Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is the 2006 updated version of the original Metal Gear Solid 3 released a year earlier. This version is to many the definitive version of MGS3, a new camera, an online component, and some fun extra modes.
The main game of MGS3 remains largely the same, a romp through a fictional jungle in the Soviet Union, first to rescue a Soviet scientist, then to confront your old mentor, The Boss. After Metal Gear Solid 2’s futuristic setting and confusing plot, MGS3, a spy thriller set in 1964 before any other Metal Gear game, is a breath of fresh air. The signature stealth gameplay from previous games returns, with a range of weapons and gadgets, and a brand new focus on surviving out in the wild (hence ‘Subsistence’). The details throughout the game, including food that rots in real-time, is what helps make the series special. The twisting allegiances and heartbreaking conclusion of MGS3 in every way sets the tone and contextualises events both in games previous and following. Perhaps this is why even 15 years later this game is still monumentally important to the franchise and gaming as a whole. Despite not being my favourite Metal Gear Solid game, MGS3 is a monumental achievement even many years later, and one that has a great deal to say that is relevant even today.
You can view a trailer for the original release on PS2 below:
