How many games have tried to put stealth in but failed? Think about it, The Getaway:Black Monday, Yakuza, Tony Hawk's Underground, Shadow of Rome. It just shows that the only good stealth sections in a game are ones that last the whole game like Splinter Cell or Hitman. But by far the best stealth game ever is Metal Gear Solid. Many people say the cutscenes are too long and that a game is for playing not for watching but what they don't realise is that you have a deep and interesting plot , yes the cutscenes are too long (especially the codec conversations at the end) and it is a bit complicated but you never lose track of what is going on. I won't say anything more about the plot because it would spoil it for you. Everyone who played the first game loved it and so the chance to play as Solid Snake again was brilliant however Hideo Kojima had a plan for fans the twist is you only play as Snake for the first half where you infriltrate a tanker storing metal gears but then Snake became a cameo. Up stepped the annoying girlyboy with issues, Raiden, fans were furious. Why change from the hard Snake to the pansy Raiden? and yet still MGS was brilliant. The graphics are superb and may still not have been beaten to this day with only a few hiccups with synchronising speech. Plus the sound is great with the music being done by Harry Gregson-Williams, the theme is really good and the music when there is an alert is good really as it sets the scene all jumpy and dramatic but by far the best thing about Metal Gear Solid 2 is the gameplay. The missions are superbly varied from defusing bombs to posing as a guard to infriltrate a high security building even the boss fights are fun which is unusual in any game. Also what puts it ahead of it's main stealth competition, Splinter Cell, is that it gives you a choice you don't have to be stealthy you could go out all guns blazing killing everyone you see but it rewards you to be stealthy. Some might think that it would be quicker to be aggresive but they'd be wrong as it would be easier to take out a guard quietly as to not cause an alert which could take a couple of minutes to die down whereas in Splinter Cell if you're spotted it's mission over. There's also a huge level of detail, you can shoot induvidual bottles, parts of mirror out and much more which is something even games today don't do often. Also the characters (except for Raiden) are brilliant, the crazy Vamp, invincible yet depressed Fortune, evil Solidus, bomb obsessed Fatman all make up terrorist group dead cell while Ocelot, Snake, Otacon, Olga, Mr X, Emma, Peter Stillman, Ames and the President all add for a exceptional cast. The weapons on offer are not really varied: a tranquiliser pistol, normal pistol, two machine guns, a sniper rifle, 2 types of grenades and C4s but do the job nicely especially when you shoot out a guards radio (so they can't send for backup), their shooting arm and leg then pummel them with your bare hands is one of the curious joys along with shooting a guard on a balconie miles away with a pistol and watching him fall to his death. Although right at the end you have a battle with solidus using a ninja sword in which you use the right anolouge stick to slash in different directions. .However the items are varied from thermal vision to cardboard boxes (which are surprisingly the most useful!) to bomb sensors. Plus the game never gets that difficult only one mission that involves swimming underwater did I have any problem on and after a few tries you'll easily crack it. Graphics 10 Sound 9 Lifespan 8 Gameplay 10 The best stealth game ever and one of the best action games, if a little short and with an annoying main character. Still brilliant
97%
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