While the game's story becomes convoluted towards the end, don't be mistaken: MGS2 is a game that everyone should play.
User Rating: 9.6 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Mega Hits!) PS2
When it was released in 2001, it was considered to be one of the most anticipated games of all time, and rightly so. Its predecessor, Metal Gear Solid, single handedly created the stealth action genre, following the 8-bit Metal Gears of old. The game delivered with excellent graphics, even better sound, a brilliant and well-crafted story, and very tight gameplay. These factors came together to create one of the best selling games of 1998. Needless to say, Hideo Kojima and the boys at Konami had very big shoes to fill. Unlike with most franchises, story is the central theme to the Metal Gear series. Gamers who played Metal Gear Solid definitely have certain expectations of what is to be seen, if not only that they will be in for a roller-coaster ride of a story. And Konami does not disappoint. In fact, the story is so integral to the game experience that we will address it as an entirely different entity. With such a story-centric game, this review will not reveal any of the plot-specific points of the game. It would actually probably be best if you don’t discuss the game with anyone who has played it, as much of the fun of this game comes from finding out what happens next to the characters. And that’s where this game’s greatest strength and weakness come from: its story. The game’s story revolves around Solid Snake, the hero from the first game. Throughout the game you meet a variety of people who are somehow all involved with Snake, and as with all Metal Gear games, you have to stop a Metal Gear of some sort. But as with all Metal Gears, nothing is as it seems. The story for this game, in a word, is fantastic. If there is a caveat to be found, it comes from the abundance of non-interactive segments in the game. Many people have argued, especially with the Metal Gear games, the games are for playing, not for watching. However, this game is an exception. This game’s story will rival anything you could watch on TV or see in the theaters. It’s a great game, make no bones about it – but the story, however good it may seem – makes up a significant part of the game experience. Now, a story would mean nothing if the gameplay sucks, right? Well, that’s not a problem here. MGS2 employs much of the same gameplay that the previous game did, adding quite a few new features as well. You can now freely aim every gun in first person view, but you are still restricted to walking around only in third person. The stealth action returns as well, employed much in the same way as the first game. You can still knock on walls, choke guards from behind, and just sneak around. New to the game is being able to stuff knocked out guards in lockers. This comes in handy because guards no longer disappear once they’re knocked out, instead staying for a long time. And if other guards notice that the guard hasn’t given a status report, the area will go on caution and send a team to investigate. Little nuances like this in the gameplay give MGS2 a realistic feel to it, make you as a player part of a bigger world. Other new gameplay elements include being able to aim and shoot a guard’s radio to disable him from calling backup and being able to hang off of a catwalk to evade a guard chasing you. You can also now use guards as human shields, coming in handy during a firefight. Unfortunately, some of the coolest aspects of the gameplay only show up once or twice, or right at the end of the game. Perhaps Konami decided to reward gamers for sticking with the game all the way through, and some of the gameplay elements added are definitely worth playing the game for. Okay, so the gameplay and the story is in place. The game still has to look good, right? Well, not necessarily, but that doesn’t matter to Konami. They’ve delivered a graphic tour de force, excellent standards that hold up favorably even against more recent games that have come out for the system. Snake’s mullet fluidly blows in the wind, and all of the character models have been done extremely well. Even the character models in the Codec have been done well, and each character looks life-like and believable. All of the guns look exactly like their lifelike counterparts, and Kojima-san has gone to extensive lengths to make sure that they fit in with the source material. The environs that surround Snake are lovingly detailed as well, as the tanker and other places that are explored are done in the same high quality. The water effects in the game are especially spectacular, and later on there are quite a few of them, and needless to say, they will take your breath away. Every pipe, counter, and toilet has a purpose in the game, and the way the environment itself is designed almost feels natural in that nothing that is there out of place. The sound brings the entire package together, and is easily the game’s greatest strength. In a game of such high quality, that’s saying a lot. The voice acting fleshes out the game’s story especially well, through in-game cut scenes and the Codec. David Hayter reprises his role as Solid Snake, and again does a standout job of conveying the grit and confidence that Snake has. Also, much of the dialogue flow at a much more natural pace than the first game, it seems the people doing the voiceovers were more comfortable this go at it. None of the dialogue between characters seems forced, and given the context of the situation, they would say exactly what you would say. The game does tend to get preachy towards non-violence and environmentalism towards the end of the story, which seems ironic given the context of what’s going on, with several people being killed by lead characters. Asides from that minor misgiving, the dialogue and writing are a standard that may not ever be met again by a videogame, except for maybe Metal Gear Solid 3. The guns all sound like they should in this game, with almost the exact forcefulness of a gun being fired. That’s no small feat, but it seems Konami has done its homework. Every blast, gunshot, punch, kick, or anything else sounds exactly the way it should. The music in the game is done with equal panache, each song played fits what’s happening in the game very well. Kojima-san chose a more techno styling this go around, and given what happens, it fits the story well. So, overall, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was everything every critic had expected of it, and more. Had Halo not come out that year, there was no doubt that it would have garnered top honors as the game of the year. Regardless, the review boils down to the same sentiment as Gamespot’s own Greg Kasavin: “You need to play this game.” 
