MGS2: Substance is a great way to demonstrate how you take an instant classic and retool it in a way that everyone is going to love. This isn't some cheap expansion that's going to crassly take your money while offering a bare-bones addition in return; it is a comprehensive, dense re-iteration of the original game.

This set contains the original game, in which you play one level as Solid Snake (aboard a Tanker), before switching to frequently-reviled character Raiden, with whom you play for the rest of the game. You have to try and shut down a terrorist cell operating out of a clean-up facility called The Big Shell, who have completed work on a new weapon called Arsenal Gear that they intend to use on New York City.

However, it also adds a Hell of a lot. There's 300 missions to play in the grid-like environments from MGS: Special Missions, and about another 200 that take place within the world of the second game, ranging from simply dispatching guards to complex stealth missions. There are also Snake Tales segments you can play, which pit you as Snake during some sections of the second game, which is a fun novelty. Also, there is the ability to play as Raiden during the Tanker section at the start of the game. Hilariously, there is also an added Skateboarding game which has you, in Tony Hawk's style, riding around parts of the Big Shell as either Snake or Raiden, trying to rack up "sick combos".

Visually, the game doesn't improve upon MGS2, but then MGS2 looks so great that it really doesn't matter. Also the sound is as great as usual, thanks to a Hollywood score from Harry Gregson-Williams and the stunning voice performance from David Hayter.