I've been wanting to play this game for years and it did not disappoint. The gameplay was incredibly addictive, having so many different options and incredible attention to detail. It makes this game very hard to put down. And the story while it does have its issues, is thematically one of the most relevant stories I've seen. There are parts of this game that make it feel like this could've come out recently, which for a 20 year old game is mind blowing. Although the game’s age can clearly be seen with its controls, which were very difficult for me and made for a lot of frustrating moments (especially the boss fights). I did have some issues that slightly brought the game down for me. But by the time I witnessed that conclusion, I left feeling completely satisfied. The last hour of this game was exciting, shocking, and incredibly moving. Even having it partially spoiled, it was an emotional rollercoaster that I'm going to be thinking about for a while. I'm so glad that I finally got to experience this.

this is the first mgs I played back in the day on ps2. in hindsight, it may not have been a good idea but it hooked on the series. replaying it now in releaser order, it's a massive improvement of the first mgs gameplay wise. I found all my frustrations with the first game gone here. the HD facelift has only made this game's art design shine brighter. It's still a good looking game. As for the story, I played through the game twice in a row. I just love the ideas and themes of this game and the ending...that beautiful twisted ending. a true achievement in the medium of video games. don't for the platinum trophy, though. I quit with my sanity intact

Metal Gear Solid 2... another game of immense importance to me in both my gaming history and personal life. I had not a lot of connection to MGS 1, which leads to an stark difference in how I feel about the game compared to many others. MGS2 has a complicated history in how much it was HYPED back in the day - the return of Solid Snake and the continuation of a 10/10 game from the PS1 era, transitioning to the PS2 with grand new graphics and systems to play with. A revolution waiting to happen... instead it is more or less a retread of the first game. Completely intentionally however!

There are so many layers to this game it is difficult to get through in a review, so basically just watch SuperBunnyHop's videos on the MGS series to go over the whole crazy shenanigans with the subversion of the new main character, and the metacommentary on the thirst for sequals and "scripted" content like video games that Hideo Kojima was trying to say - we're going to skip all of that shit because it didn't really matter to me at the time and it still does not. We're going to talk about what I think is the thesis of the game, stated directly by Snake at the end, and a motto by which I approach every game and encapsulates what I am trying to do here with my 52 game challenge:

"It doesn't matter if it was real or not..everything you felt, thought about during this mission is yours, and what you decide to do with them is your choice"


"Building the future, and keeping the past alive are one in the same thing"


Where MGS1 was about "Genes" and CHOOSING your place in the world even after what you're given to start with - MGS2 is about "Memes": what information do you want to pass on to those that come after? This game doesn't hit that theme QUITE so hard as MGS1 does its own, but it does it in a more amusing way of having Snake speak directly to the player - "What do you find important? What do you value and what will you pass on?" I understood back then what Kojima was trying to say to me directly - it doesn't matter what I want you to think, it only matters what you think and feel here: it is real to you and you should keep it close. And then pass it on. That's what I'm doing here.. I wish I had a better answer sometimes on what I value and who and when I will pass these things on but.. I'm doing my best I think for now.

Anyway, to the actual game - more stealth goodness! I played on the Hard difficulty setting due to never beating it as a teenager when I first played the game... it was definitely tough and I got my ass beat a lot, but ultimately felt pretty good. Some very tense boss battles with the Rays for sure... but Fatman was a REAL bastard, damn. The early game had lots of difficulty as well as I was stuck on how to get around a lot of guards without any weapons, and it felt great to finally get them haha, I imagine Raiden felt the same! Ludonarrative convergence??

The game still plays great, looks great, excellent cinematography and music.. I guess the only negative is the obvious one - some of the cutscenes near the end are too damn long with too little going on, the melodrama with Otacon and his family history is just ughhh, and there's way too much interrupting the player early in the Plant chapter. Otacon's stuff very much felt like "Oh we gotta do something interesting with his character this game... give him a more tragic backstory??" and it never really lands. BUT the stuff with him and Emma is pretty ace, and her death/his reactions fucking got me. Yet more FEELS for Otacon as he yet again is left behind by those he loves..

These are some actual negatives, but honestly I don't think they detracted too much from my experience, especially since I've finished it so many times I know what to skip. Objectively I do think its a problem with the game that I would warn others about but for me? Damn this is great shit.

Now I need to decide what to pass on...

Kojima é gênio dms, não tem como.

A história desse jogo é tão boa quanto qualquer coisa que Kojima já tenha colocado as mãos, e tão confusa quanto também.
Admito ter ficado um pouco aéreo principalmente no fim do jogo, depois de tantos plot twists que bugaram minha mente, precisei zerá-lo de novo no Youtube, mas apesar de tudo, é excepcional agora que entendi.

Apesar de tudo, acho que esse jogo não brilha tanto quanto MGS1 na maioria dos aspectos, apesar da história tão boa quanto, acho que aqui falta alguns personagens mais impactantes, tantos os companheiros via CODEC quanto aos bosses, especialmente as boss fights não chegam nem perto do que tivemos com um Psyco Mantis ou o próprio Liquid Snake, mas felizmente muitos dos personagens anteriores estão presentes aqui.

À respeito do próprio protagonista, Raiden, eu curti bastante ele, fico imaginando o que acontecerá com ele daqui para frente.

Quanto à gameplay, é tão datada quanto do jogo anterior, o que afeta muito na diversão do game e traz um sistema de stealth um tanto quanto falho, uma vez que a própria mecânica de câmeras não te deixam ver onde exatamente está cada inimigo, falhei muitas vezes para conseguir chegar onde precisava, fora que o gameplay em loop na big shell, onde é a maior parte do jogo fica também um pouco maçante.
Houve poucas evoluções em questões de gameplay, só ficou um pouco menos travado no geral e teve um grande salto gráfico, fora isso é quase tudo igual, inclusive até os comandos.

Dito tudo isso, Metal Gear Solid 2 ainda é uma masterpiece que apesar de tudo envelheceu muito bem e que principalmente merece um remake.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is not only a landmark in video game history, not only a masterful lesson in the expressive potential of ludic artworks and a demonstration of how much depth can be reached with the power of interactivity, but also and above all a masterpiece that reflects in all respects the complexity and fascination of the digital age. Through an extremely fine and layered narrative construction, the thematic depth that holds together the characterization of every aspect of the game returns an almost essay-like experience of the human being's relationship with the issue of complexity, at a time when the clash between the understanding of reality and the proliferation of digital information becomes something impossible to ignore. It almost seems as if only through a virtual object, particularly one that constantly plays with its nature of virtuality by walking on the border with reality, can one experience with such clarity and curiosity the interpretive difficulties of our life in the present day.

The game had an interesting story but I was left really disappointed with this conclusion.

Raiden was a really good character that I loved to see evolving.

But anyway, the game design of this MGS was really annoying. You arrive to point A codec "you need to get item at point B to proceed!" and every damn time.
You'll tell me "but Alb, it's the same in MGS1", yeah! I never minded backtracking especially when it's not that annoying, in MGS2 you're doing it in FUCKING Big Shell.
Big Shell was the weakest and least fun zone/environment I've seen in a MGS game (yet). So big shell exploration with this gameplay, nah, I can't. (and let's not start with the escort/vip mission)

Overall it's an "ok"-tier game where it had potential but big shell just doesn't do it for me.
MGS2 fans selling the game as the best one just because of the Tanker and Arsenal G sections isn't enough, that's only a little % of the game's content.

So I gotta be honest, this game was super weird to play. For one, the story of it how so many twists and turns, its completely wild and by the end of it can blow your mind. For another, the gameplay is great, it builds on what MGS did and made it more epic. Its a fantastic gaming experience that just has some small hinderances on it.

First let me say that I did enjoy that Solid Snake was used as a tutorial chapter to get you ready for the rest of the game. In fact, gameplay wise, it might be my favorite part of the game. The ship was fun to traverse and had a cool way of using the camera. After that and the explosion that occurs, you skipped a couple years later and control Raiden. He is mostly the same as Snake, with maybe how he does certain things. He is a bit different than Snake with his personality and its pretty fun to see how he reacts to certain events. All the gadgets from the first game are all here and are very fun to play around with, and even adds some new gadgets to play around with. The boss fights were also pretty cool here, though not as memorable as the first one. Fat Man was cool since it was really a hide and seek to freeze over his bombs and the final boss fights were pretty tense.

If i had a complaint about anything in this game its the setting. Its at a tanker in the middle of the ocean and its all gray and red for almost the entire time you're there with very little that makes any area stand out. It all kinda blends in with each other with the only thing helping me find my way through the game is the map itself. The other small gripe is it feels like it takes way to long for the guard to go away if you're caught, they really make feel like a punishment.

It still a great game with one of the craziest endings I have ever seen in a game, and it made the whole experiance worth its time.

Okay we have something unique here I was not expecting. Gameplay aside, Metal Gear Solid 2 presents a postmodern story that is incredibly aware of being a video game while criticizes its prequel a lot and the vision people had of it. May have some pace issues and I can see how it could've been misundertood at its time but manages to accomplish what it wanted to talk about, which is deeper than just a postmodern story predicting the future. Metal Gear Solid 2 is not only that. It also talks about the concept of "the player" through the character of Raiden and our regulated freedom in video games.