If I were to rate this objectively, docking points for any flaws, I'd have to give this game an eight or nine. The camara really is a hinderance to the gameplay. Although it's pretty much the same camara system MGS has always had, the removal of the radar box and the progression we've seen in camara systems since the original MGS debuted back in 1998, has really exacerbated the problem. But I'm not scoring this objectively. I'm basing this number on the level of enjoyment this game gave me, and if I have to use a number to represent the fun I had with MGS3, it simply has to be a "10". No other number will do. In my book, this game is right up there with the best of 'em: Ocarana of TIme, FFVII, FF Tactics, Deus Ex, and of course the original Metal Gear Solid.
The current trend in games, it seems, has been to make them simpler, make them shorter, make them easier for novices to get into. It's a rare thing to find a game this gen which is actually more complex and challenging than it's last-gen predasesser. MGS3 is such a game. True, some of its added complexties (the "first-aid" and "food" systems) will be nothing but annoyances to most gamers, but for weirdos like me who love to micro-manage everything, and love the added immersion these otherwise pointless systems can add, MGS3 is great. I love the fact that when snake falls a good 20-30 feet, he'll have to bandage up his broken ankle. I love that after he wades through a jungle swamp he'll have to use his cigar to burn off the leaches which have attached to himself. I love that in the long, gruelling sniper dual with "The End", you'll occasionaly have to stop to hunt for food. These things may add nothing to the gameplay, and may just serve to annoy most people, but for me they added to the immersion, and just gave the game a unique survival feel.
The storyline of MGS2 was without a doubt its greatest weakness. There was simply too much of it, and towards the end, it became so convoluted and bizare, it became completely laughable. And of course there was Raiden. I think for the most part MGS3 really does answer these complaints. There are still many hours of cutscenes and radio transmissions, but unlike MGS2, they're not interupting the gameplay every five steps. There are quite a few cutscenes which probably approach the 15 to 30 minute range, but after the opening few hours they always come after a long stretch of uninteruped gameplay, and usually come as a nice diversion. The storyline is still as cheezy and insane as it's always been, but somehow it's a likeable kind of cheeziness which always manages to hold my attention. Maybe it's for no other reason than to see what zany things will happen next. It does become kind of convoluted towards the end, with double and triple crossings, secret identities, and shadowy organizations pulling the strings of government, but not to the same degree as MGS2.
I think what really holds MGS3's storyline together more than anything else though, is the return of Solid Snake (of course it isn't the same Snake as the previous games, but that's irrelevant). He's just so much more interesting than Raiden. The "James Bond" style opening which Snake Eater uses is fitting in a way. Just as James Bond is the central character which carries the 007 franchise, Solid Snake is the central character which carries MGS.
Just as always in a MGS game, there's tons and tons of gadgets and weapons at your disposal, and the levels are all designed in such a way that there are seemingly infinate possibilities for dispatching or avoiding your enemies. Also, the boss encounters are still as great as ever, easily surpassing the bosses found in MGS2, and perhaps even those of the original.
Maybe it's just the nostalgia of returning to an old favorite, but after getting over my initial annoyance with the camara system, MGS3 was for me pure gaming goodness and a great return to form for a classic franchise.
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