The sequel to the best Playstation game ever with extra goodies and bonuses thrown in for a great gaming experience.
Let's start off with the game. The actual game (Son's of Liberty) is a fantastic game. You start out as the legendary Solid Snake, following a US Miltary tanker that supposedly has a new metal gear. When you get on the tanker, all hell breaks loose, silently of course. Russians come to spoil the party and later steal the Metal Gear ( a nuclear equippeed walking tank) and sinking the tanker. Then you play a new character: Raiden. Raiden is a spy who is sent on a mission on a giant research plant in the middle of the ocean. You are sent to rescue the President and stop a nuclear strike. But as the story unfolds, you know it is much deeper than a terroist act. Through twists and turns in the story, you realize that Sons of Liberty has one of the best stories in video game history, just like the first Metal Gear Solid. The story is rich and in-depth with great characters and even better voice-overs. Kojima has done an absolutley fantastic job writing and directing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
The Gameplay, Son's of Liberty featured new weapons, gadgets and moves that all worked well. The biggest new addition is the first-person view, this makes playing the game much easier. With new weapons such as the AK-74U ,the M9 ( a tranquilizer gun), and even a cool katana near the end of the game. Different guns have different feelings to it and sometimes the guns will make you want to go Rambo on everybody. New gadgets are cool too, sure you have the thermal goggles and NV goggles, but you know what you want, you want the cardboard box. With new additions and of course some old-school classics, the gameplay works very well for you with a excellent controller lay-out and responsive controls.
The sound, great and very in-depth. This game really was made for the surround sound Dolby Digital 5.1. Each cutscene has loads and loads of great scripted and great acted voice-overs. Each character has their own personality that the actors and actresses bring out very, very well. The music that is composed by the great Harry Gregson-Williams blends in with the story so well and makes it even more dramatic when someone important gets killed or when a new character is introduced. The weapons all sound superb and all the other sound effects such as shooting a magazine or footsteps sound equally superb. As in all the other Metal Gear game, the sound is a wondurful and sometimes breath-taking experience.
The value, this is were Substance comes in. With mini-games such as the 500+ amount of VR missions and the ability to play the entire game as Solid Snake. If you ever wondered what Snake was doing when Raiden was trying to rescue the President, you can now.You can play those new couple of missions as Snake. There is also a skateboarding mini-game were you go through-out Bug Shell shredding the pipes. Substance is a good value with many mini-games in store for you.
Overall, if you love the Metal Gear series and you are looking for a couple of extras included, Substance is the game for you. Everyone should check out Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance as soon as they can.