The camouflage system
Contrary to early perceptions of the game, there is no button on the controller which accesses the camouflage menu for a "Quick Change." Instead, pressing the Start button will bring up the "Survival Menu" where the player can access the Camouflage menu, the Weapons Menu, the Food Menu (when the player kills the wildlife for food, it appears) and more which are not revealed in the demo. This is somewhat a hassle as it causes a disturbance in the game flow; it's doubtful this will change in the upcoming month.

Just a few examples of the camouflage suits available in the game.

From the Camouflage menu, the player can select which Face Paint they want to use and which outfit pattern they desire. It is unsure whether Snake will have all of these patterns at the start of the real game, but in the demo, he is equipped with seven:

• Naked: It's simply shirtless. This, obviously, makes Snake an open target as anything can see you. This is not the best option unless you feel like Rambo.
• Olive Drab: The first pattern Snake wears when he arrives in the jungle. This pattern is a solid color of just an olive green which is not good because it's a solid color and it's best to stay away from the solids. Hardly worn afterwards.
• Tiger Stripe: This pattern works with soil, trees, and bushes. It's a tiger pattern but in green/brown tones. Very effective if moving from the ground to bushes to trees in one motion.
• Leaf: The most effective and most used pattern. Since there are so many bushes and greenery, this pattern helps you blend into them nearly 95%. It's patterned with light green leafy tones.
• Tree Bark: Good for trees only and if the tree is in a somewhat dark area. Pressing against the tree in direct sunlight only camouflages Snake about 80% standing, 85-90% crouching. It's got a horizontal tree bark pattern with mostly dark browns and blacks.
• Squares: It has a black-and-red checkerboard pattern. This is only useful later in the demo when you infiltrate the base where Dr. Solokov is being kept prisoner. The base is entirely in a brick pattern, so this is the one to use.
• Black: Like the Olive Drab, this is just a solid black color and it's only effective in very dark areas, which may come later in the game but not on the demo.

The menu also shows the percent of how effective each pattern is depending on where Snake is currently at. For example, if Snake is wearing the Tree Bark pattern and he moves to the bushes, bringing up the menu will show how much more percentage will be added to the Index if the player changes the pattern to the Leaf or how much would be subtracted if he wears the Squares pattern. The camouflage index is very useful and placed at an appropriate and great spot. It's easy to see how effective the current camouflage is working just by checking the right-hand corner of the screen. The higher the percentage, the more Snake is hidden. The camouflage is a fantastic innovation by Kojima as Snake really blends into the backgrounds - so much, the player just might forget where he is if they lose focus.

Snake blending into the environment.

Fighting the bad guys
The enemy A.I. has been improved and the stealth factor has been redefined, making the game much tougher than its predecessors. Guards will now actually trail Snake and come after and locate him in Alert Mode, even if he camouflages himself. The guard's hearing senses have been heightened where they will hear Snake come up behind them; which is why stalking is important. They will throw grenades at any area where they suspect Snake may be hiding. For example, at the prisoner base, there is a ladder leading up to the roof of the building. While the guards can't climb up ladders, if Snake reveals himself slightly over the edge during Alert Mode, the guards will throw grenades at the roof trying to blast him down.

Stealth-wise, crawling around is the best way to get to your destination, since staying flat on the ground increases the Camo Index and decreases the chance of being seen. However, this has its disadvantages. The camera usually situates itself behind Snake, but it can be moved with the right analog stick to look around corners or to look beyond the player's view. Pressing the stick will lock the camera into place wherever the player sets it. While Snake is crawling through bushes, the camera will automatically change to a FPS view. If he is about to emerge out of the bushes, the camera will change back to a third-person. This is a problem because if the player wants to look through in first-person, the bushes will make a sound (a sound, as in Snake is using his hands to push away bushes obscuring his view) and a nearby guard will hear this and investigate. Crawling also is a disadvantage since, while waiting for a guard to pass by, a flock of birds will settle on top of Snake and if he moves, the birds will fly off and the guard will also investigate this sound.

Weapons and gadgets
Kojima is really trying to implement stealth back into the genre, making hiding, avoiding confrontations, and CQC the main elements. The hand guns and assault rifles in the demo come with a suppressor; unfortunately, it's revealed that the suppressor will eventually wear away with each shot fired. So, shooting your way through the entire game may not be an option. Items such as the Motion Detector, AP Sensor, Active Sonar (which detects living beings even if they're not moving... sends out a pulse which triggers guards though), Thermal Goggles, and Night-Vision Goggles are all battery-powered. These will eventually run out of batteries if used too long and too often.

A rich collection of gadgets and weapons is a trademark of the series.

It is only for the demo that Snake has an arsenal of weapons consisting of:

• Survival Knife
• MK-22 Tranquilizer gun AKA "Hush Puppy"
• M1911A1 Hand-gun
• M16A1 Assault rifle/Shoulder rifle
• M37 Shotgun
• SVD Dragunov Sniper Rifle
• Frag Grenade
• Directional Microphone
• Stun Grenade (picked up by shaking guards)

These weapons are in the demo because Kojima only wanted to give players a glimpse of potential weapons Snake will have. The beginning of the real game will have Snake equipped with the MK-22 only.

Both the weapons and the items apply to the amount of weight Snake carries. This is a new feature: Snake's performance will be affected if he is carrying too many objects. To prevent this, players can move unnecessary equipment into the backpack using the Survival View. This decreases the amount of weight on Snake's body making it easier to move about.