Metal Gear Solid 3

Where do you go from a terrorist attack on NYC, gratuitous ball grabbing, incest, neverending radio conversations and not even being able to play as Solid Snake?

Into the past. 1964 to be specific.

Metal Gear 2 was good, but the bosses were a bit forgettable (and there were only like three of them) and it had numerous other issues.

I've always loved Metal Gear, so while I wasn't as excited about MGS3 as I was about part 2, I did get around to buying it, and eventually completing it. You see, as happened with Metal Gear 2, I got supremely frustrated right at the beginning of the game, only unlike MGS2, I stopped playing and went on to other shit. Months passed.

Matt had been playing it and told me it was sweet. I got back on the horse.

They had taken everything I thought I loved about Metal Gear (walking tanks, sci-fi storyline, the radar) and threw it away.

What I was left with ...was what I loved about Metal Gear.

To this day it still amazes me. It's like a Murakami novel. The dude writes about people doing errands for half the book and when you finish you think, "that book was awesome." The story takes place in the past (booring), the bosses are all dudes in camo (boooring) and you spend most of the game in a jungle looking for food (booring).

I've played through the entire game three times. I've gotten all the special camo patterns and shot all the frogs. It's one of my all time favorite games. It's in the running for deserted island scenario. The level of satisfaction I got out of the story and gameplay is comparable to a good book. The last game that blew me away as much was Ninja Gaiden 1. On the NES.

4 stars