What am I missing about MGS3?

[migo]

I'm a fan of Thief, so I figured Metal Gear Solid would be great for the stealth genre. I've got Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence, although the copy came without a manual, so that might be a contributing factor to the issues I'm experiencing.

The stealth mechanics are interesting - I enjoy adjusting camouflage type, and crawling through the grass is certainly fun, but the movement controls and combat is awkward.

Lack of sidestepping is a big issue, making it hard to position myself to deliver a tranq shot. The CQC controlls are pretty bad too. All that seems to happen is a punch followed by a kick knocking the guy to the ground. Ocassionally I'll grab a downed body but the movement controls end up backwards.

Are my experiences unique, or is the gameplay just not that good?

 

[WorldCritic]

The CQC is kind of annoying because it dependson how hard you're pressing the button. If you hold it to grab a guy then if you lighten up too much you'll let him go, but if you press the button too hard then you'll kill him.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Unique from the sounds of it. The game controlled fine with me and I never had any trouble in gun combat or CQC. Movement (as far as I was concerned) was fine for me.

Quick movement with the analogue stick and stealth movement with the D-Pad. Holding square to grab, repeatedly pressing square to do quick (essentially 'oh shit I turned the corner, there's a guard *mash square*') combat. Most of the gun play was done in stealth, either lying prone or crouching and firing in first person.

 

[migo]

The CQC is kind of annoying because it dependson how hard you're pressing the button. If you hold it to grab a guy then if you lighten up too much you'll let him go, but if you press the button too hard then you'll kill him.

That is annoying, could be why none of the other stuff works. It'd be nice if there were some training mode to practice it.