Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence review

Snake Eater: The Director's Cut offers up movies, monkeys and multiplayer mayhem

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The Metal Gear games - both originally designed for MSX - have been translated from their current mobile phone editions, and they're about as solid an argument for the awfulness of retro games as you'll see anywhere.

The basics of the gameplay are virtually unchanged - the hide 'n' seek dynamic, the 'Reee!' alert noise, the lengthy Codec chats - but Snake's reduced to a tiny fat blob and everything's in 2D. Amusing historical lesson, then - but rubbish.

Similarly, you'd need to be a phenomenal masochist to sit through the game-less film version of Snake Eater on the 'Existence' disc, a re-cut version of the game that reminds you just how unnecessary and stilted a lot of the chatter sounds.

The Monkey vs Ape missions are sort of OK, but just feel a bit pointless. Unless you're a diehard fan of quirky Japanese gaming, you'll probably find yourself wondering why they didn't go the Metal Gear Substance route and include some proper VR missions.

This edition also includes an unlockable Boss Attack mode and the inevitable 'European Extreme' difficulty, but you won't play them much.

More info

GenreAction
DescriptionSubsistence actually has something more than a few goofy extras to lure people back.
Platform"PS2"
US censor rating"Mature"
UK censor rating""
Alternative names"MGS 3: Subsistence","Metal Gear Solid III: Subsistence","Metal Gear Solid III: Subsistence"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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Joel Snape
Joel Snape enjoys Street Fighter V, any sandbox game that contains a satisfyingly clacky shotgun and worrying about the rise of accidentally-malevolent super-AI. He's also the founder-editor of livehard.co.uk, where he talks a lot about working out.