Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence review

Imagine if you'd made one of the best videogames ever. It'd be pretty cool, huh? Now imagine trying to make it even better. Nope, it wouldn't be easy, and we're sure it wasn't for creative legend Hideo Kojima. But that's exactly what he and his crack team of game-design masters have accomplished with Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. It's like an extra-extra-special-edition director's cut of the original stealth action masterpiece.

Disc one of the set, Subsistence, is the previously existing  Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater with a twist. This explosive, engrossing, amazing stealth action game is actually a prequel to the rest of the series. Set during the Cold War, it gives an intriguing look at the events leading up to the 21st century action of the first two MGS games.

The twist is that Subsistence defaults to an entirely new (to the MGS series, anyways) third-person behind-the-back camera view that literally puts a whole new perspective on the game. This new camera angle doesn't sound like much, but it makes it feel more natural to control Solid Snake's progenitor, Jack (a.k.a. Naked Snake - eww!), and more like other stealth games. It still retains the trademark gameplay fluidity of the series, however, with Snake effortlessly pressing against walls and stalking his enemies through lush outdoor settings. The original viewpoint, in which the camera is locked in place every time you enter a new area, is still there, both for purists and for those moments when it just works better than the new one.