Retrospective: Metal Gear Solid 2 (2001)

"Find something you believe in, and find it for yourself.
When you do, pass it on to the future." - Solid Snake

 Welcome to our very first retrospective and today were looking at the Metal Gear series' most philosophical and polarizing game ever, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, released back in November 12, 2001 for the PlayStation 2 system. Also, MGS2 is the fourth game produced and directed by series creator, Hideo Kojima. Note that MGS2 has been out for almost 14 years now, so expect some spoilers! 

 Every Metal Gear fan who played MGS2 knows how crazy it was from beginning to end. Plot-twists around every corner, bizarre characters, and a shocking revelation that happened not so early in the game made it more diverse than its 1998 predecessor, Metal Gear Solid, for the original PlayStation. Personally, MGS2 is one of my most-played game in the entire series, because of the tanker chapter and some dog tags.

Sneaky like a Snake!

  Everyone was hyped at the time when MGS2 showcased its capabilities on the PlayStation 2 hardware. A demo of MGS2 came bundled with a little game called Zone of the Enders, another Hideo Kojima game, in which the demo helped boost its sales. The demo was released as part of the game in March 23, 2001 for the PS2, which featured Snake infiltrating a tanker. Just as you'd assume, many bought ZOE for the MGS2 demo. Though Zone of the Enders and its sequel The 2nd Runner were considered to be great mecha action games.

Zone of the Enders, bundled
with the MGS2 demo.

 2007, after the events of MGS1, Snake and Otacon formed an anti-Metal Gear organization "Philanthropy" to combat the countless Metal Gear models that were developed after the Shadow Mosses Incident. Snake's mission was to gather photographic evidence of a new Metal Gear being transported. However, the missions turns for the worst when Ocelot, a gun-slinging cowboy-like badass, stole the Metal Gear model  and sank the tanker along with Snake. Whats "THAT thing that happened not so early in the game" you ask? Well it involves Snake, hype, surprise, and Kojima!

Meet the new protagonist, Raiden.

 Reception for the new protagonist, Raiden, was mixed. Many criticized him for his "pretty boy" look and "wimpy" personality. It was also surprising for many that he was the main protagonist of the game, with Snake receiving a supporting role. In early trailers, only Snake was shown as the playable character, which made sense since Raiden wasn't even shown in the trailers or even discussed about. This created hype that players will now control Snake with new gameplay features and improved visuals on the new-then PS2. They even went as far as to forbid Raiden's Japanese voice actor from revealing anything about his role as Raiden (Geez, talk about being strict). As you can guess, after release, Raiden's existence was revealed and controversy spread, thanks Kojima-san!

 Returning to the plot; 2009, two years after the Tanker accident, a group of terrorists calling themselves "Sons of Liberty" have taken over an offshore cleanup facility, Big Shell. The Sons of Liberty have kidnapped the U.S president and demand $30 billion or else they'll create the worst catastrophic event in history. New operative, "Snake", is sent to eliminate the threat and secure the president. From there, the story goes over-the-top and philosophical.

Snake sneaking up on a guard in the tanker chapter.

 MGS2 brought many gameplay improvements to the series, even boss battles, which we'll be covering later. The new-then features included a new first person mode, pressing against corners, and guard AI. The first-person mode allows for more precise shots. For example, if you want to stop a guard from summoning reinforcements, just enter first-person mode and shoot his radio; this is also helpful for gathering items and dog tags. Furthermore, pressing against corners, which is shown in the pic above, is useful for sneaking and provide cover when firing. I found this feature helpful when guards spotted me and where trying to shoot me. Speaking of guards, their A.I is gradually increased compared to MGS1. Unlike its predecessor, they work in squads and can call for backup, making it more troublesome if you get caught. However, if you're skilled enough, a single shot to a guard's radio will make things less messy. In case you've been spotted, hiding lockers, bathroom stalls, or even the classic cardboard box will do the trick.

Raiden sneaking up on a guard in the plant chapter.

 Many loved Metal Gear Solid's creative boss fights. MGS1's Psycho Mantis literally broke the fourth wall with the controller switch trick; in which you must unplug your controller and plug it to the second port, preventing him from predicting your moves. Also, Psycho Mantis even reads game data stored on your effing memory card and mentions some like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Metal Gear Solid 2 features an... okay set of bosses. While they're nothing like MGS1's Psycho Mantis and Liquid Snake, they're all right. Some are completely borderline like Fortune and Vamp while others were cool like Fatman and Solidus Snake, even the Metal Gear Ray units. By MGS boss standards, its certainly better than MGS: Peace Walker's repetitive Mecha battles.

Vamp, the blood-sucking freak who claims to be "immortal".

 There's no Metal Gear game without amazing music, and MGS2 was no exception. In terms of voice-acting, David Hayter's performance as Snake was memorable and classic in MGS1 and was still going strong in MGS2, which made it hard for long-time fans to know that he's been replaced in Metal Gear Solid V. Moving on, Hollywood composer Harry Gregson-Williams was chosen to compose music for the game. Hearing the opening theme just tells how unique and thrilling MGS2 is. Norihiko Hibino, who had worked on the music for the GameBoy Color title Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel, composes many of the in-game music.

 I've played MGS2 over-and-over and never felt like quitting. Playing it for the first time, I was a total newbie; after many playthroughs, I became a decent player, though I wouldn't dare trying the European Extreme difficulty. There were a lot of great moments in MGS2 that I liked, especially how influential Snake was at the end of the game and I grew to like Raiden as a character. Most notably are the in-game humor of model posters and conversations with Otacon and Snake, as well as the Colonel going nuts. However, series' designer, Yoji Shinkawa's art-style is just awesome.

Shinkawa's promotional
artwork for MGS2.

 In the end, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty received massive critical acclaim for its gameplay additions, Raiden redeemed himself in later entries, but however, was still a mixed bag among fans. Some criticized the deep, philosophical story with plot twists and turns, though it what made MGS2 distinctive. An expansion, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, was released a year later, which was a multi-platform release and included some revisions. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, a prequel taking place in the 1960s  featuring Big Boss was released for PS2 in 2004. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, a direct sequel picking up 7 years later, featuring an aging Solid Snake was released for PS3 in 2008. Most recently, an HD collection containing Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was released 11 years later for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox 360 systems.

And the story goes on!

 Thanks for bearing with me in this pretty brief, but informative look-back at one of gaming's most surprising turn of events, 
Metal Gear Solid 2!