Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for PlayStation 2 Reviews by Gamers

Game Info

Developer: Konami

Platform: PS2

Genre(s): Action

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: November 13, 2001

Intro:

The opening credits is accompanied by a montage of soldier scenes amongst names and chemical symbols. It looks very much like the opening credits of a movie. Following the opening credits, the story begins with Snake on a bridge over the Hudson River. Without spoiling the scene, all I can say is that the graphics are indeed breathtaking, especially for a 2001 game.

Getting Going:

Twenty minutes after sliding the disc into the console, the player finally takes control of Snake. There is a brief mini-tutorial regarding the menus and then the player is on his own with the one main caveat: this is a stealth mission.

Fun:

By now, the major twist in this story isn't a spoiler anymore. For the majority of the game, you don't play as Snake; you play as Raiden. The conversations between Raiden and Rose were annoying. Gameplay is similar to Metal Gear Solid, although the graphics are a giant leap forward from that. Exploring with the new graphics was more interesting and I jumped every time I got caught. Metal Gear 2 has a way of getting under your skin and creating that "fight or flight" reflex.

Visuals:

Konami made a giant leap in visuals between Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2, most likely associated in the upgrade of systems from Playstation to Playstation 2. The CG's are amazing with realistic rain effects coupled with invisibility and even smoking. The physics are accurate and very noticeable in character movements. Facial characteristics come into sharper focus, as well.

Sound:

Voice acting is a huge part of the Metal Gear franchise and is done extremely well in Metal Gear Solid 2. The story is absorbing even though, as a

I found a lot of things to like about this game, but my favorite was the concentration on stealth missions. Where this game fails, however, is in the incredible amount of dialogue one has to wade through in order to get any actual playing time. Raiden's whinny girlfriend made me want to shoot my TV set, and the malfunctioning Colonel was about the most annoying thing I've ever encountered in a video game. Konami could've spent half the time they used on vapid dialogue and cutscenes to create more chapters for this game.