Set in Cold War-era Russia, the story centers on FOX operative Naked Snake as he attempts to rescue a weapons designer and sabotage an experimental superweapon. While previous games were set in a primarily urban environment, Snake Eater adopts a 1960s Soviet jungle setting, with the high tech, near-future trappings of previous Metal Gear Solid games being replaced with the wilderness. While the setting has changed, the game's focus remains on stealth and infiltration, while retaining the series' self-referential, fourth wall-breaking sense of humor. Snake Eater's story is told through numerous cut scenes and radio conversations.
Snake Eater's protagonist, Naked Snake in English), is a former U.S. Special Forces and CIA operative. During the mission, Major Zero , a former member of the British Special Air Service, aids Snake by providing mission advice and battle tactics. Para-Medic and Sigint and provide specialist advice on flora and fauna, and weapons and equipment, respectively.
The two primary antagonists of the game are Colonel Volgin , an electricity-controlling GRU colonel and member of the extreme Brezhnev faction, who are attempting to overthrow Nikita Khrushchev to seize power for Leonid Brezhnev and Alexey Kosygin, and The Boss , former mentor to Naked Snake. The Cobra unit, a special-forces unit lead by The Boss, comprises The End, a venerable expert sniper credited as the father of modern sniping;[ The Fear, who has supernatural flexibility and agility; The Fury, a disfigured former cosmonaut armed with a flamethrower and a jetpack; The Pain, who can control hornets to both defend himself and attack his enemies; and The Sorrow, the spirit of a deceased medium.
Other characters include Sokolov , a rocket scientist whom Snake must rescue; EVA, an American defector and KGB agent sent to assist Snake; and a young Ocelot , commander of the elite Ocelot unit within Volgin's GRU. Some joking references are also made to previous games: Major Raikov, Volgin's effeminate gay lover, parodies the criticized effeminate appearance of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty protagonist Raiden, and the grandfather of recurring incompetent soldier Johnny Sasaki makes an appearance as a cell guard.
