Gaming Impressions: Metal Gear Solid 2 - Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty / メタルギア ソリッド2 サンズ・オブ・リバティ
(PS2, Konami)
About a year ago I purchased a PS3 that was bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I loved the story behind that game so much that, after I finished it, I went out and picked up the Metal Gear Solid Essential Collection. The collection contains the three other main console titles in the series - Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (the Substance version) and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (the Subsistence version).
Even though I’m writing this particular post about MGS2, a few months ago I finished MGS1. I thought it was a great gaming experience despite the aging of the graphics technology. I’ve actually picked up Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for GameCube - which is a remake of MGS1 but with souped up visuals and new audio, and I’ll be going through that and posting impressions soon as well. But since MGS2 is the most fresh in my mind, this is the one we’re going with today.
MGS2 is split into two chapters. The first takes place in 2007 (2 years after the events in MGS1) on an oil tanker dubbed the U.S.S. Discovery. As Solid Snake, you infiltrate the tanker to discover that it’s actually housing the newest form of Metal Gear: RAY - an amphibious weapon of war. Things get hairy after a visit from some unexpected guests in the form of a Russian military outfit and the arrival of an old friend (read: enemy). All hell breaks loose and the tanker is cracked in two, supposedly creating an off-shore environmental disaster what with all the oil it spilled. Chapter one ends.
The second chapter takes place 2 years later in 2009. You’re now controlling Jack, aka Raiden, a rookie member of FOXHOUND on his first real life mission. Up until this point he’d only been involved in VR battle simulations. The location of this chapter takes place on the exact same waters.. except this time you are on the Big Shell - a clean up facility designed to deal with the mess that the tanker left after it’s destruction. Why is Raiden here? The President’s been kidnapped and taken to the Big Shell by that same Russian military outfit, along with a terrorist group known as Dead Cell. Raiden’s role is to save the President.. or is it?
That’s as far into the plot that I will go to avoid spoilers for anyone out there who hasn’t played the game yet. Sure it’s old, but I hadn’t played it til just this past month. Some of us are slow on the uptake, alright?! All I have to say is.. final battle? EPIC - Nuff said.
Anyway, the game has aged well, in my opinion. It builds upon the engine set out in MGS1 but adds several more levels of dynamic gameplay to it. Sneaking is still the top aspect to this game, but there are lots of new combat options as well. The whole fact that Raiden eventually gets a katana is just pure awesomeness.
Graphics are much better than it’s PS1 predecessor, which was to be expected, but they’ve actually aged very well themselves. It didn’t feel at all like I was playing a game that was made in 2001! As for sound.. I find that aside from story (which was a tad confusing at times but still solid from my vantage point), that’s one thing that Kojima Productions always gets right! The music is just phenomenal. Just like with SFIV, if find myself humming these tunes at any given moment during the day. The voice over work is spot on, as well. That’s one thing I like about every MGS game that I’ve played so far - the voice over work has always been very professional and not the normal garbage we’d get for games produced in Japan that eventually come over here - KOEI, I’m looking at you!
As far as extras go - there are quite a few. Lots of additional content to read through contained within the game, VR missions, playable side-missions titled “Snake Tales” and a fun little skateboarding game where you channel Tony Hawk while aboard the Big Shell.
Bottom line - excellent buy, and and definitely worth coming back to down the road for a second go.. when I have the time! At first I was a little disappointed that Snake wasn’t the main character for the majority of the game.. but I got over it pretty quickly. Raiden is an interesting character and I’m psyched to see more from him in Metal Gear Solid: Rising.
