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Pros:
Incredible gameplay and visuals, especially with modern controls
Brilliant story with plenty of twists and charming characters (mostly)
Satisfying stealth and action
A replayable experience thanks to collectable titles and hidden secrets
Cons:
Cartoonish main villain with no nuance
Long cutscenes and radio calls may not appeal to some players
Boss fights are a little too easy
Final score: 6/7 — A must-have for any stealth-action or spy fan
Price (Rs19,000 physical copy, PS5; $70 digital copy, (PS5, Xbox); $32.99, PC (Steam)
Reviewed on PlayStation 5, available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC (Windows)
This is part two of a review of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Read part one here.
When I wrote a first impressions piece about Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater a couple of weeks ago, I was left with pretty high expectations after the high-stakes prologue section. I’d been treated to a renewed control scheme which felt smooth and intuitive, and was introduced to a story that felt like it hopped off the big screen.
During that initial review, I covered the gameplay, the visuals and what I was met with upon booting up the game and playing a few hours. This time round, I’ll be covering the story (without spoilers, despite it being 22 years old) and some of the characters whom I grew to absolutely adore.
I’m glad I was able to play through the story of Snake Eater, one of the most iconic in gaming. Loaded with intrigue, betrayal and action, it wouldn’t be out of place among the spy films it takes heavy inspiration from. MGS Delta not only works as a remake, but also as a stealth-action game in its own right.
Like many other games, I regret that I can’t experience its story and the emotions it invoked for the first time again.
As I said in part one of this review, the gameplay feels absolutely superb. Shooting feels responsive, hand-to-hand combat looks (and feels) devastating and sneaking through a jungle full of armed guards like a ghost was a truly satisfying experience.
Snake Eater, like other MGS titles, encourages repeat playthroughs, as you are given a special title upon completion based on how many enemies were killed, how many times Snake was spotted and other criteria.
With multiple difficulty levels and special items tied to receiving certain titles, the game incentivises you to play again for a significantly higher rank. Personally, I aimed to use the tranquilliser gun for minimal kills, but ended up getting spotted a total of 50 times. Snake even has the scars to prove it.
Now that I’m more familiar with the game, I’m confident that when I hop back in, I’ll be able to nail that higher score with fewer alerts and better stealth. Moreover, there are hidden weapons, equipment and easter eggs that I missed the first time around, so I’m looking forward to going back in and looking for them.
Also, hiding from guards in a cardboard box never, ever gets old.
Snake Eater really leans into the inspiration it’s taken from spy films, such as the 007 franchise. Hideo Kojima, who directed the original game back in 2004, is a notorious movie buff and that’s reflected in most of the game’s creative decisions. Even the theme song, ‘Snake Eater’ by Cynthia Harrell, has the same vibe as a 007 theme.
The game sees Naked Snake (again, he’s clothed, don’t worry), drop into the Soviet Union to rescue a defecting scientist named Sokolov, who has been forced to build a nuclear-armed tank called the Shagohod. This prologue, called the ‘Virtuous Mission’, is an introduction to the game’s core mechanics of stealth, combat and survival, whilst also setting the foundations for the rest of the story.
At the end of the ‘Virtuous Mission’, Snake’s mentor, The Boss, defects to the Soviet Union and kidnaps Sokolov, leaving Snake for dead after tossing him into a gorge. She also brings the antagonist, Colonel Volgin, a Davy Crockett launcher, capable of firing nuclear artillery shells. Volgin decides to test-fire his new toy, bringing tensions between Washington and Moscow to a breaking point.
To stop World War III, Snake has to rescue Sokolov (again), destroy the Shagohod and assassinate The Boss.
Everything about this premise is, as the kids say, “absolute cinema”. It’s suspenseful and intriguing, and framed in the backdrop of a real period in history. The use of newsreel footage in the cutscenes makes the experience all the more immersive.
It’s also satisfying watching Snake grow and hone his skills throughout his mission, because not only is Snake getting better as the game goes on, but you are as a player, through gradual mastery of the game’s mechanics and systems.
One thing MGS is famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) for is having very long cutscenes between sections of gameplay and radio calls loaded to the brim with exposition and other information.
Granted, making radio calls to members of Snake’s team offers useful hints, but if you’ve got a short attention span, you’re probably not going to enjoy them and the skip button will be your best friend.
That said, the cutscenes, like the rest of the game, look absolutely stunning. Characters are highly detailed, shots are beautifully composed and they are shot-for-shot accurate to the original Snake Eater.
As I said in the preliminary review, the story leans on perspective and loyalty as a main theme, and how there is no such thing as an enemy in absolute terms.
Snake is being sent in to assassinate The Boss — his mentor and someone he holds an extremely close relationship with, like that of a mother and son. This challenges the concepts of loyalty and who the enemy really is; does loyalty lie with a country or a leader, or is it something deeper? It was a truly interesting concept to consider.
I’m glad I was finally able to experience the story of Snake Eater firsthand. It’s certainly one of the better stories in the series and I regret not playing the remake at release, or even playing ports of the original.
Also, since this is the first game in the MGS chronology, you’re not dumped into a pit of convoluted and incomprehensible backstory yet. If you want to dip your toes in the series, start here.
Speaking of The Boss, alongside assassinating her, Snake has to assassinate her Cobra Unit — soldiers with supernatural abilities who basically serve as boss fights.
While they have very cool designs, I found some of these fights a little too easy. The fight against The Fear took me minutes once I realised he could be tracked using thermal goggles.
Once you find each Cobra’s weakness — either through experimentation or radio calls — the tips are added to an in-game database, outlining which pieces of equipment and techniques are most useful. I’m torn on this: on one hand, I like how you’re given detailed information like a spy is given intelligence. But on the other, it makes the fight far too easy.
Despite this, fighting the Cobras is a memorable experience. Their unique designs and powers stick in your mind, such as the 40-minute sniper duel with The End, a century-old sniper. Fun fact: if you save the game at the start of the boss fight and return a week later, The End will die of old age. Unfortunately, I haven’t found time to test this, but I will on my next run.
One of my favourite characters in the game by far was Ocelot, a recurring character with multiple appearances across the franchise.
Aside from goofy moments, including summoning his unit by meowing (you did not read that wrong), this iteration of the character oozes style and flair. His outfit — a Spetsnaz uniform coupled with spurs on his boots and Colt revolvers — is a unique aesthetic blending both sides of the Iron Curtain; fitting given the time period in which the game is set.
He’s cocky and arrogant, sure, but how he takes advice from Snake after their many encounters is what I really appreciate about Ocelot. At first, Snake suggests Ocelot use a revolver because he “twists his elbow to absorb the recoil”. The next time they meet, he brings one but doesn’t count his shots, running out of ammo. On their third encounter, Ocelot brings two guns with 12 rounds.
I appreciate when characters adapt like this in any story, but it also creates this interesting dynamic where Ocelot views Snake as a mentor, putting aside his arrogance to grow. This, and how Ocelot will spin his pistols any chance he gets, cemented him as a fan favourite character. Well for me anyway.
However, I can’t review this game without talking about Volgin, who also holds the prestigious Golden Moron Award (which I definitely did not make up). A one-dimensional, moustache-twirling cartoon villain, Volgin, in my opinion, is one of the weaker villains in the series.
Cruel, sadistic and power-hungry, he has about as much nuance as a jackhammer, which makes him stand out from the remaining cast of characters who have far more depth.
The guy, and I swear I’m not making this up, reveals the exact location of a critical item in the game’s plot in a room full of spies. I belly-laughed for a solid few minutes at how dumb this man is. If you’re looking for a nuanced villain, you won’t find one here.
MGS Delta: Snake Eater, to me, is more than just a remake of a 22-year-old game. I loved my time playing this, and I can only imagine my feelings are like those of people who played it upon its original release.
It really goes beyond being a game and is more like an experience. An experience I’ll never have for the first time again, like Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s not perfect, but if you’re a stealth fan, definitely pick this one up.
With the Delta rebranding, I’m hopeful that they’ll remake more games from the series, rather than just re-releasing them. There are so many stories in the MGS franchise that not only need to be told with higher visual fidelity, but also modernised controls.
I know purists will disagree, and power to them, but one can always hope.
اگر آپ اس خبر کے بارے میں مزید معلومات حاصل کرنا چاہتے ہیں تو نیچے دیے گئے لنک پر کلک کریں۔
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