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 mean it’s fantastic but I still prefer mgs1 and for a couple of reasons which I’ll get into later. But I have to mention how revolutionary it is for ps2 and I think it improves the controls aspect of mgs1 a ton: with new improved gun controls and better accuracy makes it a much smoother experience.

One thing I noticed tho was that mgs1 is paced fantastically once you get going you’re going for the whole game but with this you do the snake part and then the game kinda kills all its momentum and resets itself for the raiden parts but to give it credit it does then pick up really well.

Surprisingly easy too and in very weird ways like some of the boss fights were just a breeze and then there’s some parts that are incredibly difficult like just crossing bridges with cyphers that never stop coming and it’s more frustrating then fulfilling.

The stuff they do with stealth tho is pretty fantastic, I mean it’s add a creative element to the game that gives you more freedom to do what you like and when faced with a difficult objective it does reward you for thinking outside the box.

I don’t know now that I’m listing the good elements of this I’m kinda tied up on what is better but I still think my experience with mgs1 was better just because it delivered it’s message in a more conscise way.

"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

"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💔💔💔💔💔