Getting right down to it, story wise, Snake Eater is more a prequel than a sequel. The game is set at the height of the Cold War, just following the Cuban Missile Crisis and Kennedy's assassination. The game's intro cinematic is a very Bond-esque music video with the game's title theme song Snake Eater playing. This definitely sets a tone for the game. Sure, it's a spy-thriller, but it does have its tongue-in-cheek moments (including quite a few hilarious snarky nods at Raiden, the slightly effeminate protagonist of MGS2).

Without littering this review with spoilers, the common knowledge is that you are playing Naked Snake, so named because you are dropped into your mission with nothing, in the year 1964. Snake is a disciple of The Boss, a famous solider who ran a special ops force named the Cobras in WWII. After the war, the Cobras split up and The Boss returned to the CIA, where she taught Snake everything he knows and designed a form of hand to hand combat with him called Close Quarters Combat or CQC for short. (This is an actual fighting method that the game adopted and altered its origins.) Snake is sent in to rescue a Russian scientist who had defected (I also love this game because it allows me to use this word frequently) to the U.S. and who had been kidnapped back by the USSR. On your way to the extraction site you learn, in a very painful manner, that The Boss has reunited with The Cobras and they have all defected to a Russian separatist group lead by the nasty looking Col. Volgin. They re-kidnap the scientist you just rescued and launch a nuke at his facility with U.S. equipment. To prevent an international incident Snake must rescue the scientist, again, and find proof that the U.S. wasn't responsible for detonating a nuke on Soviet soil. Thus begins the roiling intrigue of Snake Eater. The story has twists and turns galore and also introduces a young Revolver Ocelot, who develops a bizarrely friendly yet adversarial relationship with Snake. As in the other games of the series, over the radio you have your commanding officer, your medic-save girl, and your weapons expert. The medic, aptly named Para-Medic discusses "current" movies with Snake and gives him advice based on them the way Mei Ling used quotes in Metal Gear Solid.

In terms of graphics, MGS3 is simply one of the most stunning looking games available on the PS2. Not only are the cinematics top notch realistic-CGI, the graphics in the regular gameplay are astounding. The focus of my awe here is in the environments. Sure the characters look good, but the outdoor environments are unlike any previous MGS game. While MGS1 and 2 took place inside grey industrial looking facilities, Snake Eater takes place mostly outside. The game looks as though every blade of grass and every leafy branch got special attention. The light and shadowing were realistic and expertly rendered. In fact, if you look in the wrong direction at some points in the game the sun shining in your eyes blinds you almost utterly. Along with the graphics, the sounds of the jungle and its inhabitants were just as skillfully done and add a great sense of atmosphere that you are fighting in the jungles.

Not coincidentally, the highly detailed environment has a large impact on the game-play. MGS3 is of course a stealth game; but, in the newest installment you do not have your old standby, the HUD radar, to see enemy locations. Among your gear you do have a motion detector and sonar but those pick up more than just enemies and don't differentiate (more on them later). To replace the radar, you must be much sneakier and that is where the new addition of camouflage comes in. Camo works in two parts. You have face paint and a uniform. Each of them gives you a bonus to your camo-index, which appears in the top right of your HUD. It reads with a percentage; the higher the percentage the more hidden you are. Snake begins the game with a few basic types and is able to pick up more throughout the game.

Another a very useful tweak to the game-play is the ability to shift and lock the camera view in different directions so you can see further in one direction. It makes seeing what's ahead a little bit easier. The other, big new addition to the game-play is the stamina gauge. With full stamina your aim is steady and you move at a good pace. When it drops, your stomach starts growling (disturbingly, it growls loudly enough to give away a hidden position to a close enemy) and your aim grows shaky. To refill the stamina gauge you must eat, and there are no McDonalds in the wilds of Russia (well there may be now, but there weren't in the 60's). So you must hunt your food, luckily it is everywhere you can tranquilize it or you can kill it. Be careful though, if you hold onto killed meat it does go bad. In base areas you can also pick up rations and oddly enough ramen noodles which don't go bad. Rest and keeping a high stamina also makes your life gauge slowly refill. Since here is only one item in the game that directly gives you health, it makes it vital that you keep up on stamina.

Another major change to the game-play is your ability to perform battlefield surgery on yourself to help cure yourself. This ability to cure keeps you from losing an abnormally large amount of health from a basic wound. It also lets you cure poisoning caused by venomous animal bites or eating rotten food. Also, unlike many other games, a good deal of your gear can wear out. The aforementioned motion detector and sonar, along with Metal Gear regulars like thermal goggles, night vision goggles, and AP sensor all run on batteries. Batteries limit the time you spend using these devices. These batteries recharge if you do not totally drain them in a single use. The other items, previously impervious and now needing conservation are the silencers and suppressors for your guns. Every shot you take decreases their lifespan so you can no longer shoot silently forever. Luckily you can pick up more of these attachments during play.

Despite all these new additions and tweaks Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater still feels the same. The series has evolved in an amazing way that keeps the series from stagnating and yet doesn't change what I loved about the old games. If you are a fan of the old MGS games, then this is a must play. Not only for the fun but also for the depth it adds to the world of Metal Gear. I heartily recommend this game to any fan of stealth, action, or just intense story. Also, for newcomers to the series, it is a perfect place to jump in learn about the game from its chronological beginning.