Shortly before the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, I decided I wanted to try to catch up on Metal Gear. I purchased Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on the Vita, and figured it would be a good of place as any to start.

Snake Eater was released on the Playstation 2 in 2004 and the HD Collection came to the Vita in 2012. My last experience with Metal Gear was with Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance on the Xbox, however I remember very little about the game other than the underwater section being frustratingly difficult.

I had hoped that Snake Eater would shed some light on what is happening in The Phantom Pain, but so far I’m more confused than ever. The story so far (in both games) comes across as comically absurd, and I’m not sure whether to laugh or shake my head most of the time.

What I can say for sure is that the game looks great on the Vita. The game also controls well and makes good use of the Vita’s touch screen (it’s especially easy to change weapons), however I’ve run into quite a few camera issues. While sneaking in the grass the camera switches to first person and I can’t seem to find any way to see what’s going on around me. I just have to wing it and hope no enemies are looking when I emerge from the grass. I’ve changed the camera settings in the options but it doesn’t seem to change anything at all. Maybe I’m just doing something wrong, but so far this is making the stealth aspect of the game extremely frustrating.

I haven’t gotten too far into the game yet (I’ve only just started Operation Snake Eater) but its absurdity so far has me wanting to see just how crazy it gets as the story advances. The hard part is decided whether I want to focus my time on Snake Eater or The Phantom Pain primarily. MGSV is much more enjoyable to play, so that’s probably where I’ll spend most of my time for now.