Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

System: Playstation 2
Release Date: 2001
Published By: Konami
Reviewed by: Darien
Rating:

Okay, I get why this game needed a hero other than Snake; the plot just wouldn't have worked with Snake in the lead. That's fine. But why the hell did it need that hero? Raiden is the most unlikable video game hero of all time, looking like he bought his face at Hot Topic and got his hair cut two doors farther down the hall. Worse than that, though, he has ceaseless angst-ridden conversations with his girlfriend about how he doesn't respect her, and she doesn't understand him, and he's still pissed because she broke into his room, and on and on. Looking back on the game after finishing it, I understand the purpose these conversations serve, but that doesn't make them any less insufferable.

Like its immediate predecessor, Metal Gear Solid 2's expository cutscenes are very long and thick. If that's your thing, this game delivers. Even if you like your games a bit less well-endowed in the cinematic department, though, they only occasionally become annoying, since they're generally well-done and interesting (with the notable exception of the "Raiden and his girlfriend are whining" scenes). Plotwise, Raiden is trying to defeat some terrorists who've seized control of an offshore facility, fortified it, and are planning to launch a nuclear weapon if their demands aren't... hey, wait, isn't that the plot synopsis for the first Metal Gear Solid? Yes. Yes it is. There's a reason for that, too, but I won't spoil it.

The controls are considerably better than in the original Metal Gear Solid, and aiming is much easier, but the more fun part of the game is still the sneaking. This is a bit of a problem, though, since the sneaking's a little light on the ground this time around; most areas are relatively straightforward, with few objects to hide behind or sneak through to avoid guards, and Raiden will find himself needing to disable most of them in some way in order to get by. The game also includes a bit about holding guards up at gunpoint and scaring them into giving up their dog tags - it's actually pretty fun once you get the hang of it. Boss battles haven't changed a whole lot since Metal Gear Solid (though there's nothing as arbitrary as the Psycho Mantis battle); they were one of the weakest parts of the first game, and they still are here. But there aren't very many of them, and they aren't terribly hard. The Metal Gear encounter in this game is notably flat, with Metal Gear coming off less like a giant unstoppable engine of death and more like a big, tall, wimpy mob with bad aim.

I found Metal Gear Solid 2 to be a lot of fun once I got past how much I hated the protagonist, but your milage may vary directly with your fondness for weird philosophical artsy storylines - everything's very meta-meta in this game, and if you aren't game for heady mysteries you'll probably be bored to tears by the walls of cinematics. If you get off on that sort of thing, and you like sneaking up on dudes and shooting them in the back of the head with darts, you'll probably like it. You know, after you get beyond how awful Raiden is.

Buy this game from Amazon.com!