A PS2 must-play. Among the most memorable games in years.
I've had MGS3: Subsistence sitting around the apartment for a long time, untouched. I bought it at release but never got the motivation to play through it, largely because I wasn't a big fan of MGS2's over-the-top storylines and heavy cinematic-to-gameplay ratio.
Now a few days before MGS4 is released, I felt a duty to actually play through Snake Eater, and all I can say is I feel really, really, REALLY stupid for not playing this sooner. MGS3 is one of the most epic, satisfying, fun, thought-provoking, endearing and memorable games I've played in years. The storyline is grounded in reality with (mostly) believable characters that I actually grew attached to as the game unfolded. Kojima also balanced the action with exposition much better this time around.
While the game starts slow, it builds and builds naturally throughout the game's 15-hour campaign and feature one of the most arresting, showstopping epic finales I've ever witnessed in a game. I literally could not pull myself away from the final 5 hours and wound up awake at 4 a.m., adrenaline rushing and honestly a bit melancholy at the final events in the game.
An amazing experience -- highly recommended, especially to MGS doubters who didn't care for MGS2's excesses but enjoyed the core elements of the series.
