I walked into Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater with high hopes but also a little skepticism. After all, the much-hyped MGS2 didn't quite live up to the phenomenal expectations we all had. But four marathon play sessions later, I emerged a changed gamer. (Then I peed.) Players who've dialed down their expectations are in for a pleasant surprise. Snake Eater is not only a return to form for series creator Hideo Kojima, it's probably the best Metal Gear Solid game yet.

In case you've been too busy hiding in lockers to keep up on game news, Snake Eater is a prequel, taking place in 1964. So, the Snake character you play as here is not the one you're familiar with. He's sent into a remote region of Russia to try to contain a sudden nuclear menace, and things only get complicated from there. Suffice it to say that Snake Eater fills in nice chunks of the Metal Gear Solid backstory. While there are some good plot twists, Kojima wisely reigns in the high-minded metababble that tarnished MGS2. MGS3 is much more straightforward and upfront, but still manages to work in its key themes without being overly preachy. In this respect it's a more mature work than MGS, and much more accessible than MGS2. Outside of post-modern lit majors, everyone should find these changes to be for the better.

Filled with Character

Ready for another surprise? MGS3 is long. I took over 25 hours to play through it, and a solid majority of that was gameplay. One of the most valid criticisms of MGS2 was that its abundance of cinematics and codec conversations hid the surprisingly meager amount of gameplay. MGS3 strikes a superior balance. There's still plenty of story, humor and character development to be experienced, but the gameplay sections are longer and most of the codec "chatting" scenes are optional. You don't need to talk to each character to hear their reactions to major events, but if you want to, you can.

Green suits him here. Elsewhere, other colors are advised.

Many of the characters are strong, too. The new Snake is likeable but has a distinctly different personality than the old, and goes through some major, dramatic changes over the course of the game. It really feels like a journey. The two female leads are also wonderful, both in characterization and voice acting. That said, a few others are a bit disappointing. The members of Cobra Unit, an elite commando unit that Snake fights, are hit-or-miss. Some have hints of interesting backstory and most have fabulous character designs, but they don't really exist in the game's plot until they're encountered and disposed with. Two of them just shout their names a lot in stereotypically evil voices between mid-battle taunts. That's not quite the characterization I was hoping for. Still, the cast is very well done overall, and at least on par with that of the highly regarded MGS.