This is the best one in the entire series

Metal Gear Solid 3 has been sitting on my shelf for years, and had all but forgotten about it.

I always had fond memories of Metal Gear Solid 1, having discovered it in 1998, and I never forgot it. MGS2 stuck with me as well, but for some reason I really didn't remember much about 3; only that it covered Big Boss' origins.

Recently I finally acquired a PS3. I played Metal Gear Solid 4, and was pretty much blown away with the story, but was disappointed with the limited play-time.

This made me hunger for the previous games, and a renewed interest in the series sparked, and I have been engrossed in the Metal Gear saga for several months now.

I dug out each Metal Gear game and played them all, each of them multiple times (included several more play-throughs of MGS4.) I devoured every frame, digested every nuance, studied every scene and contemplated every piece of dialogue in each game in the saga (minus the PSP games, as I currently do not possess Sony's portable system.)

The conclusion that I came to is this: out of this fantastic saga, Metal Gear Solid 3 is absolutely the best. The game-play, the music, the story, and the themes are above all the rest.

The deep, rich story that is MGS3 is a tragedy that hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer. The themes of changing enemies and allies, betrayal and manipulation by one's own government, and the links it provides to all the other games is something to behold.

In my opinion, this game is a masterpiece, and it's Hideo Kojima's crowning achievement. It's a shame I had to rediscover it years later to realize it.

Blessings to each of you who have discovered this fantastic series, and thanks for reading.