Metal Gear Solid 2 is a cinematic-driven, though a little too familiar, adventure worth experiencing.
The game starts off two years after the events of MGS. Solid Snake and his intellectual partner Otacon are now part of a non-governmental organization called Philanthropy. Both suspect of a new type of Metal Gear being in development, and one of the models just happen to be on board a tanker. Not to spoil anything from here, but expect to see familiar faces and a few twists.
Immediately once you start a fresh file, you are greeted with a beautiful opening cinematic (complete with epic musical score) that looks as if you are about to watch a big-budget movie. In fact, with the amount of cutscenes and dialogue that encompass the game, it makes one wonder why the Metal Gear series wasn't already a series of films to begin with. Cutscenes are certainly more abundant this time around than the first MGS, and if you aren't a fan of an overabundance of these cutscenes or story snippets, then Metal Gear Solid 2 will not change your mind, especially if you were expecting a more action-filled experience. Like an RPG, the game is heavily story driven, and the story for the most part is really good and entertaining to watch thanks to the characters and writing. However, if you have played the first Metal Gear Solid, perhaps it starts to feel a bit too similar once you get passed the intro level and you are introduced to your new character (code-named: Raiden).
If you are familiar with the first game, than you should immediately get right into the game mechanics. The game is set as a "Tactical Espionage Action" game, and it certainly lives up to the title. You control Snake/Raiden from a mostly top down perspective (though the camera will occasionally shift down when you are in certain areas). You will perform a variety of objectives all while avoiding being seen. You will be given a variety of gadgets and weapons, but you simply can't go Rambo on your enemies like in other games. It's all about shooting from distances and sneaking past enemies and various security devices like cameras or trip mines. You are able to spot most of your targets with a handy-dandy Soliton radar. It shows how simple it is to avoid being spotted: Stay out of the range of the fields of vision (represented by bright cones coming out of dots). Your character is also given a few new abilities. For one, unlike the first game, you can finally shoot in first-person (which can make certain enemies a lot easier to deal with) You can sneak up on enemies and point your weapon to a guard and have them drop items. You can also walk slowly to sneak over obstacles without the fear of creating noise and hide in more places. Later on you can also use your ability to hang over ledges. The AI of the enemies have also been given an upgrade. You will find that more guards tend to work in squads and interact with one another. They can now hide behind cover during shoot-outs, enemies can now call in multiple units if one is in need of help, and they can also look inside certain hiding places if you are not careful. You will also be encountering a fair amount of great boss battles that, like the first game, require a unique form of strategy to discover their weaknesses.
For an early release on the PS2, Metal Gear Solid 2 is still one of the best looking games to grace the console. Environments are superbly detailed and character models show off more dynamic facial expressions and movements. The cutscenes are great to look at and provide a nice break from the action.
The music (composed by professional film composer Harry Gregson-Williams) sounds just as amazing as ever and the voice acting is rock solid. Everything simply looks and sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster (at least even more so than MGS).
To sum things up:
PROS:
-Superb cinematic presentation
-Improved gameplay mechanics
-Great boss battles
-Excellent music and voice acting
-Intriguing story and characters
CONS:
-Story feels a bit too familiar to MGS
If you are a big fan of action films, stealth games, or Metal Gear in general, than there is no reason why you shouldn't have this game by now.