Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence Review

9.0

Format PlayStation 2

Developer Konami

Publisher Konami

Genre Action, Adventure

You only really see expansion packs for PC games, but for want of a better term, this is exactly what you get with Subsistence. There aren't any new missions (unless you count the extra Snake vs Monkey levels), but there is a fantastic online multiplayer mode as well as enough bonuses to tempt those who already own Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - if not enough to make this an essential buy exactly.

First, though, a recap for those who've never played Snake Eater. Of all the games we saw last year, it's the one we were most concerned about and thought might fall flat on its arse. Would the gameplay changes fatally unbalance it? Would the jungle really look that good? It's great to say that, yes, it is awesome; and yes, it even tells a better story than that of Metal Gear Solid 2.

At first, everything seems alien, but as you progress, you start to realise there are a lot of similarities to the old games in the series. The jungle takes up a large portion of the gameplay, yet there's no change to the fundamental way that Metal Gear Solid works. The first couple of hours are taken up with plenty of scene-setting, character-establishing cut scenes, which have you aching to explore the jungle itself.

THE THIRD PLACE
Thankfully, you are eventually allowed to roam - and this is now even more enjoyable thanks to Subsistence's new third-person camera. Whereas before you viewed the action from above and sometimes lost sight of Snake's goals in the rougher terrain, now it's much easier to see what's going on and be aware of your surroundings. Only when you crawl through undergrowth will you find yourself switched to a first-person view. With enemies being more exploratory this time around, you'll be pleasantly surprised with the difference the new perspective makes. Of course, if you prefer to control Snake from the old-fashioned top-down view, then that's still an option.

The biggest change that Snake Eater introduced was doing away with the radar. No longer is there a simplified picture of your surroundings in every room with info on where every enemy is looking. The result is that gameplay is inevitably slowed down; you now need to stop as soon as you reach a new area and scan the horizon in first-person mode. Having said that, even in fairly open areas it isn't too hard for Snake to take a couple of hits and scamper off into the undergrowth without alerting every guard in the jungle. This means the tension is lessened a bit, especially when you learn to use the Close Quarters Combat system to take enemies down noiselessly.

CHOW DOWN
All this sneaking and killing would take a lot out of anyone, so to keep your stamina bar
up, a-hunting for animals you will go. Once you've figured out the basic mechanics behind hunting for food, it becomes a kind of in-game hobby as opposed to a chore. There's something immensely pleasurable about killing crocs, frogs and snakes and seeing them turn into a precious ration box right in front of your eyes.

What's very clear from the outset is that the usual quality threshold has been raised even higher, with every individual mission designed to the highest level. The story isn't quite as convoluted as in the previous title, and the graphics are continually stunning. Basically, Snake Eater is an awesome game by even the most demanding standards. It refines the formula more than it pushes boundaries, but does it so well that this in itself feels kind of revolutionary.

So, one year on, it's good to know that the main game holds up to scrutiny, but what of the extras? Well, the Existence disc features a three-hour movie of all the cut scenes edited together, with some slightly tweaked. The sheer length makes it one for Metal Gear purists only, though you can cycle back and forth through chapters or jump straight to any chapter from the main menu. You also get the excellent, if now overfamiliar, Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer from last year's Tokyo Game Show.

THEATRE OF DREAMS
The Persistence disc is where you'll spend the majority of your time. The extra Snake
vs Monkey levels are as amusing as ever, while the Secret Theatre parody movies from the official Snake Eater website are genuinely funny. The original versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake bring back great memories and even offer some interesting story developments, even if the controls feel a little sticky on the PS2 gamepad. Only the Demo Theatre lets the package down: in some cut scenes, you're only able to change Snake's camouflage rather than swapping character models, and the Eva Peep Show is plain embarrassing.

And so to the online mode, which sweeps away any misgivings we might have had about how Metal Gear Solid would fare in the multiplayer arena. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch games tend to exaggerate the run-and-gun aspect of single-player Snake Eater, so those who prefer to sneak should stick to Rescue, Capture or Sneaking.

Of these, Sneaking is definitely the most challenging and tactical. One player controls Snake (it's the only game where you get to play as him) and up to seven other players are pitted against him as guards. There are two objective items and two drop-off points, and the goal as Snake is to get one item to a drop-off point within a set time. Once you pick up an item, a radar tag alerts the others to your position, but since Snake can also drop items, he can lay a trap and lie in wait. If he's stationary and his camouflage is at a high percentage, he'll also turn transparent. On the flip side, a good tactic for the guards is to put a sniper at each drop-off point and let the others hunt Snake down.

DUCK AND COVER
Rescue and Capture are also team games; the former sees one group having to protect a small rubber duck from the other team, and the latter is essentially Capture The Flag. What's cool is the way the players in each team are organised. Initially, everyone starts off as a generic soldier, but from then on, the best player gets to play as either Raikov or Ocelot, while the worst gets to be Sokolov. Ocelot is the only character who can use a revolver, Raikov can stun enemies with a blow to the groin, and Sokolov has a stealth camo, so even the poorest player is always in with a chance. Higher-ranked hosts of a game may also allow special characters, in which case the two ladies from Rumble Roses are available.

The multiplayer mode is almost enough for us to recommend parting with your cash a second time, but we realise that many UK gamers just aren't bothered about playing PS2 online. If you're of that mindset and you already own Snake Eater, then Subsistence isn't really worth it. If you don't own Snake Eater but you don't want multiplayer, then hey, at least you'll be buying one of the best action titles PS2 has ever produced.