A triumphant return for Solid Snake. Or is it...?
When Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998, critics and consumers lapped it up. They dug the new means of storytelling and grasped the intense new ways in which a story could be told. Characters were no longer two dimensional and there was a vast moral dilemma aspect introduced which made gaming feel more...real. So for Hideo Kojima to dive back into the world of Metal Gear Solid, many people came to a logical conclusion:
Konami were going to have to pull a chicken out of their ass to somehow make MGS2 better.
They managed.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty improves on Metal Gear Solid in nigh on every way possible. The story is developed to add more depth, the strongest point of MGS, the gameplay has been tweaked to give it a smoother feel, the weakest point of MGS, and Snake was back, the most fun point of MGS. Though...he's not back as you'd expect...
Metal Gear Solid 2 is divided into 2 chapters, The Tanker and The Plant. The Tanker is more or less quintessential Metal Gear Solid and is exactly what players expected but The Plant took an excessive risk, one which to this day, most players do not welcome.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 7 years, you'll know that Metal Gear Solid 2 decided to introduce Raiden as the main character for the Plant chapter and herein lies the problem. When consumers buy a game, they anticipate more of what they were promised and throughout MGS and the advertising for MGS2, they were promised a lot of Solid Snake kicking ass. I even expected it, based on the box and having never played MGS before in my life. Many people can't look past Raiden's feminine appearence and whiny voice, but then I'm guessing most people still haven't tapped into the core of Metal Gear Solid, for it to be an experience unlike that of any other game, and in Hideo Kojima's vision, it's damn near impossible for everything to play out smoothly as Solid Snake in MGS2. It's a major contradiction of the plot, which I won't reveal because it's one of the more interesting twists towards the end.
The Bosses and characters are all pretty interesting, though none of them quite match up to the level of decisive uniqueness that ensured each boss in MGS1 was a fesh experience. This however is compensated well by the sheer exhileration factor bought together by the fast pace and fresh music.
When MGS2 was made, hollywood composer Harry Gregson Williams was signed on to score the game and he has developed a fresh and constantly listenable orchestra of techno-punk genius. The music is certainly one of the backbones to the game and it really is a soundtrack I find myself listening to a bit too often in my day to day life.
The voice acting is solid, with Hayter returning to play Solid Snake and a whole cast of new and exciting characters. My personal favourite is Vamp, played by Phil LaMarr, who sounds as creepy and ethereal as he looks, constantly keeping his tone to a whisper, but delivering maximum creepiness.
To anyone not paying attention to the story, it'll probably sound like nonsensical crap, but it's one of those rare treats where paying attention gives off that aura of complexity when everything starts to pull together towards the end.
I first played Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty when I was 11 years old at my cousins house. 6 years later, and several playthroughs under my belt, I still love it, and although it no longer is, I completely understand why for so long, it was my favourite game, or more accurate still, my favourite work of art.
Just play it. For the first time, if necasary, for old times sake if not. But just boot up your Playstation and play it.
