24 years young.
By Ameer Ammar
Following my retro review of Metal Gear Solid 1 after playing it for the first time, I hopped right into MGS2 expecting a similar experience but right away the generational gap between these two games is massive in a way that MGS2 feels a decade ahead of MGS1, the PS2's leap in technology means that MGS2 holds up much better to modern standards compared to MGS1 and even for PS2 standards the graphics are fantastic, they far surpass the PS2 titles that I grew up with like the GTA games, its clear to me now why MGS2 was the gold standard for many years.
Going into MGS2 all I knew was that you'd be playing as Raiden for most of the game as one of the most famous plot twists in gaming history it was hard for me to miss, and I knew that this game "predicts the future" whatever that meant, aside from that I had never seen a gameplay clip or story detail about MGS2 in my life, this was as blind as a playthrough can possibly be and what can I say except this game blew my freaking mind, constantly.
First off let's talk about the gameplay, MGS2 plays incredibly well for a game that's older than me by two years, its a massive step-up from the janky experience that you will find in the first game, quite literally everything is refined here to a new standard, while the controls themselves are still far from what we are used to nowadays, they build upon MGS1 in meaningful ways by providing you with way more tools, way more ways to approach areas and the enemy AI is remarkably smart even compared to some modern titles, they react to things in ways that I didn't expect and as a result I found this sequel to be much more difficult compared to its predecessor.
But that doesn't mean I loved everything about the gameplay, not having a proper crouch stance bothered me a lot more than it did in MGS1, for some reason I could never get the right speed between walking/sprinting to meaningfully be able to get around areas stealthily which led to some frustration, the fixed camera angle is back and utilized much better than in the first game, I only had one or two instances in the game where I felt like the fixed camera was hiding enemies in corners cheapily, especially during boss fights I felt MGS1 camera struggled to keep up while in this game I loved every single boss fight and never felt frustration in the same way I did the first game.
Visually, MGS2 on the Master Collection running at 4K on the PS5 looks fantastic, this is a great HD port overall for the average playthrough, I have heard some effects like the rain during the tanker section looked better in the original game but this didn't bother me at all, it still looked great to my eyes even if its not the original effect accruately re-created, the facial animations are a massive step-up from MGS1, character exhibit actual emotions that even by PS2 standards is insanely impressive just compare this to GTA San Andreas for example which came out years later yet doesn't even come close to the level of quality on show here in all the cutscenes and locations, there's a distinct attention to detail everywhere that makes this game feel more like an early PS3-era title than a PS2 one, it's insane what Kojima and team managed to craft all the way back in 2001, I truly wish I had the opportunity to experience this back at launch because it must've been mindblowing to play through back then. What impressed me the most is the usage of motion capture for the animations, mo-cap is basically ageless as it is taking data from actual real movement, meaning that all the animations in this game look up to par even today, all in all I was impressed with what I was experiencing throughout my entire playthrough.
Now I can finally get to the part that I want to rave on about which is the narrative, We all know Kojima is a genius, I've been a huge fan of his games for years but just never had the opportunity to play MGS1-MGS4, MGS1's story is quite interesting and fun especially with its cast of side characters that all play a role in Solid Snake's journey through Shadow Moses but MGS2 is on a whole other level, this story blew my mind.
I think if you're reading this then most likely you've already played MGS2 long before me so I'll get into spoilers here, SPOILERS BE WARNED.
Metal Gear Solid 2's narrative is scarily relevant, in an age where AI is taking off, where information feels like its being controlled at every step, where misinformation and fake narratives can get out of hand in an instant, Metal Gear Solid 2 tackled all of these topics over a decade before Social Media even became a common tool for everyone to access, I wouldn't blame anyone for believing Kojima might be a prophet for this game, the themes tackled here and the way they are explained in the last few hours gave me a headache, but in a good way. Kojima throws so much stuff at you with Arsenal Gear, GW, AIs, The Patriots and so much more that I honestly feel like back in 2001 flew over most players heads, something that isn't possible anymore as much of what is spoken about here has slowly morphed into reality.
MGS2's famous plot twist being that you actually play as Raiden instead of Solid Snake for most of the game is a fun one, Raiden himself starts off as a bit of a whiny child but over the course of the game I really grew to love him, As I had already played Metal Gear Rising years ago, I knew Raiden's character but not fully his backstory, watching him develop into the man that he eventually becomes over the course of this game was a really fun journey that I enjoyed experiencing, I think that the plot twist works because Kojima's meta way of telling the story is so unique, Raiden has "played" MGS1 just like the player, he has experienced shadow moses as a game in VR similar to the player on their PS1, he finished all the VR missions and now is being dropped into an actual combat situation for the first time, similar to the player without Solid Snake to guide him, it is honestly a super interesting way to give the player a role in the game especially with the way the dogtag that Raiden has at the end actually shows your name which was a fun surprise to me that I didn't see coming.
Much of the story I kept thinking "this feels too familiar to MGS1, why do people love this so much?" not realizing that this was the entire point until the game spells it for you, Metal Gear Solid 2 is one big training mission for Raiden aka you the player to become a true soldier like Solid Snake, a test made up by The Patriots, the entire plan of the Sons of Liberty was foiled long before they even went into motion, these constant plot twists had my head in a spin towards the end and my thought on them was generally the same as Snake, being "What the hell?!", it's a meta narrative the likes of which were never seen before 2001 and honestly almost never seen again since, it's a story whose themes are so relevant to today's world that I can honestly only say that I was mindblown by it.
Solid Snake himself is still so awesome in this game, I loved playing as him for the tanker session he remains as cool as he was in MGS1 and throughout the game his guidance as Lt Pliskin and then the eventual reveal were all too awesome, I think it's fair to say MGS2 is pretty anime, the characters and twists feel distinctly anime and its not surprising considering Kojima himself grew up consuming much of that type of media, the villains especially all feel pulled straight out of an awesome Spy anime series that you'd catch on TV growing up, MGS2 really knows how to make everyone and everything just "cool".
FINAL VERDICT
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty blew my mind, It's so obvious how this game influenced the entire gaming industry for years after its release up until today and how it laid the foundation for Hideo Kojima's trippy storytelling that has made Death Stranding what it is today.
If you haven't played Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty yet then what are you waiting for? it's considered one of the best games ever and one of the most relevant ones narrative wise for a good reason, go buy it on the master collection now!