It's actually a common misconception that this is a video game because it's instead a list of bullet points on what your new personality is going to be.
Warning - This review contains spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Warning - This review contains mentions of suicide, child abuse, sexual assault, self-harm, and other related topics. Read at your own risk.
Disclaimer - The idea to conceive this review was inspired by @poyfuh’s piece on Silent Hill 2. I highly recommend that you, as the reader, take a look into her work as well, if you have not yet done so. This is also a repost of my review that I made on my previous account, but I deleted it for personal reasons.
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Evening, September 20th, 2022.
After 10 years, 10 fucking years, my step-dad finally gets arrested by the police due to his exposed cases of commiting child abuse, alongside other crimes, even though that was the big reason. Now, I can finally express my happiness and freedom after so long, but at the same time, I am held back by my emotional and physical trauma, which drives me back to literal insanity… a line which I’ve crossed far too long ago. There is still a lot to uncover, and I am not done yet.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night, December 19th, 2022.
How much longer do I have to deal with this? I want to move on from my past, but I can’t. Everything in my house, from the PlayStation 5, all the way to my refrigerator, reminds me of my step-father. He had hurt me in so many ways, in so many different places, and actively used me as his torture toy that the after-effects are still there. Here I am, on the bridge near my house, questioning myself; Do I just end it all, right here, and right now? Or do I go back and try to amend myself. What do I even do?
Therapy isn’t fixing shit, after-school counseling isn’t fixing shit, and absolutely nothing labeled as “beneficial” is fixing shit either. But… I have to live for my friends. They don’t want me dead, but at the same time, unlike me, they have a lot of friends who they could talk to, so what’s the point? Why am I still here?
In the end, all I could ask for is a peaceful life, one without worries or doubts, but that won’t happen. However… I can make it happen. I just have to stick through it, and try to get a good grasp of what I’m currently going through.
Afternoon, January 14th, 2023.
A friend of mine named Micheal, whom I’ve known for 5 years, but stopped talking to for the past few months, decides to call me and scream at me because I made him feel unsafe when I stopped talking to him right after my step-father (before his arrest) temporarily disabled my communication devices, though once that was over, I had completely forgotten to call back. I tried telling him that I just really did not remember, and that everything is (probably) okay now, but he was just so upset for the fact that I made him feel like he lost his closest friend. I mean, can you blame him? Looking back, I would’ve called him sooner… if only I knew what would happen within the next few months.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evening, April 11th, 2023.
About a couple days back, I had recently finished Metal Gear Solid, and fell in love with the game pretty quickly. The tragic story behind Solid Snake, as well as one of the main messages revolving around the idea to move on, had both made me develop a personal attachment to the series, as I knew it was shaping up to be something special. In the meantime, it was a great day today, and I was just having fun with my online friends on Instagram, when all of a sudden, I got a phone call from Micheal, to which I picked up immediately. However, instead of hearing his voice, I heard the voice of a woman, who was his sister. I went on to ask who she was, and once she had told me about herself, she then told me that earlier, Micheal hanged himself. After facing months worth of sadness and depression, as well as feeling bad for being angry at me, he just couldn’t take it anymore and felt as if he lacked any self-worth.
Upon hearing this, I was completely destroyed mentally and decided to take a break from social media for a few days. Even though we live in different states, and even though most of our communication is from online, he still meant a lot to me, and losing him also killed a fraction of myself. I took the blame, mainly because his anger on me came from my own laziness. I mean, it’s my fault, right? I never do anything right. Never. What purpose do I even serve? Even after my step-father had now left my personal life, I still have more things to grieve over, and it’s taking a huge toll on me. I just… I can’t take it anymore. I’m sorry, Micheal, I really am. If I could turn back time and fix everything, I would. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out after our initial conversation… I would’ve been there to help you. But you know what? I didn’t, because I was too selfish of myself to care about anyone else. I’m sorry.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midnight, April 17, 2023.
It’s 1 AM in the morning, and I am currently playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I’m trying to move on from the event of my friend taking his own life by keeping myself entertained, though it only keeps coming back to me at random times. Right now, I had just reached the torture scene with Raiden, and so far, I’m not feeling anything… But wait, what is going on right now?
Raiden didn’t want any of this… he was a child soldier, forced to live under Solidus Snake’s umbrella for many years in order to become an excellent warrior, though it had only made him less sane and more unhinged, which had obviously taken a toll on him as a person, and played a role onto his overall development. He spent all that time in the VR training, all that time working on his strength, and what did that cost? His sanity. And, on top of all this, its later revealed that his own girlfriend had spied on him in order for him to be fully studied, but eventually, she actually did fall in love with him, though it took him time to realize that because of what was going on in that moment. Everything and everyone that he valued was taken away from him for the sake of standing strong, and to be “on top” of the human chain.
You see, for many years, my step-father served as a police officer, and at home, while constantly abusing me via physical abuse, he had made me learn self-defense, as well as various other forms of combat. I had basically learned how to throw people, accurately beat them up, and so much other stuff. A few years ago, I enrolled in fencing, because I thought that the idea of sword-fighting was cool, which it was. I learned how to wield a blade, and utilize any long object as a weapon in case of serious danger… and, truth be told, I tried using my self-defense skills to avoid getting bullied, as well as trying to avoid getting beaten by my step-father. This was all because he wanted me to “stay strong in dark times,” however, this just didn’t make sense, because the only person giving me my dark times was him. I had done nothing to receive any of this, and as that entire moment with Raiden’s torture seemingly came to an end, I just sat there, crying for a few minutes because I was reminded of who I once was as a person.
Shortly afterwards, when Ocelot reveals that the point of Raiden was to create a perfect soldier, meaning that his entire mission was a lie, as well as Solidus trying to show a bit of fatherhood to Raiden, it all reminded me of how my step-father would act after every time he had tried to torture me in some way.
7 months prior to this, I remember failing an optional test online due to me not being able to fully understand the key contents whatsoever, despite trying to study. Because of my failure, my step-father had decided to rape me maliciously in order to “teach me a lesson.” I was crying & yelling for the life of me, and I begged him to stop. Not only that, but over an optional test too? What was the point of this? Well, sooner or later, he tries to comfort me while acknowledging that I “made a mistake,” and to avoid getting harmed any further, I just gave in to his fake sense of discipline so that I don’t get further tortured beyond that point.
Back to the point where Solidus is trying to get Raiden to join his side, you can see that Raiden refuses, and this leads to a massive conflict between the two, because he actually stood up for himself, though at first, it was a failure.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early Morning, April 18th, 2023.
It’s 4 AM, and I am now in the final part of the game. After witnessing the shocking AI codec call that delved into the digital world, as well as challenging all of Raiden’s self beliefs, we got straight to the climax, the moment we were all waiting for: Raiden Vs. Solidus Snake. As the fight progressed and finished, we see how Solidus finally faces his well-deserved downfall, and then, Raiden stands in between the crowd, questioning every single thing that has happened since the start of his mission. Shortly afterwards, Snake comes by and has a conversation with him, asking him many things, but one thing in particular that stood out was when he told Raiden to look at his dog tags, and see if he knows who that is on the tag. As this happens, Raiden says the following line…
“No, never heard the name before. I'll pick my own name...and my own life. I'll
find something worth passing on.”
Raiden is now a free man, no longer a puppet of Solidus or related to the Patriots in any way now whatsoever, and sooner or later, we see him return to Rose in safe hands. No more conflict, no more bullshit, everything is over now. (Metal Gear Solid 4 never happened.)
Within the next year or so, I am going to fully change my legal name, after waiting several years for it to happen. You see, everyone would call me by my middle name, which is the name I felt most comfortable with, as my first name was mainly a family name, so it wasn’t said publicly in order to avoid confusion with me and my relatives. However, my step-father would always call me by my first name, and when we would call me by it, it's often spoken in a more deepened accent, which just gave me more and more PTSD over the years. Not only that, but my biological father, whom even though I never really had a proper relationship with, was still an awful person to my mother before they divorced, and since I was carrying his last name, I wanted to clear my name completely for good, so that I can show that I am not a part of a disgusting family tree. However, I will keep my middle name since my mother gave that to me, and then, I will be my own man, with my own name, and my own life, not controlled by someone else.
As the credits rolled, and “Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday” began to play, I started crying uncontrollably again for a while because I had never been so attached to a work of art like this in my entire life. The entire campaign from start to finish, with Snake & Raiden as they come forward to fight their own beliefs as well as relaying the message to start fresh, had connected with me in such a personal and heartwarming way that I just… I was speechless. I couldn’t believe I experienced a game like this, and I genuinely didn’t have anything to say.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night, December 12th, 2023.
As of typing this, it’s currently the said date of December 12th, 2023. Since my first playthrough of Metal Gear Solid 2, many more unfortunate things have happened. It has been 7 years since my younger sister died, and due to my sadness, I tried to kill myself twice on Thanksgiving via overdosing and shooting myself, and then stabbing myself, which led to me going to the hospital for quite some time before heading straight to the mental hospital for a full day. Around 2 weeks ago, I had disabled all of my main social media accounts on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram so that I could focus on my own wellbeing, and try to improve upon myself before returning to content creation in full healthiness. Also, I had recently completed a replay of Metal Gear Solid 2 on my PlayStation Vita, which led me to finish this review for good.
To wrap things up, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a game that I think every single person should play before they die, and it’s a profound work of art that truly stands the test of time, as well as having a massive impact on me as a person, as well as being able to move on from my past. You also have Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which is arguably just as good, and I think that in the end, the franchise’s message of tragedy and overcoming your PTSD has aged quite well, and I have yet to see another franchise replicate the same exact magic as that.
“Find something to believe in. And find it for yourself. And when you do, pass it on to the future.” - Solid Snake.
Thank you, Hideo Kojima. You might not ever see this, but your work really impacted me, and helped me through the worst time of my life.
Thank you.
Warning - This review contains mentions of suicide, child abuse, sexual assault, self-harm, and other related topics. Read at your own risk.
Disclaimer - The idea to conceive this review was inspired by @poyfuh’s piece on Silent Hill 2. I highly recommend that you, as the reader, take a look into her work as well, if you have not yet done so. This is also a repost of my review that I made on my previous account, but I deleted it for personal reasons.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evening, September 20th, 2022.
After 10 years, 10 fucking years, my step-dad finally gets arrested by the police due to his exposed cases of commiting child abuse, alongside other crimes, even though that was the big reason. Now, I can finally express my happiness and freedom after so long, but at the same time, I am held back by my emotional and physical trauma, which drives me back to literal insanity… a line which I’ve crossed far too long ago. There is still a lot to uncover, and I am not done yet.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night, December 19th, 2022.
How much longer do I have to deal with this? I want to move on from my past, but I can’t. Everything in my house, from the PlayStation 5, all the way to my refrigerator, reminds me of my step-father. He had hurt me in so many ways, in so many different places, and actively used me as his torture toy that the after-effects are still there. Here I am, on the bridge near my house, questioning myself; Do I just end it all, right here, and right now? Or do I go back and try to amend myself. What do I even do?
Therapy isn’t fixing shit, after-school counseling isn’t fixing shit, and absolutely nothing labeled as “beneficial” is fixing shit either. But… I have to live for my friends. They don’t want me dead, but at the same time, unlike me, they have a lot of friends who they could talk to, so what’s the point? Why am I still here?
In the end, all I could ask for is a peaceful life, one without worries or doubts, but that won’t happen. However… I can make it happen. I just have to stick through it, and try to get a good grasp of what I’m currently going through.
Afternoon, January 14th, 2023.
A friend of mine named Micheal, whom I’ve known for 5 years, but stopped talking to for the past few months, decides to call me and scream at me because I made him feel unsafe when I stopped talking to him right after my step-father (before his arrest) temporarily disabled my communication devices, though once that was over, I had completely forgotten to call back. I tried telling him that I just really did not remember, and that everything is (probably) okay now, but he was just so upset for the fact that I made him feel like he lost his closest friend. I mean, can you blame him? Looking back, I would’ve called him sooner… if only I knew what would happen within the next few months.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evening, April 11th, 2023.
About a couple days back, I had recently finished Metal Gear Solid, and fell in love with the game pretty quickly. The tragic story behind Solid Snake, as well as one of the main messages revolving around the idea to move on, had both made me develop a personal attachment to the series, as I knew it was shaping up to be something special. In the meantime, it was a great day today, and I was just having fun with my online friends on Instagram, when all of a sudden, I got a phone call from Micheal, to which I picked up immediately. However, instead of hearing his voice, I heard the voice of a woman, who was his sister. I went on to ask who she was, and once she had told me about herself, she then told me that earlier, Micheal hanged himself. After facing months worth of sadness and depression, as well as feeling bad for being angry at me, he just couldn’t take it anymore and felt as if he lacked any self-worth.
Upon hearing this, I was completely destroyed mentally and decided to take a break from social media for a few days. Even though we live in different states, and even though most of our communication is from online, he still meant a lot to me, and losing him also killed a fraction of myself. I took the blame, mainly because his anger on me came from my own laziness. I mean, it’s my fault, right? I never do anything right. Never. What purpose do I even serve? Even after my step-father had now left my personal life, I still have more things to grieve over, and it’s taking a huge toll on me. I just… I can’t take it anymore. I’m sorry, Micheal, I really am. If I could turn back time and fix everything, I would. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out after our initial conversation… I would’ve been there to help you. But you know what? I didn’t, because I was too selfish of myself to care about anyone else. I’m sorry.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midnight, April 17, 2023.
It’s 1 AM in the morning, and I am currently playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I’m trying to move on from the event of my friend taking his own life by keeping myself entertained, though it only keeps coming back to me at random times. Right now, I had just reached the torture scene with Raiden, and so far, I’m not feeling anything… But wait, what is going on right now?
Raiden didn’t want any of this… he was a child soldier, forced to live under Solidus Snake’s umbrella for many years in order to become an excellent warrior, though it had only made him less sane and more unhinged, which had obviously taken a toll on him as a person, and played a role onto his overall development. He spent all that time in the VR training, all that time working on his strength, and what did that cost? His sanity. And, on top of all this, its later revealed that his own girlfriend had spied on him in order for him to be fully studied, but eventually, she actually did fall in love with him, though it took him time to realize that because of what was going on in that moment. Everything and everyone that he valued was taken away from him for the sake of standing strong, and to be “on top” of the human chain.
You see, for many years, my step-father served as a police officer, and at home, while constantly abusing me via physical abuse, he had made me learn self-defense, as well as various other forms of combat. I had basically learned how to throw people, accurately beat them up, and so much other stuff. A few years ago, I enrolled in fencing, because I thought that the idea of sword-fighting was cool, which it was. I learned how to wield a blade, and utilize any long object as a weapon in case of serious danger… and, truth be told, I tried using my self-defense skills to avoid getting bullied, as well as trying to avoid getting beaten by my step-father. This was all because he wanted me to “stay strong in dark times,” however, this just didn’t make sense, because the only person giving me my dark times was him. I had done nothing to receive any of this, and as that entire moment with Raiden’s torture seemingly came to an end, I just sat there, crying for a few minutes because I was reminded of who I once was as a person.
Shortly afterwards, when Ocelot reveals that the point of Raiden was to create a perfect soldier, meaning that his entire mission was a lie, as well as Solidus trying to show a bit of fatherhood to Raiden, it all reminded me of how my step-father would act after every time he had tried to torture me in some way.
7 months prior to this, I remember failing an optional test online due to me not being able to fully understand the key contents whatsoever, despite trying to study. Because of my failure, my step-father had decided to rape me maliciously in order to “teach me a lesson.” I was crying & yelling for the life of me, and I begged him to stop. Not only that, but over an optional test too? What was the point of this? Well, sooner or later, he tries to comfort me while acknowledging that I “made a mistake,” and to avoid getting harmed any further, I just gave in to his fake sense of discipline so that I don’t get further tortured beyond that point.
Back to the point where Solidus is trying to get Raiden to join his side, you can see that Raiden refuses, and this leads to a massive conflict between the two, because he actually stood up for himself, though at first, it was a failure.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early Morning, April 18th, 2023.
It’s 4 AM, and I am now in the final part of the game. After witnessing the shocking AI codec call that delved into the digital world, as well as challenging all of Raiden’s self beliefs, we got straight to the climax, the moment we were all waiting for: Raiden Vs. Solidus Snake. As the fight progressed and finished, we see how Solidus finally faces his well-deserved downfall, and then, Raiden stands in between the crowd, questioning every single thing that has happened since the start of his mission. Shortly afterwards, Snake comes by and has a conversation with him, asking him many things, but one thing in particular that stood out was when he told Raiden to look at his dog tags, and see if he knows who that is on the tag. As this happens, Raiden says the following line…
“No, never heard the name before. I'll pick my own name...and my own life. I'll
find something worth passing on.”
Raiden is now a free man, no longer a puppet of Solidus or related to the Patriots in any way now whatsoever, and sooner or later, we see him return to Rose in safe hands. No more conflict, no more bullshit, everything is over now. (Metal Gear Solid 4 never happened.)
Within the next year or so, I am going to fully change my legal name, after waiting several years for it to happen. You see, everyone would call me by my middle name, which is the name I felt most comfortable with, as my first name was mainly a family name, so it wasn’t said publicly in order to avoid confusion with me and my relatives. However, my step-father would always call me by my first name, and when we would call me by it, it's often spoken in a more deepened accent, which just gave me more and more PTSD over the years. Not only that, but my biological father, whom even though I never really had a proper relationship with, was still an awful person to my mother before they divorced, and since I was carrying his last name, I wanted to clear my name completely for good, so that I can show that I am not a part of a disgusting family tree. However, I will keep my middle name since my mother gave that to me, and then, I will be my own man, with my own name, and my own life, not controlled by someone else.
As the credits rolled, and “Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday” began to play, I started crying uncontrollably again for a while because I had never been so attached to a work of art like this in my entire life. The entire campaign from start to finish, with Snake & Raiden as they come forward to fight their own beliefs as well as relaying the message to start fresh, had connected with me in such a personal and heartwarming way that I just… I was speechless. I couldn’t believe I experienced a game like this, and I genuinely didn’t have anything to say.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night, December 12th, 2023.
As of typing this, it’s currently the said date of December 12th, 2023. Since my first playthrough of Metal Gear Solid 2, many more unfortunate things have happened. It has been 7 years since my younger sister died, and due to my sadness, I tried to kill myself twice on Thanksgiving via overdosing and shooting myself, and then stabbing myself, which led to me going to the hospital for quite some time before heading straight to the mental hospital for a full day. Around 2 weeks ago, I had disabled all of my main social media accounts on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram so that I could focus on my own wellbeing, and try to improve upon myself before returning to content creation in full healthiness. Also, I had recently completed a replay of Metal Gear Solid 2 on my PlayStation Vita, which led me to finish this review for good.
To wrap things up, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a game that I think every single person should play before they die, and it’s a profound work of art that truly stands the test of time, as well as having a massive impact on me as a person, as well as being able to move on from my past. You also have Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which is arguably just as good, and I think that in the end, the franchise’s message of tragedy and overcoming your PTSD has aged quite well, and I have yet to see another franchise replicate the same exact magic as that.
“Find something to believe in. And find it for yourself. And when you do, pass it on to the future.” - Solid Snake.
Thank you, Hideo Kojima. You might not ever see this, but your work really impacted me, and helped me through the worst time of my life.
Thank you.
Incredible game. The gameplay has improved from MGS1, especially with the new first-person mechanics. Even though it still has some of tedious stuff that was also in MGS, stuff like backtracking feels way better in here (probably related to how the whole main area of the game is designed). The story in this game is also top notch, and probably my favorite in any game I've played thus far (obviously, the twist at last third of the game kinda carries it but that's besides the point). Absolutely terrifying how it still holds up today and even better than ever. The cast of characters, although probably inferior to MGS1, are still good here as well. I feel as if the game gets better after the mid-way point, or at least that's how it felt when I played it but even before that I still found it decently enjoyable, and of course everything in the last third of the game was just amazing.
I don't get the Raiden hate, he's cool.
I don't get the Raiden hate, he's cool.
2001 gamers were no better than IGN for hating on this game.
A true video game masterpiece. Groundbreaking gameplay, amazing graphics even for a PlayStation 2 game, and the wildest Hideo Kojima plotline conceived (at this point in the game's history) make for an unforgettable experience. Metal Gear Solid 2 does everything it can to prove its age wrong, and you'll be hard pressed to find anything to criticize the game on.
Kojima doesn't predict shit. He just looks around him at things wrong in the world and then none of them changed for 20 years.
raiden metal gear solid naked pictures google
This review contains spoilers
what a great game,really stirred my mind especially at the end with the long talk with AI.Kojima strikes again with his foresight
This review contains spoilers
Raiden was good, probably one of the best in gaming. Still I can help but feel that he could have been better. His character is pretty much about how in the grand scheme of things his own thoughts and feelings are what truly matter, his own subjective reality. It's not about right or wrong, objective truth, but our faith in what we believe in and what matters to us. The problem is that we don't get much of his thoughts and feelings which is kinda annoying. I guess his conversations with Rose (whether she's objectively real or not his love for her and his memories with her are real to him and that's what should truly matter to him), and how much he wanted to succeed in the mission/fighting Solidus to save the baby (again, whether it's real or not it was real for him, he wanted to succeed/save the baby and his experience throughout the mission is real for him, for the AI of the patriots it's just a simulation, everything was made up, but for him it was a meaningful mission where he saved lives. Who's to say whos right or wrong? it's subjective. I also like how it correlate to art's subjectivity) these are probably the main building blocks for his development that help validate it, but I think it could have been elaborated upon a bit more.
The plot itself lowkey made me doubt reality it was so surreal, the weirdest gaming experience i've had. The twists were insane, some of the best i've seen. I also don't think I understood all of it but tbh it almost feels like you don't need to, it's also kind of part of the game's message yk, so I don't mind that.
The plot itself lowkey made me doubt reality it was so surreal, the weirdest gaming experience i've had. The twists were insane, some of the best i've seen. I also don't think I understood all of it but tbh it almost feels like you don't need to, it's also kind of part of the game's message yk, so I don't mind that.
Even though it came out in 2001, it's still so applicable to current day in every aspect. Pretty much everything about this game has aged beautifully.
pros:
- gameplay is a massive improvement over the first game, even just the revolution of first-person aiming and clearer instructions of how to aim + run makes this a much more enjoyable experience
- story is fantastic, the final CODEC calls alone are mind-blowing considering the game is over 20 years old
- overall controls a lot smoother than MGS
cons:
- raiden is cool but man the game peaked in the tanker section
- early progression is frustrating due to lack of equipment and no map
- gameplay is a massive improvement over the first game, even just the revolution of first-person aiming and clearer instructions of how to aim + run makes this a much more enjoyable experience
- story is fantastic, the final CODEC calls alone are mind-blowing considering the game is over 20 years old
- overall controls a lot smoother than MGS
cons:
- raiden is cool but man the game peaked in the tanker section
- early progression is frustrating due to lack of equipment and no map
This review contains spoilers
Somehow got manipulated to finish the game on April 30th o_O
I like how the game predicted modern day internet.
also play this at my funeral and nothing more: https://youtu.be/lieJIxJZs1M?si=3yMxBgD7ZaowUN8O
also play this at my funeral and nothing more: https://youtu.be/lieJIxJZs1M?si=3yMxBgD7ZaowUN8O
9/10
Favorite game story-wise
Gameplay was hella clunky cuz it was like 2001 at the time
Had Raiden in it
Favorite game story-wise
Gameplay was hella clunky cuz it was like 2001 at the time
Had Raiden in it
I don't get it.
I always see people include this in their top greatest games of all time but I just don't get it. I didn't play anything, I just watched.
I did enjoy the gameplay and considered it to be quite an upgrade from the first but there wasn't nearly enough of it. I think the longest I went was probably 30 minutes until I had to put the controller back down so I can listen with every brain cell to a two hour long partial differential equation of a cutscene. I do think it has an incredible pay off at the end and there were some truly unique memorable moments like the Codec calls with Campbell and that one radar glitch with the girl, the way Kojima basically predicted the future was also brilliant yet unsettling but man the amount of dialogue I had to sit through for that; I have a hard time deciding if it's justified. The story is for the most part, tell not show, sometimes that works, it certainly did in MGS1, I don't think it does here.
I found Raiden alright, I of course would've preferred Snake again but Raiden was decent, his design screams early 2000s which is a vibe I fuck with. Cartwheeling around is always fun. Fatman is also one of my favorite designs of a boss, chasing after an obese man while he zips around in rollerblades planting bombs and occasionally tripping over himself is classic Kojima creativity. The other bosses; however, were quite mediocre, the creativity from Metal Gear solid 1 was lacking, many of the bosses in that game though were so genius it's kinda unrealistic to ask for it again. I found the setting of Big Shell to be pretty bland, most encounters with enemies were also unexciting, not much thrill, just chill wave sounds and seagulls. The new arsenal of gadgets and weapons were very fun though.
Overall, I can see why this game was the shit in the early 2000s, to accomplish all this back then is without a doubt an achievement but playing this for the first time now, with no nostalgia, na.
I always see people include this in their top greatest games of all time but I just don't get it. I didn't play anything, I just watched.
I did enjoy the gameplay and considered it to be quite an upgrade from the first but there wasn't nearly enough of it. I think the longest I went was probably 30 minutes until I had to put the controller back down so I can listen with every brain cell to a two hour long partial differential equation of a cutscene. I do think it has an incredible pay off at the end and there were some truly unique memorable moments like the Codec calls with Campbell and that one radar glitch with the girl, the way Kojima basically predicted the future was also brilliant yet unsettling but man the amount of dialogue I had to sit through for that; I have a hard time deciding if it's justified. The story is for the most part, tell not show, sometimes that works, it certainly did in MGS1, I don't think it does here.
I found Raiden alright, I of course would've preferred Snake again but Raiden was decent, his design screams early 2000s which is a vibe I fuck with. Cartwheeling around is always fun. Fatman is also one of my favorite designs of a boss, chasing after an obese man while he zips around in rollerblades planting bombs and occasionally tripping over himself is classic Kojima creativity. The other bosses; however, were quite mediocre, the creativity from Metal Gear solid 1 was lacking, many of the bosses in that game though were so genius it's kinda unrealistic to ask for it again. I found the setting of Big Shell to be pretty bland, most encounters with enemies were also unexciting, not much thrill, just chill wave sounds and seagulls. The new arsenal of gadgets and weapons were very fun though.
Overall, I can see why this game was the shit in the early 2000s, to accomplish all this back then is without a doubt an achievement but playing this for the first time now, with no nostalgia, na.
"You exercise your right to 'freedom' and this is the result."
Metal Gear Solid 2 is the biggest lie ever told in gaming.
I have never seen a game with so much narrative ambition like MGS2. Theres alot to go on about regarding how it recognises its nature and fanbase expectations on it as a "sequel" to one of the most influential and acclaimed videogames of all time, but instead opts to subvert it completely. It tackles so many things at once: the nature of love, identity, digital information, truth and facts, post-modernism, reality and fiction, escapism, free will, legacy and if its nature is even worth leaving behind. Yet, it all loops back to MGS1's core messages at the end about carving your own path in life, free from outside influences.
To put it simply, Metal Gear Solid 2 is the most "anti MGS" sequel and the most "MGS1" sequel at the same time. It intentionally parodies the events of MGS1 so closely on a surface level but intentionally misses what makes those moments so special.
The game is all about carving out your own legacy, regardless of how real or fake your past is. Thats the only way we can leave any trace of life on this earth, not by imposing our ideals or genes on others but rather through stories of what we've seen, heard felt.
Anger, joy and sorrow. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one in the same thing.
MGS2 is a must play for anyone looking for proof of the artistic integrity that the gaming medium can offer. Its story is prophetic and meaningful, its gameplay is a complete overhaul of the first game's clunky combat and it has one of my favourite final acts in all of gaming that I really CANNOT spoil for you (if youve managed to avoid spoilers until now, that is). Bravo Kojima!
I wish the colonel was less mean 2 me💔💔💔💔💔
Metal Gear Solid 2 is the biggest lie ever told in gaming.
I have never seen a game with so much narrative ambition like MGS2. Theres alot to go on about regarding how it recognises its nature and fanbase expectations on it as a "sequel" to one of the most influential and acclaimed videogames of all time, but instead opts to subvert it completely. It tackles so many things at once: the nature of love, identity, digital information, truth and facts, post-modernism, reality and fiction, escapism, free will, legacy and if its nature is even worth leaving behind. Yet, it all loops back to MGS1's core messages at the end about carving your own path in life, free from outside influences.
To put it simply, Metal Gear Solid 2 is the most "anti MGS" sequel and the most "MGS1" sequel at the same time. It intentionally parodies the events of MGS1 so closely on a surface level but intentionally misses what makes those moments so special.
The game is all about carving out your own legacy, regardless of how real or fake your past is. Thats the only way we can leave any trace of life on this earth, not by imposing our ideals or genes on others but rather through stories of what we've seen, heard felt.
Anger, joy and sorrow. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one in the same thing.
MGS2 is a must play for anyone looking for proof of the artistic integrity that the gaming medium can offer. Its story is prophetic and meaningful, its gameplay is a complete overhaul of the first game's clunky combat and it has one of my favourite final acts in all of gaming that I really CANNOT spoil for you (if youve managed to avoid spoilers until now, that is). Bravo Kojima!
I wish the colonel was less mean 2 me💔💔💔💔💔
I'm having a hard time writing the review for this, so I'll keep it brief.
Coming from the high of Metal Gear Solid, I expected more of the same and that's largely what I got, plot twists and all. My favorite aspect of the game was the story, it was super engaging! It sucked me in just like MGS1 and I ended up beating MGS2 in under a week. I loved how modern it felt, with all the AI discussion and internet censoring. Still very relevant today, perhaps even more so. Please play it blind! You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Moving on, The controls were disappointing. MGS2 is my first experience with the PS2 despite having grown up in the 2000's, and I really do not like the pressure sensitive buttons. I got used to it by the end (sorta) but for most of my 12 hour playthrough, the buttons felt unresponsive and made snake/ raiden feel sluggish in return.
Putting the controller aside, the controls feel largely unchanged from mgs1 and I don't mean that in a good way. Oftentimes I would stick to a wall when I didn't mean to, or I would accidentally crawl while trying to shoot and then I would be a sitting duck, even climbing ledges felt clunky. There are some platforming sections mid game that were super frustrating because of this. I get that's kinda how stealth games should work but it still felt inopportune in certain moments. Swimming was clunky, there is still a tricky button mashing section like MGS1, I could go on.
The graphics and sound are impressive though. MGS2 has aged very well on that front, and I liked how footage from MGS1 was in some of the codec calls. I'm a sucker for fan service, I know. I need to find the score for this and put it into my vgm playlist asap! One could say the vibes are immaculate.
I'm not really sure how to word my feelings towards Metal Gear Solid's sequel. It was more of the same, which was both good and bad for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first game, but it was still quite memorable and I'll probably stick around to play the third game!
Coming from the high of Metal Gear Solid, I expected more of the same and that's largely what I got, plot twists and all. My favorite aspect of the game was the story, it was super engaging! It sucked me in just like MGS1 and I ended up beating MGS2 in under a week. I loved how modern it felt, with all the AI discussion and internet censoring. Still very relevant today, perhaps even more so. Please play it blind! You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Moving on, The controls were disappointing. MGS2 is my first experience with the PS2 despite having grown up in the 2000's, and I really do not like the pressure sensitive buttons. I got used to it by the end (sorta) but for most of my 12 hour playthrough, the buttons felt unresponsive and made snake/ raiden feel sluggish in return.
Putting the controller aside, the controls feel largely unchanged from mgs1 and I don't mean that in a good way. Oftentimes I would stick to a wall when I didn't mean to, or I would accidentally crawl while trying to shoot and then I would be a sitting duck, even climbing ledges felt clunky. There are some platforming sections mid game that were super frustrating because of this. I get that's kinda how stealth games should work but it still felt inopportune in certain moments. Swimming was clunky, there is still a tricky button mashing section like MGS1, I could go on.
The graphics and sound are impressive though. MGS2 has aged very well on that front, and I liked how footage from MGS1 was in some of the codec calls. I'm a sucker for fan service, I know. I need to find the score for this and put it into my vgm playlist asap! One could say the vibes are immaculate.
I'm not really sure how to word my feelings towards Metal Gear Solid's sequel. It was more of the same, which was both good and bad for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first game, but it was still quite memorable and I'll probably stick around to play the third game!
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.
Нет слов, одни эмоции.
Это были одни из лучших часов в моей жизни. Ни одна игра, да даже фильмы или сериалы не принесла мне столько эмоций, радость, смех, слёзы, сопереживание, вдумчивость. Это я ещё не углублялся в те темы которые затрагивает игра, персонажей, музыку и геймплей, здесь превосходно просто всё.
Я буквально могу обсуждать эту игру часами. Без преувеличений, Кодзима гений.
Это были одни из лучших часов в моей жизни. Ни одна игра, да даже фильмы или сериалы не принесла мне столько эмоций, радость, смех, слёзы, сопереживание, вдумчивость. Это я ещё не углублялся в те темы которые затрагивает игра, персонажей, музыку и геймплей, здесь превосходно просто всё.
Я буквально могу обсуждать эту игру часами. Без преувеличений, Кодзима гений.
Me when raiden is naked
Happy Kino Day!
A lot more concepts and themes I vibe with in this one. Raiden is a great stand in for Snake. I like just about everything except for Rose and some pretty dodgy treatment of women characters. I also love the aesthetic and think Big Shell is a really solid setting, I don't know if I prefer it over Shadow Moses but it hits the same notes while being very different.
Dead Cell is also a good set of bosses, I didn't have much issue with how any of them were fought and was engaged throughout when I fought them, an issue I had with MGS1 was that the bosses aside from their personality kinda fell flat for me gamewise (exceptions being Vulcan Raven and Sniper Wolf, some of Liquid Snake)
Overall, the other Metal Gears have some tough competition.
Dead Cell is also a good set of bosses, I didn't have much issue with how any of them were fought and was engaged throughout when I fought them, an issue I had with MGS1 was that the bosses aside from their personality kinda fell flat for me gamewise (exceptions being Vulcan Raven and Sniper Wolf, some of Liquid Snake)
Overall, the other Metal Gears have some tough competition.
My favorite Metal Gear game. I'll never forget the night I beat this game, my mind was completly blown away by that final codec call.
This review contains spoilers
[Edited 21/5/2024]
“What is our legacy if we cannot pass the torch? Proof of our existence - a mark of some sort. When the torch is passed on from parent to child... it extends beyond DNA; information is imparted as well. All I want is to be remembered. By other people, by history.”
---
There is a strong case to be made that Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) is the most prolific story ever told in the medium of video games, and no other work of art stands a chance at coming close. Releasing the same year as the PlayStation 2, this game could pass as a launch title for the PlayStation 3 in a lot of senses. It feels like every single unique quirk the PlayStation 2 featured, Metal Gear Solid 2 was there to test out. Beyond these little quirks such as analog buttons being used to lower weapons and peep corners, the game takes advantage of being on the new age of sixth-generation consoles by featuring detailed 3D models with facial expressions and lip-syncing, a desire of the developers during the development of the first game, as well as even higher detail environments to sneak around in—still restricted to the same fixed camera as the first game, but this time, giving the player a first-person perspective to shoot in as well as a tranquilizer to knock out enemies with. The most significant addition to Sons of Liberty, however, is that after you spend 2-3 hours on a Tanker in the middle of the ocean following what happened to Snake and Otacon after they escaped Shadow Moses, something strange happens. Something distinctly kept out of marketing up until the very last day until the game’s North American release. Solid Snake disappeared, presumably dead, and just three hours into Metal Gear Solid 2, you meet the real main character: Raiden. Oh, to have been there. Solid Snake, based on Kurt Russell’s rough and tough Snake Plissken character, was directly contrasted by Raiden, who was designed to be a sexually appealing young man in the eyes of women. Raiden was thin, he had long, blonde hair, his clothes were skin-tight—the anti-thesis of Snake. Raiden wasn’t cool with the ladies; he had a girlfriend named Rose who guided him on the radio. He wasn’t a seasoned soldier, but rather he was a rookie who had only done training. Kojima wanted Raiden because he wanted to see Snake through the eyes of another character, similar to how Sherlock is seen by Watson in the Sherlock Holmes novels. But as the title goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that Raiden is more than a sexy look or a pair of eyes.
While it has improved and polished gameplay (albeit some frustrating elements in the form of annoying Cyphers, somewhat repetitive level design, and a really, really tough enemy AI), the main draw of Metal Gear Solid 2 is its narrative genius. It’s hard to discuss Metal Gear Solid 2 without rewriting the whole plot, so for the sake of this review I will act as if the reader is familiar with the content of the game and not waste time going over the plot. Metal Gear Solid 2 is one of the most creative and unique games I have ever seen, directly responding to the player’s desire to get a follow-up to a game with a ride-into-the-sunset ending by blue-balling the player with a few hours of Snake and then making them play not just as an entirely new character but also play through a reorganization of the entire story of Metal Gear Solid set up by “The Patriots” (Or, if you will, the La-li-lu-le-lo), the ones who control the ones who control the government and all of its decisions in-universe, using the president as a puppet for what their real goals are. In the real world, it’s very abundantly clear that Metal Gear Solid 2’s level design is drawing from Metal Gear Solid’s formula of success, however the scene where Ocelot rips the curtain back and reveals that this similarity was in fact a purposeful recreation, a metacommentary about the ways that control over an environment can forcibly breed character, floored me when I first saw it; to pull something like that off should be the goal of any writer. If the first game wasn’t clear enough, the second game in the Metal Gear Solid series doubles down on theming its story around the danger of Government control while tackling additional themes such as AI, information sharing, self-identity, etc. that feel so modern that this could pass as a work of art written today. Raiden’s story, very much queer-coded (side-tangent: It’s awesome that Vamp is the first character to be bisexual in gaming), is that you—yes, you the player as well—choose who you are based on who you want to be. What we pass on isn’t just our genes but our legacy: a collection of what we do, how we do it, why we do it. Let the next generation know what we fought for, believed in.
For most, this would be a perfect place to stop. An insane metacommentary with a new protagonist who has a strong arc about self-identity. For Hideo Kojima, this was about a quarter of the way through. The meat of the story comes with the Patriot AI, the reveal that Colonel Campbell and Rose have been AI the entire time, grooming Raiden into being a perfect soldier just as Snake was. The AI begins to malfunction and spew its manifesto: that the leaders of the world can’t trust the digital age where everything is so readily accessible, a constant flow of information prevents a controlled populace, so the Patriots plan to use their AI to control what people see, an algorithm that works for them, not just uncontrolled information—because in the eyes of the Patriots, uncontrolled information is dangerous to society and leads to what’s “true” being buried. Wow. 2001. It’s been said 1000 times before and will be said 1000 times after, but Metal Gear Solid 2 was right on the money in so many ways. In a Pre-Twitter, Pre-Snowden, Pre-Generative AI world—written before 9/11—Metal Gear Solid 2 gave warnings about the environments festered by social media, about the dangers of AI and the digital age as a whole. As much as it is an optimistic story about finding yourself despite your past, Metal Gear Solid 2 is also a cautionary tale about where the digital age would lead society if we weren’t careful, and corny as it may be, I think that we failed to heed the warnings. Information is now being filtered through social media search engines with the demonstrated ability to suppress certain keywords, and now Google is rolling out AI responses to google searches. Generative AI has plagued the internet and within a few years, it’ll be near impossible to tell what’s real footage and what is being made up—a tool that Metal Gear Solid 2 is quick to point out can and will be weaponized by those in power to feed the people the “truths” that they want them to believe. On the topic of weaponization, I find it incredibly interesting how Raiden brings up image training done on child soldiers using action movies, being that this series is based on action films—it feels like something that just is not touched on often in M-Rated games (that the content of these experiences could be used to form an image), yet a point so important to the themes of the game: when context is removed, a new “truth” is formed, this case being a truth that weaponized the appearance of so-called heroes to develop new ones, not dissimilar to SS3 in the game. Additionally, I think it should be brought to attention that this game’s story was written before 9/11, yet it so accurately depicts what the US Government’s immediate move in the face of what they consider a “threat” would be in the digital age—suppressing information, showing the people what they need to see, telling them what they need to hear to “function”. A game that makes sure you know that the people in power will work to maintain it, making sure nothing changes to hurt them: even if it means using people, lying to them. With this control of information, it becomes easy to make the people believe a certain person or group of people is an enemy or justify a “mission” for the sake of what they think is the greater good. Raiden’s cluelessness and the manipulation he experiences by GW while on the battlefield are so indicative of what the War on Terror would immediately become. Perhaps it’s a tune older than the nation, but to come out in November of 2001 with these ideas was bold and important (Kojima would go on to say that he had almost entirely given up on releasing the game upon hearing of the September 11th attacks, thinking the game would be impossible to release). To a game that ends with the message that passing on ideas and beliefs that you fought for, giving the world a piece of media that doesn’t represent the political climate of the world in order to to fight for individuality and freedom in the face of control is not just appreciated, it’s essential.
On the front of characters, Metal Gear Solid 2 excels. Seeing Snake through the perspective of another is masterfully done, and Raiden as he appears in MGS2 is one of the best protagonists of all time; his arc is immediately impactful and feels real. He feels so unique in his personality and movements from Snake, so there’s a breath of fresh air throughout the whole game (and the subtle differences make it all the more satisfying when you fight alongside Snake at the end). Though I’ll always prefer Snake Eater, Kojima’s writing abilities truly do peak here; the entire ending montage is one of the most moving sequences in video game history. Otacon and Emma stand out as well; the game highlights a very uncomfortable scenario in the depiction of their relationship but not for the sake of shock, rather for the importance of the story (with sinister undertones towards Otacon’s mother once you factor in their ages) and that’s what makes it work—sincerity. In a game that has to repeat the narrative decisions of its predecessor, nothing feels forced; Olga Gurlukovich stands out to me as a highlight of this, someone who should feel like a stale retread of Frank Jaegar but perseveres as her own character. Solidus is another highlight of the game, as is Ocelot. Both very engaging villains who make the most of their screentime. Dead Cell is also fantastic, even if they are just in the story to retread FOXHOUND.
There’s so much to say about Metal Gear Solid 2 that entire papers could be and have been written about its rich characters, story, themes, implications, predictions, so on and so forth. It’s beautiful and relevant and scary that it’s relevant. This game has lines so indicative of the world we live in today despite so much additional context from the last 23 years that there were times that I was genuinely scared. On the contrary, this game also has parts so beautiful and relevant to the world we live in today that I could not help but watch as tears welled up in my eyes. I’ve heard that Kojima never really planned to make a third game, so thinking of Metal Gear Solid 2 as the “last one” is poetic and beautiful. After four games of fighting, Solid Snake is able to save Raiden from the literal exact same trap he fell into. After accepting that it’s too late to just be David, and that his way to make a change is through fighting corruption headfirst, Solid Snake is able to give Raiden the journey of self-discovery he never got to have. To think of a world where people just understood its message and didn’t rally for the assassination of Raiden’s arc… twice… Even after my second or third full replay of the story, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty remains one of the greatest and most moving creations I have ever been blessed to experience.
---
“Life isn't just about passing on your genes. We can leave behind much more than just DNA. Through speech, music, literature and movies... what we've seen, heard, felt... anger, joy and sorrow... these are the things I will pass on. That's what I live for. We need to pass the torch, and let our children read our messy and sad history by its light. We have all the magic of the digital age to do that with. The human race will probably come to an end some time, and new species may rule over this planet. Earth may not be forever, but we still have the responsibility to leave what traces of life we can. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one and the same thing.”
“What is our legacy if we cannot pass the torch? Proof of our existence - a mark of some sort. When the torch is passed on from parent to child... it extends beyond DNA; information is imparted as well. All I want is to be remembered. By other people, by history.”
---
There is a strong case to be made that Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) is the most prolific story ever told in the medium of video games, and no other work of art stands a chance at coming close. Releasing the same year as the PlayStation 2, this game could pass as a launch title for the PlayStation 3 in a lot of senses. It feels like every single unique quirk the PlayStation 2 featured, Metal Gear Solid 2 was there to test out. Beyond these little quirks such as analog buttons being used to lower weapons and peep corners, the game takes advantage of being on the new age of sixth-generation consoles by featuring detailed 3D models with facial expressions and lip-syncing, a desire of the developers during the development of the first game, as well as even higher detail environments to sneak around in—still restricted to the same fixed camera as the first game, but this time, giving the player a first-person perspective to shoot in as well as a tranquilizer to knock out enemies with. The most significant addition to Sons of Liberty, however, is that after you spend 2-3 hours on a Tanker in the middle of the ocean following what happened to Snake and Otacon after they escaped Shadow Moses, something strange happens. Something distinctly kept out of marketing up until the very last day until the game’s North American release. Solid Snake disappeared, presumably dead, and just three hours into Metal Gear Solid 2, you meet the real main character: Raiden. Oh, to have been there. Solid Snake, based on Kurt Russell’s rough and tough Snake Plissken character, was directly contrasted by Raiden, who was designed to be a sexually appealing young man in the eyes of women. Raiden was thin, he had long, blonde hair, his clothes were skin-tight—the anti-thesis of Snake. Raiden wasn’t cool with the ladies; he had a girlfriend named Rose who guided him on the radio. He wasn’t a seasoned soldier, but rather he was a rookie who had only done training. Kojima wanted Raiden because he wanted to see Snake through the eyes of another character, similar to how Sherlock is seen by Watson in the Sherlock Holmes novels. But as the title goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that Raiden is more than a sexy look or a pair of eyes.
While it has improved and polished gameplay (albeit some frustrating elements in the form of annoying Cyphers, somewhat repetitive level design, and a really, really tough enemy AI), the main draw of Metal Gear Solid 2 is its narrative genius. It’s hard to discuss Metal Gear Solid 2 without rewriting the whole plot, so for the sake of this review I will act as if the reader is familiar with the content of the game and not waste time going over the plot. Metal Gear Solid 2 is one of the most creative and unique games I have ever seen, directly responding to the player’s desire to get a follow-up to a game with a ride-into-the-sunset ending by blue-balling the player with a few hours of Snake and then making them play not just as an entirely new character but also play through a reorganization of the entire story of Metal Gear Solid set up by “The Patriots” (Or, if you will, the La-li-lu-le-lo), the ones who control the ones who control the government and all of its decisions in-universe, using the president as a puppet for what their real goals are. In the real world, it’s very abundantly clear that Metal Gear Solid 2’s level design is drawing from Metal Gear Solid’s formula of success, however the scene where Ocelot rips the curtain back and reveals that this similarity was in fact a purposeful recreation, a metacommentary about the ways that control over an environment can forcibly breed character, floored me when I first saw it; to pull something like that off should be the goal of any writer. If the first game wasn’t clear enough, the second game in the Metal Gear Solid series doubles down on theming its story around the danger of Government control while tackling additional themes such as AI, information sharing, self-identity, etc. that feel so modern that this could pass as a work of art written today. Raiden’s story, very much queer-coded (side-tangent: It’s awesome that Vamp is the first character to be bisexual in gaming), is that you—yes, you the player as well—choose who you are based on who you want to be. What we pass on isn’t just our genes but our legacy: a collection of what we do, how we do it, why we do it. Let the next generation know what we fought for, believed in.
For most, this would be a perfect place to stop. An insane metacommentary with a new protagonist who has a strong arc about self-identity. For Hideo Kojima, this was about a quarter of the way through. The meat of the story comes with the Patriot AI, the reveal that Colonel Campbell and Rose have been AI the entire time, grooming Raiden into being a perfect soldier just as Snake was. The AI begins to malfunction and spew its manifesto: that the leaders of the world can’t trust the digital age where everything is so readily accessible, a constant flow of information prevents a controlled populace, so the Patriots plan to use their AI to control what people see, an algorithm that works for them, not just uncontrolled information—because in the eyes of the Patriots, uncontrolled information is dangerous to society and leads to what’s “true” being buried. Wow. 2001. It’s been said 1000 times before and will be said 1000 times after, but Metal Gear Solid 2 was right on the money in so many ways. In a Pre-Twitter, Pre-Snowden, Pre-Generative AI world—written before 9/11—Metal Gear Solid 2 gave warnings about the environments festered by social media, about the dangers of AI and the digital age as a whole. As much as it is an optimistic story about finding yourself despite your past, Metal Gear Solid 2 is also a cautionary tale about where the digital age would lead society if we weren’t careful, and corny as it may be, I think that we failed to heed the warnings. Information is now being filtered through social media search engines with the demonstrated ability to suppress certain keywords, and now Google is rolling out AI responses to google searches. Generative AI has plagued the internet and within a few years, it’ll be near impossible to tell what’s real footage and what is being made up—a tool that Metal Gear Solid 2 is quick to point out can and will be weaponized by those in power to feed the people the “truths” that they want them to believe. On the topic of weaponization, I find it incredibly interesting how Raiden brings up image training done on child soldiers using action movies, being that this series is based on action films—it feels like something that just is not touched on often in M-Rated games (that the content of these experiences could be used to form an image), yet a point so important to the themes of the game: when context is removed, a new “truth” is formed, this case being a truth that weaponized the appearance of so-called heroes to develop new ones, not dissimilar to SS3 in the game. Additionally, I think it should be brought to attention that this game’s story was written before 9/11, yet it so accurately depicts what the US Government’s immediate move in the face of what they consider a “threat” would be in the digital age—suppressing information, showing the people what they need to see, telling them what they need to hear to “function”. A game that makes sure you know that the people in power will work to maintain it, making sure nothing changes to hurt them: even if it means using people, lying to them. With this control of information, it becomes easy to make the people believe a certain person or group of people is an enemy or justify a “mission” for the sake of what they think is the greater good. Raiden’s cluelessness and the manipulation he experiences by GW while on the battlefield are so indicative of what the War on Terror would immediately become. Perhaps it’s a tune older than the nation, but to come out in November of 2001 with these ideas was bold and important (Kojima would go on to say that he had almost entirely given up on releasing the game upon hearing of the September 11th attacks, thinking the game would be impossible to release). To a game that ends with the message that passing on ideas and beliefs that you fought for, giving the world a piece of media that doesn’t represent the political climate of the world in order to to fight for individuality and freedom in the face of control is not just appreciated, it’s essential.
On the front of characters, Metal Gear Solid 2 excels. Seeing Snake through the perspective of another is masterfully done, and Raiden as he appears in MGS2 is one of the best protagonists of all time; his arc is immediately impactful and feels real. He feels so unique in his personality and movements from Snake, so there’s a breath of fresh air throughout the whole game (and the subtle differences make it all the more satisfying when you fight alongside Snake at the end). Though I’ll always prefer Snake Eater, Kojima’s writing abilities truly do peak here; the entire ending montage is one of the most moving sequences in video game history. Otacon and Emma stand out as well; the game highlights a very uncomfortable scenario in the depiction of their relationship but not for the sake of shock, rather for the importance of the story (with sinister undertones towards Otacon’s mother once you factor in their ages) and that’s what makes it work—sincerity. In a game that has to repeat the narrative decisions of its predecessor, nothing feels forced; Olga Gurlukovich stands out to me as a highlight of this, someone who should feel like a stale retread of Frank Jaegar but perseveres as her own character. Solidus is another highlight of the game, as is Ocelot. Both very engaging villains who make the most of their screentime. Dead Cell is also fantastic, even if they are just in the story to retread FOXHOUND.
There’s so much to say about Metal Gear Solid 2 that entire papers could be and have been written about its rich characters, story, themes, implications, predictions, so on and so forth. It’s beautiful and relevant and scary that it’s relevant. This game has lines so indicative of the world we live in today despite so much additional context from the last 23 years that there were times that I was genuinely scared. On the contrary, this game also has parts so beautiful and relevant to the world we live in today that I could not help but watch as tears welled up in my eyes. I’ve heard that Kojima never really planned to make a third game, so thinking of Metal Gear Solid 2 as the “last one” is poetic and beautiful. After four games of fighting, Solid Snake is able to save Raiden from the literal exact same trap he fell into. After accepting that it’s too late to just be David, and that his way to make a change is through fighting corruption headfirst, Solid Snake is able to give Raiden the journey of self-discovery he never got to have. To think of a world where people just understood its message and didn’t rally for the assassination of Raiden’s arc… twice… Even after my second or third full replay of the story, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty remains one of the greatest and most moving creations I have ever been blessed to experience.
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“Life isn't just about passing on your genes. We can leave behind much more than just DNA. Through speech, music, literature and movies... what we've seen, heard, felt... anger, joy and sorrow... these are the things I will pass on. That's what I live for. We need to pass the torch, and let our children read our messy and sad history by its light. We have all the magic of the digital age to do that with. The human race will probably come to an end some time, and new species may rule over this planet. Earth may not be forever, but we still have the responsibility to leave what traces of life we can. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one and the same thing.”
Please play it for yourself.
HAPPY APRIL 30TH!!!!!
"Who am I really?"
For a few years now I've been replaying MGS2 every year and finishing on April 30th, for obvious reasons, but it's also a excuse to replay one of the best games ever made. This time I played the OG NA release.
MGS2 means alot to me, and is a game I adore in every way. Just everything in the game is so good, the story, Voice acting, gameplay, music etc game is nearly flawless and when you consider it was a very early life PS2 game it's crazy. Theres so much detail in every aspect of the game, in the Tanker mission alone theres so many secrets, codec calls & just little details that you wouldn't expect from a portion of the game that typically lasts over a hour. MGS2 is able to take the amount of care and detail from the tanker segment of the game and place it in every single aspect of the game throughout, and because of it the Big Shell is just such a well made, and almost alive location. I'd say it seems alive just because the atmosphere in MGS2 is something that I consider unmatched, just the general ambience the little details everywhere, the music, just everything in all the locations in the game just make the game feel alive in a way that I feel I might be struggiling to get across, but it's just something special...
I could talk about the amazing story and how beatiful it is but I won't, if only because I'd hate to butcher it, but I can say that it's honestly a kinda lifechanging story, that I really think about alot. If you're reading this review and for some reason haven't played MGS2 I strongly reccomend you try and go in as spoiler free as possible, playing this game for the first time is a crazy experience. There's a reason it's got the reputation it does, and why everyone always parrots the line that the game predicted the future etc, but like it's just really good (I gotta say though It defintely wasn't the first game to carry the ideas that it does, but I mean that doesn't change that it carrys a strong message and ideas and then executes them near flawlessly)
I'll keep the review short, so I'll end here, but again this game means alot to me, and I'm sure it does to alot of other people as well, and it didn't gain that love for nothing, it's very well deserved. Just a honest to god work of art that is basically perfect in nearly every way. 10/10
For a few years now I've been replaying MGS2 every year and finishing on April 30th, for obvious reasons, but it's also a excuse to replay one of the best games ever made. This time I played the OG NA release.
MGS2 means alot to me, and is a game I adore in every way. Just everything in the game is so good, the story, Voice acting, gameplay, music etc game is nearly flawless and when you consider it was a very early life PS2 game it's crazy. Theres so much detail in every aspect of the game, in the Tanker mission alone theres so many secrets, codec calls & just little details that you wouldn't expect from a portion of the game that typically lasts over a hour. MGS2 is able to take the amount of care and detail from the tanker segment of the game and place it in every single aspect of the game throughout, and because of it the Big Shell is just such a well made, and almost alive location. I'd say it seems alive just because the atmosphere in MGS2 is something that I consider unmatched, just the general ambience the little details everywhere, the music, just everything in all the locations in the game just make the game feel alive in a way that I feel I might be struggiling to get across, but it's just something special...
I could talk about the amazing story and how beatiful it is but I won't, if only because I'd hate to butcher it, but I can say that it's honestly a kinda lifechanging story, that I really think about alot. If you're reading this review and for some reason haven't played MGS2 I strongly reccomend you try and go in as spoiler free as possible, playing this game for the first time is a crazy experience. There's a reason it's got the reputation it does, and why everyone always parrots the line that the game predicted the future etc, but like it's just really good (I gotta say though It defintely wasn't the first game to carry the ideas that it does, but I mean that doesn't change that it carrys a strong message and ideas and then executes them near flawlessly)
I'll keep the review short, so I'll end here, but again this game means alot to me, and I'm sure it does to alot of other people as well, and it didn't gain that love for nothing, it's very well deserved. Just a honest to god work of art that is basically perfect in nearly every way. 10/10
when i was 14, when i got my PS2 i went to the local game store and bought this game because it was super cheap (yes, i started with MGS2). i also bought MGSV on ps4 a month later and they basically let me purchase 2 m rated games, but then i go to buy fallout 4 later and all of a sudden they wouldnt let me buy the M rated game WTF?!?!?!
oh and this is probably one of the greatest games of all time i guess.
oh and this is probably one of the greatest games of all time i guess.
It's definitely a good game that was far ahead in it's time. I simply think most of Kojima's stuff, especially the narrative side is overrated.
How many divorces did Kojima go through to write those Rose codec calls christ
Also more people need to play the VR missions in this game that stuff is ace.
Also more people need to play the VR missions in this game that stuff is ace.