Perhaps it was the years of avid comic book collecting. Perhaps it was the perfectionist disposition I inherited from my driven parents. It may even be my eternal nature to be a semantics-powered completist. I don't know.

What I do know is I finished MGS2:Substance for the first time last night. I loved the huge twist at the end. No, at the very end. Absolutely brilliant story. It wasn't anything revolutionary, but the writing was excellent, the experience was worthwhile, and the gameplay was on par with the original MGS. That is not to say it was perfect.

Lest you think it was perfect, MGS2 had a few points in the story that did not jive. For the sake of those who want to be kept from startling revelations, I won't discuss the issues . . . since they are all plot related. The best parts were understated. Unfortunately Kojima also delivers some very disturbing relationships. But since this is not my review, I will come back to that later.

The completist in me has been focusing two-parts VR mission and one-part storyline. Even after finishing the game once, that will not change until I get Subsistence in a matter of days. Then I will abandon Substance and the Twin Snakes for the meatier stuff. Until then, I am going to be unlocking VR missions like a mad man!

Despite plenty of engaging interactive experiences, I find the professional recognition to be very compelling. Bonuses were announced yesterday. For the completist, that was a huge wake-up call. Companies reward you according to how much they think you are worth. With even more work, I imagine I could be worth quite a bit.

End of line.