This might genuinely be the greatest video game sequel ever. And that’s not even hyperbole either. MGS2 takes everything that I liked & also didn’t really like about the original & improves upon it all majorly. I went into this with extremely high expectations & somehow those were completely exceeded in every single aspect.

I love that this game is so much more refined than the original. Go figure it’s a PS2 game & MGS1 was a PS1 game but it truly is like night & day. Those controls are so much tighter & just a lot smoother from its gameplay loop alone. I don’t particularly love the setting this time with the plant, however that might be just because MGS1’s atmosphere was near perfect in my eyes & Shadow Moses island is just a lot cooler. But ultimately it definitely is a lot better to play & stealth is still satisfying as ever even if I’m not particularly good at it lol.

Honestly I’ll never understand the hate Raiden gets. He is a genuinely interesting character & I love how the mystery surrounding his background gets more & more clear as the game goes on. The amount of trauma he’s experienced genuinely made me feel for the guy & everything he’s gone through. Perhaps people just wanted another game with Solid Snake as the focus & while that’s definitely fair, I really like the angle they took with the narrative in this sequel. And it follows on from the epilogue of that game so wonderfully delivering a surprisingly dark story with really impactful themes which I won’t spoil if you somehow haven’t played this game for yourself. It won’t be for everyone but I personally really like how it’s purposefully a retread of MGS1 especially with the revelations in the final act.

And speaking of which, those revelations blew my fucking mind more than maybe any other work of fiction that I’ve ever experienced. When I tell you the the third act is peak, I truly mean that. It completely recontexualises everything that you thought you knew & flips it completely on its head. This game really is just a masterpiece in storytelling, I truly see the Kojima vision now.

I love everything about MGS2. Everything. It’s one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve had with any video game & I really can’t put into words how excellent is truly is. Definitely one of my favourite games of all time.

Final rating: 10/10

The Metal Gear franchise is something that I’ve been wanting to get into for several years now. What do I even need to say that hasn’t already been said by multiple different people? This is one of if not the most iconic franchise in all of gaming, I’d even go as far to say it’s revolutionary for the entire industry as a whole. And honestly I really am kind of jealous of the people who were able to play this game when it first released back in 1998.

I’m glad I finally got to play this game though. Sure it’s definitely not aged well in the gameplay department & the controls are frankly pretty bad but everything else in MGS really works for me. The story is genuinely excellent & Shadow Moses for me really works as a setting. I love the atmosphere a lot & found that learning more about the world was genuinely fascinating. The voice acting for over 20 years ago still sounds fantastic whether it’s in the cutscenes or the codec conversations. Now I know people have issues with Kojima’s cutscenes being too long & expedition heavy but I personally think if you have an issue with that then his games really aren’t for you. I definitely respect him for his storytelling & find that it really benefits the games he makes.

Solid Snake is a fantastic protagonist but again that should be common knowledge. And I really love the arc he goes through in this game, learning to let people in & trust in others after so long of going it alone. I really like his dynamics with Meryl & Otacon especially & his codec conversations with the Colonel & Mei Ling are particular highlights for me. The writing in this game is just really really great.

Honestly I don’t really have a lot more to say that hasn’t been said by multiple different people already. This is just a very solid (ha see what I did there) time. Even if it is rough around the edges in places & definitely feels like a first game in the series, I cannot deny that MGS is more than worthy of its place in gaming as one of the most influential titles in the entire history of the PlayStation.

Final rating: 8/10

This might genuinely be the greatest video game sequel ever. And that’s not even hyperbole either. MGS2 takes everything that I liked & also didn’t really like about the original & improves upon it all majorly. I went into this with extremely high expectations & somehow those were completely exceeded in every single aspect.

I love that this game is so much more refined than the original. Go figure it’s a PS2 game & MGS1 was a PS1 game but it truly is like night & day. Those controls are so much tighter & just a lot smoother from its gameplay loop alone. I don’t particularly love the setting this time with the plant, however that might be just because MGS1’s atmosphere was near perfect in my eyes & Shadow Moses island is just a lot cooler. But ultimately it definitely is a lot better to play & stealth is still satisfying as ever even if I’m not particularly good at it lol.

Honestly I’ll never understand the hate Raiden gets. He is a genuinely interesting character & I love how the mystery surrounding his background gets more & more clear as the game goes on. The amount of trauma he’s experienced genuinely made me feel for the guy & everything he’s gone through. Perhaps people just wanted another game with Solid Snake as the focus & while that’s definitely fair, I really like the angle they took with the narrative in this sequel. And it follows on from the epilogue of that game so wonderfully delivering a surprisingly dark story with really impactful themes which I won’t spoil if you somehow haven’t played this game for yourself. It won’t be for everyone but I personally really like how it’s purposefully a retread of MGS1 especially with the revelations in the final act.

And speaking of which, those revelations blew my fucking mind more than maybe any other work of fiction that I’ve ever experienced. When I tell you the the third act is peak, I truly mean that. It completely recontexualises everything that you thought you knew & flips it completely on its head. This game really is just a masterpiece in storytelling, I truly see the Kojima vision now.

I love everything about MGS2. Everything. It’s one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve had with any video game & I really can’t put into words how excellent is truly is. Definitely one of my favourite games of all time.

Final rating: 10/10