#17 - Metal Gear Solid 3 (PS2)
So, after years of speculation at the end of MGS2, I was shocked by the complete shift in tone, time period and even atmosphere that Kojima took with MGS3. At first, I hated it. I didn't like the jungle, I didn't like the focus on survival, there were so many things that put me off it. But slowly, as I explored Kojima's telling of the Virtuous mission, I grew to understand what a masterpiece he had created.
It's a homage to the James Bond movies of the time. It's a fantastic shift in terms of the stealth action gameplay that the MGS series has become famous for. It's a fantastic simplistic story, far removed from the convoluted mess that was MGS2. It features some great characters, some fantastic bad guys and some even more entertaining boss fights (including escaping from the Shagohod on Eva's bike, easily one of the best set-pieces in gaming history). I doubted Kojima but I don't think I ever will again, this man knows how to make a masterpiece and MGS3 is one of his finest achievements.
