The Hudson River, two years ago... We had klassified intelligence that a newtype of Metal Gear was scheduled for transport. The whole thing stank... ...butour noses have been out in the cold too long.This is the introductory narrative to the 2nd installment in one of the greatest game franchises ever made:Metal Gear Solid. A damn good story, some damn good characters, and some damn good gameplay mechanics are the reasons whyMetal Gear Solid 2sparked my interest in gaming. Prior to playing MGS:2, I only played games occasionally; I was far from crazy about them. In fact, the only games I had for my PS2 before I bought MGS:2 were the five games that came with it (I bought a PS2bundle). Those games sucked so badly that I actually decided to trade them in at the local game shop for a used title...which turned out to be MGS:2 (lulz?). I was browsing through the selection the shop had; most of the games there failed to catch my eye. However, when I came across MGS:2, I remembered the advertisements I had seen for it a year earlier and decided to get it. The trailers for the game looked like they could have easily been made by a major Holly Wood studio; they wee so cinematic.
Oddly enough, when I got back home and popped it into my PS2 I was initially very underwhelmed. The fixed camera angles, the manual switch between third and first person perspective when shooting, Snake's vulnerability when detected by the enemy and the non-fatal rounds in the M9 Beretta you start off with, all created this odd and unexpected experience. I thought I was going to be playing a game of instant gratification where I fought enemies out in the open. However, this game was the complete opposite; I guess I should have read the small print over the game's title on the cover:TacticalEspionageAction. However, after I got the hang of the mechanics and gameplay, I came to love it. To this day, I can play the Tanker Chapter over and over again. Completing this chapter in as little time as possible, with as little detections as possible is a really fun challenge. I love taking out an enemy sentry from a distance with a single well placed shot from the M9 and sneaking up behind them to hold them up for their dog-tags.Freeze!
The main aspects of MGS:2 which changed the way I viewed games were the characters and the voice acting. David Hater did a really good job of creating a voice which made Snake come across as tough, but not in an overly mancho sort of way; it's gruffy, but low. It's got to bethecoolest voice I've ever heard. The voice acting for the other characters such as Olga Gurlukovich, Liquid Ocelot, Otacon and Solidus Snake (among others) was also very good. Regarding Olga, I love the authentic Russian accent she has. The subtle attention to detail such as assuring that the characters have the appropriate accents, all help to create a damn good illusion: A fictional story set in a realistic world in the 21st Century. What I found really interesting about Snake was that he was a "Son" (clone) of Big Boss. When I found out that he was a clone, it changed the way I thought of him. It made me wonder how he thought of himself; what he thought of the fact that he was created for the sole purpose of fighting. I also just found it to be plane strange; I mean think about it: He's a clone! He was created in a test tube! Here I thought that my avatar was an ordinary guy and he happens to be a clone of some other guy who's said to have died eons ago. I don't know how other people reacted to this revelation, but it was quite shocking to me. Aside from this, I also like Snake because he's a badass dude. Plain and simple. Here you have this one guy who's willing and able to infiltrate heavily guarded perimeters on his own with the burden of procuring weapons for his defenseon site. If that's not badass, I don't know what is.
One thing I really hated about this game (note my use of the past tense:hated) was Raiden. I bet you saw this coming. However, I wouldn't say that I hated Raiden himself; he wasn'tthatbad. I simply hated the fact that he wasn't Snake. After completing the Tanker Chapter, I expected to continue the game with Snake, but instead I get Raiden. Like I said, I've got nothing against Raiden, but he's not nearly as cool as Snake (Who is?). Nothing peculiar or cool about the sound of his voice, nothing out of the ordinary about his origin (he's not a clone) and worst of all, he had no field experience at that point. All I could say to myself when I realized that I'd be playing with him instead of Snake wasDAMN!
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I agree, but with less words.
I actually got started on Centipede and Donkey Kong before Super Mario Bros., but it wasn't until I got my NES that I truly became a gamer. I played the S#$T out of that game. I broke the metaphorical bones in half and sucked out the marrow. I remember learning my first cheats, easter eggs and hidden areas on that game. Remeber the infinite 1-up trick with the turtle on the stairs? Or knowing exactly how to always get the max points on the flag jump or how to warp or negative world?
Ahh... the nostalgia is starting to flow like nasal drippings!
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