Looking at: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Ongoing Legacy

get used to this screen, since it's like 40% of the fucking game.

Continuing on my play-through of the Metal Gear Solid series, we come to my least favourite entry to the legacy, MGS2. My previous experience with MGS2 was only the first few hours on my PS2 before doing a proper play-through in the PS3 Legacy collection. I didn't enjoy it then, and I don't think I enjoyed it now.

MGS2 is... not that great, especially when compared to the rest of the series. It's a bit of a mess, both in terms of the game, and the twisted, convoluted tale that it weaves.

For Your Ears Only

Snake appears in the opening, to bait-and-switch players in the worst way possible.

The setup this time is... ok, here's the thing: it's been ten years, so if you haven't played it already there's a good chance this has already been said elsewhere anyway, but you don't play the game as Snake, at least not most of it.

You do play as Snake, for the first two or so hours, during which time you'll infiltrate a US Navy ship, gather data, have a quick boss fight, then everything goes to hell and you're assumed dead. Enter again two years later as Raiden, a mercenary hired to infiltrate an environmental cleaning facility known as Big Shell and free several hostages being held captive aboard. Along the way you'll have to battle an army of Russian special forces and a group of elite super soldiers known as Dead Cell, being led by the mysterious Revolver Ocelot.

If that all sounds eerily familiar that's because it's sort of supposed to. I won't really go into it, but there are some really, really big and hard to comprehend ideas tossed around in this game, probably more than should be put in a video game. It delves into the ideas of social constructs, virtual reality, and the nature of biology and technology in the 21st century.

It's goddamn weird, and really hard to pay attention to.

I complained that MGS used cut scenes to often, but I whole-heartily resend that accusation in the face of MGS2. Good God in heaven are there ever a lot of cut scenes in this game, especially at the end. The finally is a 30 minute movie, followed by a five minute fight, followed by a 15 minute movie. I got so bored during this I made lunch and cleaned my apartment a little, just to do something. Worse, much of that conversation is via the dreaded radio, meaning absolutely nothing was happening on screen.

It's not that the plot of MGS2 is bad, in fact it's amazingly layered and complex, greatly surpassing most other games on the PS2 and most games to come after it. But it's so fucking boring and hard to watch when you're not engaged at all. For whatever reason most interactions with people end in you talking to them via radio, even if you're literally a foot away. I suspect that's because the cut scenes were nothing short of taxing on the PS2, but it's really boring and takes me right out of the game.

Compounding this problem is the new main character of Raiden. Raiden is nowhere near as likeable as Snake was. He doesn't look like a good soldier, and he doesn't have the chops to be a great main character. He's a pretty boy and his emotions constantly bog him down. Snake was a cold, hard badass, and Raiden isn't.

Stealth Tactics

There's now a host of non-violent interaction options for dealing with guards.

Gameplay, too, is something of a mix-bag. On the one hand, it was great to be able to use my thumb stick again, something sorely lacking from MGS. MGS2 plays a lot smoother then the old game, and an expanded range of movement helps too. Most importantly is the addition of proper weapon aiming, allowing you to line up insta-kill head shots or target specific things in the environment. It's still a little awkward, but it does make gunfights that much more bearable.

The problem is that the game doesn't always play nice with itself. The camera is still locked, meaning that you have to hope you can see what you're doing. It wasn't much of an issue, but there were parts where I found the camera angle to be a hindrance. To further compound this is that you don't have a map for every area this time. You need to log into a computer node to get a map, meaning that you enter every area blind as a bat. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for enemies.

Guards in MGS2 don't fuck around, at all. If you're discovered you'll probably die, because they'll send endless waves of soldiers at you. Seriously, and avoiding them is damn near impossible at times. There's not good places to hide in Big Shell, and a minor mistake can turn into a twenty minute running battle as you pray they'll leave you alone. Combat is better, but enemies are now much harder to take down and it's just not an enjoyable experience.

Sea Worthy

Raiden plays exactly like Snake, except he's incredibly annoying.

Graphically, MGS2 is a damn good looking game for it's time. The original was straining against the PS2's limited capabilities, and it shows. There's minor details in everything, from the lettering on a uniform to the pieces of food on a plate in the mess hall. The HD version I played really didn't do that much, aside from update textures and lighting, as well as a widescreen resolution.

Character models specifically look great, with expressive faces during cut scenes. They might not have aged perfectly, looking like they're made of plastic now, but for the time these were amazing. I haven't seen characters this good looking on any other PS2 title, save MGS3.

Sound is equally great. Voice acting is an unparalleled level of awesome, and each of the characters is distinct and memorable. David Hayter shows up once again, along with Quinton Flynn as Raiden, Phil LaMarr as the mysterious Vamp, Jeniffer Hale as computer whizz Emma Emerich, and Maura Gale as the mercenary Fortune. Everyone in the cast is great, even when the stuff they're reading doesn't actually make much sense.

New Beginning

Bosses remain memorable and exciting.

MGS2 has the misfortune of being a middle child, trapped between the old-school charm of the original MGS, and the masterpiece of MGS3. It only barely has it's own identity, but it's mostly known for it's negative points, like a sequence where you flip around the level naked, it's overly complex plot, and incredibly long cut scenes.

I don't think MGS 2 a bad game, per-say, but were someone to ask me I don't think I'd recommend actually playing it. If you're just here for the story then read it online, or watch someone else's playthrough, one of which I've linked to at the bottom of this article. It's a convoluted game that tries to do to much within it's own space.

That's it for MGS2, thank god. Next up: I go back in time and revisit a cold-war classic.

All screenshots taken from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKbYxc_s0_g