Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty offers up some huge action to MG fans, but action isn't all that makes a good Metal Gear game.
by MixMasterLar
With Metal Gear Solid 4 now available it's easy to overlook the game known as MGS2. Most reviews at the time of its release give it a 9/10, but everyone since then talks about all the flaws the story and characters have. I don't know how someone can change a review from a 9 to a 6, but some people did and the result is new fans don't know if it's worth playing. One word: Maybe.
MGS2 takes place two years after MGS1, which is pretty much where the story left off. Snake and Otacon escaped Shadow Moses and started a legal anti-Metal Gear organization - well, legal on paper. The game starts with Snake sneaking on a marine tanker to take some pictures of the new Metal Gear the U.S. denied having. Of course, things don't go smoothly. As soon as Snake jumps onboard, the ship is hi-jacked by terrorists being led by Sergei and Salashaska (aka Ocelot). Snake tries to just get the pictures and haul some ***, but Ocelot ends up betraying everyone on anyone's side and destroys the tanker with the help of his new toy, Metal Gear Ray.
Fast forward to two years later, the U.S. President is kidnapped on an oil clean-up plant built to clean-up the crap from Snake's farewell party on the tanker. Campbell sends the fourth Snake into action, renamed "Raiden" for this mission.
I have to stop telling the story here as the Metal Gear games are all about the stories that happen in them. Hideo Kojima does a great job revealing the story and interconnecting all the plots together, the only bad thing is the story itself is, to put nicely, out of this world. While not as far-fetched as, say, having the Teletubbies appear out of the depths of hell, it's safe to say that Robert Ludlum couldn't think of a more crazy storyline himself. While you might start to dislike it later after playing it two or more times, the first time through, you will have a blast.
Another point to make is if you didn't play MGS1 you won't enjoy the game as much. There's too many side comments and other neat things to find that relate to the first MGS game. Some reviews said this game "Was just like the first" and that's only partly true. It puns off the first in ways you can't guess.
MGS2 offers some gameplay changes from MGS1. Yes, it still has the same controls as MGS1, and has overhead-style game play, but it has some new tricks. For most of the game, you will play as Raiden. Raiden is more agile than Snake and can do cartwheels to send baddies to the ground if the need presents itself. I say "if" due to in MG, you need to use stealth to complete the mission or you die. Running around a la Syphon Filter will get you killed so fast that you will puke. For those of you who heard that when MGS1 came out, know this: The terrorist in this game don't just go "back to their lives" like in MGS1. Getting seen here makes everyone come after you, and you can't just leave the area to escape anymore. Furthermore, the big guy will send in more troops if he doesn't get you. More troops = Them finding you faster and you die.
Kojima re-did the First-Person View; you can now shoot while in it to take out enemies with more precise stealth kills. You'll use that the most, since the "Hide in Box" trick doesn't work as well as it once did. Of course, this isn't as real as Kojima likes to brag about; You can refill your health with the press of a button if you have some juice left (Rations) and even though you have a set number of bullets, you can always find more laying around somewhere.
In MGS1, Snake could walk right on the side of a guard and not be seen. Not so here, if Raiden tries the same he will eat dirt pretty fast. While not as efficient as real trained mercenaries (I'm sure), these guys will make you pay if you goof off with them like in the older games. Bosses are harder than the old ones, also.
All Metal Gear games have a great cast of unique characters that make you feel like you're playing out a movie that Hollywood made. MGS2 is no different, but the bosses here are pretty out there. There's Vamp, a blood-sucking bi-sexual; Fountain, a lady who can't be hit by bullets; Solidus Snake, the first child cloned after Big Boss who makes Liquid look like a joke; Rose, Raiden's girlfriend and Mei Ling's replacement ("Jack, do you know what tomorrow is?" on repeat) and then there's Ocelot himself, who has Liquid's arm (biiiiiig "?" there), among some others. While all isn't as it seems in most MGS games, there isn't too many plot twists in the actual characters here. The only characters that were in MGS that play any big role here are Snake, Otacon and the Ocelot/Liquid duo. There are some more, but I'm not spoiling them for you.
Big name composer Harry-Gregson Williams, known for his work in "The Rock" and other action movies, was hired to do most of the songs in the game. While the game still has the famous opener theme, and the ending theme was composed by Rika Muranaka, every other tune was done Hollywood-stlye by Mr. Williams himself. He did a great job and the music reflects the characters feelings well. The voice acting is great, with David Hayter resuming his role as Snake and Christopher Randolph doing Otacon's voice (I have no idea if he did it in MGS1. I think he did, as the voice sounds exactly the same), Paul Eiding, now known for his work in the cartoon Ben 10, reprises his role as Campbell. There's no use in me naming every one in the game, but the acting is great. Your have no complaints about having to hear the characters talk (with the exception of Raiden's girfriend, perhaps. But not due to her voice actor, anyway).
Be glad that the sound is great, because the looks don't do much. Once you get on the plant, almost every room looks the same except for a few changes. Since there's only seven areas in most of the main game, things get really old, really fast. Don't skip the cutscenes, or you wont have a reason to fight. Least said here the better.
While the game's remake - Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance - has some cool extras for people who enjoy that kind of thing, Sons of Liberty only has some backstory for you to read. If you never played Metal Gear Solid, then head right over there, pretend to read the first two pages, and then read Natasha's new book that tells what all that went down through her eyes (even though she didn't seem to be a main character in MGS1, she had ways of knowing everything. She even explains Campbell's actions). Even MGS1 players may want to check it out, but after reading that, all you have is the main game. If you watch all the cutscenes (please do) and the ending credits, the game will take about 20-odd hours to beat. If you want more of Metal Gear after that, you'll need to set the game to hard (Or that awesome mode were you get seen once and it's "Game Over"). Not many extras here.
It's hard to rate this game, but if you like some stealth action and a full, in-depth story that will take a while to get, then this game is just for you. If you like to get 30+ hours out of your game and a lot of fast paced action, then look elsewhere, as MGS2 will make you slow down and be stealthy (there are some very, VERY fast parts later). Overall, though, MGS2 is a great game that easily got lost in the shadows of the other installments.
GemuBaka Final Review Score: 3 out of 5
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