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Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater or Subsistence

Walter Matthau

Walter Matthau

Member
Sorry in advance for asking a pretty worthless question and taking up messageboard space, but i'm curious as to which version of Metal Gear Solid 3 I should pursue. It's to my understanding that Subsistence is a little hard to come by and likely to cost a bit more than MGS3:SE, which is only $10 - $15 in stores. With that said, is it worth tracking down Subsistence?

Key questions:
1) How much better is the camera angle system in Subsistence?
2) How much is added to the core game?
3) Do the 6 different difficulties really matter?

Considerations:
I will not be playing the extra modes, just the core game
My skills in Metal Gear are average at best
I don't buy used games and tracking down Subsistence for a good price might be difficult
 
I owned both at one point in time. I didn't finish MGS3 when I heard that Subsistence would be released with a 3rd person camera angle. The camera is worth the price.
 
In addition to the camera view that makes the game tenfold more playable, Subsistence also fixes some minor glitches that were in the original game (codec would sometimes hang, etc.).

MGS3's a bit easier compared to MGS2 (unless you're trying to do a no-kill run, in that case it's much harder), so put it on Hard, even if you're not a Metal Gear expert. Easy offers no challenge whatsoever and Very Easy might as well play the game for you. Extreme is indeed Extreme though.

I'd say get Subsistence.
 
I thought the camera system made the game tons managable than the overhead camera in Snake Eater. Other than that and the extra difficulty, I don't think there's any differences between the two games. So it all comes to how much you're willing to spend extra for a better camera system. Snake Eater is still playable but I'm part of the camp that absolutely hated it (the camera system)
 
Just get Snake Eater, it sounds like you don't care much anyway. I don't know why anyone would skip two whole other games even though they're "extras," but if you aren't going to play them, don't bother tracking it down.
 
I own both and Subsistence is by faaar the best version, feels like a whole different game compared to "vanilla" what with the new camera and all.
 
Ehm, by the way, has anyone tried playing MGS3 (either version) on a PAL PS3...?

Because it seems like it won't run at all...?
 
I tried MGS3 Subsistence on my PAL PS3 and it worked perfectly fine on 1.80 and 1.81 firmware.

Subsistence has both the new free view camera and the old school camera. There's no reason not to get Subsistence if you can find it.
 
I bought a sealed copy of Subsistence for $32 + shipping on ebay about 3 weeks ago. Wasn't too hard to find. I own both versions now, and definitely recommend Subsistence.
 
Philanthropist said:
I tried MGS3 Subsistence on my PAL PS3 and it worked perfectly fine on 1.80 and 1.81 firmware.

Subsistence has both the new free view camera and the old school camera. There's no reason not to get Subsistence if you can find it.
Click to expand...

Great great great!!! :D :)

I will get it as soon as I have holiday!
 
i finished Snake Eater with my poor skills... camera is not perfect and can sometimes be annoying, but it's definitely not a problem

but if you're on it now Subsistence may be the right choice

:)
 
In Subsistance you can switch at any time to the old camera so it's worth it. I'm an old school MGS fan and I loooooved the Subsistance camera. The old MGS style top down camera is fine in an area with lots of boxes to hide behind, but MGS3 featured wide open areas and with the old camera you were forced to look in first person view every few seconds. It didn't work as well.

Subsistance ftw.
 
I owned Vanilla MGS3 and bought Subsistence because I loved the game so much.

That said, I found the new camera hard to get used to and kept wishing it would snap back to a default position like the vanilla game. This may be a preference issue or it's more likely that I was so used to the original version that the new camera was confusing and hard to use.
 
Reilly said:
No it isn't. It makes the game unplayable.

Just pick up the cheap version.
Click to expand...

joke character confirmed.

Get subsistence. the price difference between the two (used) is somewhere around all of five dollars, and the camera absolutely makes a HUGE, HUGE difference.

That said, I found the new camera hard to get used to and kept wishing it would snap back to a default position like the vanilla game. This may be a preference issue or it's more likely that I was so used to the original version that the new camera was confusing and hard to use.
Click to expand...

the "vanilla" style camera is also included, for those who really have hard on for it. since both are included in subsistence, there's no reason not to get that one.
 
I own both versions of the game. I never really had much of a problem with the overhead camera, but the 3rd person perspective was great. It really made some boss fights (The Fear) a lot easier. However some boss fights, like The Fury, worked a lot better with the original. I really liked the fact that you can switch between the two when ever you wanted.
 
The camera was a godsend for me, because when I play games like this I like to walk slow and swing the camera around to take everything in. It shows off the jungle environments better. And does well for the gameplay. The old camera was OK for the other MGS games, with their smaller interiors, but for the sprawling jungle it was just wrong.

Unfortunately it does make the game too easy because the AI isn't tweaked. You're essentially more perceptive and better able to stay on your toes, but they aren't.
 
I just finished MGS2 and wish I had MGS2 subsitance with the VR games. I only bought MGS3 Subsistance and the new camera is great! I haven't played the original but you can still go back to the over-head view just by clicking the analog stick.
revolverjgw said:
The camera was a godsend for me, because when I play games like this I like to walk slow and swing the camera around to take everything in. It shows off the jungle environments better. And does well for the gameplay. The old camera was OK for the other MGS games, with their smaller interiors, but for the sprawling jungle it was just wrong.

Unfortunately it does make the game too easy because the AI isn't tweaked. You're essentially more perceptive and better able to stay on your toes, but they aren't.
Click to expand...
Yeah MGS2 didn't have a wide open jungle so the over head camera definitely was better for 2 compared to 3
 
I played both.

Subsistence has faster loading in the menus and with the camouflage, curing and food screens, you'll need it.

The 3rd person camera makes it a brand new game. There are areas you won't even recognize (because of it)! :lol
 
This is not a question. Subsistance destroy, kills, obliterate Snake Eater. And this already just with the new camera alone.
 
Get Subsistence...as long as you aren´t a hardcore MGS fan who wants to feel the pain of having no idea what is going on around him.
 
kammy said:
how good is the new camera? whats it like?

is it like the camera in portable ops? in which case no sale.
Click to expand...

It's a free-moving 3d camera controlled by the R-stick.

It makes the game slightly too easy though.
 
I'd say Subsistence, but part of me feels the new camera angle made the game too easy, maybe even broken (see: Twin Snakes). The original camera is frustrating though so be warned.
 
While this isn't related to the question I completely forgot that the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel ever existed. Was it ever released? How much was it? And was it any good?
 
Subsistence also has all the nice goodies(MG1 & 2 playable, all of the cinemas, etc). I can't imagine ever choosing Snake Eater over it.

Wait the new camera makes the game too easy? Play on a harder setting then. Hell if that's not good enough and you're still doing perfect games on European Extreme then...well...post some videos cause I wanna watch. :(
 
Subsistance by far.

The Camera makes the damn game playable from Hard - European Extreme and a ton of extra's you get with it as well like the original Metal Gear games.
 
ToyMachine228 said:
While this isn't related to the question I completely forgot that the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel ever existed. Was it ever released? How much was it? And was it any good?
Click to expand...

Yes it was released. I got mine for $20, but I've seen it go for less than that. I thought it was a cool concept (it never leaves my PSP case) and it's great having all of the comics in an interactive format.
 
HIJACKING THREAD ALERT!!

I beat Snake Eater after hours of cursing and trying to take out the final boss because I never had to use CQC during the game and all of a sudden, I had to use it for the boss.

There are no tutorials in Snake Eater and the manual or gamefaqs didn't help either. Does Subsistence have any VR scenarios or any thing like that? How are you supposed to learn CQC? It's supposed to be a big part (gameplay innovation) in the game.

This is all coming from somebody who got almost all the dogtags in MGS2 so I'm no slouch at the series but I just had a terrible time with Snake Eater.
 
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