ECTS: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Even though the show floor of ECTS is spread out over a number of convention halls, as soon as the doors opened, many attendees made a beeline to the Konami booth. That's because a few weeks before the show started, rumors emerged of a new trailer featuring brand new footage of Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The rumor was confirmed when, after watching about 20 minutes of pre-existing E3 footage, viewers were treated to a spectacular new trailer of one of next year's most anticipated games.

The new movie of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty opens up on a rainy night on the Brooklyn Bridge. The camera pans upward from underneath the metal- and woodworking of the bridge's underbelly to reveal the evening traffic leaving New York City. As the cars streak by, the camera focuses on a lone, rain-soaked figure walking on the bridge's sidewalk. Although he's wearing a trenchcoat that hides his face, a telltale cigarette quickly gave away Solid Snake's identity to the audience. Snake takes one last drag from the cigarette, flicks the butt aside, and breaks into an all-out sprint. Then in a sequence of events seemingly right out of Ghost in the Shell, Snake rips off his coat, activates his stealth suit, and then bungies headfirst over the side of the bridge as the camera freezes and rotates around him in mid-jump.

The remainder of the footage was displayed in quick bursts - some was sequences taken from the E3 trailer, but from different camera angles. Some of the new footage involved Snake sneaking past a group of soldiers watching a Zone of the Enders trailer (another Kojima game). Another scene depicted Metal Gear Ray, the new threat in Metal Gear Solid 2, getting hit by a small rocket. While no footage of the new bosses was shown, one quick scene did reveal one of Metal Gear Solid 2's new enemies: a VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. These airborne cameras come in various shapes and sizes, and are currently used by NASA and the US military to gain reconnaissance info in high-risk areas. Snake is shown dodging behind a corner in an attempt to avoid a hovering UAV's camera.

The new trailer is shorter than the show Konami put on at E3, and lasts no longer than three minutes. The footage closes with the text "Snake is Back" and "2001: Year of the Snake," which appear against a black backdrop amid the reflection of a sea of smiling show-goers. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is still scheduled for a late 2001 release for the PlayStation 2. Look for movie footage and screens of this trailer shortly.