This review contains spoilers
When I first started the Big Shell episode of the game, I was kinda put off, I mean it starts off pretty slow, and on top of that you're not even playing as Snake, but holy shit does stuff start getting better fast. The more I explored the Big Shell the more invested I was. Not only is it just straight up an awesome setting for a video game, but it also does a great job at showing the player just how much of a mechanical upgrade this game is from the first.
Even though I don't find Solidus as compelling as Liquid Snake, he did a pretty good job, though the real star of the show, at least when considering the 'villains', is definitely Ocelot. After getting aquainted with him in Metal Gear Solid, this game really gave him room to grow, so much so that I was second guessing everything I thought I knew about him up until the very end of the game. On the other side of the spectrum, we have the 'heroes'. It was great, of course, to see more of Snake and Otacon, and E.E. was pretty endearing, but what surprised me the most was Raiden. I wasn't really a fan in the beginning, because like I said, you're not playing as Snake, but he really managed to grow into his own character and by the end of the game I kinda wished that we would get to see more of him in future games, though as far as I know his only other appearance in in Metal Gear Rising. It's also worth noting that all of the side characters were pretty great, and I have no real complaints about the bosses, in fact the Metal Gear Ray one might be my favorite in the series, though I will say, Vamp's fight is kinda annoying.
Now, all this stuff I mentioned above is great and all, but what I'm about to talk about next is what's really the most important thing Metal Gear Solid 2 did: the ending. After having gone through it myself, I can see why people call this game timeless, and I completely understand all the praise it gets. Even just the build up alone was outstanding. The further we stray from the mission to more we start to see reality showing its cracks, and they keep adding on to each other in such a well architected manner and then the floodgates just explode wide open and we are greeted to one of the best endings I have ever seen in the video game medium.
Even though I don't find Solidus as compelling as Liquid Snake, he did a pretty good job, though the real star of the show, at least when considering the 'villains', is definitely Ocelot. After getting aquainted with him in Metal Gear Solid, this game really gave him room to grow, so much so that I was second guessing everything I thought I knew about him up until the very end of the game. On the other side of the spectrum, we have the 'heroes'. It was great, of course, to see more of Snake and Otacon, and E.E. was pretty endearing, but what surprised me the most was Raiden. I wasn't really a fan in the beginning, because like I said, you're not playing as Snake, but he really managed to grow into his own character and by the end of the game I kinda wished that we would get to see more of him in future games, though as far as I know his only other appearance in in Metal Gear Rising. It's also worth noting that all of the side characters were pretty great, and I have no real complaints about the bosses, in fact the Metal Gear Ray one might be my favorite in the series, though I will say, Vamp's fight is kinda annoying.
Now, all this stuff I mentioned above is great and all, but what I'm about to talk about next is what's really the most important thing Metal Gear Solid 2 did: the ending. After having gone through it myself, I can see why people call this game timeless, and I completely understand all the praise it gets. Even just the build up alone was outstanding. The further we stray from the mission to more we start to see reality showing its cracks, and they keep adding on to each other in such a well architected manner and then the floodgates just explode wide open and we are greeted to one of the best endings I have ever seen in the video game medium.
Rayburn
2 years ago