Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PlayStation 2) review "To make my triumphant return into the world of videogame reviews, I will start with one of the great classics for Playstation 2: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Metal Gear was a classic game for the NES that based on stealth, instead of quick button pressing. Than came a game only released in Japan. Time went on, and the game that made Solid Snake a household name was made, Metal Gear Solid. After the success of that game, it was obvious we would see a sequel, and Playstation 2 did just tha..."

To make my triumphant return into the world of videogame reviews, I will start with one of the great classics for Playstation 2: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Metal Gear was a classic game for the NES that based on stealth, instead of quick button pressing. Than came a game only released in Japan. Time went on, and the game that made Solid Snake a household name was made, Metal Gear Solid. After the success of that game, it was obvious we would see a sequel, and Playstation 2 did just that, give us the sequel, known as Sons of Liberty. A game that would turn out to be immenesely fun, but not as good as it's predessecor and that could've been a little better, but not much.

STORY (16/20): This is the only game probably, where I will be forced to say, it had too MANY cutscenes. The story just has way too many subparts, and many of them nearly pointless to the story. The main story does not really come across until the very end, and well instead of the traditional sci-fiesque story of Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2 is more about fantasy, including vampires who cannot be killed. However, the story itself is great when looked at. There are many memorable characters, and many twists which leave you stunned. There is basically no one you can afford to trust, for everyone seems to have their own reasons.

One other negative in the story is Nanocommunications. At first it is cool, but after seeing the screne hours upon hours, you will want to smash that stupid thing in your ear. Too much conversation of little meaning. When I realised I had spent more time watching the game then playing the game, I realized MGS2 was worse than Final Fantasy in cutscenes. The storyline could've been perfect, but they went a little to far.

GRAPHICS (14/15): Seeing I have gotten the major negative out of the way, it is time to look at one of the many positives in MGS2. The game is splendid to look at, as all the characters are finely shaped, and the game itself looks near on identical to it's beautiful cutscenes. The characters are all detailed, and Raiden has his hair flowing in the wind. The only problems is ever subbadguy is basically identical. All the guards wear the same suits, which makes sense for gaming, gives off a little wrong look. However anyone of importance is sweet to look at, and makes the game a dazzler.

SOUND (9/10): Luckily the voices in this game are great, cause you will hear them ALOT. Each voice fits their characters traits, such as Snakes mature and rash voice, and Rose's sweet little girl voice almost. The music is also very nice to listen too, however for a game this graphically strong, you may expect a little more from the music. However the sound fits the game nicely, and is another strong point of MGS2.

GAMEPLAY (40/40): The true strength of MGS2 is the gameplay. Of course you really don't get to play the game that much; that is the problem. MGS2 is a game purely depended on stealth. You will find yourself hanging from buildings, and levying your way across. You will have multiple different types of weapons, but yuo will be afraid to use them, because you want to conserve your ammo. You will fight many bosses, and a few many times. You will have sniper rifles and grenade launchers, along with a nice dependable tranquilizer gun. Of course why use a gun when you can sneak up behind an enemy, and then ensuingly break their neck. You will be forced to hide in lockers, and shoot a remote control grenade laucher through some ventilation ducts. This is a game which has milloins of ways to sneak around, defeat and outsmart every opponent littering the game. It is great fun, and worth every second. The gameplay is perfect and has a great variety. You will just wish there was much more.

REPLAYABILITY (7/10): This game is fun at times, and yes you can skip the cutscenes when you replay it (Man, you get my point here?) So actually the second time through is actually more fun, cause you can just play through it for fun, and do the fun action scenes, as you hang from the walls. There are multiple difficulty levels, and while the game itself is nearly similiar, you will need to depend on much more stealth in the harder levels.

DIFFICULTY (5/5): Four different difficulty levels in each, in a game that depends purely on stealth. So each level of difficulty is a completely new experience, even if the game itself is the same. It is not too hard, and every part of it's beatable, as long as you don't get lose.

OVERALL (91/100): It sickens me when I think of how close this game could've been to like a 98 or something like that. If it wasn't for an overpowering story, that while great, took more time to watch than play, this game would've been great. It had everything a game needed, and was so close to be perfect. MGS2 is one of the most-haves for the Playstation 2, but it isn't the best game for the system like some would say. Too little gametime in it, and too much Nanocommunications. But that is how life is, you take the good with the bad.

Community review by ratking (November 14, 2002) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.