Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is a 2004 action-adventure stealth game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2. Written, produced and directed by Hideo Kojima, the game is the fifth mainline installment in the Metal Gear series and the first chronologically, serving as a prequel to the entire series. Set in 1964, the story centers on the FOX operative codenamed Naked Snake as he attempts to rescue Russian rocket scientist Nikolai Sokolov, sabotage the experimental superweapon Shagohod, and assassinate his defected former mentor, the Boss. While previous games were set in a primarily urban environment, Metal Gear Solid 3 adopts a 1960s Soviet jungle setting. Multiple new gameplay elements are added to match the setting, most notably camouflage, a new CQC combat system, player stamina that can be replenished by eating scavenged food, and an injury and treatment system. Initially supposed to be developed for the PlayStation 3, Kojima moved development to the PlayStation 2 due to the long wait for the console. The jungle setting was difficult to develop for the game, requiring a new collision engine and planned features to be cut. Harry Gregson-Williams and Norihiko Hibino returned from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) to compose the score, with the latter writing the game's opening theme, "Snake Eater". The game was released in late 2004 in North America and Japan, and in early 2005 in Europe and Australia. An expanded edition, titled Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, was released in Japan in late 2005, then in North America, Europe and Australia in 2006; this version notably added a third-person camera to the main game and the online multiplayer component Metal Gear Online. Metal Gear Solid 3 was met with critical acclaim, with many considering it an improvement over Sons of Liberty.

Source: Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0 — Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater · retrieved October 19, 2026

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Developer

Konami

Publisher

Konami

First release

November 17, 2004

Series

Metal Gear Solid

Cover

Official thumbnail

Record ID

Q247935