By IGN.com
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake-Eater
A compilation of all known facts on Kojima's distinguished new Metal Gear iteration.
June 12, 2003 - Eat or die. Eat or be eaten. Hunt or be hunted. Survival of the Snakest!
In any other context, such words would amount to nothing more than silly banter or pure nonsense. But because we're talking Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake-Eater, each phrase, word and suggestion has potential depth, reference and innuendo. It's a little maddening, but more than any other game developer alive today, Konami's Hideo Kojima knows how to play on our minds. And, to be honest, I think we all like it that way.
Following what was no doubt the most anticipated game in the history of videogames, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami TYO is once again creating a game with its fans in mind. But it's also very much creating a game that it wants to make, one that goes back to the game's roots, and that simplifies rather than complicates, that relies on a player's sense of survival, cunning, and instinct rather than his or her knowledge of conspiracy theory.
Gathering together its roster of expert executives, Kojima will once again be working with Composer Harry Gregson-Williams, Character and Mechanical Designer Yoshi Shinkawa, and even military advisor Motosada Mori to create the third Metal Gear Solid, a true sequel to MGS2, and one that's already opened up a Pandora's Box of unanswered questions.
Due "On our tables in 2004," MGS3 Snake-Eater has only been revealed in the most basic form. We know some themes, what kinds of places it will take place in, and the direction in which we believe it's headed. In this first of a series of ongoing previews, we've gathered as much information to provide you with the most comprehensive preview on the planet.
It's difficult to say ever what Kojima has in store with MGS3, but what we do know is that the game is supposed to take place in a place that is either the early '60s, or more likely, in a place that most resembles the 1960s. Clearly, we're meant to think more about the meaning of the early '60s, before the Vietnam War turned the US on its head, before the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and before the hippy kids' "Peace, Love and Understanding" turned a generation into the confused, drug-induced "Me" Generation. Don't worry, I'm a product of the '60s as much as anyone is, and I'm not knocking them (well, at least not too much). My point is the theme. Kojima is situating the game during a time of youth and innocence, the ending of one era and the beginning of another.
Does this mean that the series is going back to its youth, back to basics? Or that players will have to think less and use their instincts more? Or that MGS3 is a prequel, which means that this game will shed light on the early parts of the overall Metal Gear Solid story arc? All good questions, these.
Equally important themes are survival, stealth, and adaptation in a rough, wild jungle. According to Mr. Kojima, while many games have tried to create realistic jungles in the past, he doesn't believe they have worked very well.
"In Metal Gear Solid 1 and MGS2 you infiltrate these bases that have been occupied by bad guys," said Mr. Kojima in an interview with IGN. "But in reality, you never land or get through the base. You know when people infiltrate these places in real life, they start maybe a few hundred miles away, like in the desert or in the ocean, and they gradually make their way to the enemy base. But all that has been skipped in all other games, including our own games. So, that's where we wanted to start in MGS3.
"We actually wanted to land, I don't know the exact distance, a few hundred miles away and have players go through the jungle and maybe infiltrate the enemy base afterward. And when you parachute down, you probably get drifted away by the wind and lose a few items. So basically, you have to get your own food by hunting. This is what we wanted to do in the game."
From the E3 footage, we can see just where MGS3 already is making the grade. Players can see Solid Snake crawling through patches of grass in which each individual blade of grass bends when he touches it. The color palette of the jungle is incredibly rich, with a bewildering array of greens, tans, browns and blends of each.
The colors are significant because they play into camouflage, stealth and survival. Using what Kojima calls a camouflage index, players can select the gear they wear so they can blend into the background best, and how to paint their face as well, all of which plays into the theme of stealth. Kojima also revealed that there are various kinds of jungle, and that the jungle isn't filled with paths like other games. It's a wide-open place, requiring exploration, adaptation and both horizontal and vertical gameplay. Snake can climb trees -- which stand out by the tangle of vines climbing up their trunks -- hide behind logs, climb down small hillsides, hang from edges to hide, and hang from tree branches to hide or to shoot. One video clip shows Snake hanging from a tree with one hand, and shooting an enemy with another. In this scene he hesitates and shoots the second soldier coming toward him, then drops down and breaks the neck of the first soldier with his legs. All in a days work.
"What we are trying to do with the jungle is to, first of all, create a jungle that actually looks like a jungle, and now that we are in the jungle we want that stealth element that we can use with camouflage," said Mr. Kojima. "And then since we are playing in a realistic jungle, what we want to do is to throw in gameplay that uses the jungle, such as hunting."
The jungle is by no means friendly. Camouflage is significant in other ways for Snake and his enemies. Our man Solid will employ various stealth techniques such as stalking, walking without making a noise, tracking, trailing an enemy's footprints, and hiding his footprints as the enemy tracks his. Blending in with the background also enables our anti-hero to survive. And that means not just beating enemies in battles, but staying healthy, remaining strong and feeding.
Bugs, fish, and land animals will become Snake's meals, and if ones hides intelligently and uses the Camouflage index well, he might find animals he wouldn't otherwise find. Also, the various animals one eats might provide him with different things. For instance some might have more protein, or provide him with powerups, while others might taste bad, making it harder to eat, but providing Snake with a challenge. After all, eating a just killed fish isn't quite like eating yellowtail sushi.
Smart fashion, however, won't prevent Snake from elements or the random, hidden venomous snake. Snake must also fight the elements and his own inexperience in the jungle. He'll get cold, hungry and bitten. He may even break a bone. Does he have to form a splint for himself? Perhaps he may. While about two-thirds of the game takes place in the jungle, it broadens out into other areas later including smaller enemy bases and later, apparently, a larger enemy base. Snake will find himself locating small enemy huts and such, from which he might find medicine, clothing and perhaps more viable food than bugs and raw snakes.
"The game doesn't consist of only playing in the jungle," explained Mr. Kojima. "Like if you get through the jungle, you'll get to buildings and when you get into the buildings, the gameplay will be similar to the previous games.
"There will be mountains, there will be caves, there will probably be a suspension bridge, things that we avoided in the previous Metal Gears," he continued. "Where the game takes place, like in a specific country, doesn't really matter. That's not what we're going for. It's not like MGS2 where it took place in a specific place, you know New York City. So you'll see certain plants that you will not see in that particular area, in a rain forest. There might be an alligator in the game and we know that it doesn't realistically belong there but it going to make the game fun. We'll be doing that kind of thing.
"There are a lot of things to talk about. Just being able to climb up trees adds so much to the gameplay. We have gone through a lot of trial and error just trying to make Snake look cool climbing up trees. In many of the previous trials he looked like a monkey climbing up the tree. (Laughter.) And you saw in the video Snake standing-swimming? He can shoot while doing that, and when he is totally submerged in the water he can shoot too."
Unlike in previous Metal Gears, we're told the enemies will react differently. If alarmed by your presence (crunching leaves, twigs, or a moving vine), the AI, a small unit of maybe four to six enemies, will work together as a team to take Snake down. Like our cynical, smoking, trained killer, the enemies are stuck there in the jungle without back up. They won't be able to call for help and their AI works differently than those in MGS2. They'll use grenades, smoke bombs, semi automatic and fully automatic weapons to eliminate Snake. They'll hunt and track him, and they too can use stealth, camouflage and espionage tactics to their advantage just like Snake. Or Big Boss, or whoever he is.
Another interesting element to take notice of is that players are going through the jungle in order to infiltrate an enemy base, and that during the jungle missions they'll have little to tell them which way to go. Kojima and his team play on making players climb mountains or jump down waterfalls to avoid enemies or creatures, and then from there, find the path, clearly non-linear, to the correct destination. Stuff is going to get in his way, so Snake will have to find a path around it; so it's quite clear players won't be walking as the crow flies.
Adding to the tension, however, is something that's yet to be explained. Unlike in previous Metal Gears, there is no radar in MGS3. Right, since the game takes place predominantly outdoors, the radar isn't quite as effective, or perhaps Kojima has found something better to gauge the player's experience. At this point, it looks more and more like the Camouflage meter might be Snake's new best friend.
Furthermore, players will find that gameplay doesn't just include stealthy attacks, sniping, and cutthroat guerilla tactics. Players more than ever will engage in brawling, heavy-hitting gunfights that require the use of the environment and clever use of specialized weaponry (we're promised there will be some "crazy weapons" in MGS3) to get out of tough situations. So far, we know Snake uses machine guns, semi automatics and silenced pistols in MGS3.
Getting down to it the last final details, Kojima has shed some light on the characters. MGS3 won't feature a character change midway through it. But, something just as big will in fact occur, and whether it has something to do with Big Boss or not, the master only laughs and says that we should use our imaginations on the subject.
Technically, MGS3 will support 5.1 channel audio system. For those who have a PlayStation 2 Online unit (which we assume is the equivalent to the Network Adapter here in the North American market), they'll be able to take advantage of various bits of online support, starting with monthly downloads or new camouflage, but perhaps including more significant aspects later on.
The fact is, MGS3 is far, far off. It's due on PlayStation 2 sometime in 2004. Knowing Kojima, there is a treasure chest of information yet to discover, and when it's announced, we'll be here to deliver it to you.
-- Douglass C. Perry
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Ziet er zo te zien ook geweldig uit. 
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Die overigens beiden niet konden tippen aan de storyline van mgs1 en voorgaande delen op commandore en derg.
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I envy you :strip_icc():strip_exif()/u/40428/fox.jpg?f=community)
cubbers krijgen weer zo'n lame remake 
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) nu deze.... die screenies zien er echt vet uit... ik ga snel filmpje downloaden als ik thuis ben van mn werk hehe:strip_icc():strip_exif()/u/32933/18.jpg?f=community)
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