It is getting close to Valentine's day and well, if I was a console and had to send a Valentine's card to a particular game, then it would be Metal Gear Solid 3. This is not so much a review as a dedication to the best game I think I have ever played and I have played a lot of games (like a lot of us :-) ).
I am choosing to approach this as if you are one of the very few gamers who doesn't actually know what MGS3 is! MGS3 is part of a series of games that have been developed by Hideo Kojima and Konami over at least three generations of consoles. They all are described as 'stealth' games, in that the central premise of each game is that you try to avoid combat and basically sneak around. This doesn't always work and often (on harder modes) it turns into a kind of Rambo esque scene (espeacilly in MGS2 and MGS3 - haven't played Peace walker or MGS4 (which is on order now) yet). In some sections of the games it really is all to do with shooting and blowing things up!
Well, that sounds a bit like Hitman doesn't it (I don't know about you, but on PS2 Hitman equated to Rambo with a suit for me)? What makes these games so special, then? Simply put, its attention to detail. Everything about MGS3 is almost perfectly executed. From original and clever game mechanics, to a graphical presentation that still holds up today, to an exquisite original soundtrack that is on par with any original movie soundtrack.
When all of these elements are so masterly blended together and then interlaced with such a fantastic story and well developed characters, you cannot help but be submerged in to the Metal Gear Solid universe. It truly is a submersive gaming experience that many other games cannot compete with.
I could go on here and start to describe what MGS3 is about in detail, but if you like games and you haven't played any of them or haven't played MGS3 then I recommend that you do. People may criticize the cut-scenes that are interlaced in the game (as maybe too long or some other drivel). In that respect it follows a traditional game pattern; play followed by cut-scene, followed by more play. As you will find out though, the play part and the cut-scene part are so different and well done to any other game I could mention (save some of the new games on the block that owe a lot to these games for that anyway).
There are few gaming experiences that will engross you and reward you as much as MGS3. If you haven't played it before the best advise I can give you is NOT to read up on the ending or the story before playing it through. Find out for yourself through the game.
It serves as testimony to Hideo Kojima that MGS3 HD (coupled with my awesome Sony PS3 7.1 surround sound headphones!) recreated the incredible satisfaction I got from the game when I first played it on the PS2. Konami have done a great job with the conversion. This is a 'classic' game. It will survive the passage of time and should be held up as a definitive version of how you make a truly excellent game.
MGS3 is a 10/10 (it would be 11, but my dial doesn't go up that far) for this reviewer.
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