cut scenes/codec conversations after I beat it, because it plays out almost like a movie. A very, very good movie. The story in this one so far, is very, very well done. Much moreso than Sons of Liberty (but that's not saying a whole lot). It's done in the 1960's, when the first Metal Gear (named Shagohod by the Russian scientist who created it) is built. There are a lot of historical references, such as many mentions of the Cuban Missile Crisis and how that affected relations between Russia and America, as well as other things of the time (a mention of Kennedy's assassination, for instance). Combining the historical fiction with a Metal Gear story that feels like it's returning to a Shadow Moses feel, makes me very happy.
The one problem that I have with the game, so far, really lies in the beginning, the first two or so hours. Snake Eater, sadly, suffers from Xenosaga syndrome. Though it was also there in Sons of Liberty, it wasn't quite as bad. By Xenosaga Syndrome, I mean that there is a significant ratio problem between story and gameplay. While yes, the story is quite excellent (much like Xenosaga, in my opinion), it is... far too there. Between starting the game, and getting to actually pick the controller up for real gameplay, there's a fifteen minute difference. Walk thirty feet, climb a tree, and there's another fifteen or twenty minutes of story. It continues on like that for the first while, and as I said, the story's good, but the lack of gameplay was kind of a disappointment. It certainly picks up later on, though. I did notice, however, that there were four hours between the intro and the first "boss" battle. I think that's more because of pacing rather than story sequences taking up too much time, though.
On the flip side of that, there are a number of little things added in for stylistic touches, that really do amaze me. For instance, the first time I actually saved on the radio (ghetto fab codec system), Snake had a three minute conversation with the Para-Medic (this game's save chick) about Godzilla, while tossing in a crack about his penis size. This, as well as other similar quirks, really are what make the game as good as it is. It's a similar vein to Deus Ex, with Gunther and Anna's discussion about the soda machine, and Gunther's hypothesis that there's a conspiracy to keep him from getting his orange soda.
All I can say is, if I didn't have to work tonight at five, I would not be sleeping tonight. No one would hear from me until I finished the game.
Of course, that's what tonight after work is for. Then I get to start up on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, which will also get a first impressions written about it. Full review on both games when they're finished.
