Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Items

Active Sonar
A special radar that sends out a sonar ping to detect local wildlife. Press L3 to send out a sonar ping. Be warned though - each ping takes a small portion of your batteries, and the noise it makes may alarm nearby guards. It wards off attacking vampire bats.

Anti-Personnel Sensor
The Anti-Personnel Sensor vibrates when it detects organic reactions from human targets. It has been adjusted to respond only to humans, so unlike other sensors, it'll let you ignore animals and focus only on the enemy. It will even detect enemies that are not moving, and you won't have to worry about it giving away your position. But, it will not tell you the exact location of the target either, so be smart when using it. Much like the AP Sensor from MGS2, this will cause the controller to vibrate at different strengths depending on proximity to a guard, and is now far more important due to the Soliton Radar's absence in this game. If you use it in first-person View, it will only scan the direction you are facing.

You begin the game with this.

Binoculars
A pair of binoculars with a zoom lens. While equipped, press Triangle to zoom in, and Square to zoom out. You can also peek around by holding R1 and using the L2 and R2 buttons, just like in First Person View.
 * A special trick you can do with the scope: aim at a guard with the scope (it has an aiming crosshair, strangely enough), equip any projectile weapon, press L2 to unequip the scope and quickly hold the R1 button so your view doesn't reset. You can now fire your weapon exactly where the scope was aiming.

Bug Juice
You can find Bug Juice in many different areas throughout the game. Press Circle while hovering over it in the L2 menu to use it. Bug juice is a bug repellent useful for keeping hornets and leeches away for a brief period of time.

Cardboard Box
Cardboard Box can be used to hide from enemies while remaining stationary.


 * Cardboard Box A: Rassvet (Operation Snake Eater) or Ponizovje Warehouse in the southwest corner of the bottom floor near Thermal goggles. Wearing it inside the trucks in Groznyj Grad will allow transportation to the building's East Wing.
 * Cardboard Box B: Tikhogornyj: Behind Waterfall
 * Cardboard Box C: Groznyj Grad 1F

Cigar
Snake's favorite brand of Cubans. Still hazardous to your health, and also usable as a light source in dark areas. Also steadies your aim and wards off insects like Pentazemin and Bug Juice.

Croc Cap
The Croc Cap can be used to trick enemy soldiers while the player is submereged in water and to ward off dogs (as told by an enemy soldier when interrogated ) and is found during Operation Snake Eater. The player must acquire it when climbing across a tightrope that is connected to some trees over a swamp (after meeting up with EVA and defeating the Ocelot Unit), and eventually dropping on a rock with the Crop Cap on it.

Fake Death Pill
A special pill designed by the CIA to put a person into a state of fake death. Use this in the menu to kill yourself. Enemies will believe you to be dead. When they walk away, use the Revival Pill to wake up again. Don't stay dead for too long, though, or the fake death will become real death. The Revival Pill must be used before "Game Over" turns to "Time Paradox". This is also useful if you want to restart an area, though be advised that any alerts or kills will remain even after continuing.

Life Medicine
Life Medicine is a drug recently developed by the Soviet Union for use in battle. The components are still a mystery, but it seems to activate the body's regenerative processes and make injuries heal faster.

The only way to instantly restore Snake's life gauge is to use the rare Life Med syringe. They work just like the Rations from previous MGS games - Hover over the Life Medicine in the L2 menu, and press Circle to heal yourself. Although rare, you can find Life Medicine in various places throughout the game and can be obtained by shaking down enemies.

Mine Detector
You can find the Mine Detector in Rassvet on Operation Snake Eater. A device which can be used to spot Claymore mines. When equipped, it will make beeping noises when the player approaches claymores at the cost of battery power.

Motion Detector
A real-time motion sensor. Consumes about as much battery power as the Active Sonar, but at a constant rate. It also only detects things in motion - so guards will not appear if they are standing in place.

Night Vision Goggles
Night vision goggles work by amplifying low light to produce an image. They work well in dark areas such as the cave after the battle with Ocelot. However, if not acquired, the player can use alternative items, such as the cigar, torch, or thermal goggles, though the previous two will draw attention from enemies. Unlike the thermal goggles, they cannot detect traps, camouflaged enemies, animals, or plants. Stun grenades will also burn into the NVGs for a few seconds.

Operation Snake Eater located in Chyornaya Peschera Cave Branch. From waterfall, go Northwest to the end off the tunnel, then enter the crawlspace heading Northeast, then East through another crawlspace to find the NVG along the far wall around a hole in the ground. Be careful not to fall in.

Revival Pill
An even more special pill designed by the CIA to bring a person back to life after they've killed themselves with the fake death pill. It's disguised as one of your molars, and weighs absolutely nothing. To use it, hold L2 when you are "dead" and press the Circle button while hovering over it to revive yourself. You can never unequip the Revival Pill. There is only one instance of you needing to use it in the whole game.

Thermal Goggles
Thermal goggles work by detecting heat signatures. However, in Metal Gear Solid 3, they can also be used to detect, mines, hidden food, and traps. Although designed for dark areas, they will work just as well in bright areas. The only major downside is that the player will have trouble seeing the terrain, so they may use them on-and-off every now and again. They also rely on battery power to operate.

The thermal goggles are vital against bosses such as The Fear and The End, who both use camouflage along with enemy soldiers while EVA is with you. Make sure that a stun grenade doesn't explode while using the thermal goggles as the image will burn into the screen for a few seconds (the time it takes depends on how far away the grenade explosion is from the player).

During the Virtuous Mission, they can be found in a hollow log; in the area just prior to Dolinovodno.

During Operation: Snake Eater, they may be found at Rassvet; within a locker (the room which Sokolov was held in previously, where Snake goes to sleep in-cutscene) Ponizovje Warehouse in the southwest corner of the bottom floor near Cardboard Box A and Desert Facepaint, or Groznyj Grad in the room where all the scientists are.