Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

The Good
Back in 1998, Metal Gear Solid was critically acclaimed as being the best game ever released for the PlayStation console. It was the perfect amalgamation-- mix tactical espionage action with a deep, fascinating storyline and great graphics. Metal Gear Solid still remains on many people's "Favourite Games" list (as it does mine). You can only imagine the monumental task that Hideo Kojima had in front of him. How does one exactly create a sequel to one of the greatest games of all time? Well, his answer is in the form of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty. And a great answer it is.

First on the new features is the new gameplay additions. They're almost too numerous to mention, but I'll try: Shooting in first person; being able to hang from ledges; rolling manuevers; being able to hold guards at gunpoint; "jump-out" shots; completely destructible environments and being able to hide in lockers, among others. Even though this seems like you may have a monumental advantage, you don't. When you are spotted, guards come out in numbers and in full force to try and find you. They are much more intelligent than in MGS, and it takes a lot of skill to evade them effectively. This makes the whole "sneaking" aspect of the game much more enjoyable than in MGS, because you have so much at your disposal. There's likely techniques that I've never dreamt of that are possible in MGS2.

Second up are the graphics. MGS2 and FFX (Final Fantasy X) are often categorised as having the best graphics on the system, but I must say I prefer MGS2 over FFX anyday. Simply put, the animations in MGS2 rule over FFX. Every animation in this game is as fluid and life-like as you'd come to expect playing a video game. Adding onto that is the detail level-- especially when it comes down to little things like the V/STOL jets on a Harrier jet, it shows that Hideo Kojima, like every game he does, has done his homework.

The Bad
The worst part about this game, by far, is the storyline (which I and many other loyal MGS fans were hoping wouldn't be the case). After the amazing epic scope of the first Metal Gear Solid game, this is a large disappointment. In the beginning of the game, it all looks good-- Solid Snake, now working as a part of an anti-Metal Gear organisation called "Philanthropy", sneaks onto a tanker in the lower New York Harbour. This tanker is no ordinary tanker-- Otacon, Snake's partner and fellow member of Philanthropy, receives word that a new model of Metal Gear is being transported...

This part of the game is known as the "Tanker chapter", and it's the only time you'll play as Snake. At the end of the chapter, when the Tanker sinks, you fast-forward two years later to a decontamination facility (set up to clean up the oil spill that the Tanker produced). Much to the dismay of fans, you don't play as Snake, you play as Raiden, a green, annoying agent with a lot of fancy moves. As the storyline progresses, you'll find storyline elements like Otacon's sister, a mad bomber and the bomb disposal expert who square off, a vampire (!), a NEW form of Metal Gear which is more than just a weapon, and, biggest of all, a conspiracy that's been hiding beneath the (supposed) democracy of the United States.

This is simply too much information for the player to grasp in a 10-12 hour game. What's more, the plot, though grand in scope, never gets off the ground. Unlike MGS, where you have a specific goal in mind throughout the entire game, MGS2 confuses the player to the point of frustration. This confusion is mostly through MGS2's rampant use of plot twists. In MGS, plot twists were used so effectively-- they drew the player's emotions to the limit. MGS2, however, will just leave the player with a resounding "WTF".

What's most frustrating, though, is that MGS, which is a grand masterpiece in story development, was created to set up for this game, which sputters and fails. It almost seems like MGS2 could have been drawn out a while longer to allow for more of Kojima's ideas. Oh well.

The Bottom Line
Despite this, MGS2 is still a quality game with lots of memorable moments. The only thing that brings it down is its' predecessor. MGS2 would probably be an even better game were it not attached to Metal Gear Solid. But to be related to MGS just leaves a disappointment in the player.

The amazing graphics and great gameplay additions come close to making this downfall up, however. I still recommend MGS2, despite its' shortcomings.

The Good
The refined gameplay is incredible, and you get to play as Solid Snake and Raiden saving Manhattan from a nuclear disaster involving the new model of Metal Gear: Rey.

It's got unexpected turns, some nice surprises here and there and the music is superbly fitting in this adventure.

The Bad
The story, while nicely complicated and thought-provoking, can be a little too weird and contrived at times, but it's still an enjoyable romp in New York making urgent commentary on the dangers of warfare and espionage affecting the world at large.

I guess what I said I liked about the story can also be applied for what I didn't like as well. It's nice and complex and layered in its story, but it tries a little TOO hard, and sometimes succeeds, in confusing and alienating the player.

The Bottom Line
It's the sequel to the original Metal Gear Solid, and it's a worthy if somewhat unexpected continuation of the story. It's like any sequel trying to expand the world of an original work: it strives to be a cog in a massive work and as gaming's equivalent of James Bond I say this game does exactly that.

The Good
How to describe the greatness of this game. Here I go. When I went to buy this on the day it came out. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to get home and start playing this right away. When I got home and put the game inside the PS2. The intro started and my jaw fell to the ground because it was so freaken breathtaking. I knew this was gonna be one hell of a thrill ride.

The Graphics: Simply spectacular, probably the best I have seen on any console. Snake looks even more like a badass than ever. All the other characters look completley realistic. Simply Breathtaking.

The Controls: Awesome, is easy to control snake,raiden and the weapons you get to use.

The Story: Mind-Blowing. The plot is very dark and complex with so many plot twists from beginning to end. This will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat just waiting to see what happens next and I thought 24 had a lot of surprises but nothing comes close to this. This is the type of story videogames should have.

The Sound: Excellent musical score by Harry Gregson Williams, very cool attention details and also great voice acting especially from David Hayter. Also with one of the greatest videogame soundtracks ever made.

Lasting Ability: Collecting all the dog tags is very fun but other people would probably stop playing it for awhile, mainly to free there minds of what they just witness.

The Bad
Zip, Zero, Nadda

The Bottom Line
Overall: This is the greatest game ever made, simple as that. Took a lot of years to make this magnificent piece of art work. My hat goes off to Hideo Kojima and his entire MGS2 crew for creating this true Classic/Masterpiece. Too bad we have to wait for MGS3 to come out in November but trust me is worth the wait. A must buy for any true gamer

The Good
- Wide selection of weapons and items; grouping option in the menu made things easier to find

• Stellar graphics and locales

• Controls are great, although it seemed hard to target enemies in first person mode

• Fantastic sniper section
  
  The Bad
  - More reliant on shooting and killing instead of stealth; much more of an action platformer than Metal Gear Solid 1

• Story is so complex and thick you can cut it with a knife; they're trying to make so many points it's hard to keep track of

• Some of the cutscenes, especially the final two at the end, are WAAAYYY too long

• Raiden looks a bit too anime for a game such as this

• The final boss, Solidus Snake, looks like a Doctor Octopus ripoff, except with only two mechanical arms, he'd be Doctor Bipus!

The Bottom Line
Essentially, you play two characters in this Stealth/Action classic series, Solid Snake and Raiden. Snake fights through a prelude part of the game on an ocean tanker, while Raiden is used the bulk of the game on an ocean-based complex outside of New York City. Your job is to rescue the President from this complex, who has been taken hostage by terrorists. After many boss battles, challenges and plot twists, Raiden comes across Arsenal Gear; dozens of Metal Gear-type killing machines. I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty of the story, but ultimately (SPOILER!!!) your entire mission was staged by AI entities determined to see if human behavior can be controlled. If so, they'll know that they can control the multitude of 'nonsense' information on the internet, decide what's most important, and pass that story down to later generations (the AI can't trust the stupid humans to know what's important or not). At least, that's how I understood it. A lot more to it, but that's the gist of it.

The game is highly addicting and enjoyable just like the first, but I think it lost some of the original's charm. It seems like it bit off more than it can chew when it came to the movie part of it, and I think it detracted from the overall experience.

The Good
First off the graphics are amazing, I have never seen graphics like these on a PS2 game ever, besides GT3 of course. The story is truly amazing, it feels like you are a action hero in a movie. There are a number of weapons at your disposal, I preferred the AKS-74U. Also the environment around you seemed so lifelike you could touch it - lets say if you shoot the wall, it would leave a mark on the wall. The blood in the game looks very life-like also. My suggestions to anyone who plans on buying the game, or someone who already has the game is to watch all the cutscenes, it makes the game even more exciting.

The Bad
The thing that I didn't like about the game was, when you would run behind the guard he wouldn't hear a thing. That made the game a little easy. And also you would play as Snake for a short period of time. Than later on it would switch over to Raiden. I didn't dislike Raiden, but Solid Snake is the man, and it's so much fun to play as him, instead of Raiden.

The Bottom Line
An action packed rollercoaster ride, packed with brutal boss fights, an emotional story line, ruthless enemies, and one of the coolest action hero's of all time SOLID SNAKE !

The Good
First of all to say, I'm a huge fan of animations and CG in general (sometimes even 2D ones, like in "Outlaws"), and this game gives you plenty of those. But that's not the point with this game, 'cos it was quite the opposite case. Real-time rendered animation are wonderful, but what I was eager in waiting was the time I'll be playing after each of those semi-longer breathtaking cutscenes. Yup, ingame quality is so well done that I enjoyed it as much as watching cinematics. Also, the thing was that they were all in real-time and not pre-rendered and then just saved as animation (more about that later). And those textures were so fantastically glued to the objects and polygons that it all looked as real, and gave you a feeling of watching some action movie.

Since I've mentioned ingame was even more taunting than watching cinematics, let's say a few words on that one, now. You move from third-person perspective, which varies (sometimes it looks almost as top-down, and sometimes quite up front, depending on the camera position, and if the current location scrolls along), and you can do quite a nice set of moves while in that mode. You can flip over the fence until enemy soldiers pass, hide in the locker, shoot around (while shooting in 3rd-person view mode, it gets something like shooting in those horror-survival series), fight, drag an enemy soldier, walk with box on top (now that's a great one, hehe), crawl (though that sometimes automatically switch you to first-person view if you're in the tight area that cannot be reached or seen from atop), use the corner view, and more. Now, for the precise shooting, you can also switch to first-person mode. While in it, you can do alsmot everything the same (except walking), but it's rather hard to fight in it, since when you make a circle strike, you turn for 360 degrees and get lost, hehe. Switch between the two modes is really wonderful, as all those texture at up-close look really great. Let's say a word or two about game parameters now.

You can set a few types of radars to have, and change more basic options than you'll need, from vibration to whatever I forgot right now. Also, when you finish the game (originally you play as Raiden), a new chapter opens that you can play, a 'Tanker Episode' which happened two years prior to game's story, and you play as Snake. There's one thing really interesting to observe while playing, and that's the enemy AI. For example, I was entering a small portion of a computer room that had two way of getting out. After the reinforcements were summoned upon, three of the guards spotted where I have entered. Now, in some ordinary mumbo-jumbo action shooting game, they'd just rush and there'll be some major shooting upon. But no, these just splitter and one sneaked from the each exit of where I was, while third one was staying outside in case I escape somehow (and that is when you play on Very Easy level, on European Extremely Hard, only difference is there are more soldiers, and game may over as soon as you're spotted). I saw everything form top-down at that part, so it's nice to observe them in action whenever you can. You can also try to distract some guard by knocking somewhere and then head the other way, pretty neat altogether, and I barely counted a few nice tricks this sequel possesses.

Going onto audio discussion, music is wonderful. It reminds a lot on music from "The Rock" movie, partially 'cos Harry-Gregson Williams was one of three who composed for that movie, but what Hideo and his team planned, and I'll say achieved, this does altogether bare a resemblence to some Hollywood action movie, only it's far better. While we're talking sound, I must say that no matter speech altogether was nicely done, sometimes it really looked awful. For example, Raiden sounding like a girl whenever he yikeses or sighs (it was enough for him too look like a girl, already), or the part Otacon was crying, even child would notice how much faked that was. But maybe original japanese version was better acted, I dunno. Japanese trailers look good, though, hehe.

Atmosphere was really nice, I especially liked all those women posters and pictures around the game, hehe, if that cannot increas the atmosphere, I dunno what can ;) Plus, effects and character movements (both your and enemy's) look so real you can't help but thinking it is real. Now to mention that real-time rendering thingy this game has. That is best shows after you finish the game entirely, both chapters, you get 8 cinematics from the game to watch, in which you can change character roles. For example, what in original story was Snake, you can put Raiden, Fortune, Snake form the original "MGS" or someone else instead. The model will change, though the voice will stay the same, since it's recorded for the game as it comes originally. The advice would be to replace female characters with such and male ones with such, then voice acting won't sound too strange, hehe.

This was somehow my first "Metal Gear" game I've played (seems I usually start most of series with sequels, hihi), so I didn't know what to expect quite, and I was expecting some game sorted by the missions. So basically, I thought that 'Plant Episode' is just the first mission, since it didn't seem as it can hold the whole story and characters I've previously seen in trailer. Boy, was I wrong on that one! The game is on the same place over and over, and you just can't get enough of it. You constantly discover new places, new perspectives, and story unfolds almost entirely on the same place. I admit it fascinated me how they made an un-boring game almost entirely on the same place. And it's not as short as other people say (well, at least not if you don't skip cinematics which are half of the game by themselves, hehe).

I've seen so many great games for PC, and just a week ago, I would swear that no console can have a better game than a computer. Well, the thing I realised is that consoles do not make games by themselves, it's the poeple that counts. Konami sure pulled this ace wonderously up its sleeve, and showed how making so many details and carefully planned points for ingame playing (even if they will be used couple of seconds) is more than appreciated. With this engine and everything, I bet they could increase number of levels, rooms, enemies and everything by a far which would make us play for over 80 hours, but would that still count as a quality then? By playing this game, you can always expect something new, especially after each of two endings it has.

The Bad
Yeah, right!

Actually, there is one thing. Hideo obviously tried to go on player's feelings when entering certain real-life videos and create something more than a documentary, something that would make us 'think' or that would sound more deep. Well, it's all a pile of crap. If it was animated, I couldn't care less. That ending really wasn't as expected as I thought will be. Endings doesn't need to be too long, but do need to be animated or using something that's part of a game's creation. It would be just enough for the screen to go blank after the final epilogue (that animated, I mean), and wee see the credits with the final song. Or maybe that final song would get more to expression if it would be in the background to the final animation, like the one in "Final Fantasy VIII".

The Bottom Line
It all sums up to that this game does not lack in almost anything. Well, that 'almost' can be replaced with 'time only', but if we'd be playing each game for weeks (like that "Planescape: Torment", or when I was playing "The Secret of Monkey Island" while I was 10, so it took me 2 years to end it, whereas it doesn't take me more than one day now), we'd miss all those new releases every now and then, wouldn't we? Well, actually, I can just say "everything that's good doesn't last too long", but then again, there's so much of the good stuff that it makes an endless array, so it does last.

This game has couple of nice factors. It manages to surprise you with the plot twists, and its plot is really kewl enough as if you'd watch some action movie. Doesn't stray too far away. The graphic is simply and art, an art achieved with the right textures at the right place. The music is great (especially the main theme), though speech could've been better (I've only played english version, though). The level of details and things you can do simply go extreme. It's not as if you can do everything you wish to, but in a simple way, it could even be put as that.

Now, I dunno about the first "MGS" (yet), but this game puts you in a role of a young lad, a FOXHOUND agent who is sent on a mission to rescue the president from the hands of yet unknown soldiers. However, you were trained for field action, but only in VR (or have you never tasted blood?), but seems you have a point-blank about your past. And what you considered as just dreams may be the reality you played your role in. Snake appears in this episode but only as your 'ally', not a character you can play with. However, once you finish the game (the one with Raiden), you'll get opportunity to play with Snake the "Tanker Episode" which happened two years prior to the game's original story, and experience what you though of a background story all along.

Alltogether, this game will give you about 12 hours of playing with Raiden and 2-3 hours of playing with Snake, and that is if you do watch all animations, but also do just as you were told to, and not snooping much around. It's a worthy experience though, helped me consider console game quantity doesn't much matter if there's a quality. Hey, this worked for me, and I love the game, but if you really dislike to see animations or listen to dialogues every now and then, then pass it by.

Oh, almost forgot. Yeah, this PAL edition, SE, whatever, comes with an extra "Making Of" DVD. For those curious enough, that DVD contains some half an hour long commentary of making of the game with Hideo Kojima and some other developers, some art concepts, bunchs of "MGS" and "MGS 2" trailers (on japanese, though), and trailers for some other Konami games ("Silent Hill 2", "Shadow of Memories" and few others). It also has some minor additions, but these are not worthy mentioning, and you'll know why when/if you get this game. Well, as the woman's voice tells you at the sole start, "Enjoy!" :)

The Good
This game improves on the strengths of the previous game's engine. The same stealth emphasis is here only now you have more abilities to use. Most notable is the addition of being able to peak around corners for a view of whats a head and being able to hang over the edge rails by your hands.

The AI is greatly improved over the first MGS game. If you are spotted then the enemy will radio for reinforcements. If you manage to kill a guard quietly you still need to vacate the area because when the guard fails to radio in its status report, other guards will arrive to investigate.

The graphics and animation in this game are fantastic. They really show off what the PS2 is capable of. I especially liked the fluid movement of the characters. While I have problems with the actual story presented in the cut scenes they are a technical high point. They are the best looking ones presented in any game I have played.

The Bad
Like the last game, this one is quite linear and very short. This game can be easily won in a weekend. If you've played it before and know what to do, it can be beat in a single day. Apart from seeing how fast you can beat it there is not really any replay value here.

While I earlier praised the AI of various guards you have to get by, the boss characters are not very well done. The strategy for beating them was basically finding a pattern for doing damage and then repeating until they were dead. These supposedly "climatic" battles were something I came to dread. The boss fights were dull slug it out fights. And did not compare to the tense, stealthy measures you had to employ against the lowly guards!

Adding to the game's lack of replay value are the very long cut scenes. You will spend as much time watching movies as playing the game! Its obvious that the creator of this series really wanted to be a movie director but ended up in video games. Watching long cut scenes would have been acceptable of the game's plot were not so terrible.

The story is bad, soap opera bad. I don't expect much from a video game plot but when you spend so much of the game learning about the story it should at least be tolerable. There is a basic thread of covert terrorists groups working to gain leverage over a corrupt U.S. government. That would have been fine but they had to throw in a lot of bad long lost brother-sister-father-son crap. Plus a trite bit about incest and suicide and an apprentice gone bad. All this would have been comical if it were not presented so seriously.

The Bottom Line
Metal Gear Solid 2 is fun weekend rental. I really enjoy the whole stealth aspect of the Metal Gear games. Its unfortunate that these games are short on actual play value and long on soap opera plotting.

The Good
Well once you pop in the disc the graphics will blow you away. The enemy AI is great, just try getting to the first boss in Extreme mode. The "hold up" move is great. The voice acting sounds good with most characters. Wide range of weapons to use. Story is great.

The Bad
RAIDEN! This game could've been SO much better if you didn't have to be the annoying Raiden and have to put up with his boring girlfriend Rose. The CODEC scenes can get really boring between the two. The game is way to short, i beat it in under 8 hours. The whole story probably could have been explained better. There's not enough actual gameplay.

The Bottom Line
Great game if you dont mind listening to the game as much as you play. Still one of the best games on the PS2.

The Good
The most hyped game of all time. How does it stack up?

First, of all, it should be said that you will enjoy Metal Gear Solid 2 much better if you've played it's PlayStation prequel, Metal Gear Solid. In addition to featuring very similar gameplay, the storyline is Byzantine enough as it is having what you know of the original plot to fall back on.

Metal Gear Solid 2's strength is in it's gameplay. At first glance, it seems identical to the first MGS. Your job is to carry out your mission using stealth and, if necessary, violence. You duck around corners, avoid guards and cameras, and take down bosses in a variety of ways, usually revolving around a specific weapon and technique.

But once you start to get into the game, you realize just how much deeper it is than it's older brother. Considering that MGS was widely considered the best action game ever on a console, this is high praise indeed.

First of all, the slightly 2-dimensional feel the overhead perspective seemed to lend the original game is all but gone. Guards can now spot you from all angles, and almost all levels have multiple tiers and catwalks to watch as well. Also, the role of the first-person perspective is greatly increased. Snake can now fire his weapons in first-person view instead of in only four directions as in MGS1. This is useful, since the tranquilizer darts you will get take longer to send a guard into sleep if you hit their foot.

The AI is also incredibly improved (but be forewarned: this is only noticeable if you bite the bullet and play on something other than Easy mode). When discovered, guards will try to knock you out and then run a short distance away to radio for backup, so you can't immediately get up and cut them off. Spot a corpse and they don't just glance around and walk on, they sound an intruder alert and call the attack team in to patrol. The snowy footprint gimmick of MGS1 has been expanded into an all-out feature as they can follow blood trails, wet spots, and even the sounds of your footsteps.

Graphically, MGS2 is easily the best looking game ever conceived on the PlayStation2, and might just remain so for the duration of the system's existence. Like the original game, EVERYTHING is rendered, from the empty magazines of your weapons, to the individual ice cubes (which will melt over time) in a tanker minibar, to the eyelids of the characters. Cutscenes, which use the in-game engine, are a sight to behold. The models are almost as well rendered as the characters in the Final Fantasy movie -- give Konami one more generation of hardware and they'll have caught up to Square Movies.

The amount of detail put into this game can't be overstressed; this engine is a masterpiece both graphically and gameplay-wise. It's just fun to be able to cock your gun a short distance behind an enemy terrorist and watch him throw up his hands in surrender.

The voice acting is also top-notch. All of the voices from the original MGS return, and most of the new characters are tolerable at worst.

Playing MGS2 is one of the most fun experiences you can have for any console.

The Bad
Notice I said that PLAYING the game is fun.

Nearly every review for the original Metal Gear Solid game had only two gripes with the game: it was too short, and it had too much movie-watching and not enough game. Konami apparently decided the answer to this was to stuff the game full of MORE fluff and filler.

The characters are actually very cool, from old faces like Revolver Ocelot to new bosses like Fatman and Vamp. I know a lot of idiot fanboys hate Raiden (the young character who you play as instead of Snake for part of the game), but I found his character to be one of the better onces in the game.

When you get down to actual hours played, it's entirely possible to complete both missions in the game (which is broken into two parts: the off shore tanker and the environmental cleanup plant) in about the same time as it would to complete the original MGS. Granted, there aren't any tedious backtracking sessions like the supremely annoying temperature-key task in MGS1, but it's still just not enough.

Even worse is the sheer volume of codec speech. For those of you not familiar with MGS, the Codec is a combination story cipher and hint system that allows you to communicate with your support crew "back home." All you see is two faces and some numbers, while you hear Snake talk. This would be fine, except the game insists on delivering dramatic plot points through the Codec rather than as a movie. Listen up, Konami: There's a reason radio hasn't been a significant art form for fifty years. It just doesn't have the same impact hearing it on the codec. It's incredibly frustrating to watch a video of Snake meeting a new person, who is usually well-rendered, then promptly asking them "Do you have nanomachines?" and then dropping into the boring Codec. Why Konami had to rush this codec gimmick instead of producing well-directed cutscenes for all of this is mystifying.

This would be tolerable if the story was better (I will try not to spoil it). The original MGS had a plot that, while somewhat cheesy, was still enough to keep you going through the entire game. MGS2 starts off strong, and about halfway through the game the twists and turns to the plot start to kick in, and you start to think that it's really going to start cooking.

But as the plot gets thicker, the game gets thinner. Towards the end, Kojima nearly abandons the game format altogether, throwing cutscene after codec conversation at us. As the game winds down, wholly unnecessary plot points (such as the one involving the nanomachines and the AI program) just make the game seem silly. As a movie director...Hideo Kojima makes a damn good game designer.

By the time the near-infinite conclusion rolls around, it's just not fun anymore. The last 90 minutes of "game" are actually just two boss battles, one of them ridiculously tedious (the endless wave of identical RAYs) and the other laughably easy (the terrorist leader). The rest is just lots and lots of movie. I even skipped several scenes to try and get to the rest of the game, something I never did in MGS1.

The ultimate ending is weak.

Besides the poor storyline, there are only two other (minor) flaws to the game:

1. Despite it's increased use, there is still no way to move around in first-person mode. While I understand they weren't trying to make an FPS, it's untenable for furious fights with the enemy, where you have the choice of standing still and taking lots of damage, or wildly shifting from view modes to move and shoot, leaving you very disoriented.

2. Finally, I know Konami made a big deal about hiring movie musician Harry Gregson-Whatsisface to do the score, but nothing of his stands out at all. The only memorable themes in the movie are the re-arrangements of the standard Metal Gear Solid theme.
   
   The Bottom Line
   It might sound as if I'm slamming this game; I'm not. It's a blast to play through, even if it does get overly heavy-handed towards the end. And the sheer amount of secrets and Easter Eggs (look for several references to the original MGS, such as the "Limitless" bandanna and Johnny "Cramps" Sasaki) make it worth several runs.

This is a great, tense action game with many memorable moments and killer graphics, hampered only by a poor plot and horrible ending. Still, I would recommend this disc to anyone, and don't in the least regret dropping forty bones on it.

The Good
MGS2 is a very different game, and while it still feels similar to its predecessor, the improvements are instantly noticeable. The core gameplay is just as good as it ever was - tactical stealth action where careful planning and imagination are rewarded.

Enemy AI is vastly superior to the original, and enemies no longer spawn infinitely, but a skilled player can even shoot their way out of a sticky situation, but staying out of sight is still recommended. The difficulty level is just right and there's plenty of gameplay variety, keeping the game interesting throughout. The game is also at least twice as long as MGS1, yet all of it was enjoyable. Even the mandatory shooting segments feel better than before, as you can individually target enemies' heads for quick kills or cripple them by shooting their arms or legs.

Compared to other games of its time, MGS2's graphics are gorgeous, despite the overuse of the color orange. The characters are human, but thanks to subtly cartoonish design, avoid falling into the uncanny valley. Voice acting is good, and even the worst pieces of dialogue are acted convincingly. The music is gorgeous too and makes the game sound like a high-budget Hollywood movie, but sadly the soundtrack still doesn't quite compare with MGS1.

The story is definitely something you either love or hate, and there's no denying that the cutscenes and Codec calls are far too long. But still... few other games have made me laugh, cry, cheer and cringe so often. Every character plays an important role and they're all fascinating in their own way, hero or villain. The plot also handles many themes completely unprecedented in video games, such as censorship, the nature of memes and information, mortality, atonement, child soldiers and so on. While most action games outright glorify violence without a second thought, the Metal Gear series is openly pacifistic, while still delivering its message in a package with lots of explosions and sexy characters. The ending, while it may seem like a mess to some, is very thought-provoking and atmospheric, definitely one of the best in video game history.

The Bad
It's not just that the cutscenes are much longer than necessary - there's also too many of them. For example, you may step into a room, watch a cutscene, walk a few steps, have a largely pointless Codec conversation and watch another cutscene before you an actually play. Most of the game's dialogue is redundant, pointless, unnecessary, filler and did I mention, redundant? Other times, the game is melodramatic beyond belief and scenes that were supposed to make me cry or gasp in shock sometimes made me laugh or roll my eyes. There's also an endless amount of exposition and explaining, which seems to be typical for a Japanese game.

Apart from the opinion-dividing story and characters, MGS2's flaws are minor. The game could have used better controls and camera angles, especially in the mandatory shooting segments, where you can't actually move when firing while in first person, though just the fact that you can do so is an improvement from the previous game.

The Bottom Line
Metal Gear Solid 2 is an original, well-made, challenging and thought-provoking stealth action game. The slight hiccups in game design never manage the ruin the big picture, so as long as a slightly pretentious story doesn't cause problems, the game is definitely something everyone should try at least once.

The Good
I've played Metal gear solid, I was heavily impressed by it's bold steps and mix of action and tension. I heard about the craze this game always had in game events such as E3 etc.. Remember that literally millions of people wanted to have this game on its first day of release, so, I remember what the first game was like, and I got exited too! I was very lucky to buy this in the U.K a day before its release and payed a hefty £45.99 for it! "but why would you pay that much?!" ... well, the original game was THAT good!

I certainly loved the presentaion of this game! It, simply, shines with a difference of quality like a big budget movie. The soundtrack paces this game correctly. I have studied music and have produced similar lines of such sounds like in this game, and, I have to say..... NICE! When I entered a room after being hunted by guards, I felt the tension was definately held by it's precise score (and me reacting with the words "man, that sounds nice" helped too) Harry Gregson Williams did the musical score (and also for such films like The Rock) and, I can honestly say, that he wasn't chosen for having a popular name!

It's something you should experience yourselves, as is, with most of the rest of the game.

The Bad
This game is so plot driven, it's like watching a movie. Maybe a bit TOO much movie! Theres definately a lot to accomplish in the game and a great addition to the series. It's a shame that I think of it as just an 'addition' instead of a game of it's own.

Please don't get me wrong on this, but the games creators sole idea was to have the main character for the first game seen in a different perspective.

To me, personally, it was as if the second James Bond movie, was about someone else's encounter with James Bond, and not about bond himself... and I really wanted the main character back!

I am definately a fan of the games director and creator Hideo Kojima, and this game was a totally cool seeing Snake strut his head-banded stuff as you played the role of another character.

As I mentioned before, this game is definately plot driven and to review it for gamers who like all types of games is quite a challenge! This game has some amazing graphics! Maybe not AS interactive as it should, but there is plenty to feast your eyes on, even birds taking a dump from above! (It's actually good to think of a games charming points, that being, a bird dumping , even as anticipated a game as this.. the creator did not let up the chance to have a bit of gameplay humor!)

Deep down though, throughout the game, after the first 'quarter' I was itching to play as Snake again. Also I wont spoil the plot by revealing too much about the charaters.. So I will just mention the game itself...

The Bottom Line
This game is top, top, top of its class! Without a doubt, I can't stand games when the developers stick a stealth bit in for no reason if it wasn't meant to be for it's first outing (such as the tomb raider series went..) I don't mean to beat up Tomb Raider, because I was a mega fan of the first Three games! But that just proves how to go about ruining a successful game by changing and experimenting too much. I am glad to say Metal gear does not do it this badly!

Ok, maybe I'm being a bit too harsh, I rate things always as a first hand experience, I feel sometimes, with a great game (thought of maybe like a favourite basketball team) being up top with the best for years, then, patiently you support it and see it tumble. For me, thats how I personally feel about the Tomb Raider series.. But who knows, many people are bound of not to of seen that 'basketball team's early years before and are now expriencing their new way of learning from past mistakes!

For example.. For people who have never played Metal Gear before, You are definately going to be impressed by this game, long cut scenes and all!

There are some amazing points in here which keep you wanting to visit again, such as, getting ALL those dog tags! In this game you can do loads of stuff (respectfully) with knocked out bad guys! You can drag, drop, hide and....um... drag some more! There's nothing more satisfying in this game than dragging around a guy who's been shooting at you and finding you out for 20 minutes! (ok, maybe shooting watermellons is just as much fun too..)

Yes there is alot of story to follow in this game. I found myself waiting for a cut scene to end to save and finish for the day, and ultimately being drawn into playing for "just another 5 minutes". I just loved sneeking around the place too much fun! And to have it stopped by 10 minutes of chatter was a bit annoying when I was geared up for action!

The game always leads up to a point your going to have to be ready for, (such as the great introduction to a boss fight!) Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty is a top quality game! But the thing is, you're going to have to experience this one for yourselves to find out if you like it or not.

p.s If you're going to pay £45 for this now.. don't, you can find copies everywhere for at least £20 because people are buying the re-make of this game and it lets you play snake all the way through!

The definate bottom line is... if you have played the first one and haven't played this, get Metal Gear solid Substance! Because it's the same game and more! But if you are a fan, get this! Remember, this game was made by Hideo Kojima for a reason, and that reason was to creat a more varied world of Solid Snake. But we wouldn't be human if we couldn't critisize!

The Good
MGS2 has what other games attempt to create. While many game abroad attempt to immerse you with parlour tricks and rehashed storylines, MGS2 takes to the skies with truly interactive environments. What most games call easter eggs, MGS2 calls a real world. In this game, nothing is just as you see it and everything can be touched, prodded, poked or more importantly interacted with. In addition to this, the way the environment affects YOU is indeed a wonder to behold. As rain falls you get wet, when you go inside you get dry. Bright lights bothering your eyes? Never mind tactical espionage action, smash the lights because you've got the odd and undying urge to do so. MGS2 is not a rehash of the original although it may seem so, it is an adventure that rivals the greatest movies and stories around. Not only is the technology cutting edge (allowing for impressive effects), but a convincing environment (thanks to the technology), advanced artificial intelligence (which can only add to the environment), on top of one great storyline which continously keeps you guessing and immersed as any good conspiracy should. All these good points are the tip of the proverbial iceberg and MGS2 is a very very large iceberg.

From the very get-go Metal Gear Solid 2 is a rushing rollercoaster wherein you playing the role of a top-secret operative are racing against time to save the world from terrorists. Sounds familiar? Don't worry, it gets good as you delve deeper and deeper only to uncover one layer after another which forms the most incredible rabbit hole this side of your mind. No game to date has had so many plot twists or turns in such a basic form of gameplay. Nowhere in MGS2 will you find a flaw per-se, no area is without purpose, reason or relation to another. The whole of MGS2 makes perfect sense once the whole picture is revealed and the best part is that once the game is completed your mind will be played like you never expected. The story alone is that good. Not one for cut scenes? The sneaking, the action, the graphics, sound and environment might make up for it, but you'll have to be the judge of that. Myself personally? I bought the game based on my initial experiences in MGS.

The Bad
The only true downfalls to MGS2 are the learning curve and the linearity. However, once the game is understood it can be played and enjoyed by all. I have a brother, and I didn't think he would be capable considering he is only ten years old, however with a well-thought out variable difficulty the game can be adjusted to all ages. Though the gore factor may be an issue with younger audiences. The linearity is also a mild issue because while it is a one way game, there are far too many bonuses and sidetracks along the way to be discovered.

A side note may be that the game can be finished quickly as well. A total of fifteen gaming hours worth of effort were all I needed before I saw the ending credits. (Honestly I'm being nice, it took me twelve) Mind you I also took time to locate different items and this did consume additional time. Also, some challenges and puzzles may be a bit much for the mainstream gamer. MGS2 is not for the faint of mind or nerves.

The Bottom Line
Brilliantly written & directed by Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid 2 rivals even the best Hollywood action movie and the story with all its overtones could put Stephen King in the bargain bin (I hope I'm not shot for that last comment). Simply put, if you don't buy this game, at least rent it and show yourself what you're missing. If nothing else rent it and watch your buddy who loves 'games like these' so you can see a great show. I promise anybody who plays this game, you will not be disappointed.

- I've personally never played Metal Gear, though I completed Metal Gear: Solid Snake with the Game Genie, and I've completed Metal Gear Solid in every way plausible. I'm still working on Metal Gear Solid 2's "easter eggs".