If you go buy the latest OPM (Official Playstation Magazine) there is a disk with the Metal Gear Solid 3 demo in it. In case you are late on this, or you need more information, keep in mind that the issue is in a Metal Gear camo wrapping. I haven't seen it on stands outside of the wrapping. If it is, the actual cover is white with lots of "!" marks that the soldiers express in the game(s).
Anyway, the demo didn't wow me like MGS2, but I must admit that the game is incredibly fun to play. It seems more realistic. For example, if you are wearing poor camo a gaurd YARDS away WILL spot you. No more 6 ft cones anymore! Getting caught is more tense too. Lots of guards come from all sides and waste you. It's more challanging to get away.
Speaking of stealth, the camo system is very easy to work with. All you have to do is open up a menu and select what to wear and what face makeup you will put on. The demo only offers 2 "faces", but you have 5 or 6 camo gear to choose from. You aren't forced to experiment either. If you have Snake lying in the grass, and you want the best possible camo, the selection screen will tell you how much you blend in.
So one option will say "+30" while another might say "-10".
Close Qarters Combat is fun to work with. This game makes me feel real sadistic. After I put Snakes knife on a poor guard and scared some information out of him, i slit is throat. Another time I pushed the guard to the ground and shot him in the head. This may sound disturbing to some of you, but I feel it brings a stronger element of how nasty war is.
Mr. Kojima once again shows his humorous side by throwing in gags for the player to perform. Spin around enough in the first person view mode and watch snake vomit. Toss a grenade in an alligators mouth. Shoot down a nest of bees near a guard and watch chaos ensue.
Hunting for food isn't as annoying as I thought it would be. Food is EVERYWHERE. You can eat a couple of mushrooms growing from a tree, rats under a building, a stray frog that crossed your path, and (of course) a snake. Even the smallest portion refills your stanima bar(s) fairly. Speaking ingesting things, Snake no longer eat rations. If you are hurt, just relax for a bit. The better your stanima is, the faster you will heal. In fact, stanima plays a key part on how well you can sneak up to guards and how steady your aim is.
Mr. Kojima also gave us plenty of weapons to play around with. My favorite is the shot gun. I was spotted, so I ran into a broken down building. I stood at the center of the doorway blasting a guard back a good 10ft whenever one appeared. You are given a knife, pistol, automatic, tranqs, grendes, sniper rifle, and various other goods (like a lifeform detector that uses sonar) to play with as well.
The graphics are well done. The only complaint I have is that when the camera gets to close to something (say you have Snake stare at the ground as he is laying down) the graphics "smear" (like the good old N64 days). That is forgivable since the jungle is so full of life. The lighting is simply amazing. The design doesn't look like it's "convenient" either. In other words, everything appears to be natural.
The story, as usual, seems to be building up (I just remembered--all the voices are the japanese cast in the demo, so deal with it) to something huge.
Overall, I am pretty hyped up for the game. I am not excited for it like I was MGS, but I have a feeling MGS3 will be the better game.
