Plot:
Several years after the incident in Alaska, (Metal Gear Solid for the PSX) Solid Snake returns as the hero to dispatch another group of terrorists (with traditional bad ass persona and crazy mullet to match). Supposedly a group of militant Russians have hijacked a freighter on the Hudson River carrying a most precious cargo, a new Metal Gear. Metal Gear is an all terrain robot capable of launching nuclear weapons anywhere on Earth. Solid manages to sneak on the ship through a series of really cool and well produced cut scenes. From here on in you have to rely on your sneaking and shooting skills in order not to get caught. If you do, the alarm is called and endless supplies of troops are sent after you. Unless you escape or find a good place to hide until the alarm is canceled, the game is over. Luckily you can restart quickly after without having to save like a maniac. From here on in the storyline becomes increasingly more baffling with the exposure of more characters and plot twists.

If Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty could be split up the incident on the ship is only the first third of the game. The rest is told through the eyes of agent Raiden, a US Black-Ops specialist fresh out of extensive VR training. After the occurrence on the ship, a massive oil depot is constructed outside New York harbor called, Big Shell. Once again terrorists who call themselves the “Sons of Liberty” occupy the structure. Raiden’s job is to infiltrate, assess and neutralize the situation. However he is caught up in the plot as nothing is what it seems. About halfway into this section of the game, parts of the puzzle just barely start to fit together, but not without adding more pieces. More characters are introduced and the games whole perception of reality ends up in a train wreck. By the time I finished MGS2 I was blown away at what I had just experienced while also trying to decipher what I just saw. If you like the espionage genre, insane plot twists, high tech spy weapons, and cool characters Metal Gear Solid 2 is for you.

Graphics:
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a fairly old release for the PS2. Although not a launch title, it isn’t new either. There is a new version available called Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. It is the original MGS2 with tons of VR missions and some side stories. It’s also loaded with little extras. If you haven’t bought it yet, get Substance. If you are a fanatic, sell the first one and buy the new one. Seeing that it is an older game the graphics are still excellent. Konami has also managed to put in live action cut scenes to make the storyline that more believable. The edges of the character models are still a little blocky, like hands and feet. But Konami has come a long way since Metal Gear Solid. The cut scenes are well worth watching. They spent more time working on smoothing out the models and working on lighting and color. Much like Game Cube and Xbox the cut scenes are painstakingly clean. Perhaps the aspect of the graphics that I thought was the best was the water. When you come out of the water and you are in first person, you can see water droplets on your television! I thought that this little touch was so cool. It gave the game that little extra something that polishes its image. Sons of Liberty is full of them so make sure you take notice, because if you’re wet or bleeding, someone may find out before you know it. And the AI can be challenging sometimes.


Gameplay:
What people find so annoying about the Metal Gear series is the gameplay. People tend to find this game incredibly difficult. I say that it adds to the experience of the game. MGS is all about sneaking around trying to dispatch of your enemies quickly an undetected. I admit that this game is difficult, and even more challenging set on hard. The fact that some puzzles require you to think about how you can get the job done rather than blowing up everything sets games like this above the rest. Instead of blowing something to shreds with your rocket launcher (yes you get to use one) you can use a grenade to jam transmission signals while you shimmy over the side of a catwalk hundreds of feet over the ocean. If the regular enemies are hard, then some of the bosses are very difficult. Especially if you have played MGS, you know what’s at the end of the game.

Albeit that it is a hard game, it certainly pays off in the long run. Even though you will die a lot, you become craftier at evading guards and cameras. The amount of sneaking around in this game is astounding. Not only should you not fire your weapon because of drawing unwanted attention, you also don’t want to waste ammunition. The mix of electronic music and the armed guard on the other side of the wall will make you second guess your choices. Should I run for it? Should I kill him or should I shoot him with a tranquilizer dart? Once you are left with a body on your hands, you either have to get away as soon as possible, or hide the body. This adds a whole new element into the game. Once all these bodies start piling up, and more guards show up, your options start to run short; run or die.

The controls are very easy to deal with, seeing as that quick decisions on the fly are a must. The analog control stick is the better route to travel than the directional pad. The reason it is analog, is so that a different action can be programmed depending on the amount of pressure applied. So if Snake needs to run, push it all the way. If he needs to sneak up on an enemy, walk slowly to avoid detection. Because sneaking around the ship and the oil facility is a requirement, there are a variety of controls and camera tricks that can be utilized. Say Snake or Raiden needed to see around a corner without being seen. You would move up to the wall near the edge and press one of the ‘R’ buttons to peak around the corner. You can even crawl underneath things and look around to make sure the coast is clear.

If you thought that James Bond always ends up with cool weapons, think again. Seeing as that the majority of the game is played by Raiden, he’s the one who ends up with all the cool artillery. From sniper rifles to rocket launchers; grenades and machine guns, even a Katana makes its way into your arsenal. Some of these are only useful for certain missions, but its still fun to shoot seagulls with the rocket launcher (think GTA III). Besides why should Bond have all the fun? Along with all your weapons, you are also equipped with spy equipment. Binoculars and a motion sensor are a must, but that’s not it. You have bandages to stop bleeding, a mine detector, heat vision goggles, and even pills to stop you from shaking while using the sniper rifle. One of the coolest pieces of gear you can get is the directional microphone. While equipped, it can detect noises from far away or even from the other side of a concrete wall. Besides having to use it to determine what to do next, you can also have some fun with it. In some places you can point it towards a guard and hear what they are saying; usually something humorous.

Along with the fun you can have with the sound gun, there are several other Easter eggs hidden throughout the game. What’s an Easter egg you ask? No it’s not the plastic capsules you used to look for when you were a kid. They are extras on a game (movie, book, or TV show) that designer hid in their products for you to find. Konami had a lot of fun with this. There are pin up posters of swimsuit models that you can take pictures of, dog tags that you can collect, and even fun with cardboard boxes. Because of the drawn out conversations on the radio transmitter, make sure you don’t overwrite your saves or scour the game top to bottom the first run through. Metal Gear Solid was also notorious for its Easter eggs, including spying on people in their underwear. If you like an action game that gives you a challenge, has an awesome storyline, and well developed characters, try Metal Gear Solid 2. For the extra money try buying the Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance release for a bigger game to play including extra side missions.

Sound:
The soundtrack for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is in fact part of my CD collection. It is full of synthesized and electronic tracks typical of music from espionage entertainment. The music in MGS2 adds to the stress of the situation. The pulsing beats of the anxious music, mixed with the fact that a guard equipped with a machine gun and a radio is following your wet footprints to the locker your hiding in, can get your heart pounding. The electronic music adds to the spy feel as well and helps you get into the game. When you have to disarm hidden explosives around the Big Shell facility the pounding beats creates even a greater sense of urgency. If you’re looking for music similar to Metal Gear watch the movies, The Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible or even CSI. Any movie with a hi-tech setting or spy element will have similar music. I happen to enjoy the music created by Harry Gregson-Williams for this game. It has a catchy techno beat and adds another element to the game.

Fun factor:
While playing this game through the first time, it is mesmerizing. While away from playing it, the web like story continues to baffle the mind. The notorious plot should be a red flag saying that it’s worth taking a look at. As far as a covert op storyline, Tom Clancy would be proud. If I could only play it for half an hour I would still gain some ground on it unlike an RPG where one section of the game may take over an hour. Some people consider MGS2 a short game, but even if it is, it is a most entertaining. The difficulty level might deter people from playing all the way through or even trying it. If you can handle dying a few times, then you have to try a Metal Gear Solid game. After beating the game, it doesn’t have too much replay value, aside from trying to find the Easter eggs and understanding the plot. I play the game every now and again just so that I can appreciate its awesomeness. Alongside its older brother Metal Gear Solid is a flagship game for Playstation 2.

Overall:
When I heard that a Metal Gear Solid 2 game was coming out for Playstation 2 I was eager to see what Konami had done this time. Seeing as that Metal Gear Solid was one of my favorite games for PSX I couldn’t wait to see it. Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed. I was riveted to the game until I finished it. By the end of the game I really had no clue as to what was going on. The designers thought it could be so realistic that they had to put a disclaimer at the beginning of the game saying that the events in this game are purely fictional. I would agree, the degree of precision that they went to is enjoyable to see in a game. Games with this amount of thoroughness stand out in a market flooded with mediocre titles. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance are worth your hard earned money; go pick it up.


Jameson Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Planets


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