Talking about this game in 2021 is pointless cause everything has already been said. So I'm going to give my brave, honest MGS2 take: Raiden is hot.
It's impressive how 5 years after playing it for the first time, MGS2 as a whole still holds up to this day. A game that would stay relevant as time progresses and would only become horrifying due to how the times change. How powerful Memes would become, how influential technology would surpass into something greater yet worse, misinformation, and questions about the concept of "freedom". Would happily write an essay about MGS2 but my nanomachines (son) are saying something different. 10.5 years later, MGS2 is still one of my favorite games of all time created by the hideous person, Hideo Kojima.
8 playthroughs later, I'm still amazed how there are many hidden details within the game that is yet to be discovered.
8 playthroughs later, I'm still amazed how there are many hidden details within the game that is yet to be discovered.
I have mental illness
old games should get less relevant as time goes on why the hell is this doing the opposite
You play as a blonde twink with an existential crisis. Same. Also, it completely impacted and changed the trajectory of my life, especially because of Snake's speech at the end of the game.
what the fuck
This review contains spoilers
Things you can do in this game/facts:
When people say nobody knew about Raiden it’s true. The promotional trailers showed several scenes with Solid Snake in different locations. In the final game, Raiden is involved in the same scenes, but in Snake's place. Kojima used CGI to cover up Raiden and no one knew of his existence until the game was released. His VA was also not allowed to speak about him
Kojima produced notebooks for the whole team to write their ideas in and he would see each day which idea he liked the most and tested it out to see if it could be programmed in. The Coolant spray and the sneak peak move are some of these
The script is over 800 pages long
According to Kojima the opening scene where Solid Snake throws his lit cigarette into the Hudson River caused some negative responses from fans, so in the later games Big Boss or Solid Snake are always seen discarding their smokes properly and avoiding littering whenever possible
The game's plot was inspired by an article in the news Kojima read about the US Government shutting down the popular music sharing site Napster
The programmers, artists, and game designers had to undergo a series of lectures and real-world counter-terrorism mission simulations in order to perfect the AI routines for the enemy soldiers
Apparently Kojima rushed to have the game finished before the end of 2001 because 2001 is the Year of the Snake
Because of 9/11 the devs removed all American flags from the poles along Wall Street and atop Federal Hall. Originally after killing Solidus, Raiden was supposed to cut the flag down from atop Federal Hall to cover Solidus's dead body. The animation is still in place of Raiden raising his sword and then slicing it down, but the flag was removed
If you take a photo of one of the girl posters in the lockers or Olga’s breasts Otacon will say he’ll make a back up of it
If you take a photo of Scott Dolph once Otacon will ask if you’re a fan, if you take another one he says he’ll make a panel to hang over your bed since you like him so much, and the third time he’ll angrily tell you to stop sending photos of him
If you take a photo of The Vulcan Raven action figure Otacon says “It explains a lot” and “not that there’s anything wrong with keeping it to yourself”
A photo of a marine in his underwear will cause Otacon to laugh and if you keep sending him more he’ll gradually get angrier
If you sneak up behind the marine and start comboing one they’ll all start colliding like bowling pins
If you point the directional microphone at Emma’s parrot and keep saying “you must be Ames” the parrot eventually starts saying it with you
If you point the directional microphone at Emma during the sniping part she’ll comment on what she thinks of Raiden and say she “has her own ideas about that hair” and if you call her Raiden will angrily say his hair is real
If you look up at the seagulls in first person view for a few seconds you’ll get shit on
If you give Snake the shaver at the beginning of the game he’ll be shaven by the end of it
When you meet Snake for the first time call him and he’ll be asleep, if you call him again he’ll yell “LIQUIIID”
If you spray unconscious guards with the coolant they’ll snore rapidly
When logging into the first node and your birthday is the same as your PS2 or PC’s internal clock a happy birthday message will appear with a cake
If you enter the name “Hideo Kojima” “Yoji Shinkawa” or another staff member it’ll automatically put their birthday and nationality
If you lean against a poster of a Konami girl and tap the boobs it’ll make a bouncing sound and if you press the bottom of the bikini it’ll trigger alert mode
If you keep shooting seagulls the Colonel and Rose will get mad at you and the latter won’t save your game until you apologize
If you don’t get out of the way in the strut L cutscene the soldier will piss on you and if you call the Colonel he’ll say this is the reason they’re called wetworks missions
When a third playthrough is started on tanker or plant Snake or Raiden will be wearing sunglasses
Fatman is named after the atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki
The first names of Otacon and Snake respectively are Hal and David, and the tanker is called the Discovery. Remind you of something?
If you trigger alert mode on arsenal gear when you’re naked and press against the torture device as the soldiers enter the area after they clear it one soldier will look at Raiden and say “wish I had that”
After Snake gives you the high frequency blade knock him out and you can get his dog tag, if you do this before the second fight in jejunum and change the difficulty level you can get the dog tags of Meryl Liquid or “Iroquois Pliskin”, if you do this on extreme difficulty you’ll get Kojima’s
In the ending cutscene when Snake and Raiden are talking(peak dialogue btw)Vamp can be seen in the background watching
Is this the most detailed game ever made?
When people say nobody knew about Raiden it’s true. The promotional trailers showed several scenes with Solid Snake in different locations. In the final game, Raiden is involved in the same scenes, but in Snake's place. Kojima used CGI to cover up Raiden and no one knew of his existence until the game was released. His VA was also not allowed to speak about him
Kojima produced notebooks for the whole team to write their ideas in and he would see each day which idea he liked the most and tested it out to see if it could be programmed in. The Coolant spray and the sneak peak move are some of these
The script is over 800 pages long
According to Kojima the opening scene where Solid Snake throws his lit cigarette into the Hudson River caused some negative responses from fans, so in the later games Big Boss or Solid Snake are always seen discarding their smokes properly and avoiding littering whenever possible
The game's plot was inspired by an article in the news Kojima read about the US Government shutting down the popular music sharing site Napster
The programmers, artists, and game designers had to undergo a series of lectures and real-world counter-terrorism mission simulations in order to perfect the AI routines for the enemy soldiers
Apparently Kojima rushed to have the game finished before the end of 2001 because 2001 is the Year of the Snake
Because of 9/11 the devs removed all American flags from the poles along Wall Street and atop Federal Hall. Originally after killing Solidus, Raiden was supposed to cut the flag down from atop Federal Hall to cover Solidus's dead body. The animation is still in place of Raiden raising his sword and then slicing it down, but the flag was removed
If you take a photo of one of the girl posters in the lockers or Olga’s breasts Otacon will say he’ll make a back up of it
If you take a photo of Scott Dolph once Otacon will ask if you’re a fan, if you take another one he says he’ll make a panel to hang over your bed since you like him so much, and the third time he’ll angrily tell you to stop sending photos of him
If you take a photo of The Vulcan Raven action figure Otacon says “It explains a lot” and “not that there’s anything wrong with keeping it to yourself”
A photo of a marine in his underwear will cause Otacon to laugh and if you keep sending him more he’ll gradually get angrier
If you sneak up behind the marine and start comboing one they’ll all start colliding like bowling pins
If you point the directional microphone at Emma’s parrot and keep saying “you must be Ames” the parrot eventually starts saying it with you
If you point the directional microphone at Emma during the sniping part she’ll comment on what she thinks of Raiden and say she “has her own ideas about that hair” and if you call her Raiden will angrily say his hair is real
If you look up at the seagulls in first person view for a few seconds you’ll get shit on
If you give Snake the shaver at the beginning of the game he’ll be shaven by the end of it
When you meet Snake for the first time call him and he’ll be asleep, if you call him again he’ll yell “LIQUIIID”
If you spray unconscious guards with the coolant they’ll snore rapidly
When logging into the first node and your birthday is the same as your PS2 or PC’s internal clock a happy birthday message will appear with a cake
If you enter the name “Hideo Kojima” “Yoji Shinkawa” or another staff member it’ll automatically put their birthday and nationality
If you lean against a poster of a Konami girl and tap the boobs it’ll make a bouncing sound and if you press the bottom of the bikini it’ll trigger alert mode
If you keep shooting seagulls the Colonel and Rose will get mad at you and the latter won’t save your game until you apologize
If you don’t get out of the way in the strut L cutscene the soldier will piss on you and if you call the Colonel he’ll say this is the reason they’re called wetworks missions
When a third playthrough is started on tanker or plant Snake or Raiden will be wearing sunglasses
Fatman is named after the atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki
The first names of Otacon and Snake respectively are Hal and David, and the tanker is called the Discovery. Remind you of something?
If you trigger alert mode on arsenal gear when you’re naked and press against the torture device as the soldiers enter the area after they clear it one soldier will look at Raiden and say “wish I had that”
After Snake gives you the high frequency blade knock him out and you can get his dog tag, if you do this before the second fight in jejunum and change the difficulty level you can get the dog tags of Meryl Liquid or “Iroquois Pliskin”, if you do this on extreme difficulty you’ll get Kojima’s
In the ending cutscene when Snake and Raiden are talking(peak dialogue btw)Vamp can be seen in the background watching
Is this the most detailed game ever made?
This is a game that is so ahead of its time. Every time I show people this game/gameplay footage/whatever, they are always amazed when I tell them that it came out in 2001. Graphically, the game mostly holds up. The sound design is still top notch. The rain in the first section of the game just feels so real.
Thematically, the game fits in perfectly in our post-truth world. I won't spoil anything, but if you haven't played this game before, you would be shocked to see the similarities between our world today, and the dystopian future the game warns about.
The one knock I have on this game is that it's paced pretty poorly. It has the same issue that the first game had, in that codec calls will constantly call you to interrupt gameplay. The plot is very slowly drip-fed for most of the game, and then suddenly it's a tsunami of detailed explanations about what has been happening throughout. I personally enjoy it, but it won't be for everyone.
If you find yourself not enjoying this game, I'd suggest at least looking up the final codec call on Youtube. It is genuinely very interesting, although it will lose some effect without experiencing the story beforehand.
Thematically, the game fits in perfectly in our post-truth world. I won't spoil anything, but if you haven't played this game before, you would be shocked to see the similarities between our world today, and the dystopian future the game warns about.
The one knock I have on this game is that it's paced pretty poorly. It has the same issue that the first game had, in that codec calls will constantly call you to interrupt gameplay. The plot is very slowly drip-fed for most of the game, and then suddenly it's a tsunami of detailed explanations about what has been happening throughout. I personally enjoy it, but it won't be for everyone.
If you find yourself not enjoying this game, I'd suggest at least looking up the final codec call on Youtube. It is genuinely very interesting, although it will lose some effect without experiencing the story beforehand.
My first real exposure to Metal Gear was actually a playthrough I watched of this game. I remember being so blown away by it’s many shocking moments and especially that ending, twist after twist after twist. A thematically ambitious story that tries to tackle so many different ideas, the control of information, the American myth, the nature of sequels among so much else. Eventually I ended up actually playing it as part of the HD collection. It’s the last note of that faster brand of pre-MGS3 arcade stealth, and it plays terrific, smoother than a lot of games today. I'll admit the divide for this game isn’t without merit. The codec monologues are a lot more excessive and obstructive to the game, some of the bosses, particularly the final one, can be a bit janky, and I always dread having to play through the Emma escort mission again. But it’s so ambitious, sincere and full of heart, and it’s what introduced me to what’s probably my favourite franchise, my frustrations over it’s hiccups never seem to last.
Do you know what day it is today?
This review contains spoilers
Raiden something happened to me last Thursday when I was driving home. I had a couple of miles to go - I looked up and saw a glowing orange object in the sky, to the east! It was moving very irregularly... suddenly there was intense light all around me - and when I came to, I was home. What do you think happened to me?
when you wait for a twist all game then it turns out the game is actually the twist
2001 gamers were no better than IGN for hating on this game.
I'm happy the developers read my review of the first game. Half a star for listening. Huge fan of Iroquois Pliskin.
Metal Gear Solid 2 might not be an objectively flawless game, but every complaint I can think of somehow connects to or gets mitigated by the themes it tackles. The gameplay improves on everything the first game had, the characters are still great, and the story is crazy ahead of its time with how it portrays AI and information access. I like the setting of Shadow Mosses a bit more than the one here and there are still some tedious parts, but as I said before those personal issues don’t hold much weight compared to how well Metal Gear Solid 2 explores it’s amazing narrative. I’m super excited to start the third game and it amazes me that it apparently gets better than this.
It's insane how much of a jump and how ballsy of a game MGS2 was and I fucking loved everything about it.
The smoother and tighter gameplay with analog sticks to boot already made me fall in love with my biggest gripe of MGS1 being the dated controls more than anything.
Raiden is the star of the show this time around with the new codec crew of sorts. I was way more into codec discussions this time around especially with rose. Considering how troubled Raiden is with himself and how later revelations only further make you understand his troubled past and lack in identity which by the end is questioned is a perfect direction for the character.
Raidens possibly my favourite character in the series for multitude of other reasons and I can't wait to see him again in the future. How they use snake as some sort of teacher for him as well to pass on his teachings works so well thematically.
Kojima is insane for the last few portions of the game too, some of the most mindgame meta shit I've ever seen. I applaud what he done with this game bringing an insanely human message in a series about espionage and nuclear warfare. The trend still seems to continue into MGS2 and I love that.
There's so much more to talk about this game, it's handling of the flow of information, censorship, love, opinions and passing on through to the next generation but this should give some understanding of how I've felt.
One note : The dogtag having my name the coolest shit ever tho wtf man
The smoother and tighter gameplay with analog sticks to boot already made me fall in love with my biggest gripe of MGS1 being the dated controls more than anything.
Raiden is the star of the show this time around with the new codec crew of sorts. I was way more into codec discussions this time around especially with rose. Considering how troubled Raiden is with himself and how later revelations only further make you understand his troubled past and lack in identity which by the end is questioned is a perfect direction for the character.
Raidens possibly my favourite character in the series for multitude of other reasons and I can't wait to see him again in the future. How they use snake as some sort of teacher for him as well to pass on his teachings works so well thematically.
Kojima is insane for the last few portions of the game too, some of the most mindgame meta shit I've ever seen. I applaud what he done with this game bringing an insanely human message in a series about espionage and nuclear warfare. The trend still seems to continue into MGS2 and I love that.
There's so much more to talk about this game, it's handling of the flow of information, censorship, love, opinions and passing on through to the next generation but this should give some understanding of how I've felt.
One note : The dogtag having my name the coolest shit ever tho wtf man
Esta es una experiencia increible que le recomiendo a cualquier persona que tenga el mas minimo interes por este medio, para dejarlo simple y no revelar mucho para los que no lo han jugado solo dire que su jugabilidad e historia son excelentes y que los temas que trata dejan al jugador con mucho con lo que reflexionar.
Ahora hablando con detalle, empezando con la jugabilidad, lo que siento que la hace excelente es su gran atencion al detalle y la gran cantidad de opciones que le dan al jugador para enfrentarse a desafios no solo en situaciones de sigilo pero tambien para cuando uno es descubierto sin eleminar el enfoque en las infiltraciones al hacer que los enfrentamientos al activar una alerta sean mas dificiles, no solo por la cantidad de refuerzos con los que tendras que lidiar sino tambien por lo facil que es recibir daño en estas situaciones, esto crea un balance en el que se te insentiva a ser sigiloso pero no te quita las opciones por si fallas en esto. Para explicar a lo que me refiero con su atencion al detalle dare un par de ejemplos, se pueden fumar cigarrillos para usar el humo que generan para ver laseres de explosivos, Snake puede resfriarse lo que hace que estornude alertando guardias, agarrarse del borde de un acantilado te permite hacer barras con el para aumentar tu nivel de agarre el cual ayuda a sostenerte por mas tiempo, los enemigos se pueden quedar dormidos al patrullar, varias acciones activan llamadas de codec graciosas, cuando un grupo investiga una zona la revisan como lo haria un grupo de soldados reales, el spray para congelar bombas puede aturdir tambien a enemigos, dependiendo de cuales capitulos escojas escucharas dialogos diferentes, se le puede disparar a ciertas tuberias con vapor haciendo que estas aturdan a enemigos, se pueden lanzar revistas para distraer a soldados, entre muchos otros mas que valen la pena descubrirlos por uno mismo, creo que estos detalles son importantes porque no solo brindan mas posibilades para el jugador si no que tambien crean un sentimiento de realismo haciendo que sea facil para el jugador sentirse inmerso en lo que hace, incluso cosas como que se le puedan quitar chapas de identificacion a los soldados cuando se les detiene hace que sepamos sus nombres lo cual puede lograr que pensemos dos veces si matarlos sea necesario, es algo bastante simple pero siento que es efectivo porque ayuda a darle un rostro a los soldados enemigos, lo mejor es que si decides matarlos el juego no te lo reprocha ni te castiga por ello ya que al final de todo es parte de ese tipo de misiones, mas que nada esto esta pensado para que actuemos como creamos que el protagonista que controlamos actuaria. En general siento que la jugabilidad es excelente, hay unas cosas que me solian molestar pero cuando veo cuales pudieron ser sus intenciones no los veo como errores, por ejemplo que sea necesario activar nodos para usar el radar en las diferentes areas, hubiese preferido que el radar funcionara completamente sin estos pero puedo entender que esto se haya hecho para que el jugador sea mas precavido de lo normal al entrar en una area que no habia entrado antes, una cosa que no perdono del todo es como en la seccion que tienes que abrir la puerta con el escaner de retina no se pueda usar a un guardia inconciente, entiendo que puede ser para que mantenga los ojos abiertos pero se siente mas que nada como una mala excusa, en fin, esto es un error minimo y no quita que el sistema jugable sea increible.
Ahora, su historia es perfecta, desde como trata la trama de la mision de los patriotas usando a Raiden, el plan de Solidus, el que varios aspectos de la historia sean dificiles de entender a proposito, el como hay varios momentos que hacen dudar al jugador de lo que si esta viendo es real en la historia, que Raiden este pensado para que el jugador se identifique con el, incluso aspectos como que la mayoria de Dead Cell no sean tan memorables como los miembros de FOXHOUND se puede entender al escuchar como Ocelot se refiere a ellos cuando explica porque fueron elegidos y en general lo que mas me gusta es como el juego trata el tema de lo que consideramos como la verdad y el valor del libre albedrio, debo mencionar lo que mas se conoce de este juego ya que tambien es importante, el plan de los patriotas usando a GW, este plan se explica en total detalle durante la ultima llamada de Codec y es de los momentos mas poderosos que haya experimentado con cualquier medio por el hecho de que no solo se volvio realidad lo que dijeron sobre el internet sino que seguira siendo cierto mientras el internet siga existiendo, lo mas impresionante sobre este mensaje casi que profetico es que se dijo en un tiempo en el que aun se estaba entendiendo las capacidades del internet, osea existian forums y archives donde las personas presentaban esta actitud por la que temian los patriotas, pero estos eran grupos de nicho y la poblacion general aun no habia presenciado todo lo que se podria hacer con este avanze tecnologico, tengo entendido que mucho antes de que el internet existiera habian escritores y poetas que temian que sucediera lo mismo pero con los libros, es probable que los escritores de este juego siguieran este tren de pensamiento y lo extendieran al internet, pero eso no quita lo impresionante que es que predijeran con tal aterradora precision en lo que se volveria el internet, todo esto teniendo que ver con los temas sobre lo que es verdad y el libre albedrio culminando con el dialogo final de Snake, el cual es otro de mis momentos favoritos de cualquier medio, ya que llega en un momento en el que es probable que el jugador se este haciendo muchas preguntas sobre la experiencia que tuvo, para luego tener a Snake hablando directamente con nosotros y darnos a entender que no importa si lo que vimos sea real o no o sobre que sea verdaderamente cierto, si no que nosotros decidamos que sea cierto mediante las experiencias que tengamos, lo que escuchemos y los que nos motive a hacer lo que sintamos que sea correcto, y por ultimo este dialogo termina hablando de cierta forma sobre diferentes medios entre ellos los videojuegos y nos dice que no importa si las historias o eventos en estos no sean reales, estas tienen permitidas hacernos sentir emociones, motivarnos o inspirarnos, el mensaje completo es extremadamente hermoso y siento que cualquier persona que le apasionen o les gusten estos medios artisticos deberian escucharlo, para culminar, quiero mencionar lo genial que es como este juego comenta sobre las espectativas de los jugadores por las secuelas, la forma en que el equipo engaño a la audiencia antes de la salida del juego para que todos creyeran que el protagonista volveria a ser Snake fue una movida arriesgada pero que funciono al final, como todos los sucesos del juego repetian al pie de la letra lo que sucedio en MGS durante la mision en Shadow Moses y finalmente la forma en que Raiden es basicamente el opuesto a Snake, simplemente brillante.
Por todas estas razones es que considero a este juego como una obra maestra, incluso si tenga alguna queja o dos, sus grandes logros terminan opacando completamente estos quiza errores, un juego que siento que todos deben experimentar.
Si leyeron todo esto, gracias y perdon por mi mala redaccion.
Ahora hablando con detalle, empezando con la jugabilidad, lo que siento que la hace excelente es su gran atencion al detalle y la gran cantidad de opciones que le dan al jugador para enfrentarse a desafios no solo en situaciones de sigilo pero tambien para cuando uno es descubierto sin eleminar el enfoque en las infiltraciones al hacer que los enfrentamientos al activar una alerta sean mas dificiles, no solo por la cantidad de refuerzos con los que tendras que lidiar sino tambien por lo facil que es recibir daño en estas situaciones, esto crea un balance en el que se te insentiva a ser sigiloso pero no te quita las opciones por si fallas en esto. Para explicar a lo que me refiero con su atencion al detalle dare un par de ejemplos, se pueden fumar cigarrillos para usar el humo que generan para ver laseres de explosivos, Snake puede resfriarse lo que hace que estornude alertando guardias, agarrarse del borde de un acantilado te permite hacer barras con el para aumentar tu nivel de agarre el cual ayuda a sostenerte por mas tiempo, los enemigos se pueden quedar dormidos al patrullar, varias acciones activan llamadas de codec graciosas, cuando un grupo investiga una zona la revisan como lo haria un grupo de soldados reales, el spray para congelar bombas puede aturdir tambien a enemigos, dependiendo de cuales capitulos escojas escucharas dialogos diferentes, se le puede disparar a ciertas tuberias con vapor haciendo que estas aturdan a enemigos, se pueden lanzar revistas para distraer a soldados, entre muchos otros mas que valen la pena descubrirlos por uno mismo, creo que estos detalles son importantes porque no solo brindan mas posibilades para el jugador si no que tambien crean un sentimiento de realismo haciendo que sea facil para el jugador sentirse inmerso en lo que hace, incluso cosas como que se le puedan quitar chapas de identificacion a los soldados cuando se les detiene hace que sepamos sus nombres lo cual puede lograr que pensemos dos veces si matarlos sea necesario, es algo bastante simple pero siento que es efectivo porque ayuda a darle un rostro a los soldados enemigos, lo mejor es que si decides matarlos el juego no te lo reprocha ni te castiga por ello ya que al final de todo es parte de ese tipo de misiones, mas que nada esto esta pensado para que actuemos como creamos que el protagonista que controlamos actuaria. En general siento que la jugabilidad es excelente, hay unas cosas que me solian molestar pero cuando veo cuales pudieron ser sus intenciones no los veo como errores, por ejemplo que sea necesario activar nodos para usar el radar en las diferentes areas, hubiese preferido que el radar funcionara completamente sin estos pero puedo entender que esto se haya hecho para que el jugador sea mas precavido de lo normal al entrar en una area que no habia entrado antes, una cosa que no perdono del todo es como en la seccion que tienes que abrir la puerta con el escaner de retina no se pueda usar a un guardia inconciente, entiendo que puede ser para que mantenga los ojos abiertos pero se siente mas que nada como una mala excusa, en fin, esto es un error minimo y no quita que el sistema jugable sea increible.
Ahora, su historia es perfecta, desde como trata la trama de la mision de los patriotas usando a Raiden, el plan de Solidus, el que varios aspectos de la historia sean dificiles de entender a proposito, el como hay varios momentos que hacen dudar al jugador de lo que si esta viendo es real en la historia, que Raiden este pensado para que el jugador se identifique con el, incluso aspectos como que la mayoria de Dead Cell no sean tan memorables como los miembros de FOXHOUND se puede entender al escuchar como Ocelot se refiere a ellos cuando explica porque fueron elegidos y en general lo que mas me gusta es como el juego trata el tema de lo que consideramos como la verdad y el valor del libre albedrio, debo mencionar lo que mas se conoce de este juego ya que tambien es importante, el plan de los patriotas usando a GW, este plan se explica en total detalle durante la ultima llamada de Codec y es de los momentos mas poderosos que haya experimentado con cualquier medio por el hecho de que no solo se volvio realidad lo que dijeron sobre el internet sino que seguira siendo cierto mientras el internet siga existiendo, lo mas impresionante sobre este mensaje casi que profetico es que se dijo en un tiempo en el que aun se estaba entendiendo las capacidades del internet, osea existian forums y archives donde las personas presentaban esta actitud por la que temian los patriotas, pero estos eran grupos de nicho y la poblacion general aun no habia presenciado todo lo que se podria hacer con este avanze tecnologico, tengo entendido que mucho antes de que el internet existiera habian escritores y poetas que temian que sucediera lo mismo pero con los libros, es probable que los escritores de este juego siguieran este tren de pensamiento y lo extendieran al internet, pero eso no quita lo impresionante que es que predijeran con tal aterradora precision en lo que se volveria el internet, todo esto teniendo que ver con los temas sobre lo que es verdad y el libre albedrio culminando con el dialogo final de Snake, el cual es otro de mis momentos favoritos de cualquier medio, ya que llega en un momento en el que es probable que el jugador se este haciendo muchas preguntas sobre la experiencia que tuvo, para luego tener a Snake hablando directamente con nosotros y darnos a entender que no importa si lo que vimos sea real o no o sobre que sea verdaderamente cierto, si no que nosotros decidamos que sea cierto mediante las experiencias que tengamos, lo que escuchemos y los que nos motive a hacer lo que sintamos que sea correcto, y por ultimo este dialogo termina hablando de cierta forma sobre diferentes medios entre ellos los videojuegos y nos dice que no importa si las historias o eventos en estos no sean reales, estas tienen permitidas hacernos sentir emociones, motivarnos o inspirarnos, el mensaje completo es extremadamente hermoso y siento que cualquier persona que le apasionen o les gusten estos medios artisticos deberian escucharlo, para culminar, quiero mencionar lo genial que es como este juego comenta sobre las espectativas de los jugadores por las secuelas, la forma en que el equipo engaño a la audiencia antes de la salida del juego para que todos creyeran que el protagonista volveria a ser Snake fue una movida arriesgada pero que funciono al final, como todos los sucesos del juego repetian al pie de la letra lo que sucedio en MGS durante la mision en Shadow Moses y finalmente la forma en que Raiden es basicamente el opuesto a Snake, simplemente brillante.
Por todas estas razones es que considero a este juego como una obra maestra, incluso si tenga alguna queja o dos, sus grandes logros terminan opacando completamente estos quiza errores, un juego que siento que todos deben experimentar.
Si leyeron todo esto, gracias y perdon por mi mala redaccion.
This review is yet another piece of junk data preserved in an unfiltered state
I believe it's harder for me to review something in which I enjoy than things in which I have obvious and major critiques upon, which is why this game and specifically how to formulate my raw emotions towards it into a review has been all I am able to think about since finishing.
I hope this review will do it a shred of justice.
In the easiest and shortest way to define it, it is 'art', not in the sense of "yes this is a piece of art" but simply that it is art in and of itself, wholly and fully it is an artistic masterpiece.
Coming from Metal Gear Solid 1 in which I didn't have the best experience with I honestly wasn't expecting too much to begin with, another action espionage game by Kojima with an ending that tries to make up for the rest of the games short comings. However, what I was given instead turned out to be not only one of the most consistently fun games ever (utilizing its map design and gameplay mechanics better than its predecessor) with one of my favorite characters I've seen in anything ever made, but then when that final stretch did hit it did not stop getting better and better, with the final hour-ish of the game being beyond perfection. I beat this game in basically one day (about midnight the 16th to 1AM the 18th), I couldn't stop playing it whenever I had the chance, the chokehold it had upon me was immense.
The bosses are not anything crazy or standout but they're unique and play heavily important roles into the narrative that drive you to remember them more, which I believe to be better than just having scattered bosses that are more fun to play against but not important towards the games lore or narrative; None of the bosses left me underwhelmed or dreaded playing against.
The level design in which I've heard many complaints about was actually super cool, even in the times in which I'd have to wrap around multiple sections to get to where I had to go it never felt boring in the slightest, and this feeling of appreciation towards the level design was only amplified a significant amount the more I spent with it realizing its connections towards Shadow Moses and what it really is. I really appreciate level design that plays the heavy tie into the story and narrative of the world as well as the characters themselves more than simply 'cool looking areas', which isn't to say that Big Shell and the scenery within this game is not beautiful either, the cutscenes do so much justice towards the feel of this facility but simply looking around is amazing, the E.E guiding mission on the bridges specifically was so beautiful seeing the sun off in the distance.
Alongside being the absolute masterclass that it is in itself, it also has made my thoughts upon Metal Gear Solid 1 so much better too, with context to MGS2 I can't help but to think more positively of its predecessor and how they connect and make each other better; Changing my previous 2.5 star review of MGS1 to a more deserving 3.5 stars.
I wish not to spoil the magic of the final stretch, but it is without a doubt one of/if not the best conclusion to anything I've seen before, In this day and age, especially in recent times with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the susceptibility towards it, I believe this game and its commentary to be more important than ever before.
There is so much more to this game, whether major events or minute details that play into its importance, that all I can truly say is to play it yourself if you haven't.
I hope this review will do it a shred of justice.
In the easiest and shortest way to define it, it is 'art', not in the sense of "yes this is a piece of art" but simply that it is art in and of itself, wholly and fully it is an artistic masterpiece.
Coming from Metal Gear Solid 1 in which I didn't have the best experience with I honestly wasn't expecting too much to begin with, another action espionage game by Kojima with an ending that tries to make up for the rest of the games short comings. However, what I was given instead turned out to be not only one of the most consistently fun games ever (utilizing its map design and gameplay mechanics better than its predecessor) with one of my favorite characters I've seen in anything ever made, but then when that final stretch did hit it did not stop getting better and better, with the final hour-ish of the game being beyond perfection. I beat this game in basically one day (about midnight the 16th to 1AM the 18th), I couldn't stop playing it whenever I had the chance, the chokehold it had upon me was immense.
The bosses are not anything crazy or standout but they're unique and play heavily important roles into the narrative that drive you to remember them more, which I believe to be better than just having scattered bosses that are more fun to play against but not important towards the games lore or narrative; None of the bosses left me underwhelmed or dreaded playing against.
The level design in which I've heard many complaints about was actually super cool, even in the times in which I'd have to wrap around multiple sections to get to where I had to go it never felt boring in the slightest, and this feeling of appreciation towards the level design was only amplified a significant amount the more I spent with it realizing its connections towards Shadow Moses and what it really is. I really appreciate level design that plays the heavy tie into the story and narrative of the world as well as the characters themselves more than simply 'cool looking areas', which isn't to say that Big Shell and the scenery within this game is not beautiful either, the cutscenes do so much justice towards the feel of this facility but simply looking around is amazing, the E.E guiding mission on the bridges specifically was so beautiful seeing the sun off in the distance.
Alongside being the absolute masterclass that it is in itself, it also has made my thoughts upon Metal Gear Solid 1 so much better too, with context to MGS2 I can't help but to think more positively of its predecessor and how they connect and make each other better; Changing my previous 2.5 star review of MGS1 to a more deserving 3.5 stars.
I wish not to spoil the magic of the final stretch, but it is without a doubt one of/if not the best conclusion to anything I've seen before, In this day and age, especially in recent times with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the susceptibility towards it, I believe this game and its commentary to be more important than ever before.
There is so much more to this game, whether major events or minute details that play into its importance, that all I can truly say is to play it yourself if you haven't.
metal gear didn't die :)
Danganronpa 2 ripped this off
(Played Master Collection version)
I kinda don't know how to process this. I went in knowing absolutely nothing outside of memes and finished with my head in my hands and wanting to lie down. Don't look up a goddamn thing at any point, ever, just play it. I cannot believe this game came out in 2001 and I cannot believe that 3 is arguably even better.
Gameplay is a vast improvement from the first game, too.
I kinda don't know how to process this. I went in knowing absolutely nothing outside of memes and finished with my head in my hands and wanting to lie down. Don't look up a goddamn thing at any point, ever, just play it. I cannot believe this game came out in 2001 and I cannot believe that 3 is arguably even better.
Gameplay is a vast improvement from the first game, too.
This review contains spoilers
Legitimately the closest to being fine art a video game has ever gotten. Like it's unfair how much better this game's story is than anything I've ever played, and I feel like it's unfair to the rest of the franchise. Like I know MGS3 is the fan favorite but I don't know how I'm gonna play the game and not be like "yeah but MGS2 was better" every time something cool happens. Like it's not FAIR
In my review of MGS I said the story was great but the gameplay was awful. I'm not gonna pretend this game has perfect gameplay but it's much more playable than it's predecessor. I actually had FUN at points which was very nice. Some of the bosses were lacking but Solidus Snake, Vamp and Fatman made up for with some really entertaining fights.
I feel like whenever a game tries to be meta, gamers have a fuse like break in their mind. Like they see any meta stuff and assume that means deepness. Like look at Undertale and DDLC. VERY surface level games. The themes can be explained to a toddler and they'll most likely get it. But it has these little gimmicky moments where a character goes "this is a video game" and everyone is like "THIS IS SO GOOD", but I don't think any game I've played that's made an attempt to have a meta story actually did it well. Except this one. It does it in a such a perfect way and doesn't just use it as a gimmick. These fourth wall breaking scenes aren't just put there for shock value, they actually make sense and expand upon the MANY themes of the story. Rather than relying on the fourth wall to feign depth, the fourth wall expanded on already existing depth.
My favorite meta detail in the game is the structure of the story itself and how it criticizes how we perceive sequels. I think a lot of video game sequels have a similar problem that I've become so used to, which is the repetition of plot points to an almost absurd degree.
Here are some examples (of course, spoilers for all the games mentioned)
-Pokemon games following the same pattern of: Get pokemon from professor, beat 8 gym leaders while an evil team bothers you, beat evil team, fight champion (and many other annoyingly repetitive elements)
-Persona 4 and Persona 5 having twist villains who are both brown haired detectives with very similar names (Adachi and Akechi)
-The third case in every Danganronpa game is always a double murder (There are some other repetitions in this franchise but I don't wanna get into it rn...)
-Resident Evil games all being about a different zombie-like virus that are almost the exact same but we're supposed to just ignore the fact that they're kind of just palette swaps of eachother.
These are a few examples I can think of, but I'm in no way saying that any of these franchises are BAD for repeating elements. Videogames, and really sequels in general, rely on familiarity in order to get players to come back, and you become so used to those sometimes absurd repetitions that you begin to glance over them. And that's exactly what happened when I played this.
"Oh ok, Raiden's also starting his mission by swimming into the base"
"The main bosses are a sniper woman, an explosive brute, a guy with unexplained magical powers and the main villain is a clone of Big Boss."
"You're followed around by a mysterious ninja who refers to themself as deep throat"
and really so, so many more connections to the first game were COMPLETELY looked over. I didn't even look at it and go "hmm that's kinda lazy" I just saw it as completely normal. And then by the end of the game, it calls you out with the twist that the whole operation was meant to be a recreation of the Shadow Moses Incident. It's so fucking cool.
And I did kind of skip over this, but "killing off" Snake at the beginning adds to this as well. All the marketing showed Snake as the protagonist of this game. And once people found out he wasn't the protagonist, people got PISSED, and that's exactly what Kojima wanted. They wanted familiarity, they wanted a repeat of MGS1 and revolted when they got something new. That subconscious need for unoriginality links right back to one of the main themes of the game: suppression of ideas
Of course that theme is mostly expanded from a militaristic, societal perspective, which is a whole other can of worms that I would get into but I really don't wanna make this even longer, but I think there's also a case to be made that MGS2 is also about the suppression of art. Even if we don't want to admit it, there's something hardwired in the human brain to make us hate originality, to hate progress, to fear change, and so we suppress that change.
It's honestly depressing how right this game predicted things: the rise of the internet, the growing totalitarianism of the government, the prevalence of AI and the homogenization of art. Like yes this was all happening in 2001 as well (maybe not AI so much), but it's happening even more now.
These are the ramblings of a mad-woman who just finished the game 20 minutes ago. Like I have a lot of things swirling around my brain that I want to say about this game, so many ideas and conclusions, but very little concrete ways to word them but what I'm trying to get to is this: I don't think there will ever be a video game as good as this ever again. Like there will be more fun games (I'm not sure this game is gonna surpass Yakuza 5 as my favorite game, purely for how entertaining Y5 is), but nothing as close to ART as this game. In a way Kojima tried to guide game devs into subverting expectations in a meaningful way and using video games as a medium for real creative expression, and people didn't really listen. Of course triple A games are all the same now, even the good ones are soulless most of the time, but it's the same even for indie games. Even the most respected of indie games seem to get their respect from using the tactics MGS2 use as a shock factor, like I said before. Indie games try to be unique but I've never seen a video game other than this say something truly meaningful that isn't inherently surface level. Consider Nier Automata, a game that feels like it was written by someone who watched a 30 minute "introduction to existentialism" video on youtube, or the beaten to death trope of indie games about depression (which is a horse so dead that the bones themselves have already crumbled into dust, so I'm gonna refrain from shitting on them too much), or games like Hylics which seems to use the avant-garde as an aesthetic, it loves the weirdness but didn't put the effort into finding a reason for it.
All of these games have depth or meaning to them, but they lack one thing that MGS2 has: They don't say anything new. There are no big innovative ideas or things that needed to be said but haven't. It's just repetition, echoes. Even at the deepest level, the most meaningful of games are just relying on familiarity. And that's my big problem with video games as art, it seems like most of them don't know how to be art. But this game does. And it's perfect for it.
Alright pretentious ramblings over. No I don't think what I wrote was some masterpiece nor do I expect to get sucked off for what I said, I just kinda started typing and then didn't stop cuz I felt like getting my thoughts out. Ok bye.
In my review of MGS I said the story was great but the gameplay was awful. I'm not gonna pretend this game has perfect gameplay but it's much more playable than it's predecessor. I actually had FUN at points which was very nice. Some of the bosses were lacking but Solidus Snake, Vamp and Fatman made up for with some really entertaining fights.
I feel like whenever a game tries to be meta, gamers have a fuse like break in their mind. Like they see any meta stuff and assume that means deepness. Like look at Undertale and DDLC. VERY surface level games. The themes can be explained to a toddler and they'll most likely get it. But it has these little gimmicky moments where a character goes "this is a video game" and everyone is like "THIS IS SO GOOD", but I don't think any game I've played that's made an attempt to have a meta story actually did it well. Except this one. It does it in a such a perfect way and doesn't just use it as a gimmick. These fourth wall breaking scenes aren't just put there for shock value, they actually make sense and expand upon the MANY themes of the story. Rather than relying on the fourth wall to feign depth, the fourth wall expanded on already existing depth.
My favorite meta detail in the game is the structure of the story itself and how it criticizes how we perceive sequels. I think a lot of video game sequels have a similar problem that I've become so used to, which is the repetition of plot points to an almost absurd degree.
Here are some examples (of course, spoilers for all the games mentioned)
-Pokemon games following the same pattern of: Get pokemon from professor, beat 8 gym leaders while an evil team bothers you, beat evil team, fight champion (and many other annoyingly repetitive elements)
-Persona 4 and Persona 5 having twist villains who are both brown haired detectives with very similar names (Adachi and Akechi)
-The third case in every Danganronpa game is always a double murder (There are some other repetitions in this franchise but I don't wanna get into it rn...)
-Resident Evil games all being about a different zombie-like virus that are almost the exact same but we're supposed to just ignore the fact that they're kind of just palette swaps of eachother.
These are a few examples I can think of, but I'm in no way saying that any of these franchises are BAD for repeating elements. Videogames, and really sequels in general, rely on familiarity in order to get players to come back, and you become so used to those sometimes absurd repetitions that you begin to glance over them. And that's exactly what happened when I played this.
"Oh ok, Raiden's also starting his mission by swimming into the base"
"The main bosses are a sniper woman, an explosive brute, a guy with unexplained magical powers and the main villain is a clone of Big Boss."
"You're followed around by a mysterious ninja who refers to themself as deep throat"
and really so, so many more connections to the first game were COMPLETELY looked over. I didn't even look at it and go "hmm that's kinda lazy" I just saw it as completely normal. And then by the end of the game, it calls you out with the twist that the whole operation was meant to be a recreation of the Shadow Moses Incident. It's so fucking cool.
And I did kind of skip over this, but "killing off" Snake at the beginning adds to this as well. All the marketing showed Snake as the protagonist of this game. And once people found out he wasn't the protagonist, people got PISSED, and that's exactly what Kojima wanted. They wanted familiarity, they wanted a repeat of MGS1 and revolted when they got something new. That subconscious need for unoriginality links right back to one of the main themes of the game: suppression of ideas
Of course that theme is mostly expanded from a militaristic, societal perspective, which is a whole other can of worms that I would get into but I really don't wanna make this even longer, but I think there's also a case to be made that MGS2 is also about the suppression of art. Even if we don't want to admit it, there's something hardwired in the human brain to make us hate originality, to hate progress, to fear change, and so we suppress that change.
It's honestly depressing how right this game predicted things: the rise of the internet, the growing totalitarianism of the government, the prevalence of AI and the homogenization of art. Like yes this was all happening in 2001 as well (maybe not AI so much), but it's happening even more now.
These are the ramblings of a mad-woman who just finished the game 20 minutes ago. Like I have a lot of things swirling around my brain that I want to say about this game, so many ideas and conclusions, but very little concrete ways to word them but what I'm trying to get to is this: I don't think there will ever be a video game as good as this ever again. Like there will be more fun games (I'm not sure this game is gonna surpass Yakuza 5 as my favorite game, purely for how entertaining Y5 is), but nothing as close to ART as this game. In a way Kojima tried to guide game devs into subverting expectations in a meaningful way and using video games as a medium for real creative expression, and people didn't really listen. Of course triple A games are all the same now, even the good ones are soulless most of the time, but it's the same even for indie games. Even the most respected of indie games seem to get their respect from using the tactics MGS2 use as a shock factor, like I said before. Indie games try to be unique but I've never seen a video game other than this say something truly meaningful that isn't inherently surface level. Consider Nier Automata, a game that feels like it was written by someone who watched a 30 minute "introduction to existentialism" video on youtube, or the beaten to death trope of indie games about depression (which is a horse so dead that the bones themselves have already crumbled into dust, so I'm gonna refrain from shitting on them too much), or games like Hylics which seems to use the avant-garde as an aesthetic, it loves the weirdness but didn't put the effort into finding a reason for it.
All of these games have depth or meaning to them, but they lack one thing that MGS2 has: They don't say anything new. There are no big innovative ideas or things that needed to be said but haven't. It's just repetition, echoes. Even at the deepest level, the most meaningful of games are just relying on familiarity. And that's my big problem with video games as art, it seems like most of them don't know how to be art. But this game does. And it's perfect for it.
Alright pretentious ramblings over. No I don't think what I wrote was some masterpiece nor do I expect to get sucked off for what I said, I just kinda started typing and then didn't stop cuz I felt like getting my thoughts out. Ok bye.
One giant play of mind****ery and I'm here for it
Revolutionary - Inciting or causing a complete or dramatic change.
When I think of this word, I think of the Metal Gear Solid series in general, and more specifically Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
I am not going to be focusing on the story of this review, one of my friends on this site has done a much more detailed and tear-jerking review of that. Check out his review, his name is scissors61.
MGS2 has aged like fine wine, and considered by many (including myself) to be a PS2 classic. A change within the way stealth games are played.
"What makes this game so revolutionary?"
IN 2000 the PlayStation 2 released, then in November 2001 this game hit shelves. Metal Gear Solid was in realistic 3D graphics! This time with a new plot & story years after the Shadow Moses incident after the first game! You had brand new mechanics, such as rain, footsteps, a proper first person mechanic, first-person aiming, pressure sensitive face buttons, dynamic interactions with your environment, enemies could be damaged on specific limbs, ice cubes melting within their relative position to other ice cubes. FOR FUCK'S SAKE, THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS GENERATION OF HOME CONSOLES!
The mechanics seem like something basic you would do today, a small part of a much larger gameplay picture that wouldn't be coined any different than brushing your teeth or combing your hair in the morning. You have to understand that at the time, people had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
The new jump in 3D graphics meant a new jump in the way people understood the medium. The potential for storytelling with less limitations, and a new technology to go along with it, it was just a recipe for something new!
The codec calls weren't 2D sprites anymore, there were new 3D models with more art potential & expressiveness on the line! You could tell stories with more accurate (human) precision.
And precision they have used, and this isn't the only example of precision to come out of this game.
Metal Gear Solid 2 accurately predicts the ideologies and criticisms following modern American politics, which also includes the modern polarization of people's political parties. I will not give too much away, however there are major political themes that live true to themselves in this very day. At least, as of writing.
The story themes/predictions being accurate, more accurate technologies, newer technologies. This game is revolutionary, and you MUST play it if you are a fan of yourself, or are a fan of art. Metal Gear Solid 2 really proves that Video Games can be a work of art.
Although my previous statement is vague, play this for yourself. It is a BLAST. Rest-assured, you will love what you experience!
When I think of this word, I think of the Metal Gear Solid series in general, and more specifically Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
I am not going to be focusing on the story of this review, one of my friends on this site has done a much more detailed and tear-jerking review of that. Check out his review, his name is scissors61.
MGS2 has aged like fine wine, and considered by many (including myself) to be a PS2 classic. A change within the way stealth games are played.
"What makes this game so revolutionary?"
IN 2000 the PlayStation 2 released, then in November 2001 this game hit shelves. Metal Gear Solid was in realistic 3D graphics! This time with a new plot & story years after the Shadow Moses incident after the first game! You had brand new mechanics, such as rain, footsteps, a proper first person mechanic, first-person aiming, pressure sensitive face buttons, dynamic interactions with your environment, enemies could be damaged on specific limbs, ice cubes melting within their relative position to other ice cubes. FOR FUCK'S SAKE, THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS GENERATION OF HOME CONSOLES!
The mechanics seem like something basic you would do today, a small part of a much larger gameplay picture that wouldn't be coined any different than brushing your teeth or combing your hair in the morning. You have to understand that at the time, people had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
The new jump in 3D graphics meant a new jump in the way people understood the medium. The potential for storytelling with less limitations, and a new technology to go along with it, it was just a recipe for something new!
The codec calls weren't 2D sprites anymore, there were new 3D models with more art potential & expressiveness on the line! You could tell stories with more accurate (human) precision.
And precision they have used, and this isn't the only example of precision to come out of this game.
Metal Gear Solid 2 accurately predicts the ideologies and criticisms following modern American politics, which also includes the modern polarization of people's political parties. I will not give too much away, however there are major political themes that live true to themselves in this very day. At least, as of writing.
The story themes/predictions being accurate, more accurate technologies, newer technologies. This game is revolutionary, and you MUST play it if you are a fan of yourself, or are a fan of art. Metal Gear Solid 2 really proves that Video Games can be a work of art.
Although my previous statement is vague, play this for yourself. It is a BLAST. Rest-assured, you will love what you experience!
a rare piece of art, the kind of thing that is simultaneously so on the pulse of the moment in which it was released and so prescient of everything that will come after it. metal gear solid 2 is one of those pieces that is just about absolutely everything, containing comments on the sociopolitical machinations of world governments and the conspiratorial nature of politics, questions about who we really are as individuals and what our true duty is to those around us, analysis of the very nature of the gaming medium and what it means to be a player acting out violence for enjoyment, and tales of grief and loss and how we can try to move forward from crushing depression. it might be trite to say but this is the end of evangelion of the gaming sphere, constantly subverting expectation at every single turn and making the player complicit in every action that takes place before asking them to question what it is all for in the end. there's obviously so much more that can be said about this deeply layered and beautiful piece of art, but it's also the type of game that makes you want to replay it immediately the second it's over, so i'll save more detailed thoughts for my next run through. suffice to say this is not only a new all-time game for me, but one of those things that will latch itself on to my brain and i won't be able to stop thinking about it for months or even years after it's over.
I hear it’s amazing when the famous purple stuffed worm from flap-jaw space with the tuning fork does a raw blink on Hara-kiri Rock. I need scissors! 61!
Possibly the piece of fiction.
1984 for bisexuals
ENG:
I don’t exactly know how should I rate Sons of Liberty. There’s some stuff I wasn’t vibing with; What this game understands for stealth is turning the rooms you need to get through into small logical puzzles whose resolution ends up being either shoot the soldiers or pass unnoticed, the latter is usually the most difficult one as the controls can be a bit uncomfortable and the camera makes some abrupt movements, especially when sticking to walls, plus the way of crossing the aforementioned rooms is often victim to trial and error, becoming irritating most of the time. Evading enemies when you’re detected can be exciting from time to time, but when the death squad pulls up for the sixth time in a row after you’re spotted by an enemy that you had no way of seeing on the radar or on the scenery, it can get exhausting. The first person view is also kind of trashy, more so when the game expects you to snipe with pin-point accuracy while trying for the joystick acceleration to not go wild, even aiming with normal guns in enclosed spaces can become torture thanks to this.
The cutscenes, although pretty elaborate and with an excellent cinematographic direction, are way too long and over-explanatory, leading to moments where I don’t know if I’m playing a game or watching a PowerPoint presentation where Raiden just listens and sometimes says wha-? to be replied with even more exposition. There was this moment where, at the end of a cutscene, the game asks me to save, just so another cutscene would start, and when this second one ended and I was able to save again, the playtime counter got increased by 20 minutes or more, and this is talking about just one cutscene out of two. I knew these games were known to be half-films, but it reaches ridiculous levels of length that could have been shortened if the plot wasn’t that over-explanatory.
Sons of Liberty is a game that has a bunch of stuff that is poorly done, but it also has a bunch of other stuff that is greatly done. Moments where you go aha! after crossing a room full of enemies in the most elegant way possible, times where the game rewards the player for its curiosity with something interesting and/or useful, and the stealth system, while I found myself most of the time using the same two or three tactics to advance, gives way to more interesting possibilities than killing or evading (but it’s true that the environment rarely lends itself to those options). And it would be difficult to me to deny how impactful its message can be, ‘cause when it’s not a PowerPoint narration about the incestuous family dramas of some character, it knows how to communicate well what it wants, concluding with one of the best endings I’ve seen so far in a video game.
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a game that for every bad thing, has another good thing to counter it, and despite how imperfect it ends up being, I love that it has a unique vision, I love its narrative ambitions that back then (and even to this day) were rare, and everything both of these represent. But it is also true that a first playthrough with no prior knowledge of how the game works can be enjoyable in the best case possible or tedious in the worst. Metal Gear Solid 2 shines thanks to its imperfection, and I believe that’s what makes it such a great game.
ESP:
No se bien como valorar Sons of Liberty. Hay cosas que no me terminan de convencer; Lo que este juego entiende por sigilo es convertir las habitaciones por las que hay que avanzar en pequeños puzles lógicos que casi siempre se reducen a tirotear a los soldados o pasar desapercibido, esta última opción resulta ser la más complicada ya que los controles pueden resultar un tanto incómodos y la cámara a veces hace cambios bruscos, sobre todo al apoyarse sobre paredes, además de que la manera de atravesar las ya mencionadas salas tira mucho de prueba y error, llegando a ser irritante la más de las veces. Evadir a los enemigos cuando eres detectado puede ser emocionante de vez en cuando, pero cuando llaman al escuadrón de la muerte por decimonónica vez después de que te vea un enemigo que no ves ni en el radar ni en el escenario, llega a ser molesto. La vista en primera persona también es molesta, más todavía cuando el juego quiere que apuntes de manera precisa con un francotirador mientras intentas que la aceleración del joystick no se vuelva loca, y apuntar de normal con armas en espacios cerrados puede llegar a ser un suplicio por culpa de esto mismo.
Las cinemáticas, si bien están muy logradas y la dirección cinematográfica es muy buena, a veces llegan a ser demasiado largas y sobre-explicativas, llegando a momentos en los que no se si estoy jugando un juego o viendo una presentación de PowerPoint en la que Raiden tan solo escucha y de vez en cuando dice ¿qué? para que le respondan con más exposición. Hubo un momento en el que, al final de una cinemática, el juego me pregunta si quiero guardar, solo para dar pie a otra cinemática, y cuando ésta termina y me deja guardar otra vez, el contador de tiempo de la partida aumenta en 20 minutos o más desde el último guardado, guardado que encima fue hecho al final de otra cinemática. Sabía que estos juegos eran conocidos por ser medio-pelis, pero alcanza cotas ridículas de duración que podrían reducirse si la trama no se sobre-explicara tanto.
Sons of Liberty es un juego que tiene unas cuantas cosas mal. Sin embargo, también tiene un puñado de cosas buenas. Momentos en los que dices ¡ajá! tras cruzar una sala llena de enemigos de la manera más elegante posible, veces en las que por curiosear, el juego te recompensa con algo interesante o útil, y el sistema de sigilo, aunque me encontraba la más de las veces haciendo las mismas dos o tres cosas para avanzar, da pie a unas cuantas posibilidades más interesantes que simplemente matar o huir (aunque es cierto que el escenario rara vez se presta a ello). Y me costaría negar lo contundente de su mensaje, cuando no es una narración en PowerPoint sobre los dramas intrafamiliares incestuosos de algún personaje, el juego sabe comunicar bien lo que quiere, culminando con uno de los mejores finales que he visto hasta ahora en un videojuego.
Metal Gear Solid 2 es un juego que por cada cosa mala tiene otra que la contrarresta, y pese a lo imperfecto que acaba siendo todo, me gusta que tenga una visión autoral tan única, que tenga una ambición narrativa que entonces (y también a día de hoy) rara vez se veía, y todo lo que ambas cosas representan. Pero también es cierto que una primera partida sin conocimiento previo de cómo funciona el juego puede llegar a ser disfrutona en el mejor de los casos o tediosa en el peor. Metal Gear Solid 2 brilla por su imperfección, y creo que eso es lo que lo hace un juego tan excelente.
I don’t exactly know how should I rate Sons of Liberty. There’s some stuff I wasn’t vibing with; What this game understands for stealth is turning the rooms you need to get through into small logical puzzles whose resolution ends up being either shoot the soldiers or pass unnoticed, the latter is usually the most difficult one as the controls can be a bit uncomfortable and the camera makes some abrupt movements, especially when sticking to walls, plus the way of crossing the aforementioned rooms is often victim to trial and error, becoming irritating most of the time. Evading enemies when you’re detected can be exciting from time to time, but when the death squad pulls up for the sixth time in a row after you’re spotted by an enemy that you had no way of seeing on the radar or on the scenery, it can get exhausting. The first person view is also kind of trashy, more so when the game expects you to snipe with pin-point accuracy while trying for the joystick acceleration to not go wild, even aiming with normal guns in enclosed spaces can become torture thanks to this.
The cutscenes, although pretty elaborate and with an excellent cinematographic direction, are way too long and over-explanatory, leading to moments where I don’t know if I’m playing a game or watching a PowerPoint presentation where Raiden just listens and sometimes says wha-? to be replied with even more exposition. There was this moment where, at the end of a cutscene, the game asks me to save, just so another cutscene would start, and when this second one ended and I was able to save again, the playtime counter got increased by 20 minutes or more, and this is talking about just one cutscene out of two. I knew these games were known to be half-films, but it reaches ridiculous levels of length that could have been shortened if the plot wasn’t that over-explanatory.
Sons of Liberty is a game that has a bunch of stuff that is poorly done, but it also has a bunch of other stuff that is greatly done. Moments where you go aha! after crossing a room full of enemies in the most elegant way possible, times where the game rewards the player for its curiosity with something interesting and/or useful, and the stealth system, while I found myself most of the time using the same two or three tactics to advance, gives way to more interesting possibilities than killing or evading (but it’s true that the environment rarely lends itself to those options). And it would be difficult to me to deny how impactful its message can be, ‘cause when it’s not a PowerPoint narration about the incestuous family dramas of some character, it knows how to communicate well what it wants, concluding with one of the best endings I’ve seen so far in a video game.
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a game that for every bad thing, has another good thing to counter it, and despite how imperfect it ends up being, I love that it has a unique vision, I love its narrative ambitions that back then (and even to this day) were rare, and everything both of these represent. But it is also true that a first playthrough with no prior knowledge of how the game works can be enjoyable in the best case possible or tedious in the worst. Metal Gear Solid 2 shines thanks to its imperfection, and I believe that’s what makes it such a great game.
ESP:
No se bien como valorar Sons of Liberty. Hay cosas que no me terminan de convencer; Lo que este juego entiende por sigilo es convertir las habitaciones por las que hay que avanzar en pequeños puzles lógicos que casi siempre se reducen a tirotear a los soldados o pasar desapercibido, esta última opción resulta ser la más complicada ya que los controles pueden resultar un tanto incómodos y la cámara a veces hace cambios bruscos, sobre todo al apoyarse sobre paredes, además de que la manera de atravesar las ya mencionadas salas tira mucho de prueba y error, llegando a ser irritante la más de las veces. Evadir a los enemigos cuando eres detectado puede ser emocionante de vez en cuando, pero cuando llaman al escuadrón de la muerte por decimonónica vez después de que te vea un enemigo que no ves ni en el radar ni en el escenario, llega a ser molesto. La vista en primera persona también es molesta, más todavía cuando el juego quiere que apuntes de manera precisa con un francotirador mientras intentas que la aceleración del joystick no se vuelva loca, y apuntar de normal con armas en espacios cerrados puede llegar a ser un suplicio por culpa de esto mismo.
Las cinemáticas, si bien están muy logradas y la dirección cinematográfica es muy buena, a veces llegan a ser demasiado largas y sobre-explicativas, llegando a momentos en los que no se si estoy jugando un juego o viendo una presentación de PowerPoint en la que Raiden tan solo escucha y de vez en cuando dice ¿qué? para que le respondan con más exposición. Hubo un momento en el que, al final de una cinemática, el juego me pregunta si quiero guardar, solo para dar pie a otra cinemática, y cuando ésta termina y me deja guardar otra vez, el contador de tiempo de la partida aumenta en 20 minutos o más desde el último guardado, guardado que encima fue hecho al final de otra cinemática. Sabía que estos juegos eran conocidos por ser medio-pelis, pero alcanza cotas ridículas de duración que podrían reducirse si la trama no se sobre-explicara tanto.
Sons of Liberty es un juego que tiene unas cuantas cosas mal. Sin embargo, también tiene un puñado de cosas buenas. Momentos en los que dices ¡ajá! tras cruzar una sala llena de enemigos de la manera más elegante posible, veces en las que por curiosear, el juego te recompensa con algo interesante o útil, y el sistema de sigilo, aunque me encontraba la más de las veces haciendo las mismas dos o tres cosas para avanzar, da pie a unas cuantas posibilidades más interesantes que simplemente matar o huir (aunque es cierto que el escenario rara vez se presta a ello). Y me costaría negar lo contundente de su mensaje, cuando no es una narración en PowerPoint sobre los dramas intrafamiliares incestuosos de algún personaje, el juego sabe comunicar bien lo que quiere, culminando con uno de los mejores finales que he visto hasta ahora en un videojuego.
Metal Gear Solid 2 es un juego que por cada cosa mala tiene otra que la contrarresta, y pese a lo imperfecto que acaba siendo todo, me gusta que tenga una visión autoral tan única, que tenga una ambición narrativa que entonces (y también a día de hoy) rara vez se veía, y todo lo que ambas cosas representan. Pero también es cierto que una primera partida sin conocimiento previo de cómo funciona el juego puede llegar a ser disfrutona en el mejor de los casos o tediosa en el peor. Metal Gear Solid 2 brilla por su imperfección, y creo que eso es lo que lo hace un juego tan excelente.