Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is set to revive the beloved PS2 classic with modernized controls and presentation, but it still seems dedicated to maintaining a faithful recreation of the original's identity. While many of the features from MGS3 are likely to be successfully updated by this process, some aspects of the title, like several others in the franchise, utilized the hardware of the time in a way that is essentially impossible to recapture now. In the face of this reality, one encounter in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater may need to be significantly reimagined if it hopes to still achieve the same level of praise.
With Metal Gear Solid 3 following Naked Snake as he takes down the eclectic members of the Cobra Unit, there are several creative solutions to taking some of them down which have become iconic moments in the series. Likely the most well-known is The End, a boss who can be taken down with different methods that can alter the pacing and difficulty of a given playthrough. In this strategic face-off with an elderly master sniper, the player's tactical prowess is rewarded in a novel manner which encourages awareness of the environment and even systems outside the game itself. To truly capture the spirit of the original, MGS Delta might have to iterate on this portion of the game if it hopes to offer the same level of player agency.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater’s Difficulty Options Could Be a Double-Edged Sword
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is experimenting with its difficulty settings, which could prove to be a risky gameplay change.
Why The End's Boss Encounter in Metal Gear Solid 3 Is One of The Most Creatively Rewarding in Gaming History
Providing a More Forgiving Option Through Breaking the Fourth Wall in a Potentially Grueling Battle
The most notable part of The End's boss battle is its connection to the internal clock of the PS2 which allows the player to win the fight by simply waiting. By manipulating the time on the console by setting it forward, the character's advanced age can catch up to him and leave him a corpse before he ever becomes a true threat. In the same vein as Psycho Mantis in the original Metal Gear Solid, this encounter utilizes a fourth wall break to create a memorable instance of meta-gameplay that cemented this franchise's innovative status.
Not Restricting the Player's Agency in Taking Down the Cobra Unit
If the player can get their hands on the SVD sniper rifle, The End can be taken out at Ponizovje if he is shot down immediately after appearing in a cutscene. This requires following a challenging beeline route supported by prior knowledge, but like Metal Gear Solid 3's The Sorrow boss battle, it respects the player's decisions and can reduce what tends to be one of the most lengthy and difficult encounters in the game down to a far quicker operation.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Needs to Retain Alternative Ways of Beating The End
Capturing the Same Versatility of MGS3 on the PS2 Might Require Rethinking the Internal Clock Method
Integrating the battle with The End in a way that resonates with contemporary audiences for the remake is likely to be a challenge for Konami, as the internal clock mechanism of older systems has become obsolete in modern systems that use always-synced internet clocks. If the same kind of waiting solution hopes to still exist in MGS Delta, it could require a new mechanic that allows the simulation of the same amount of time passing instead. How this feature is implemented would be a crucial determinant as to whether this remake lives up to the status of Metal Gear Solid 3 in terms of The End, but it isn't the only way to ensure it remains a creative gameplay opportunity.
The Benefit of a Different Take on Killing The End Early
Even beyond clock manipulation, taking The End out before his official battle is still something to be handled carefully. In the Twin Snakes remake of the first game, changes to mechanics ended up altering and sometimes trivializing solutions to that game's bosses, criticisms that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater's difficulty balancing can hopefully avoid.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 89%
WHERE TO PLAY
The core experience of the original, evolved and more immersive than ever.
A remake of the 2004 game METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER, with the same gripping story and engrossing world, now with all new graphics and 3D audio that enhance the jungle atmosphere. Get ready for the ultimate survival stealth action experience.
The Cold War Crisis that started it all
In the middle of the Cold War, Naked Snake, the man who would later be known as Big Boss, infiltrates the Soviet Union to escort a defecting scientist, Sokolov. However, the mission ends in failure when Snake's mentor—The Boss, a soldier known as the mother of special forces—betrays him, and Sokolov is captured by Colonel Volgin of the GRU.
One week later, Snake returns to Soviet territory to rescue Sokolov and eliminate The Boss—a mission that will mark the start of a new legend, a mission that will mark the start of a new legend, against the backdrop of the ever-changing march of history.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- Metal Gear Solid
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Developer
- Virtuos, Konami, Konami Digital Entertainment
- Publisher
- Virtuos, Konami, Konami Digital Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Shooter, Adventure, Stealth
