METAL GEAR SOLID.NET

Metal Gear Solid was admired for its amazing gameplay and great features and controls. You were able to sneak around, crawl, fire/throw a weapon, punch and kick, observe in First Person View (FPV) mode, climb ladders, repel down towers, run whilst firing a weapons, steer missiles... but all that began to seem rather basic when it's sequel appeared...

Metal Gear Solid 2 was a whole new story when it came to gaming. The controls were similar but actions were greatly enhanced and improved. You could do all of the things that you could in MGS, but so much more! You could now shoot in FPV allowing you to aim at specific parts of the body; you could hold up guards and receive items, weapons and dog tags as your reward; you could roll (or cartwheel); arrange your menus; play around with the Codec; complete the game without killing anybody; put away weapons without firing them first; hang from gantries; distract guards with books and magazines; get items out of bodies; walk quietly and interact with your surroundings... it was a gamer's dream...

But then along came MGS3...

Here are some of the things that make MGS3 stand out from its other PS2 counterpart:

• You have a stamina bar. When you run around and do energetic things, your stamina decreases. To replenish it, you must eat - and that means finding food. It's not just rations anymore; in MGS3 you must find, capture and eat the plants and animals which roam the game. Occasionally, you will get the chance to eat normal food such as Rations, Calorie Mates and Instant Noodles. Your stomach will rumble if you don't satisfy it and in doing so, can alert the enemy to your presence. Stamina also increases when you save, turn off the console and have a break.
• Curing injuries is a priority. You can get burnt, stabbed, stomach aches, poisoned and broken bones. These all have to be cured in different ways. If you don't cure them in the Survival Viewer, your life will decrease.
• Sneaking: like in MGS1, you can run. Like in MGS2, you can walk. In MGS3 you can also make very little noise by sneaking. This is achieved by using the D-Pad as opposed to the left analog stick.
• CQC: Close Quarters Combat. This can only be done when certain weapons are equipped. You can do a variety of actions when you're in close range of an enemy soldier. Sneak up on a guard using the D-Pad, throw them by pressing O and moving the left analog stick simultaneously. Hold down the O button to hold them with a knife to their throat - press O too hard and you'll cut their throat. Drag your enemy whilst in this chokehold by holding down O and using the left analog stick to move. Use your weapons whilst holding them so that they can act as a human shield. Your enemies will hesitate to shoot while you are holding one of their comrades captive. Throw them after grabbing them by pressing O and moving the left analog stick. Press the O button rapetedly to snap a prisoner's neck. Interogate your prisoner by pressing L3 (pushing in the left analog stick) whilst holding them.
• Blend in: you can alter your camouflage and face paint so that you minimise the chance of being spotted. When you are motionless, your camo index (percentage of how camouflaged you are) will go up. When you crouch, it goes up more. It goes up even more when you lie down.
• Shoot whilst hanging. Equip certain weapons and hang from somewhere like a tree branch then enter FPV to shoot.
• Fire the enemy's weapons: you can do this at certain points in the game when you see mounted machine guns. Use them to eliminate your enemy, but be warned - they make a lot of noise and will attract even more enemies!
• Fake your identity by using other people's uniform. There are three points in MGS3 when you should pretend to be someone you're not so that you can get around hassel free. You can disguise yourself as a scientist in the Graniny Gorky Lab and Groznyj Grad. Guards will pay you very little attention. Other scientists will become suspicious if they see your face and will raise the alarm. Disguise yourself as an engineer whilst planning to blow up the Shagohod. As with the scientist uniform, guards won't be suspicious (unless you act extremely out of character for a scientist/engineer) but the engineers will. The best disguise of all though is Colonel Volgin's closest ally, Major Raikov. Steal his uniform and wear the Raikov mask and then march around Groznyj Grad imperiously and beat up anyone you feel like along the way. Unless you act out of character, everyone (except Volgin himself) will be fooled by this brilliant disguise.
• Wading and swimming: if you enter shallow water, you can wade around in it. Do not spend too long in a swamp or you will sink in too far and die. If entering deeper water, you swim around on the surface. Press X to dive down under the surface and swim amongst the fish, crocodiles, crabs etc. Some items are located under water. For the ultimate water disguise, locate and equip the "water" camouflage and wear the "croc cap" - enemy soldiers could easily mistake you for a crocodile!
• Watch your suppressors! The more you fire a firearm equiped with a suppressor, the more damage it will take and wear out. You can get new suppressors, but to prevent wasting them, take them off using O while the menu is held open to remove them.
• Know when to throw away your food. If food gets rotten, which it will if you leave it in your possession for too long (even if you save the game and turn off the PS2, your food will still go rotten!), you can chuck food away. You can also equip food like weapons and throw them. The Fear uses up much stamina and needs to eat - reduce his stamina further by throwing him rotten food. Throw food to the guard of your cell in Groznyj Grad, and you will almost create a friendship! You can also keep a limited number of animals alive so that they don't slowly rot.
• Roll over objects. Low objects like boxes and traps can be quickly avoided by simply performing a roll over them.

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