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Now that I've played more than the Demo...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 67 / 82
Date: November 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

As promised I'd post an actual review of the game after beating it to a pulp.

Needless to say that this is an amazing game with a gripping story, and defintely a worthy sequal. To say that it has perfect top notch graphics and music that will blow you away. Not to mention its great character development and plot twists.

I won't give away any of the story where as to me (and a lot of other people) this game has some of the best Plot twist in history. All I will say is that the game is divided into two parts. The "Tanker" chapter and the "Plant" chapter. They both link in everyway and you can see if you play through the game.

The characters are a true treat in this game. There are several new characters introduced and they all have their own reasons for being where they are. However the main villian...compared to Liquid Snake isn't the best. Next to Kefka (FFVI) Liquid was probably the best villian of all time. In comparison, the main villian didn't live up to Liquid.

The music is breathtaking done by Harry Gregson-Williams (The Rock and Enemy of the State if you don't know him). The music will really catch you, and that intro music is just awesome!

I'm not much for graphics but I will say that the graphics are so good that when watching the cinema scenes they look like real people! Can't go wrong with that. Also, the voice acting is sheer brilliance. They actually show emotion and they have a change in tone when they're upset or sad.

It'll take you about 10-15 hours to complete the game your first time through but it is worth it. However, movie cinemas make up at least six hours of the game. This may bother some people as they said the first one was short. Sorry to say that the game is NOT short. But that means you actually HAVE TO WATCH THE CGs!!!! Also, watching the CGs is the only way to understand anything thats going on.

The game doesn't really present any BIG challenge. In fact with the new gear and stuff you can do I'd say it makes the game EASIER than the first (is that possible!?). To say the least though the new gear isn't much different from the old gear in MGS.

Lastly the fun factor. The game is very fun if you don't take it too seriously. What I mean by that is don't be ashsmaed to break some of the stealth rules and have fun with the guards every once and awhile. That was the funnest part of the first one.

One final note. In the HARD and EXTREME difficulty setting you can choose to have a game over if you're spotted. Being that you take so much damage I'd probaly suggest that you take that oppertunity on EXTREME.

OVERALL
Graphics: 10

Plot/Story: 10

Music: 10

Gameplay: 9

Fun Factor: 10

Overall score: 9.9

You won't be disappointed

Was it worth all the hype??

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: December 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

alright people, i have played and finished this game in 16 hours non-stop in the NORMAL difficulty setting, here's is what i think..

being a hardcore MGS fan i had waited for this games arrival ever since the end of the first Metal Gear Solid, and after beating the game finally i could say that i am very excited but very disappointed at the same time.

the graphics and gameplay are dope, giving the surcimstances i don't think it could be any better, there is an insane amount of detail in the game, from tidbits like flies buzzing over your head to the incredible AI of the enemy, you can either go extremely tactical like me, or just dive in guns blazing and shoot every moving thing in sight, although that tends to give you a little more than you can handle it's still loads of fun, and with a truck load of new equipment and weapons, your task couldn't be easier, but don't let that fool you, this is still a tactical espionage game, and being foolish would leave you bleeding on the floor.

you can hang from platforms, hide in lockers, hide dead enemies in lockers, shoot in first person view, grab enemies in a choke hold and break their necks, or you could just take them hostage and use them as human shields while retreating from a barrage of bullets being fired at you, which really pumps up the realism, although the number of cut-scenes do get a little annoying after a while (some are 10 minutes long), if you're like me and love the whole story thing it's good enough, plus it gives you the break to do other things like go to the bathroom or get something to drink, although the whole thing starts to turn into a soap opera later on in the game, especially in the plant chapter, the game starts to act funny toward the end too, which really get's you confused.

that's another thing, the plant chapter, although letting you play another character than Solid Snake adds alot to the development of the games story line, it kinda made me sad, i was hoping to play with Solid Snake all the way through, but oh well, it's still as good, it gives you a different point of view to the game.

over all this game is one of the best in the world, but the thing that dissapointed me the most was the ending, i tend to get my self really cought with the story when i'm playing, trying to really feel the game, and when the game suddenly finishes leaving you hanging in the air, it's not that good anymore, especially when you have your hopes high for taking on Liquid Snake again, i guess it's in a way giving you a hint on a third installment of the MGS series, but still, i wanted to get that sucker.

so was it worth the hype?, i would guess so, as long as you don't get your self completely cought up with the story line, you're gonna have a lot of fun with this, the gameplay itself is waaaaay worth the money.

Pros:
-Beautiful graphics.
-Awsome sountrack.
-Insane realism.
-Gripping story line.
-A pretty good replay value.

Cons:
-Large amounts of long cut-scenes tend to get annoying.
-Some of the conversations in the game makes you think you're playing a soap opera.
-The ending sucks.

Why wasn't this game written by Americans!?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 35 / 58
Date: December 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If I may quote Solid Snake from the end of this game "What the hell!?"

I don't even know where to start when reviewing this game. My friends and I just beat it, and it took us 13 hours. BUT, about 10 of those hours were a giant movie that had one of the trippiest stories ever. Metal Gear Solid 2 started out awesome with Snake infiltrating a tanker trying to gain information about Metal Gear (much like the other Metal Gear games), but then the story gets really weird.

For those of you who enjoy regular American military games, stop playing after you beat all of the tanker mission because after you beat that, this game turns into some weird Japanimation Manga story with some messed up twists and dialogue that totally seems like the plot did not translate well from Japanese at all. Your are not even Snake for most of the game, you're some guy named Raiden, and no one tells you what the heck is going on. You just do what needs to be done, then the plot takes another messed up twist, and you do something else.

The story even does some crazy stuff like tell you about morals and family values. At one time, while you are playing as Raiden and walking around naked trying to kill guys, your contact starts wigging out and saying crazy stuff. He even blatantly told us to turn off the game, we'd been playing for too long, and we might damage our eyes! "What the Hell!?"

Oh, the game also made sure to tell us about the differences between killing in real life and in a video game. I have no idea why it did this since you spent most of the game watching a lot of computer generated movies rather than killing people!

Don't get me wrong, when you actually do get to play the game, the game play and graphics rule. Too bad you only get to actually play for 3 or 4 hours, and less than half that time you play as Snake. I can't believe they even tried to pass this game off as Metal Gear. This should be a Metal Gear parallel story, sort of like VR missions.

I gave this game 3 stars simply because the beginning where you are actually Solid Snake sneaking around the tanker trying to find the new Metal Gear is really awesome. That portion of the game deserves 5 stars. YET, the other 60-70% of the game/movie deserves only 1 to 0 stars for being so weird. I MEAN YOU DON'T EVEN PLAY AS SNAKE FOR HALF THE GAME!!!! That would be like playing a Legend of Zelda game as some new character that we've never heard of before. I am still in shock at how dumb the story sounded as the game progressed.

If you are truly a Metal Gear fan, you might not enjoy this game and find it too trippy and weird for your taste, but if you like role-playing games with crazy twists that don't make sense in the end, buy this game now.

I may have a limited view of this game after beating it on easy the first time, but the simple truth about this game whether you agree with anything I said above or not is that most of the game is completed through computer generated animation and movie sequences. You really don't get much game-play out of this game. SURE it's DVD video and cool and all, but IF I WANTED A DVD I WOULD HAVE RENTED A DVD!!!

Also, at one point in the game, the President of the United States of America grabs the main character in the crotch and says, "So, you are a man."...Now, they may do that on some weird Japanese cartoons, but here in America, the President should be a no nonsense guy, and not some crotch-grabbing sissy who sells out the country.

"What the Hell!?"

Metal Gear Squishy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: January 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Overall, a good game, but not a great game. The graphics and sound are terrific, of course, and the analog control is sweet, so I have no problem with the game engine itself.

In fact, I actually found MGS2 easier than the original game. The ability to target enemies in first person mode is a real plus -- it's like having a sniper rifle right at the start of the game. When you do trip an alarm and alert security, you have more "duck and hide" options this time around, so you won't end up getting cornered and killed by security guards as often as you did in the first game.

However, I am surprised that MGS2 doesn't have a VR training mode. Veterans of the first game probably won't need it, but newcomers will. Also Snake/Raiden have a few new moves this time around, so it would have been nice to practice your moves in VR mode before applying them in the "real world".

Alas, the bad news you've heard is true: Solid Snake, the hero of the original MGS, is a non-playable character throughout most of the sequel. While this isn't a big deal as far as actual gameplay is concerned (Raiden can equip the same weapons as Snake and combat remains the same), I do think it's a big mistake storywise. Solid Snake is a fun, tough, macho character and Raiden... well... isn't. (Imagine "Gladiator" with Leonardo DiCaprio instead of Russell Crowe as Maximus and you get the idea.)

Also the storyline itself is ridiculous. It gets off to a good start (the tanker sequence with Snake) but once Raiden's character is introduced the game starts hammering you with one conspiratorial plot twist after another. (Character A is working for B who is really working for C who is pretending to be D so they can capture E who is really working for F, blah blah blah). You need a score card just to keep up.

Of course, you can always skip past the Codec/cut-scene stuff... but every once in a while you'll miss an important piece of game information and then you'll need to watch the Codec/cut-scene all over again. (Ugh!)

Then there's the ending... or, rather, endings. The finale to MGS2, comprised of almost an hour of nonstop cut-scenes and Codec transmissions (more conspiracies, more double-crosses, and lots of self-righteous preaching) has to be the worst I've ever seen. And just when you think it can't possibly get any worse, there's a love song! Then you have to sit through another cut scene. As Rambo once said, "AAAAAAARGGHH!"

Bottom line: if you don't mind playing Raiden instead of Snake, then MGS2 delivers... at least for a while. But if a Snake-less existence is not what you have in mind when you plunk down your hard-earned money, you're better off waiting for MGS3 and hoping that our grizzled hero has the spotlight all to himself next time.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is a hot game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: June 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Metal Gear Solid 2 is an excellent masterpiece made by Hideo Kojima. This game has superb graphics made with the excellent hardware the Playstation2 has. The gameplay is very good. I like the style of gameplay. The third-person view makes the game more realistic than some other some other first-person shooters on Playstation2 like "James Bond: Agent Under Fire" and "Time Crisis 2". The game runs at a nice, crisp 60 frames per second (fps). The game is violent in some ways, because you have to kill people with guns. The game has a very good story, with makes it more realistic, and the superb graphics tie it all together. I think that Hideo Kojima meant to make this game into a mini-movie in a way. There is many excellent FMV's (movies) which look very good. Some times in the game, there is too many movies, and to many Codec (communicator) calls. That gets in the way, and starts to get on your nerves. But it's okay. Some times the Codec calls last like 10 minutes, and that is annoying.

But even though they have minor problems, there should be no hesitation of picking this title of the shelves or off the online cart. If you don't have a Playstation2, get one, or if you have any Xbox,(which you shouldn't) Konami is being a good sport and is producing Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance for Xbox and Playstation2. You must play Metal Gear Solid for PSone to understand the storyline of Metal Gear Solid and Solid Snake. I believe it is available at Amazon.com for ... . Buy both today!

konami does it again - snake is back and he has bite!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: July 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Well, this is what you've been waiting for -- and believe me, it exceeds even my wildest expectations. All of those delays have been worth it, as the graphics, storyline, and gameplay are years ahead of anything you've ever seen before or will see in the forseeable future. snake has a range of movement and weapons at his disposal that are so well-thought through and fluid that you are completely drawn into the game, reacting to every spine-tingling situation as though your life and that of every freedom loving person on the globe truly hung in the balance. At this level of gameplay, if you think it, you can do it. I'm warning you - you may never see the light of sun again, but when this is the alternative, that may not be a bad thing. to get in on the excitement, there are only three things that you need to do: 1.) quit your job and dump your girl. 2.) buy a years worth of chips and bandages for the blisters. 3.) contact konami...and request your...demo to feed your addiction til the impossibly distant release date... good luck til then, and keep on gaming!

Excuse me, garçon, there's a game floating in my movie.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: February 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The fusion of cinematography and gameplay has, until recently, remained a goldmine untapped by game developers. Sure, there was a mercifully brief period in the history of gaming where so-called "interactive movies" were being released one after another in rapid succession, but these were really no more complex than sequences of grainy full-motion video showcasing B-list actors, with an occasional opportunity to click on something to "interact" with it (games like "Fox Hunt" and -- ugh! -- "Johnny Mnemonic" spring to mind). Some would argue (and I will agree) that interactive storytelling hasn't really reached a high-point of its development until Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation has come out. FF7 presented a previously unseen hybrid of spectacular visuals, music, sound, and gameplay decisions that truly influenced the outcome of the overall game experience.

This brings me to my points about "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty", which falls squarely into the category of games attempting to uphold FF7's legacy. As a sequel to a long tradition of Metal Gear games, MGS2 follows the hero Solid Snake, a soldier on a mission to sabotage the latest and, potentially, most potent Metal Gear. The Gear is a walking battle-tank, capable of wreaking worldwide havoc with its nuclear arsenal, which it is able to launch from any point on the globe. Naturally, this makes it a very attractive target to paramilitaries and mercenary armies seeking to expand their power by using the Gear as a bargaining chip. This is precisely where MGS2's profound (yet extremely, excessively convoluted and nebulous) story picks up.

This game really needs to be seen from two separate standpoints to be properly assessed: that of its non-interactive components (i.e., movies), and that of those that are interactive (i.e., gameplay). On the non-interactive side of things, MGS2 is a visual and audio tour de force, complete with astounding feature film-like direction and Hollywood-quality audio score (composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, of "Enemy of the State" fame). Characters are rendered credibly and in astounding detail; motion capture technology was utilized to its fullest extent to present the player with the most fluid, realistic animations on the PS2; and voice actors such as David Hayter, Quinton Flynn, and Cam Clarke do a phenomenal job of bringing the characters on screen to life.

So, how does this affect the gameplay portion? Well, both well and not so well, truth be told. On one hand, the extremely polished visual presentation gives a degree of depth previously unexplored to the game, making the gameplay feel integral with the storyline. On the other hand, the perceived depth is only skin-deep, because once the glitzy full-motion videos end, and the actual gameplay begins, you realize how light this game truly is on content. To put it in perspective, I finished the game in just under 12 hours on my first go. On his second go, it took me just under four. The discrepancy is primarily accounted for by the fact that on the second time around, most of the FMVs and dialog sequences were skipped. And four hours is a VERY short game to pay $20 for.

The gameplay mechanics themselves are quite a treat, to be perfectly honest. The variety of moves, both stealth-related and acrobatic, that is at Solid Snake's disposal is dizzying. There is a wide array of approaches to every area our hero enters, and the game can be finished without killing anyone (in fact, pacifists rejoice, as killing is actually discouraged in most instances). There is a persistent feeling, however, that all these great gameplay and control elements should have been attached to something much more substantial. Furthermore, the game does not reward replay in any way, save for the rather inoffensive Internet-based global ranking system.

In conclusion, while MGS2 breaks significant new ground in terms of story-telling, audio-visual presentation, and gameplay innovations, its disappointing length, confusing storyline, and excessive reliance on non-interactive cutscenes keeps it from being great. It is not a bad game by any stretch, but when looked at closely, one will notice the negative aspects rearing their ugly heads. Bottom line being, while most gamers will enjoy MGS2, those yearning for more will yawn, put the controller down, and say: "That's great. What else you got?"

Too little of that amazing gameplay!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: January 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The most import thing to know about this game is its heavy reliance on story and movie. I find linear plot and strong cinematic scenes to be an enjoyable genre of gaming, but many people won't agree with that and be frustrated by the seemingly endless cut scenes that constantly interrupt game play. I'd say you spend about half of the game in non-interactive scenes, and that's being conservative.

That being said, I'll talk briefly about the plot without any spoilers. The plot is weird, outlandish and never stops twisting. You can't know what's going on, because it changes quite often in ways you couldn't imagine. Along with it are large numbers of references to previous Metal Gear plots, so it's worth playing through Metal Gear Solid 1, or at least being briefed on it, because the Shadow Moses incident comes up time and time again. In fact, you'll notice a lot of subtle allusions to Shadow Moses if you watch for them.

The game play is amazing. It's strange to have an action game where the best strategy is not to get into any fights. Still, since you're an infiltration agent, this style of game play is very realistic. When you're seen by an enemy, their first reaction is going to be to call for backup and jam your radar, likely making you flee for hiding spot until the commotion dies down. Still, crouching, crawling, sliding along walls and hiding under cardboard boxes are a lot of fun. And for the times when there are enemies you can't sneak around, you can always shoot them with a silenced gun and drag their bodies out of sight.

For those who just want action, they'll likely be sated by the various boss fights. Taking out Harrier jets with the rocket launcher or even large forces of soldiers with a sword is action packed.

The environment is incredibly interactive. You can shoot mirrors and glass and watch them break. Shooting pipes can send out jets of steam that can hurt you or guards. Blasting something full of powder, like flour bags or fire extinguishers, releases a substance that can reveal IR beams, but will make you cough. You'll even find adult material that can distract guards if properly placed.

Replay value in such a linear story is somewhat low. Still, upping the difficult level and trying to collect dog tags from the various opponents can give the game some added life. It took me about 13 hours to beat (including story scenes) which makes it a prime candidate for a good weekend rental.

The HONEST Review

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: November 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The GOOD
This game is spectacular! The graphics are extremly fluid and life-like. Everything you can think of is interactive, you can hold up guards, drag bodies, shoot pipes, step on cokroches, the list just goes on and on. Also when you shoot someone in certain part of the body, it causes a reaction other that just bleeding and dying. For example shoot someone in the arm, they can't use thier arm, shoot someone in the leg, they limp. Its just amazing at how much work went into this game. The enemy AI is quite intelligent, because they can notice shadows, hear and see foot steps, and hear you drop empty maginzes. It took Konomi over 3 years to perfect this game and I have to say that I am extremly happy with the final result.
The BAD
Ok now whenever a game is created there are always flaws in the storyline, gameplay, ect. The bad part about the game is totally outweighted by the positive side, but lets mention the bad anyway. Ok well the worst part about the game is that there are a lot of movies. This may not hurt some people, but others who want constant action may be afected. About every 10 minutes you will experience a short movie, but sometimes they tend to be quite long and tedious. Another annoying feature of the game is the fact that it is somewhat short with only about 14 hours of PURE gameplay. However the game has alot of replay value, and you can earn cheats such as infinite ammo, and play on extremly hard difficulty. And one final note is the storyline. The storyline is extremly hard to understand, even if you are an extremly smart 13 year old like me. It would literally take the intelligence of a college graduate to figure out the entire story.
Overall: 85% This is a very nice game and I would highy recomend it to anyone. [...]

A Masterpiece -- if you have some patience

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: December 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (MGS2) is, without a doubt, the most advanced piece of interactive entertainment published to date on a console system. The graphics, sound, and gameplay are all top-notch, and it has more storyline and history than you can shake a stick at. If you haven't seen the demo or downloadable movie preview, download it or buy/rent Zone of The Enders and check it out. You'll be hooked. They've improved on the original Metal Gear Solid in every way possible; all the control and view issues I had problems with in the first game are gone, and the gameplay has more depth and new moves, weapons, and tactics for you to learn. The story picks up a few years after the first (or rather, third) game left off, and some very interesting documents you can access from the game menus give a fresh perspective on the behind-the-scenes events of the first game.

So what's wrong with MGS2? Nothing, if you ask me, but a number of reviewers have taken issue with it being "boring" and having an ending that mostly consists of an hour of watching video cutscenes instead of running around and shooting things (although there's a decent amount of that leading up to the end). This is *not* a shoot-em-up game. It says right on the box: "Tactical Espionage Action", not "Vaporize Terrorist Scum". You spend a lot of time sneaking around and avoiding people, listening in on conversations and the like -- your end-of-game ranking actually gets *worse* if you kill enemies (there's a tranqulizer gun available for those times when you have to incapacitate someone, if you don't want to kill them). And on the higher difficulty settings, you don't have a choice; you'll quickly be wiped out if discovered and attacked. The plot is long, twisted, and makes the one in Metal Gear Solid seem simple by comparison. Be prepared for surprises.

As for the ending, it isn't a simple "they stop the terrorists and all live happily ever after" affair -- and frankly, if you were expecting one, you'd be disappointed. It is fairly long (though punctuated by several boss fights), but if you care about figuring out *why* everything in the game is happening, and who's really behind the terrorist conspiracy (and who this Raiden guy you've been playing as really is), it's very interesting. After you've seen it, though, you'll probably have more questions about what was going on than you did halfway through the game. I'm already waiting for MGS3.

So, if you have some patience, feel sneaky, and want an incredibly cinematic gaming experience, pick up Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty. Otherwise, stick to Red Faction, where you can blow things up to your heart's content.

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