blink and you've missed it (Metal Gear Solid 2 - Sons of Liberty (PS2))

Member Name: pablodiablo

Product:	Metal Gear Solid 2 - Sons of Liberty (PS2)
Date:	22/03/02 (272 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant graphics, superb gameplay., Just like a movie, excellant acting, genuinely upsetting at times.

Disadvantages: God damn those plot twists, feel slightly cheated, what am i supposed to do now

So here it is. For most people who own the black box that we call the ps2 this has been a long wait and one of the main reasons we forked out our hard earned cash for it. The follow up to the playstation smash Metal Gear solid in which players controlled solid snake, an elite fighting machine/man who is sent to infiltrate a military base in Antarctica. The base had been taken over by a group of terrorists trying to get their hands on a new super weapon, Metal Gear. There had been a few earlier incarnations of the metal gear series on the snes and other consoles. However, with the arrival of the playstation, Hideo Kojima ( the 'director' who created the series ) saw an opportunity to make the game as he originally intended it to be, just like a movie. So the first Metal Gear Solid was a 'stealth em up' with a hell of a lot of cinematic cut scenes and tons of dialogue that made the player feel they were taking part in an interactive movie.

When the PS2 was announced a video was shown at E3 ( a big video game trade show ) that blew everybody away. Snake was to return in a sequel that looked absolutely mindblowing from the 3 minute clip we had seen. So the first must have PS2 game was born. Then we waited, and waited, spent £40 on a game that simply had a demo of mgs2, and we waited some more. Now several delays later it is finally in our hands and it excites and disappoints in ( sort of ) equal measure.

Snake is back working with his friend Otacon for an organisation that wants to wipe all metal gears of the face of the planet. The game begins with a stunning sequence in which Snake bungee jumps off a bridge in New York ( dunno which one ) on to a tanker that they believe to be housing a new type of metal gear. Snake must infiltrate the tanker and prove the existence of this weapon, thats as far as i can really go into the story without giving away too much. Suffice to say the whole game does not take place on a tanker ( this would m
ake the game too short ), there is a change of scenery.

Some of the characters include;

SOLID SNAKE: Ex member of an elite group called Foxhound, has fought against the metal gears many times. A lot like Snake Pliskin from Escape from New York/LA. Is a clone of Big Boss ( the villain from the original metal gear games ) created in l'enfant terribles project to be a perfect soldier.

OTACON: A computer genius and one of Snakes only friends, was involved in the first metal gear solid game. He was one of the designers of metal gear rex, the weapon that the terrorists were trying to steal in the first game.

RAIDEN: A new recruit of Foxhound, sent in to the second location in the game ( not saying where, don't wanna spoil it ). He is the generic 'rookie' that most games/films have.

There are plenty more characters in the game, each one created to make a deep storyline that emerse the player in the atmosphere. Most of the game is spent sneaking about trying not to alert the guards, stealth is the name of the game. The creator came up with the idea because he liked playing hide and seek with his son. The player contacts other characters via the 'codec' a sort of radio implanted in the ear, get used to seeing this screen as a heavy portion of the game is spent listening to dialogue. A lot ( and i mean a lot ) of time is taken up by cut scenes, these are amazing and are rewatchable which is good because to get the most out of the game you will want to play through it a few times. This isn't a problem as there is so much fun to be had, you can do a load of stuff in the game , collect dog tags from guards by holding them up with your gun (this is great, sneaking up on guards and shouting freeze whilst puttin your gun to their heads and watching them shake with fear is great fun). These unlock special items in the game which makes playing through again and again much more enjoyable. The level of detail is
also brilliant, from the detail on the characters faces to objects. Ice cubes melt when you knock them off tables out of the tray, bottles of ketchup or drink can be shot at spraying their contents and glass all over, bags of flour can be shot at which make infa red lasers visible. There is so much to it and that is the most fun, experimenting to make it such a good experience.

The plot is a very complicated one, with far too many twists really which sometimes means the story is a bit silly. When played through a few times it starts to make a bit more sense. The main gripe is one that, unfortunately, i really can't reveal as it would spoil it for some. All that i can say is that somhow i felt a little cheated by a certain plot development although having watched the documentary on the DVD ( the european version caomes packed with a bonus DVD with a documentary and other stuff ) i can understand the reasoning behind it. Play the game and you'll know what i mean. Aother exclusive to Europe is the casting director feature. In which the various cut scenes can be re-watched but the player can swap characters round, messing around and putting different characters in the different situations more fun than it sounds ( honest ).

All in all it was worth the wait. I would whole heartedly recommend this to anyone who loves games. Thing is, now it's over what else is there to look forward to?

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