Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Konami has replaced the moronic enemies from the first MGS with more cerebral and capable foes; this causes an even greater emphasis on stealth than the original. The controls have been refined and Snake's repertoire of moves has grown, significantly deepening the gameplay. This is, technically and stylistically, one of the best-looking PS2 games on the market. The sound is also topnotch, with a fabulous score and outstanding voice acting. What makes this game such a standout, however, is how all of these sight, sound, and story elements combine to immerse the player into an entertainment form somewhere between movie and game. It will be years before Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is surpassed. This is interactive entertainment at its finest. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• One of the best and most complex stories in gaming
• Outstanding graphics with many interactive elements
• Excellent soundtrack and voice acting

• Long periods o
  
  Amazon.com Review
  One of the most anticipated titles in PlayStation2 history absolutely lives up to the hype. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is the follow-up to one of the most captivating and intelligent adventures on the original PlayStation. Solid Snake, everyone's favorite mullet-sporting supersoldier, is back, along with many other familiar faces and voices. While its predecessor was lauded for telling a complex story, this sequel has even more fascinating twists and turns. Also, like Metal Gear Solid, MGS2 takes console-game storytelling to an entirely new level with stunning in-game movies, great graphics, and game mechanics that let you find your own solutions to challenges. The game's twisting and at times bizarre plot will undoubtedly keep some gamers perplexed.

  Konami has replaced the moronic enemies from the first MGS with more cerebral and capable foes; this causes an even greater emphasis on stealth than the original. The controls have been refined and Snake's repertoire of moves has grown, significantly deepening the gameplay. This is, technically and stylistically, one of the best-looking PS2 games on the market. The sound is also topnotch, with a fabulous score and outstanding voice acting. What makes this game such a standout, however, is how all of these sight, sound, and story elements combine to immerse the player into an entertainment form somewhere between movie and game. It will be years before Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is surpassed. This is interactive entertainment at its finest. --Raymond M. Padilla

  Pros:

  • One of the best and most complex stories in gaming
  • Outstanding graphics with many interactive elements
  • Excellent soundtrack and voice acting
  Cons:
  • Long periods of watching instead of playing
  • Some extraneous dialogue
  • Solid Snake may inspire gamers to grow mullets
  
  
  

Needless to say that this is an amazing game with a gripping story, and defintely a worthy sequal. To say that it has perfect top notch graphics and music that will blow you away. Not to mention its great character development and plot twists.

I won't give away any of the story where as to me (and a lot of other people) this game has some of the best Plot twist in history. All I will say is that the game is divided into two parts. The "Tanker" chapter and the "Plant" chapter. They both link in everyway and you can see if you play through the game.

The characters are a true treat in this game. There are several new characters introduced and they all have their own reasons for being where they are. However the main villian...compared to Liquid Snake isn't the best. Next to Kefka (FFVI) Liquid was probably the best villian of all time. In comparison, the main villian didn't live up to Liquid.

The music is breathtaking done by Harry Gregson-Williams (The Rock and Enemy of the State if you don't know him). The music will really catch you, and that intro music is just awesome!

I'm not much for graphics but I will say that the graphics are so good that when watching the cinema scenes they look like real people! Can't go wrong with that. Also, the voice acting is sheer brilliance. They actually show emotion and they have a change in tone when they're upset or sad.

It'll take you about 10-15 hours to complete the game your first time through but it is worth it. However, movie cinemas make up at least six hours of the game. This may bother some people as they said the first one was short. Sorry to say that the game is NOT short. But that means you actually HAVE TO WATCH THE CGs!!!! Also, watching the CGs is the only way to understand anything thats going on.

The game doesn't really present any BIG challenge. In fact with the new gear and stuff you can do I'd say it makes the game EASIER than the first (is that possible!?). To say the least though the new gear isn't much different from the old gear in MGS.

Lastly the fun factor. The game is very fun if you don't take it too seriously. What I mean by that is don't be ashsmaed to break some of the stealth rules and have fun with the guards every once and awhile. That was the funnest part of the first one.

One final note. In the HARD and EXTREME difficulty setting you can choose to have a game over if you're spotted. Being that you take so much damage I'd probaly suggest that you take that oppertunity on EXTREME.

OVERALL
Graphics: 10

Plot/Story: 10

Music: 10

Gameplay: 9

Fun Factor: 10

Overall score: 9.9

You won't be disappointed


Metal Gear Solid 2 is a hot game   June 11, 2002
Scott Cohen (New York)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Metal Gear Solid 2 is an excellent masterpiece made by Hideo Kojima. This game has superb graphics made with the excellent hardware the Playstation2 has. The gameplay is very good. I like the style of gameplay. The third-person view makes the game more realistic than some other some other first-person shooters on Playstation2 like "James Bond: Agent Under Fire" and "Time Crisis 2". The game runs at a nice, crisp 60 frames per second (fps). The game is violent in some ways, because you have to kill people with guns. The game has a very good story, with makes it more realistic, and the superb graphics tie it all together. I think that Hideo Kojima meant to make this game into a mini-movie in a way. There is many excellent FMV's (movies) which look very good. Some times in the game, there is too many movies, and to many Codec (communicator) calls. That gets in the way, and starts to get on your nerves. But it's okay. Some times the Codec calls last like 10 minutes, and that is annoying.

But even though they have minor problems, there should be no hesitation of picking this title of the shelves or off the online cart. If you don't have a Playstation2, get one, or if you have any Xbox,(which you shouldn't) Konami is being a good sport and is producing Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance for Xbox and Playstation2. You must play Metal Gear Solid for PSone to understand the storyline of Metal Gear Solid and Solid Snake. I believe it is available at Amazon.com for ... . Buy both today!


A Masterpiece -- if you have some patience   December 23, 2001
Matthew Ivester (Cambridge, MA)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (MGS2) is, without a doubt, the most advanced piece of interactive entertainment published to date on a console system. The graphics, sound, and gameplay are all top-notch, and it has more storyline and history than you can shake a stick at. If you haven't seen the demo or downloadable movie preview, download it or buy/rent Zone of The Enders and check it out. You'll be hooked. They've improved on the original Metal Gear Solid in every way possible; all the control and view issues I had problems with in the first game are gone, and the gameplay has more depth and new moves, weapons, and tactics for you to learn. The story picks up a few years after the first (or rather, third) game left off, and some very interesting documents you can access from the game menus give a fresh perspective on the behind-the-scenes events of the first game.

So what's wrong with MGS2? Nothing, if you ask me, but a number of reviewers have taken issue with it being "boring" and having an ending that mostly consists of an hour of watching video cutscenes instead of running around and shooting things (although there's a decent amount of that leading up to the end). This is *not* a shoot-em-up game. It says right on the box: "Tactical Espionage Action", not "Vaporize Terrorist Scum". You spend a lot of time sneaking around and avoiding people, listening in on conversations and the like -- your end-of-game ranking actually gets *worse* if you kill enemies (there's a tranqulizer gun available for those times when you have to incapacitate someone, if you don't want to kill them). And on the higher difficulty settings, you don't have a choice; you'll quickly be wiped out if discovered and attacked. The plot is long, twisted, and makes the one in Metal Gear Solid seem simple by comparison. Be prepared for surprises.

As for the ending, it isn't a simple "they stop the terrorists and all live happily ever after" affair -- and frankly, if you were expecting one, you'd be disappointed. It is fairly long (though punctuated by several boss fights), but if you care about figuring out *why* everything in the game is happening, and who's really behind the terrorist conspiracy (and who this Raiden guy you've been playing as really is), it's very interesting. After you've seen it, though, you'll probably have more questions about what was going on than you did halfway through the game. I'm already waiting for MGS3.

So, if you have some patience, feel sneaky, and want an incredibly cinematic gaming experience, pick up Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty. Otherwise, stick to Red Faction, where you can blow things up to your heart's content.


One of the finest games ever released!   September 5, 2002
Daniel Winter (Mapleton, Vermont USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is without question, one of the finest games on the market today. It's predecessor, Metal Gear Solid, though a very good game, was not the fantastic achievement that Konami has worked hard to earn. Players assume the role of Solid Snake initially, but change characters several times during the game. While many people find this to be an annoyance, I found it to be a interesting change in the flow of the game. Graphically, the game is beautiful, one of the best out there, save for Final Fantasy X. And though Konami was meticulous in detail, they did a very good job of keeping the "blood n' guts" level down. The Mature rating is not for the gameplay itself (in my opinion) but for the cinema scenes, placed somewhere between a PG-13 and an R rated movie. Fantastically done, they sometimes make you think you're watching a sequel to "The Sixth Day" or "Minority Report"!

The gameplay is very nicely done. The character is mostly seen from a 3rd person perspective, with some switching to 1st person.
The controls are easy and comfortable, allowing you to move the character in almost any real position! The weapons are very diverse, as well as being based off modern guns and then upgraded to fit the future theme. Though great thought and detail has been put into the weapons, this is NOT a Golden-Eye style game where you walk through the levels blowing away anything with two legs. A strong emphasis has been put on the stealth/spy theme of the game, requiring players to disarm traps, disable sensors and cameras, bug rooms, repair vehicles and evade guards rather than get from point A to point B with as much kills possible. Due to the particulary smart AI, staying hidden is usually a smart idea.

With the difficulty set on hard, it will take most players around 20 hours to complete. As for replay value, two or three times will probably be enough to grasp the entire story, which is one of the most complex and well-thought stories in the Playstation 2's career. Voice-acting is superb, which makes it even more enjoyable second time around.

All-in-all, Metal Gear Solid is a wonderful game and a must-have for any PS2 owner.


Make Metal Gear Solid 2 a part of your PS2 library now!   October 14, 2002
Ernie (Baguio City, Philippines)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Just like any wise gamer, I never buy games without reading reviews from reputable gaming resources. I have never played the first couple of installments of Metal Gear Solid, but figured I'd find out what the hype surrounding MGS2 was about; and upon completing the game, I was not surprised by the rave reviews.

Excellent graphics, sound, and a complicated storyline immerse you into the game. This is not Resident Evil - no monsters, ghouls, zombies or supernatural beings. It's an action-packed technological-thriller, complete with awesome weapons, espionage tactics, and extreme attention to environmental detail. Similar to Devil May Cry, it's a visual feast, and a lot more. Control of your character is flawless, and getting used to the analog controls was really easy. Crawling, hanging, running, drawing, aiming and firing weapons was also easy and almost second nature.

My favorite part of the game was providing sniper cover for Emma, a young girl who is key to the game's ending, as she crosses the pontoon bridges between the structures of a deep sea facility. Don your thermal goggles, arm your PSG-1 sniping rifle, and take position to blast some Claymore mines planted in Emma's path before she steps on them. As you struggle to place the mines (and enemy soldiers who try to take out Emma) within your crosshairs, down some Pentazamine pills to steady your aim. This was an awesome segment that begged for replay after replay. :) If there is one thing notable about this game, it would be how painstakingly detailed the environments are rendered, and yet how interactive they are to your actions.

In short, the gameplay is extraordinary, unlike any game I've ever played. The complex storyline was a bit too much for me, as I have never played the original series, but this didn't, and shouldn't, stop anyone from having a grand old time disposing of the baddies MGS2-style. If the dialogue gets too drawn out, do as I did and just "fast forward" through it. I've played several action games, but this ranks number one in my book so far... My bottom line to all people reading this is - Buy Metal Gear Sold 2: Sons of Liberty ... it's not just a game, it's an experience! -ecr