Metal Gear Solid V Start New Game

[Rafael Nowning]

Videogames have their share of long and storied franchises. But around the seventh or eighth sequel, it can be difficult for newcomers to know where to start. These guides on where best to start in popular game series will point you in the right direction and maybe you'll find a new favorite.

It doesn't take a master of tactical espionage action to recognize Metal Gear Solid as one of the most complex and impenetrable series in gaming. Spanning almost three decades, Metal Gear Solid is now mired in so many sequels, prequels, and spinoffs it's almost impossible to know where to start. What's the difference between Solid Snake and Naked Snake; Big Boss and The Boss? Well, worry no longer as we're here to set the record straight. If you've never finished a Metal Gear game - or want to gear up before Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain - then your best bet is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD. Here's why:

Snake Eater kicks off the entire Metal Gear backstory. Despite being third in the series, Snake Eater is still the best place to start if you want to understand what the Hell anyone is talking about in these games. It's a prequel to every other Metal Gear Solid, and the starting point of a complex - and engrossing - narrative. Remember those examples I listed above with The Boss vs. Big Boss? You'll learn the difference between them here. And the events that transpire in Snake Eater will be a touchstone in every MGS game that follows.

It's a mix of Rambo and James Bond with several memorable characters. Snake Eater has a keen sense of time and place that sets it apart from most games. You are not just generic-soldier-man in some nondescript jungle; you're Naked Snake infiltrating the Russian wilderness at the height of the Cold War. The game is filled with little details - from the movies referenced to the technology used - that make this setting feel authentic. It also helps that you'll be meeting some of the series' most memorable characters. Ocelot's gun-twirling antics and The Boss' cool demeanor will give you plenty of motivation to soldier through even the toughest encounters.

If you can beat Snake Eater, you can beat any MGS game. Snake Eater is by no means an easy game, or a simple one. There is a lot you have to manage, including: ammo, stamina, wearing the right camouflage, conserving battery power, treating your wounds, and much more. It may feel overwhelming at times, but trust us when we say that, if you can surmount this challenge, you'll be ready for whatever the series throws at you. In fact, the other MGS games either omit or streamline a lot of the mechanics found here, making them feel a bit easier by comparison.

Snake Eater is a very open-ended game that rewards creative thinking. There's no "One Right Way" to play MGS3. If you want to haul off and kill every enemy soldier in glorious combat, you can do that (and with a wide variety of weapons to boot). Alternatively, you can take things slow and sneak around the jungle without alerting anyone. And there are tons of little tricks - from dropping beehives on soldiers to tossing out spoiled food for them to pick up - that complement both styles. This flexibility extends to (most of) the boss fights as well, letting you either face them head-on, or hide and strike from the shadows.

The series' creator even said MGS3 is the best starting point. I mean, what more of an endorsement do you need? A few years back, when Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection was about to come out, series creator Hideo Kojima posted on Twitter that he felt MGS3 was the series' best starting point. As reported by Siliconera, Kojima said he often gets asked which game to play if you haven't played MGS. His response, "Play MGS3 as control is more modern; if you [like] it then MGS4."

Once you finish Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD, where should you go next? That's a tricky question, as this game represents a fork in the MGS storyline. From here, you can either follow Naked Snake and his storyline, or go back to the beginning with the first Metal Gear Solid starring Solid Snake (who is a totally different character). With that in mind, here are my recommendations:

What to play next: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker or Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Peace Walker is a direct continuation of Naked Snake's storyline, and will bring you up to speed on everything leading up to Metal Gear Solid 5. It's also part of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection alongside Snake Eater. Twin Snakes is a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid released on the GameCube. It has updated visuals and controls making it a smoother transition from MGS3 compared to the original version.

What to skip: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Neither of these games are terrible by any stretch, but in both cases the gameplay and story elements you'll encounter are simply handled better in other games. If you're not in a rush then, by all means, play them, but if you're just looking to hit the high points feel free to give 'em a pass.

The Metal Gear franchise is an icon of the stealth genre that always seem to garner success. Even the titles that are criticized at launch, such as the over-the-top Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, have gone on to be considered underrated classics. A newcomer to Hideo Kojima's stealth-action franchise might be tempted to check out what all of the hype is about, but to say the series is complicated to get into would be a bit of an understatement.

While many Metal Gear games already have complex plotlines on their own, the franchise takes things to another level by showcasing events out of order. This makes things tough for a new fan trying to follow the fairly self-referential plots of some of the games, especially once Kojima's unique storytelling methods kick in. Those looking to ease their way into Kojima's absolutely wild stealth-action series should start out with the game that sets the groundwork for the franchise, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Taking heavy inspiration from James Bond films, Snake Eater sees players take on the role of Cold War-era CIA agent Naked Snake, who's sent into the jungles of Soviet Russia on a rescue mission. The game is heavily focused on stealth, with players often finding themselves outnumbered in hostile territory. Players can use a wide range of tools to help them take out enemies and remain undetected, though the most notable of these is Naked Snake's camouflage.

Throughout Snake Eater, players can find new camouflage options for Snake's sneaking suit. These aren't just cosmetic, as many provide Snake with different levels of concealment depending on the situation and his environment. This is more than a passive buff that players get by simply matching their camo to their general surroundings, as many camouflage options work best when Snake is actively taking measures to blend into the environment. For example, wearing tree branch camo will provide a much higher concealment rate if Snake's standing against a tree.

Snake Eater takes advantage of its environment in a lot of other ways as well, most notably with its survival aspects. Fans of hardcore survival games like Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead or RimWorld will likely appreciate things like the injury system that tracks individual wounds on Snake's body, with each type requiring a specific treatment. Snake Eater, as the title might hint at, also has a hunger system that requires players to hunt the local jungle wildlife.

Compared to many other Metal Gear titles, the story of Snake Eater is fairly easy to understand. While there are some references to characters from previous Metal Gear games, players don't need to be familiar with them to follow the plot. In fact, MGS3 ends up being a wonderful starting point for those interested in Metal Gear's story, since the events of this game end up getting referenced in pretty much every title that follows.

Snake Eater has a lot of what makes the Metal Gear franchise so beloved while also staying away from the overly complicated elements that detract players. It serves as the best introduction to the world of Metal Gear, especially since the wilder elements that the series is known for aren't introduced until the game's second half. The core elements that define the Metal Gear franchise's gameplay are refined from the previous entries as well.

The jungle setting of the game gives players a great environment to learn the stealth system, although there are still plenty of the urban environments that feature heavily in the rest of the series. The sense of space that comes from the jungle also serves as a fairly forgiving stealth playground. As games like MGS2 and MGS4 involve a lot of tight corridors and crowded military bases, Snake Eater's openness lends itself well to first-time players.

It's hard to talk about Snake Eater without bringing up the game's sense of humor. Like many Metal Gear games, there are a number of fourth-wall-breaking jokes, over-the-top moments and bizarrely funny segments that are some of the best in gaming. The seemingly endless ladder that plays the game's vocal theme as players climb it is a classic. Most of Revolver Ocelot's scenes can also get pretty campy, though he's also the source for a lot of the game's more dynamic segments.

While Snake Eater can be a pretty wild game at times, it's hard to ignore the emotional moments that help balance the game's tone. The final confrontation between Naked Snake and his mentor is considered to be one of the best boss fights in Metal Gear history, though saying any more would spoil the game's climax. Snake Eater tells a solid story that doesn't rely on past games, all while having some really unique mechanics that help it stand out as a great game for new Metal Gear fans.

I was flat on my belly on an Automaton planet the other day, being steadily driven back into the sea by waves of ramshackle AT-AT wannabes, when a switch flipped in my head amid the white noise of impending defeat, and I found myself saying "by golly, Helldivers 2 feels a lot like Metal Gear Solid 5." Sadly, there was nobody to overhear my brainfart/stroke of genius, because I was playing the game solo. But that's as it should be: if you want to appreciate what Arrowhead's Starship Troop 'em up shares with Konami's open world stealth bonanza, it's better to Helldive on your lonesome.

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