I play video games. I play them all day, every day. I play Nintendo, Capcom, Ubisoft, Rockstar, Square Enix, EA Games, Sega, Konami, and Activision. Every single second I am not working, eating, or sleeping, I am playing video games. I eat them for sustenance. I inhale and exhale the video games. But, recently, I came across something that got caught in my throat. I spit it out, and I found Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. I had already played 2 of its predecessors, and was mildly impressed by both. So, I said “Hey, this could be pretty good!”, then popped it into my 3DS XL. Turns out, it was. One could say it was the best (Although IGN rated it #25 on the list The Top 100 Games Ever, June 2016).  I’ll explain why I think one was right (“…it was the best…”-some one), and they were wrong (“Any game that can make you emotional about climbing a ladder deserves some kind of recognition.” -Chloi Rad, IGN) -

I knew I had to bring down my expectations of this game, at least a little. This was because the game was played on a mobile platform. Sometimes that places severe restrictions on a game, including; low resolution graphics, chronic lag, tiny maps. That final reason that I named means that after 3 minutes is spent in a map (or area) to complete objectives, a 4-minute loading screen appears when it comes time to move on to a different map. This is caused by low RAM, and new data must be brought up constantly. This causes constant loading screens, which is a definite game-killer. Thankfully, Konami made a good decision, and scrapped the original algorithm (which was made for stay-at-home platforms), and made a new one that the 3DS could handle. As a result, I may be basing my conclusions on this game on a non-optimal version of it. So, I’ve established that a clever sidestep was made to ensure that the game was a success. But, there are some things that can’t be excused by a system inadequacy-

The storyline, the amount of fun (or replay value), and the (if any) extra content are all very important. Looking back at my memories, the plot has a bubbling build-up, a crazy climax, and an extreme ending. Throughout there is betrayal, conflict, and excitement. For fun, there are pistols, sniper rifles, RPG’s, grenades, and targets (‘bad guys’). For extra content, one could interview (interrogate) people in the game, or look for all the hidden Yoshi. If a break is needed from a particularly difficult boss or situation, a call can be made to one of your contacts, and a conversation about the tastiness of a legendary invisible snake or some other obscure animal might commence to distract you. Two completely necessary and fun reasons to replay this game are these: more gear is made available, and more achievements can be met (the gear being essential to complete them). Also, there’s plenty of easter eggs to go around. There include: references to previous games, magazines of varying topics, posters of questionable photographs, and quotes from many movies made in the 1960s. Another thing-

To add a little more to the console-transfer problem, there are also some differences that go beyond graphics and the like. Obviously, the controls are one. But all mainstream controllers are essentially the same, so this isn’t a problem. For a second example, the Playstation 2 and Xbox versions of the game had a multiplayer capability, and some of the camouflage and face paint patterns were obtained in different ways. However, the actual items and almost 100% of all content can be accessed in the mobile version, just in different ways. There are a few minigames that entail chasing monkeys, but add nothing to the storyline. So, it’s not really possible to miss anything. And I don’t think, in this day and age, there’ll be a problem finding a different online multiplayer third person- or first person-shooter. Now, on the actual gameplay-

I’d say this game has great flow, no matter what way you play it. The game can penalize and reward a player for completing their missions in different ways. For example, this game puts a strong emphasis on the choice between stealth and non-stealth. Another decision to make, which is affected by the previous one, is “Should I not kill anyone?” or “Should I kill everybody?”. Weapons are available for both tactics. Usually, during their first playthrough, a player picks the latter, or a hybrid of both. For the camera placement, the game is set in third-person view, except when aiming down gun sights, when it can be set to either third- or first-person. The only time that the camera was a hindrance to me was in the final boss battle, and the camera was very rarely pointing at the enemy. However, that may have been the whole point. One final thing to note is the injury/stamina system. If the player tries to push Snake (the main character, who you play as) beyond his physical limits, they better have the adequate health products to fix him up! This was a first for the series. So-

In conclusion, this is the greatest game in the history of history. Everything about it is perfect, except the stuff that’s not. So, I give it a rating of 99/100. I’m glad I didn’t miss this one, and was pleasantly surprised. Sometimes, at first, the best things in life choke you.