Bro this Revengeance spin-off is so fucking lame. The gameplay sucks, it’s not as funny, the soundtrack is a clear downgrade, and Raiden is a pussy ass bitch now.
You wanna know whats really crazy? Just think of how much is going on in MGS2 as a game. The AI systems, the complexity of mechanics, the variety of unique interactions, and even the quantity of random details. This game was made in 2001, why does it feel like games are somehow less impressive 20+ years later?
fuck it, five stars. not because it's perfect (it certainly isn't), but because in its final hours it totally transcends itself, reaching some towering heights and retroactively improving everything that came before. this is one of the most idiosyncratic, visionary works i've experienced in all my time playing games, absolutely overflowing with ideas (about ideas), the result of someone who evidently did not give a shit about restraint or good sense - an attitude i might as well try to embody in my little review here. this is an impassioned, rousing defense of this medium's artistic worth, inspired, resonant, prophetic, stupid, smart, batshit insane all at once, itself the culmination of its own central thesis; to claw your way through the mud, to overcome yourself, to leave behind a beacon, to engrave in fire "i was here", to affirm yourself and in doing so elevate all others with you. my language is cloudy and more than a little histrionic, no doubt, but how else to discuss this thing but with the shock and awe and breathless grandiosity with which it climaxes with! when faced with that raw impact, it suddenly seems oh so trivial that it's a little uneven, that not all its mechanics are perfectly elaborated on, that some parts lag in comparison to others, that kojima's still not a great dramatist. ultimately, i'd take something this distinctly expressed any day over something that gets closer to whatever my ideal of perfection is. actually, on second thought - imperfection is precisely my ideal of perfection. would you not take a diamond with all its harsh edges over the smoothest, roundest rock?
I'd like to know what type of crack Kojima was on when making this game, because I don't know how a man can write a game with such shitty writing and it still comes out amazing anyways.
You have many extremely long and tedious segments of exposition, forgettable side characters, a garbage underwater section combined with an escort mission, and a romance subplot so bad that its comparable to Anakin and Padme in the Star Wars prequels.
Yet at the same time, you have the most meaningful and profound ending to a videogame that I've seen, that actively took advantage of the medium of videogames in such a creative way in fucking 2001. Its even more impressive when you compare that to today, where so many big AAA game try their hardest to be movies and take themselves overtly seriously. The ending of Metal Gear Solid 2 is a small fraction of a 12 hour game with many questionable design and writing decisions, but that small fraction holds quite possibly the most value out of anything I've ever experienced in a videogame. This is a corny ass statement I'm making, but that final speech from Snake has left more of an impact on me than any thing I've ever been taught in school.
You have many extremely long and tedious segments of exposition, forgettable side characters, a garbage underwater section combined with an escort mission, and a romance subplot so bad that its comparable to Anakin and Padme in the Star Wars prequels.
Yet at the same time, you have the most meaningful and profound ending to a videogame that I've seen, that actively took advantage of the medium of videogames in such a creative way in fucking 2001. Its even more impressive when you compare that to today, where so many big AAA game try their hardest to be movies and take themselves overtly seriously. The ending of Metal Gear Solid 2 is a small fraction of a 12 hour game with many questionable design and writing decisions, but that small fraction holds quite possibly the most value out of anything I've ever experienced in a videogame. This is a corny ass statement I'm making, but that final speech from Snake has left more of an impact on me than any thing I've ever been taught in school.
Good sequels take the original and twist it into a new shape, reinforcing and undermining everything that came before at the same time. And MGS2 is a great sequel. MGS1, refracted on itself in a feedback loop until it becomes an upgrade, a derivative slog, its own twisted bizzaro world nightmare of itself.
The geopolitics have somehow become more absurd, as it was the only way to make them more insightful. The US develops metal gears. Russia steals them. Every intelligence agency in both countries probably thinks Ocelot is a triple agent for them. "Intelligence" is actually a myth, and if you think you possess any then you're being played, if you trust anyone then their plan is working. Patriot is a bad word. It probably should be. The villains are terrorists. The terrorists are eco terrorists, or are they pro metal gear, or are they anti metal gear, or are they anti American (after all, they are exmilitary), or is it about something else entirely? Who cares what they want or where they came from anyway? They're terrorists (the kind with a capital T). The terrorists' leader is a secret genetic experiment who was maybe designed by the illuminati. Who is also the former president of the United States. Imagine joe biden running around in a Doc Oc suit committing terrorist acts off the shores of New York. That's what we're working with here. (Btw nearly all of this information is revealed during the introductory cutscenes.)
The game feels like such a departure from the cold, dry militarism of the first. It tries to stand out in every way, except for its gameplay, polished to an inhuman level. Even when trying to be cynical, the game can't help itself from making cool & memorable environments, bosses, characters, aesthetics. Names are pulled from Paul Auster stories, the credits end with smooth lounge music, all the rain and the skyline and the politics, its characters all live in New York or lived in New York and it's all so singular for a military action game setting. The credits song is great, but the same could be said for every other song on the soundtrack. There's lots of little things to unlock, too, in the main game or as rewards for completion or whatever. There's an entire new set of VR missions attached, with their own entirely separate soundtrack. There's a bonus skateboarding mode. It's easy to overlook the countless small things this game does right in favor of the monolithic insane psychotic shit that's the staple of the whole series.
Mgs2 is always up to something, always operating on some unseen level that goes one step beyond what it's willing to show you. It's like playing the first game all over again, re-experiencing that moment when you're like "wait why tf is this boss doing literal magic?" It lies to you. You think it's a spy game, but secretly it is another spy game, that is secretly is a different spy game, but secretly it was actually designed to reach through your tv and kill you in real life the whole time. And then the current president of the United States shows up and grabs your junk.
The geopolitics have somehow become more absurd, as it was the only way to make them more insightful. The US develops metal gears. Russia steals them. Every intelligence agency in both countries probably thinks Ocelot is a triple agent for them. "Intelligence" is actually a myth, and if you think you possess any then you're being played, if you trust anyone then their plan is working. Patriot is a bad word. It probably should be. The villains are terrorists. The terrorists are eco terrorists, or are they pro metal gear, or are they anti metal gear, or are they anti American (after all, they are exmilitary), or is it about something else entirely? Who cares what they want or where they came from anyway? They're terrorists (the kind with a capital T). The terrorists' leader is a secret genetic experiment who was maybe designed by the illuminati. Who is also the former president of the United States. Imagine joe biden running around in a Doc Oc suit committing terrorist acts off the shores of New York. That's what we're working with here. (Btw nearly all of this information is revealed during the introductory cutscenes.)
The game feels like such a departure from the cold, dry militarism of the first. It tries to stand out in every way, except for its gameplay, polished to an inhuman level. Even when trying to be cynical, the game can't help itself from making cool & memorable environments, bosses, characters, aesthetics. Names are pulled from Paul Auster stories, the credits end with smooth lounge music, all the rain and the skyline and the politics, its characters all live in New York or lived in New York and it's all so singular for a military action game setting. The credits song is great, but the same could be said for every other song on the soundtrack. There's lots of little things to unlock, too, in the main game or as rewards for completion or whatever. There's an entire new set of VR missions attached, with their own entirely separate soundtrack. There's a bonus skateboarding mode. It's easy to overlook the countless small things this game does right in favor of the monolithic insane psychotic shit that's the staple of the whole series.
Mgs2 is always up to something, always operating on some unseen level that goes one step beyond what it's willing to show you. It's like playing the first game all over again, re-experiencing that moment when you're like "wait why tf is this boss doing literal magic?" It lies to you. You think it's a spy game, but secretly it is another spy game, that is secretly is a different spy game, but secretly it was actually designed to reach through your tv and kill you in real life the whole time. And then the current president of the United States shows up and grabs your junk.
The dialogues in this game are a total marvel, they have some of the best dialogues I have ever seen in a video game, fascinating, the feeling it gave me is different, I have not cried, nor has it impacted me emotionally much, but it has impacted me in another way that I cannot explain, it is simply beautiful what Kojima wants to convey, this game is perfect in all its splendor, I thought that MGS3 was the pinnacle of all MGS , but in my opinion MGS2 is a little better, either because of the rhythm and consistency, the incredible dialogues and how everything is executed perfectly, there is no gap in the script, and the game explores themes that are wonderful, as such it can be existentialism, free will and the purpose of being, which in Raiden is present throughout the game and in the end it explodes perfectly, the ending is incredible. This is a message towards life, an emotional impact with a purpose beyond that, a life lesson.
I love you Kojima, FUCKKK.
I love you Kojima, FUCKKK.
I am convinced Hideo Kojima is not human how tf do you make a game like this in 2001
You see people say how this game is ahead of its time, predicted the future, has some of the most profound ideas in gaming, and after playing it I am pretty much convinced, absolute masterclass
You see people say how this game is ahead of its time, predicted the future, has some of the most profound ideas in gaming, and after playing it I am pretty much convinced, absolute masterclass
Essa análise será significativa bem mais extensa que as anteriores, pois esse jogo merece tal abordagem. Pretendo discutir alguns pontos sobre design de jogos, arte, forma que enxergamos mídia e a incessante forma que vídeo games são comparados a outras formas de entretenimento. Cuidado com os eventuais spoilers!
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty é a sequência mais corajosa já criada na indústria dos vídeo games e provavelmente é a mais próxima de uma verdadeira arte pós-modernista que podemos apreciar com um controle em mãos. O que realmente impressiona nesse segundo título é a forma que utilizaram o desenvolvimento, os trailers e a expectativa do público para poder passar a verdadeira mensagem que desejam. Sons of Liberty manipula o jogador em várias camadas para criar tanto desconforto quanto conforto ao mesmo tempo, porém essa visão artística começa muito antes mesmo de você jogar.
Voltando no tempo, Metal Gear Solid 2 foi um dos jogos mais antecipados para sua geração. Haviam milhares de propagandas distribuídas pela Sony e muitas pessoas estavam comprando para testar o que seria o próximo salto para a indústria. No entanto, em nenhum momento foi demonstrado absolutamente nada sobre o que realmente o jogo abordaria. Durante entrevistas, demonstrações e trailers, Raiden nunca foi citado que estaria no game e muito menos como protagonista. Havia algo que os desenvolvedores estavam claramente escondendo de um forma extremamente planejada.
O primeiro segmento é utilizado como uma ferramenta para desviar atenção de quem está jogando do verdadeiro cerne das questões que serão apresentadas. Toda aquela área é estrategicamente construída para demonstrar a evolução das IAs dos guardas, a chuva constante, movimentação do Snake, qualidade de sombra, objetos quebráveis e a utilização da primeira pessoa. Nesse momento, os desenvolvedores estão entregando exatamente o que seria uma continuação digna do tão apreciado jogo de espionagem cinematográfico. Tudo é maravilhoso para quem está jogando e a curiosidade sobre está acontecendo durante essa nova missão só aumenta à medida que coisas inesperadas vão ocorrendo, porém, do nada absoluto, Snake morre e toda a jornada reinicia dando início a história de um segundo personagem. Você não é mais Solid Snake, e sim Raiden repetindo os mesmos passos e mesmas conversas, tutoriais que foram feitos em Metal Gear Solid só que de uma forma parecida com um sonho absurdo. Para época isso foi chocante, era como se o jogo estivesse fazendo uma piada do próprio jogador enquanto retira tudo que foi demonstrado no primeiro segmento. Acredito que a falta de personalidade da Big Shell é algo intencional para justamente fazer acreditarmos que essa segunda parte é tudo o que não se esperaria de uma continuação.
Boa parte desse desconforto no segundo ato é criado pela a extrema semelhança entre os dois jogos, essencialmente demonstrada através de diálogos no Codec e cutscenes enormes. Normalmente, isso não seria um problema, mas entra uma questão: por mais que esses diálogos possam ser intencionais, eu não consigo aceitar que o Kojima seja um bom escritor até esse momento. O próprio Metal Gear Solid tem alguns furos de roteiro bastante aparentes, como Liquid deixar Snake vivo ou a cena de tortura com Ocelot. Para alguns, isso pode ser resumido como suspensão de descrença para tornar os segmentos divertidos, e logo voltarei a esse assunto. Continuando, Sons of Liberty beneficiaria muito se fosse focado na regra "show, don't tell", pois é um absurdo os inúmeros diálogos de exposição que esse título possuí. Por outro lado, acredito que a origem desse problema possa estar nas limitações do Playstation 2, mas só poderei confirmar isso com total certeza ao jogar os próximos Metal Gears. Porém, dependendo da forma que você decidir interpretar os próximos acontecimentos, tudo que eu falei pode ser anulado para esse título específico.
O terceiro ato é o momento que Sons of Liberty começa finalmente e lentamente demonstrar seu real objetivo e mensagem para o jogador. A quebra da quarta parede nunca foi tão abusiva quanto é dentro do Arsenal, chegando literalmente replicar a cena da tortura do primeiro jogo e fazendo o Snake citar um item "cheat" de munição infinita. Não existe mais o que esconder, você está no estomago da criatura. Tudo fica tão absurdo que o conceito que sustenta um jogo de espionagem é quebrado logo em seguida, pois você tem munição infinita e luta com dezenas de ninjas que normalmente Raiden evitaria para não entrar em combate. O fato do protagonista conseguir derrubar 10 Metal Gears, algo que é apresentado como extremamente perigoso em seu antecessor, ao mesmo tempo é o ápice da loucura. As várias e confusas reviravoltas do xadrez 5D que os antagonistas estavam jogando entre si é a demonstração da principal mensagem do jogo: o perigo do excesso do consumo da mídia e como a desinformação está sendo aceita como verdade pelo público. Afinal, o que foi real e o que não foi durante a sua jornada em Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty? É algo que fico muito curioso para saber como será abordado no terceiro jogo.
A quebra final de toda a experiência ocorre quando acontece, provavelmente, o diálogo mais profundo que já foi criado em um videogame. A dúvida se o Coronel é realmente uma IA ou um novo tipo de ser que emergiu da consciência humana é extremamente conflitante. A discussão sobre o controle de informações e a ética da sociedade atual é simplesmente magnífica. Não estou dizendo que isso representa o ápice da filosofia, mas para uma indústria que cada vez mais foca apenas em tratar jogos como produtos, é, com certeza, impressionante. Acreditar em uma verdade hoje em dia é algo muito subjetivo e requer muita pesquisa, pois o algoritmo (que somos nós mesmos) influencia as pessoas acreditarem apenas no que querem ver.
Para concluir, Metal Gear Solid 2 é um jogo que desperta conflitos ao ser analisado tanto como uma obra de arte quanto como um produto comercial. Embora reconheça que as habilidades de escrita de Kojima apresentem falhas em certos momentos, comparáveis às de George Lucas, e que algumas partes do jogo possam ser cansativas, esses aspectos são justificados pela mensagem que o jogo deseja transmitir. Isso me levou a refletir sobre algo importante: videogames não devem ser avaliados da mesma forma que outras formas de mídia. Muitas vezes, nos concentramos em critérios aplicáveis a filmes e livros, esquecendo que os jogos são uma forma de entretenimento única que não precisam seguir os mesmos padrões. A incessante busca por validar os videogames como forma de arte comparável a livros e cinema é algo que precisa ser interrompida o mais rápido possível. Acredito que os videogames serão reconhecidos como arte quando outra forma de entretenimento assumir a posição de rejeitada, assim como ocorreu com o cinema no século XX.
Sons of Liberty é, sem dúvida, uma das melhores experiências que alguém pode vivenciar nesse meio, e isso se deve ao fato de que o jogo aproveita ao máximo o potencial dos videogames da época.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty é a sequência mais corajosa já criada na indústria dos vídeo games e provavelmente é a mais próxima de uma verdadeira arte pós-modernista que podemos apreciar com um controle em mãos. O que realmente impressiona nesse segundo título é a forma que utilizaram o desenvolvimento, os trailers e a expectativa do público para poder passar a verdadeira mensagem que desejam. Sons of Liberty manipula o jogador em várias camadas para criar tanto desconforto quanto conforto ao mesmo tempo, porém essa visão artística começa muito antes mesmo de você jogar.
Voltando no tempo, Metal Gear Solid 2 foi um dos jogos mais antecipados para sua geração. Haviam milhares de propagandas distribuídas pela Sony e muitas pessoas estavam comprando para testar o que seria o próximo salto para a indústria. No entanto, em nenhum momento foi demonstrado absolutamente nada sobre o que realmente o jogo abordaria. Durante entrevistas, demonstrações e trailers, Raiden nunca foi citado que estaria no game e muito menos como protagonista. Havia algo que os desenvolvedores estavam claramente escondendo de um forma extremamente planejada.
O primeiro segmento é utilizado como uma ferramenta para desviar atenção de quem está jogando do verdadeiro cerne das questões que serão apresentadas. Toda aquela área é estrategicamente construída para demonstrar a evolução das IAs dos guardas, a chuva constante, movimentação do Snake, qualidade de sombra, objetos quebráveis e a utilização da primeira pessoa. Nesse momento, os desenvolvedores estão entregando exatamente o que seria uma continuação digna do tão apreciado jogo de espionagem cinematográfico. Tudo é maravilhoso para quem está jogando e a curiosidade sobre está acontecendo durante essa nova missão só aumenta à medida que coisas inesperadas vão ocorrendo, porém, do nada absoluto, Snake morre e toda a jornada reinicia dando início a história de um segundo personagem. Você não é mais Solid Snake, e sim Raiden repetindo os mesmos passos e mesmas conversas, tutoriais que foram feitos em Metal Gear Solid só que de uma forma parecida com um sonho absurdo. Para época isso foi chocante, era como se o jogo estivesse fazendo uma piada do próprio jogador enquanto retira tudo que foi demonstrado no primeiro segmento. Acredito que a falta de personalidade da Big Shell é algo intencional para justamente fazer acreditarmos que essa segunda parte é tudo o que não se esperaria de uma continuação.
Boa parte desse desconforto no segundo ato é criado pela a extrema semelhança entre os dois jogos, essencialmente demonstrada através de diálogos no Codec e cutscenes enormes. Normalmente, isso não seria um problema, mas entra uma questão: por mais que esses diálogos possam ser intencionais, eu não consigo aceitar que o Kojima seja um bom escritor até esse momento. O próprio Metal Gear Solid tem alguns furos de roteiro bastante aparentes, como Liquid deixar Snake vivo ou a cena de tortura com Ocelot. Para alguns, isso pode ser resumido como suspensão de descrença para tornar os segmentos divertidos, e logo voltarei a esse assunto. Continuando, Sons of Liberty beneficiaria muito se fosse focado na regra "show, don't tell", pois é um absurdo os inúmeros diálogos de exposição que esse título possuí. Por outro lado, acredito que a origem desse problema possa estar nas limitações do Playstation 2, mas só poderei confirmar isso com total certeza ao jogar os próximos Metal Gears. Porém, dependendo da forma que você decidir interpretar os próximos acontecimentos, tudo que eu falei pode ser anulado para esse título específico.
O terceiro ato é o momento que Sons of Liberty começa finalmente e lentamente demonstrar seu real objetivo e mensagem para o jogador. A quebra da quarta parede nunca foi tão abusiva quanto é dentro do Arsenal, chegando literalmente replicar a cena da tortura do primeiro jogo e fazendo o Snake citar um item "cheat" de munição infinita. Não existe mais o que esconder, você está no estomago da criatura. Tudo fica tão absurdo que o conceito que sustenta um jogo de espionagem é quebrado logo em seguida, pois você tem munição infinita e luta com dezenas de ninjas que normalmente Raiden evitaria para não entrar em combate. O fato do protagonista conseguir derrubar 10 Metal Gears, algo que é apresentado como extremamente perigoso em seu antecessor, ao mesmo tempo é o ápice da loucura. As várias e confusas reviravoltas do xadrez 5D que os antagonistas estavam jogando entre si é a demonstração da principal mensagem do jogo: o perigo do excesso do consumo da mídia e como a desinformação está sendo aceita como verdade pelo público. Afinal, o que foi real e o que não foi durante a sua jornada em Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty? É algo que fico muito curioso para saber como será abordado no terceiro jogo.
A quebra final de toda a experiência ocorre quando acontece, provavelmente, o diálogo mais profundo que já foi criado em um videogame. A dúvida se o Coronel é realmente uma IA ou um novo tipo de ser que emergiu da consciência humana é extremamente conflitante. A discussão sobre o controle de informações e a ética da sociedade atual é simplesmente magnífica. Não estou dizendo que isso representa o ápice da filosofia, mas para uma indústria que cada vez mais foca apenas em tratar jogos como produtos, é, com certeza, impressionante. Acreditar em uma verdade hoje em dia é algo muito subjetivo e requer muita pesquisa, pois o algoritmo (que somos nós mesmos) influencia as pessoas acreditarem apenas no que querem ver.
Para concluir, Metal Gear Solid 2 é um jogo que desperta conflitos ao ser analisado tanto como uma obra de arte quanto como um produto comercial. Embora reconheça que as habilidades de escrita de Kojima apresentem falhas em certos momentos, comparáveis às de George Lucas, e que algumas partes do jogo possam ser cansativas, esses aspectos são justificados pela mensagem que o jogo deseja transmitir. Isso me levou a refletir sobre algo importante: videogames não devem ser avaliados da mesma forma que outras formas de mídia. Muitas vezes, nos concentramos em critérios aplicáveis a filmes e livros, esquecendo que os jogos são uma forma de entretenimento única que não precisam seguir os mesmos padrões. A incessante busca por validar os videogames como forma de arte comparável a livros e cinema é algo que precisa ser interrompida o mais rápido possível. Acredito que os videogames serão reconhecidos como arte quando outra forma de entretenimento assumir a posição de rejeitada, assim como ocorreu com o cinema no século XX.
Sons of Liberty é, sem dúvida, uma das melhores experiências que alguém pode vivenciar nesse meio, e isso se deve ao fato de que o jogo aproveita ao máximo o potencial dos videogames da época.
ummm what the flip 😳
Yeah, this is very easily my new favorite game of all time now. There's so much to love about this game, from the smooth and clever gameplay to the nice OST, and don't even get me started on the writing man. The whole dynamic between Otacon and Emma, the new role given to Snake and how perfectly it fitted him, Ocelot and Solidus both being god-tier antagonists, the themes about misinformation being more easily spread through the internet and how we need to do something about it, learning to decide your own fate, and passing on stuff to later generations, and especially Raiden's whole character arc throughout the whole game. Just play it man, because this is just one of those games where you need to play it to believe it.
Fun fact: Kojima originally wanted to name this game "peak" but Konami said no
Jokes aside this is probably one of the best pieces of fiction in any piece of media i've seen
Jokes aside this is probably one of the best pieces of fiction in any piece of media i've seen
Well, I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one.
I somehow managed to suck worse at this game than the first one, even with the modernised controls. I don't really like Raiden as a protagonist, and the story didn't really hook me like the first one did. I did quite like the meta nature of it all, even though it did seem quite up-it's-own-ass at times. The long, rambling codec call before the final boss really took me out of the game, in all honesty. Ah well, seems that's Kojima for you.
Moving on to what many consider to be the peak of the series: Snake Eater.
EDIT: after a few months of reflection I've realised that I actually like this game more than I thought I did, so I'm bumping it up a mark.
I somehow managed to suck worse at this game than the first one, even with the modernised controls. I don't really like Raiden as a protagonist, and the story didn't really hook me like the first one did. I did quite like the meta nature of it all, even though it did seem quite up-it's-own-ass at times. The long, rambling codec call before the final boss really took me out of the game, in all honesty. Ah well, seems that's Kojima for you.
Moving on to what many consider to be the peak of the series: Snake Eater.
EDIT: after a few months of reflection I've realised that I actually like this game more than I thought I did, so I'm bumping it up a mark.
Incredible game. The gameplay has improved from MGS1, especially with the new first-person mechanics. Even though it still has some of tedious stuff that was also in MGS, stuff like backtracking feels way better in here (probably related to how the whole main area of the game is designed). The story in this game is also top notch, and probably my favorite in any game I've played thus far (obviously, the twist at last third of the game kinda carries it but that's besides the point). Absolutely terrifying how it still holds up today and even better than ever. The cast of characters, although probably inferior to MGS1, are still good here as well. I feel as if the game gets better after the mid-way point, or at least that's how it felt when I played it but even before that I still found it decently enjoyable, and of course everything in the last third of the game was just amazing.
I don't get the Raiden hate, he's cool.
I don't get the Raiden hate, he's cool.
(Played Master Collection version)
I kinda don't know how to process this. I went in knowing absolutely nothing outside of memes and finished with my head in my hands and wanting to lie down. Don't look up a goddamn thing at any point, ever, just play it. I cannot believe this game came out in 2001 and I cannot believe that 3 is arguably even better.
Gameplay is a vast improvement from the first game, too.
I kinda don't know how to process this. I went in knowing absolutely nothing outside of memes and finished with my head in my hands and wanting to lie down. Don't look up a goddamn thing at any point, ever, just play it. I cannot believe this game came out in 2001 and I cannot believe that 3 is arguably even better.
Gameplay is a vast improvement from the first game, too.
a rare piece of art, the kind of thing that is simultaneously so on the pulse of the moment in which it was released and so prescient of everything that will come after it. metal gear solid 2 is one of those pieces that is just about absolutely everything, containing comments on the sociopolitical machinations of world governments and the conspiratorial nature of politics, questions about who we really are as individuals and what our true duty is to those around us, analysis of the very nature of the gaming medium and what it means to be a player acting out violence for enjoyment, and tales of grief and loss and how we can try to move forward from crushing depression. it might be trite to say but this is the end of evangelion of the gaming sphere, constantly subverting expectation at every single turn and making the player complicit in every action that takes place before asking them to question what it is all for in the end. there's obviously so much more that can be said about this deeply layered and beautiful piece of art, but it's also the type of game that makes you want to replay it immediately the second it's over, so i'll save more detailed thoughts for my next run through. suffice to say this is not only a new all-time game for me, but one of those things that will latch itself on to my brain and i won't be able to stop thinking about it for months or even years after it's over.
It's actually a common misconception that this is a video game because it's instead a list of bullet points on what your new personality is going to be.
"You exercise your right to 'freedom' and this is the result."
Metal Gear Solid 2 is the biggest lie ever told in gaming.
I have never seen a game with so much narrative ambition like MGS2. Theres alot to go on about regarding how it recognises its nature and fanbase expectations on it as a "sequel" to one of the most influential and acclaimed videogames of all time, but instead opts to subvert it completely. It tackles so many things at once: the nature of love, identity, digital information, truth and facts, post-modernism, reality and fiction, escapism, free will, legacy and if its nature is even worth leaving behind. Yet, it all loops back to MGS1's core messages at the end about carving your own path in life, free from outside influences.
To put it simply, Metal Gear Solid 2 is the most "anti MGS" sequel and the most "MGS1" sequel at the same time. It intentionally parodies the events of MGS1 so closely on a surface level but intentionally misses what makes those moments so special.
The game is all about carving out your own legacy, regardless of how real or fake your past is. Thats the only way we can leave any trace of life on this earth, not by imposing our ideals or genes on others but rather through stories of what we've seen, heard felt.
Anger, joy and sorrow. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one in the same thing.
MGS2 is a must play for anyone looking for proof of the artistic integrity that the gaming medium can offer. Its story is prophetic and meaningful, its gameplay is a complete overhaul of the first game's clunky combat and it has one of my favourite final acts in all of gaming that I really CANNOT spoil for you (if youve managed to avoid spoilers until now, that is). Bravo Kojima!
I wish the colonel was less mean 2 me💔💔💔💔💔
Metal Gear Solid 2 is the biggest lie ever told in gaming.
I have never seen a game with so much narrative ambition like MGS2. Theres alot to go on about regarding how it recognises its nature and fanbase expectations on it as a "sequel" to one of the most influential and acclaimed videogames of all time, but instead opts to subvert it completely. It tackles so many things at once: the nature of love, identity, digital information, truth and facts, post-modernism, reality and fiction, escapism, free will, legacy and if its nature is even worth leaving behind. Yet, it all loops back to MGS1's core messages at the end about carving your own path in life, free from outside influences.
To put it simply, Metal Gear Solid 2 is the most "anti MGS" sequel and the most "MGS1" sequel at the same time. It intentionally parodies the events of MGS1 so closely on a surface level but intentionally misses what makes those moments so special.
The game is all about carving out your own legacy, regardless of how real or fake your past is. Thats the only way we can leave any trace of life on this earth, not by imposing our ideals or genes on others but rather through stories of what we've seen, heard felt.
Anger, joy and sorrow. Building the future and keeping the past alive are one in the same thing.
MGS2 is a must play for anyone looking for proof of the artistic integrity that the gaming medium can offer. Its story is prophetic and meaningful, its gameplay is a complete overhaul of the first game's clunky combat and it has one of my favourite final acts in all of gaming that I really CANNOT spoil for you (if youve managed to avoid spoilers until now, that is). Bravo Kojima!
I wish the colonel was less mean 2 me💔💔💔💔💔
Warning - This review contains spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Warning - This review contains mentions of suicide, child abuse, sexual assault, self-harm, and other related topics. Read at your own risk.
Disclaimer - The idea to conceive this review was inspired by @poyfuh’s piece on Silent Hill 2. I highly recommend that you, as the reader, take a look into her work as well, if you have not yet done so. This is also a repost of my review that I made on my previous account, but I deleted it for personal reasons.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evening, September 20th, 2022.
After 10 years, 10 fucking years, my step-dad finally gets arrested by the police due to his exposed cases of commiting child abuse, alongside other crimes, even though that was the big reason. Now, I can finally express my happiness and freedom after so long, but at the same time, I am held back by my emotional and physical trauma, which drives me back to literal insanity… a line which I’ve crossed far too long ago. There is still a lot to uncover, and I am not done yet.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night, December 19th, 2022.
How much longer do I have to deal with this? I want to move on from my past, but I can’t. Everything in my house, from the PlayStation 5, all the way to my refrigerator, reminds me of my step-father. He had hurt me in so many ways, in so many different places, and actively used me as his torture toy that the after-effects are still there. Here I am, on the bridge near my house, questioning myself; Do I just end it all, right here, and right now? Or do I go back and try to amend myself. What do I even do?
Therapy isn’t fixing shit, after-school counseling isn’t fixing shit, and absolutely nothing labeled as “beneficial” is fixing shit either. But… I have to live for my friends. They don’t want me dead, but at the same time, unlike me, they have a lot of friends who they could talk to, so what’s the point? Why am I still here?
In the end, all I could ask for is a peaceful life, one without worries or doubts, but that won’t happen. However… I can make it happen. I just have to stick through it, and try to get a good grasp of what I’m currently going through.
Afternoon, January 14th, 2023.
A friend of mine named Micheal, whom I’ve known for 5 years, but stopped talking to for the past few months, decides to call me and scream at me because I made him feel unsafe when I stopped talking to him right after my step-father (before his arrest) temporarily disabled my communication devices, though once that was over, I had completely forgotten to call back. I tried telling him that I just really did not remember, and that everything is (probably) okay now, but he was just so upset for the fact that I made him feel like he lost his closest friend. I mean, can you blame him? Looking back, I would’ve called him sooner… if only I knew what would happen within the next few months.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evening, April 11th, 2023.
About a couple days back, I had recently finished Metal Gear Solid, and fell in love with the game pretty quickly. The tragic story behind Solid Snake, as well as one of the main messages revolving around the idea to move on, had both made me develop a personal attachment to the series, as I knew it was shaping up to be something special. In the meantime, it was a great day today, and I was just having fun with my online friends on Instagram, when all of a sudden, I got a phone call from Micheal, to which I picked up immediately. However, instead of hearing his voice, I heard the voice of a woman, who was his sister. I went on to ask who she was, and once she had told me about herself, she then told me that earlier, Micheal hanged himself. After facing months worth of sadness and depression, as well as feeling bad for being angry at me, he just couldn’t take it anymore and felt as if he lacked any self-worth.
Upon hearing this, I was completely destroyed mentally and decided to take a break from social media for a few days. Even though we live in different states, and even though most of our communication is from online, he still meant a lot to me, and losing him also killed a fraction of myself. I took the blame, mainly because his anger on me came from my own laziness. I mean, it’s my fault, right? I never do anything right. Never. What purpose do I even serve? Even after my step-father had now left my personal life, I still have more things to grieve over, and it’s taking a huge toll on me. I just… I can’t take it anymore. I’m sorry, Micheal, I really am. If I could turn back time and fix everything, I would. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out after our initial conversation… I would’ve been there to help you. But you know what? I didn’t, because I was too selfish of myself to care about anyone else. I’m sorry.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midnight, April 17, 2023.
It’s 1 AM in the morning, and I am currently playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I’m trying to move on from the event of my friend taking his own life by keeping myself entertained, though it only keeps coming back to me at random times. Right now, I had just reached the torture scene with Raiden, and so far, I’m not feeling anything… But wait, what is going on right now?
Raiden didn’t want any of this… he was a child soldier, forced to live under Solidus Snake’s umbrella for many years in order to become an excellent warrior, though it had only made him less sane and more unhinged, which had obviously taken a toll on him as a person, and played a role onto his overall development. He spent all that time in the VR training, all that time working on his strength, and what did that cost? His sanity. And, on top of all this, its later revealed that his own girlfriend had spied on him in order for him to be fully studied, but eventually, she actually did fall in love with him, though it took him time to realize that because of what was going on in that moment. Everything and everyone that he valued was taken away from him for the sake of standing strong, and to be “on top” of the human chain.
You see, for many years, my step-father served as a police officer, and at home, while constantly abusing me via physical abuse, he had made me learn self-defense, as well as various other forms of combat. I had basically learned how to throw people, accurately beat them up, and so much other stuff. A few years ago, I enrolled in fencing, because I thought that the idea of sword-fighting was cool, which it was. I learned how to wield a blade, and utilize any long object as a weapon in case of serious danger… and, truth be told, I tried using my self-defense skills to avoid getting bullied, as well as trying to avoid getting beaten by my step-father. This was all because he wanted me to “stay strong in dark times,” however, this just didn’t make sense, because the only person giving me my dark times was him. I had done nothing to receive any of this, and as that entire moment with Raiden’s torture seemingly came to an end, I just sat there, crying for a few minutes because I was reminded of who I once was as a person.
Shortly afterwards, when Ocelot reveals that the point of Raiden was to create a perfect soldier, meaning that his entire mission was a lie, as well as Solidus trying to show a bit of fatherhood to Raiden, it all reminded me of how my step-father would act after every time he had tried to torture me in some way.
7 months prior to this, I remember failing an optional test online due to me not being able to fully understand the key contents whatsoever, despite trying to study. Because of my failure, my step-father had decided to rape me maliciously in order to “teach me a lesson.” I was crying & yelling for the life of me, and I begged him to stop. Not only that, but over an optional test too? What was the point of this? Well, sooner or later, he tries to comfort me while acknowledging that I “made a mistake,” and to avoid getting harmed any further, I just gave in to his fake sense of discipline so that I don’t get further tortured beyond that point.
Back to the point where Solidus is trying to get Raiden to join his side, you can see that Raiden refuses, and this leads to a massive conflict between the two, because he actually stood up for himself, though at first, it was a failure.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early Morning, April 18th, 2023.
It’s 4 AM, and I am now in the final part of the game. After witnessing the shocking AI codec call that delved into the digital world, as well as challenging all of Raiden’s self beliefs, we got straight to the climax, the moment we were all waiting for: Raiden Vs. Solidus Snake. As the fight progressed and finished, we see how Solidus finally faces his well-deserved downfall, and then, Raiden stands in between the crowd, questioning every single thing that has happened since the start of his mission. Shortly afterwards, Snake comes by and has a conversation with him, asking him many things, but one thing in particular that stood out was when he told Raiden to look at his dog tags, and see if he knows who that is on the tag. As this happens, Raiden says the following line…
“No, never heard the name before. I'll pick my own name...and my own life. I'll
find something worth passing on.”
Raiden is now a free man, no longer a puppet of Solidus or related to the Patriots in any way now whatsoever, and sooner or later, we see him return to Rose in safe hands. No more conflict, no more bullshit, everything is over now. (Metal Gear Solid 4 never happened.)
Within the next year or so, I am going to fully change my legal name, after waiting several years for it to happen. You see, everyone would call me by my middle name, which is the name I felt most comfortable with, as my first name was mainly a family name, so it wasn’t said publicly in order to avoid confusion with me and my relatives. However, my step-father would always call me by my first name, and when we would call me by it, it's often spoken in a more deepened accent, which just gave me more and more PTSD over the years. Not only that, but my biological father, whom even though I never really had a proper relationship with, was still an awful person to my mother before they divorced, and since I was carrying his last name, I wanted to clear my name completely for good, so that I can show that I am not a part of a disgusting family tree. However, I will keep my middle name since my mother gave that to me, and then, I will be my own man, with my own name, and my own life, not controlled by someone else.
As the credits rolled, and “Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday” began to play, I started crying uncontrollably again for a while because I had never been so attached to a work of art like this in my entire life. The entire campaign from start to finish, with Snake & Raiden as they come forward to fight their own beliefs as well as relaying the message to start fresh, had connected with me in such a personal and heartwarming way that I just… I was speechless. I couldn’t believe I experienced a game like this, and I genuinely didn’t have anything to say.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night, December 12th, 2023.
As of typing this, it’s currently the said date of December 12th, 2023. Since my first playthrough of Metal Gear Solid 2, many more unfortunate things have happened. It has been 7 years since my younger sister died, and due to my sadness, I tried to kill myself twice on Thanksgiving via overdosing and shooting myself, and then stabbing myself, which led to me going to the hospital for quite some time before heading straight to the mental hospital for a full day. Around 2 weeks ago, I had disabled all of my main social media accounts on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram so that I could focus on my own wellbeing, and try to improve upon myself before returning to content creation in full healthiness. Also, I had recently completed a replay of Metal Gear Solid 2 on my PlayStation Vita, which led me to finish this review for good.
To wrap things up, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a game that I think every single person should play before they die, and it’s a profound work of art that truly stands the test of time, as well as having a massive impact on me as a person, as well as being able to move on from my past. You also have Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which is arguably just as good, and I think that in the end, the franchise’s message of tragedy and overcoming your PTSD has aged quite well, and I have yet to see another franchise replicate the same exact magic as that.
“Find something to believe in. And find it for yourself. And when you do, pass it on to the future.” - Solid Snake.
Thank you, Hideo Kojima. You might not ever see this, but your work really impacted me, and helped me through the worst time of my life.
Thank you.
Warning - This review contains mentions of suicide, child abuse, sexual assault, self-harm, and other related topics. Read at your own risk.
Disclaimer - The idea to conceive this review was inspired by @poyfuh’s piece on Silent Hill 2. I highly recommend that you, as the reader, take a look into her work as well, if you have not yet done so. This is also a repost of my review that I made on my previous account, but I deleted it for personal reasons.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evening, September 20th, 2022.
After 10 years, 10 fucking years, my step-dad finally gets arrested by the police due to his exposed cases of commiting child abuse, alongside other crimes, even though that was the big reason. Now, I can finally express my happiness and freedom after so long, but at the same time, I am held back by my emotional and physical trauma, which drives me back to literal insanity… a line which I’ve crossed far too long ago. There is still a lot to uncover, and I am not done yet.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night, December 19th, 2022.
How much longer do I have to deal with this? I want to move on from my past, but I can’t. Everything in my house, from the PlayStation 5, all the way to my refrigerator, reminds me of my step-father. He had hurt me in so many ways, in so many different places, and actively used me as his torture toy that the after-effects are still there. Here I am, on the bridge near my house, questioning myself; Do I just end it all, right here, and right now? Or do I go back and try to amend myself. What do I even do?
Therapy isn’t fixing shit, after-school counseling isn’t fixing shit, and absolutely nothing labeled as “beneficial” is fixing shit either. But… I have to live for my friends. They don’t want me dead, but at the same time, unlike me, they have a lot of friends who they could talk to, so what’s the point? Why am I still here?
In the end, all I could ask for is a peaceful life, one without worries or doubts, but that won’t happen. However… I can make it happen. I just have to stick through it, and try to get a good grasp of what I’m currently going through.
Afternoon, January 14th, 2023.
A friend of mine named Micheal, whom I’ve known for 5 years, but stopped talking to for the past few months, decides to call me and scream at me because I made him feel unsafe when I stopped talking to him right after my step-father (before his arrest) temporarily disabled my communication devices, though once that was over, I had completely forgotten to call back. I tried telling him that I just really did not remember, and that everything is (probably) okay now, but he was just so upset for the fact that I made him feel like he lost his closest friend. I mean, can you blame him? Looking back, I would’ve called him sooner… if only I knew what would happen within the next few months.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evening, April 11th, 2023.
About a couple days back, I had recently finished Metal Gear Solid, and fell in love with the game pretty quickly. The tragic story behind Solid Snake, as well as one of the main messages revolving around the idea to move on, had both made me develop a personal attachment to the series, as I knew it was shaping up to be something special. In the meantime, it was a great day today, and I was just having fun with my online friends on Instagram, when all of a sudden, I got a phone call from Micheal, to which I picked up immediately. However, instead of hearing his voice, I heard the voice of a woman, who was his sister. I went on to ask who she was, and once she had told me about herself, she then told me that earlier, Micheal hanged himself. After facing months worth of sadness and depression, as well as feeling bad for being angry at me, he just couldn’t take it anymore and felt as if he lacked any self-worth.
Upon hearing this, I was completely destroyed mentally and decided to take a break from social media for a few days. Even though we live in different states, and even though most of our communication is from online, he still meant a lot to me, and losing him also killed a fraction of myself. I took the blame, mainly because his anger on me came from my own laziness. I mean, it’s my fault, right? I never do anything right. Never. What purpose do I even serve? Even after my step-father had now left my personal life, I still have more things to grieve over, and it’s taking a huge toll on me. I just… I can’t take it anymore. I’m sorry, Micheal, I really am. If I could turn back time and fix everything, I would. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out after our initial conversation… I would’ve been there to help you. But you know what? I didn’t, because I was too selfish of myself to care about anyone else. I’m sorry.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midnight, April 17, 2023.
It’s 1 AM in the morning, and I am currently playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. I’m trying to move on from the event of my friend taking his own life by keeping myself entertained, though it only keeps coming back to me at random times. Right now, I had just reached the torture scene with Raiden, and so far, I’m not feeling anything… But wait, what is going on right now?
Raiden didn’t want any of this… he was a child soldier, forced to live under Solidus Snake’s umbrella for many years in order to become an excellent warrior, though it had only made him less sane and more unhinged, which had obviously taken a toll on him as a person, and played a role onto his overall development. He spent all that time in the VR training, all that time working on his strength, and what did that cost? His sanity. And, on top of all this, its later revealed that his own girlfriend had spied on him in order for him to be fully studied, but eventually, she actually did fall in love with him, though it took him time to realize that because of what was going on in that moment. Everything and everyone that he valued was taken away from him for the sake of standing strong, and to be “on top” of the human chain.
You see, for many years, my step-father served as a police officer, and at home, while constantly abusing me via physical abuse, he had made me learn self-defense, as well as various other forms of combat. I had basically learned how to throw people, accurately beat them up, and so much other stuff. A few years ago, I enrolled in fencing, because I thought that the idea of sword-fighting was cool, which it was. I learned how to wield a blade, and utilize any long object as a weapon in case of serious danger… and, truth be told, I tried using my self-defense skills to avoid getting bullied, as well as trying to avoid getting beaten by my step-father. This was all because he wanted me to “stay strong in dark times,” however, this just didn’t make sense, because the only person giving me my dark times was him. I had done nothing to receive any of this, and as that entire moment with Raiden’s torture seemingly came to an end, I just sat there, crying for a few minutes because I was reminded of who I once was as a person.
Shortly afterwards, when Ocelot reveals that the point of Raiden was to create a perfect soldier, meaning that his entire mission was a lie, as well as Solidus trying to show a bit of fatherhood to Raiden, it all reminded me of how my step-father would act after every time he had tried to torture me in some way.
7 months prior to this, I remember failing an optional test online due to me not being able to fully understand the key contents whatsoever, despite trying to study. Because of my failure, my step-father had decided to rape me maliciously in order to “teach me a lesson.” I was crying & yelling for the life of me, and I begged him to stop. Not only that, but over an optional test too? What was the point of this? Well, sooner or later, he tries to comfort me while acknowledging that I “made a mistake,” and to avoid getting harmed any further, I just gave in to his fake sense of discipline so that I don’t get further tortured beyond that point.
Back to the point where Solidus is trying to get Raiden to join his side, you can see that Raiden refuses, and this leads to a massive conflict between the two, because he actually stood up for himself, though at first, it was a failure.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early Morning, April 18th, 2023.
It’s 4 AM, and I am now in the final part of the game. After witnessing the shocking AI codec call that delved into the digital world, as well as challenging all of Raiden’s self beliefs, we got straight to the climax, the moment we were all waiting for: Raiden Vs. Solidus Snake. As the fight progressed and finished, we see how Solidus finally faces his well-deserved downfall, and then, Raiden stands in between the crowd, questioning every single thing that has happened since the start of his mission. Shortly afterwards, Snake comes by and has a conversation with him, asking him many things, but one thing in particular that stood out was when he told Raiden to look at his dog tags, and see if he knows who that is on the tag. As this happens, Raiden says the following line…
“No, never heard the name before. I'll pick my own name...and my own life. I'll
find something worth passing on.”
Raiden is now a free man, no longer a puppet of Solidus or related to the Patriots in any way now whatsoever, and sooner or later, we see him return to Rose in safe hands. No more conflict, no more bullshit, everything is over now. (Metal Gear Solid 4 never happened.)
Within the next year or so, I am going to fully change my legal name, after waiting several years for it to happen. You see, everyone would call me by my middle name, which is the name I felt most comfortable with, as my first name was mainly a family name, so it wasn’t said publicly in order to avoid confusion with me and my relatives. However, my step-father would always call me by my first name, and when we would call me by it, it's often spoken in a more deepened accent, which just gave me more and more PTSD over the years. Not only that, but my biological father, whom even though I never really had a proper relationship with, was still an awful person to my mother before they divorced, and since I was carrying his last name, I wanted to clear my name completely for good, so that I can show that I am not a part of a disgusting family tree. However, I will keep my middle name since my mother gave that to me, and then, I will be my own man, with my own name, and my own life, not controlled by someone else.
As the credits rolled, and “Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday” began to play, I started crying uncontrollably again for a while because I had never been so attached to a work of art like this in my entire life. The entire campaign from start to finish, with Snake & Raiden as they come forward to fight their own beliefs as well as relaying the message to start fresh, had connected with me in such a personal and heartwarming way that I just… I was speechless. I couldn’t believe I experienced a game like this, and I genuinely didn’t have anything to say.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night, December 12th, 2023.
As of typing this, it’s currently the said date of December 12th, 2023. Since my first playthrough of Metal Gear Solid 2, many more unfortunate things have happened. It has been 7 years since my younger sister died, and due to my sadness, I tried to kill myself twice on Thanksgiving via overdosing and shooting myself, and then stabbing myself, which led to me going to the hospital for quite some time before heading straight to the mental hospital for a full day. Around 2 weeks ago, I had disabled all of my main social media accounts on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram so that I could focus on my own wellbeing, and try to improve upon myself before returning to content creation in full healthiness. Also, I had recently completed a replay of Metal Gear Solid 2 on my PlayStation Vita, which led me to finish this review for good.
To wrap things up, Metal Gear Solid 2 is a game that I think every single person should play before they die, and it’s a profound work of art that truly stands the test of time, as well as having a massive impact on me as a person, as well as being able to move on from my past. You also have Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which is arguably just as good, and I think that in the end, the franchise’s message of tragedy and overcoming your PTSD has aged quite well, and I have yet to see another franchise replicate the same exact magic as that.
“Find something to believe in. And find it for yourself. And when you do, pass it on to the future.” - Solid Snake.
Thank you, Hideo Kojima. You might not ever see this, but your work really impacted me, and helped me through the worst time of my life.
Thank you.
What has not been said about Sons of Liberty, it's a complex and thought-provoking game that push the boundaries in terms of storytelling, gameplay mechanics, and thematic depth. It explores themes of reality, identity, free will, and the manipulation of information. Its narrative depth and philosophical undertones contribute to its status as a seminal work in the realm of video game storytelling. A timeless piece of art in the pantheon of video game masterpieces. Kojima is not from this world.
Vamp and Fatman are so cool and awesome. I'm going to join a terrorist cell and blow up an oil rig to be just like my best friends Vamp and Fatman
Kojima you goddamn genius
text I got from my bf like two days ago and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it
Mgs2: Memes will be used to spread misinformation and cause societal collapse
People in 2001: Lmfao huhhh whatever man
People in 2023: I actually love the tiktok account using dog videos intended to brainwash egirls into being white supremacists
Mgs2: Memes will be used to spread misinformation and cause societal collapse
People in 2001: Lmfao huhhh whatever man
People in 2023: I actually love the tiktok account using dog videos intended to brainwash egirls into being white supremacists
provavelmente a coisa que eu mais escrevi, falei e pensei a respeito nos últimos 15 anos. vou deixar para a próxima geração agora.
The boldest sequel ever made to one of the most important games of its time. Including being the biggest technical leap you can witness a series going from one console generation to the next. I have little to elaborate on and expand upon from my first playthrough of this game months ago; I'm only just confirming my feelings on this now as though written on stone tablets. My quintessential favorite video game of all time remains Fallout: New Vegas, and that personal fact will never change, but Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty officially trails right behind as being my absolute second favorite in the medium.
It's an understatement to say this game was ahead of its time with how relevant its commentary has become this past year. Something that people in 2001 didn’t fully appreciate because they got too distracted by how far Kojima went in his cautionary story about subjective reality and the impending dangers that technology will impose on society without being aware of it. But thanks to the passage of time, what Kojima was trying to accomplish with his unconventional sequel is now better appreciated and taken to heart. The original Metal Gear Solid was about ‘gene’, the lineage that defines why we’re here in life and whether we should accept that. In Metal Gear Solid 2, we’ve moved onto ‘meme’, the passing of cultural ideas that we struggle to sort out for the future. Even though it doesn't seem like his favorite game (toss up between 3 and 5 from searching it up), I think this is probably Kojima's most personal game because of the themes and creativity. Metal Gear is a franchise about passionate people who are even more ideologically motivated, passing the torch to the next generation while struggling to decipher what needs to be passed on to let the world succeed. Kojima clearly resonates with these ideas a lot, and when taking a peek into his personal history, it makes sense why. This stems from a sad episode from Kojima's childhood where his father died, and he spent the rest of his life haunted by this memory. He was trying to make sense of his death and what his father must've wanted Kojima to take away from it to pass along for his future. These games feel like Kojima trying to express this personal struggle and understand more about himself alongside the player.
I believe that's why the ending of the game is the most inspiring and greatest ending in video game history because of its message. Like Raiden, Kojima finally found what he wanted to live for and pass on to the future when his time is eventually over. It's making these games, which reflect his passion for literature, movies, and video games, to impart onto the player, who'll pass along his ideas through their experiences. This was released in 2001, and they pulled this shit off? Unbelievable.
It's an understatement to say this game was ahead of its time with how relevant its commentary has become this past year. Something that people in 2001 didn’t fully appreciate because they got too distracted by how far Kojima went in his cautionary story about subjective reality and the impending dangers that technology will impose on society without being aware of it. But thanks to the passage of time, what Kojima was trying to accomplish with his unconventional sequel is now better appreciated and taken to heart. The original Metal Gear Solid was about ‘gene’, the lineage that defines why we’re here in life and whether we should accept that. In Metal Gear Solid 2, we’ve moved onto ‘meme’, the passing of cultural ideas that we struggle to sort out for the future. Even though it doesn't seem like his favorite game (toss up between 3 and 5 from searching it up), I think this is probably Kojima's most personal game because of the themes and creativity. Metal Gear is a franchise about passionate people who are even more ideologically motivated, passing the torch to the next generation while struggling to decipher what needs to be passed on to let the world succeed. Kojima clearly resonates with these ideas a lot, and when taking a peek into his personal history, it makes sense why. This stems from a sad episode from Kojima's childhood where his father died, and he spent the rest of his life haunted by this memory. He was trying to make sense of his death and what his father must've wanted Kojima to take away from it to pass along for his future. These games feel like Kojima trying to express this personal struggle and understand more about himself alongside the player.
I believe that's why the ending of the game is the most inspiring and greatest ending in video game history because of its message. Like Raiden, Kojima finally found what he wanted to live for and pass on to the future when his time is eventually over. It's making these games, which reflect his passion for literature, movies, and video games, to impart onto the player, who'll pass along his ideas through their experiences. This was released in 2001, and they pulled this shit off? Unbelievable.
I'm having a hard time writing the review for this, so I'll keep it brief.
Coming from the high of Metal Gear Solid, I expected more of the same and that's largely what I got, plot twists and all. My favorite aspect of the game was the story, it was super engaging! It sucked me in just like MGS1 and I ended up beating MGS2 in under a week. I loved how modern it felt, with all the AI discussion and internet censoring. Still very relevant today, perhaps even more so. Please play it blind! You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Moving on, The controls were disappointing. MGS2 is my first experience with the PS2 despite having grown up in the 2000's, and I really do not like the pressure sensitive buttons. I got used to it by the end (sorta) but for most of my 12 hour playthrough, the buttons felt unresponsive and made snake/ raiden feel sluggish in return.
Putting the controller aside, the controls feel largely unchanged from mgs1 and I don't mean that in a good way. Oftentimes I would stick to a wall when I didn't mean to, or I would accidentally crawl while trying to shoot and then I would be a sitting duck, even climbing ledges felt clunky. There are some platforming sections mid game that were super frustrating because of this. I get that's kinda how stealth games should work but it still felt inopportune in certain moments. Swimming was clunky, there is still a tricky button mashing section like MGS1, I could go on.
The graphics and sound are impressive though. MGS2 has aged very well on that front, and I liked how footage from MGS1 was in some of the codec calls. I'm a sucker for fan service, I know. I need to find the score for this and put it into my vgm playlist asap! One could say the vibes are immaculate.
I'm not really sure how to word my feelings towards Metal Gear Solid's sequel. It was more of the same, which was both good and bad for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first game, but it was still quite memorable and I'll probably stick around to play the third game!
Coming from the high of Metal Gear Solid, I expected more of the same and that's largely what I got, plot twists and all. My favorite aspect of the game was the story, it was super engaging! It sucked me in just like MGS1 and I ended up beating MGS2 in under a week. I loved how modern it felt, with all the AI discussion and internet censoring. Still very relevant today, perhaps even more so. Please play it blind! You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Moving on, The controls were disappointing. MGS2 is my first experience with the PS2 despite having grown up in the 2000's, and I really do not like the pressure sensitive buttons. I got used to it by the end (sorta) but for most of my 12 hour playthrough, the buttons felt unresponsive and made snake/ raiden feel sluggish in return.
Putting the controller aside, the controls feel largely unchanged from mgs1 and I don't mean that in a good way. Oftentimes I would stick to a wall when I didn't mean to, or I would accidentally crawl while trying to shoot and then I would be a sitting duck, even climbing ledges felt clunky. There are some platforming sections mid game that were super frustrating because of this. I get that's kinda how stealth games should work but it still felt inopportune in certain moments. Swimming was clunky, there is still a tricky button mashing section like MGS1, I could go on.
The graphics and sound are impressive though. MGS2 has aged very well on that front, and I liked how footage from MGS1 was in some of the codec calls. I'm a sucker for fan service, I know. I need to find the score for this and put it into my vgm playlist asap! One could say the vibes are immaculate.
I'm not really sure how to word my feelings towards Metal Gear Solid's sequel. It was more of the same, which was both good and bad for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first game, but it was still quite memorable and I'll probably stick around to play the third game!
took some time to mull it over, but metal gear solid 2 is genuinely such a brilliantly crafted retort and strengthening of 1's ideas of human individuality to where yeah, i'd say this is the best metal gear game yet purely for how well written it is.
the patriots' ideas of an overabundance of information and conflicting and personal so-called "truths" are very well laid out and incredibly topical years later as most have pointed out, backed up by multiple events throughout the game. it's why the patriots being revealed to be long-dead is such a harrowing whammy of a reveal - solidus and ocelot were fighting against an idea that doesn't even fully and tangibly exist anymore.
and that is exactly what the patriots sought to prevent through the GW system, creating one singular "truth" through justified censorship so as to eliminate humanity from spelling its own doom in the confusion.
but i would actually heavily disagree on MGS2 being as cynical as most make it out to be.
thatmagicalmage couldn't have said it any better in their own review where laser-focusing on MGS2's prediction of a misinformation-ridden future misses how it is incredibly hopeful and loving of the human condition in spite of the negative consequences of free will - evidenced by snake's speech in the post-credits scene describing the importance of our works now that we pass on to the future, and raiden's own decision to live his own life not giving a damn about whether or not he's played into the patriots' hands as he's found his own purpose and what gives him satisfaction - and that is the ultimate triumph he could have ever had over the patriots. it's why i bring up MGS1 because it's very reminiscent of the lesson snake learned about choosing his own life to lead and the antithesis he and raiden play to the gene-devout liquid snake. and yet it doesn't feel like a rehash of MGS1's themes of the importance of individuality, it feels like an extension.
snake and otacon choosing to make their own impact through the anti-metal gear "philanthropy" organization in spite of their forefathers' warmongering efforts shows your path in life isn't beholden to the deeds of your ancestry, and raiden's inability to fall into despair by the hands of the patriots shows no matter how much one may try, no force in this universe has the ability or the right to control how you think or feel. the only person who can decide how you want to live your life is you and you alone, and there's no point in living without that individuality. because it's how we connect with other people.
fuck me, MGS2 is awesome. metal gear is awesome.
the patriots' ideas of an overabundance of information and conflicting and personal so-called "truths" are very well laid out and incredibly topical years later as most have pointed out, backed up by multiple events throughout the game. it's why the patriots being revealed to be long-dead is such a harrowing whammy of a reveal - solidus and ocelot were fighting against an idea that doesn't even fully and tangibly exist anymore.
and that is exactly what the patriots sought to prevent through the GW system, creating one singular "truth" through justified censorship so as to eliminate humanity from spelling its own doom in the confusion.
but i would actually heavily disagree on MGS2 being as cynical as most make it out to be.
thatmagicalmage couldn't have said it any better in their own review where laser-focusing on MGS2's prediction of a misinformation-ridden future misses how it is incredibly hopeful and loving of the human condition in spite of the negative consequences of free will - evidenced by snake's speech in the post-credits scene describing the importance of our works now that we pass on to the future, and raiden's own decision to live his own life not giving a damn about whether or not he's played into the patriots' hands as he's found his own purpose and what gives him satisfaction - and that is the ultimate triumph he could have ever had over the patriots. it's why i bring up MGS1 because it's very reminiscent of the lesson snake learned about choosing his own life to lead and the antithesis he and raiden play to the gene-devout liquid snake. and yet it doesn't feel like a rehash of MGS1's themes of the importance of individuality, it feels like an extension.
snake and otacon choosing to make their own impact through the anti-metal gear "philanthropy" organization in spite of their forefathers' warmongering efforts shows your path in life isn't beholden to the deeds of your ancestry, and raiden's inability to fall into despair by the hands of the patriots shows no matter how much one may try, no force in this universe has the ability or the right to control how you think or feel. the only person who can decide how you want to live your life is you and you alone, and there's no point in living without that individuality. because it's how we connect with other people.
fuck me, MGS2 is awesome. metal gear is awesome.
[Played Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance]
Since I got into MGS at a time where I was unable to emulate PS2 games, I knew Metal Gear Solid 2's story long before actually playing it- I'd seen a playthrough, I'd watched a friend stream it... that can't ever quite replace playing a game yourself, but I knew I loved its writing long before I ever got around to properly play it.
As for playing the game... I mean, it's fun, but also it's only a little more than "alright". It feels a bit like an awkward in-between of MGS1/the MSX games and MGS3, where its room design and AI don't really fit the overhead perspective, leading to frustration. It's trying to abandon the Soliton radar what with it needing to be re-unlocked for every room, but it needs it more than ever due to the aforementioned issues. Before you do the game is a whole lot of shifting to first person, which is awkward - bizarrely I think this is the game where the cardboard boxes might be the most useful. Take all of the above with a grain of salt- as much as I love Metal Gear I could never 100% get into any game's gameplay loop (Well, excluding Rising's, but I don't think that counts...). Still there's good stuff here, the ability to play non-lethal fits the series' themes brilliantly and is generally a good option to have, and it's always satisfying to quickly headshot a guard with a silenced pistol (tranquilizer or not that it may be): I really like how when you deal with every enemy in an area more are eventually called in by the confused radio operator, it's a nice touch of realism and presents the player with a choice that didn't exist before (although it does remove the satisfaction of systematically clearing out a whole room). Still, especially with how fast the game rushes towards its conclusion and with how full it is of setpieces, MGS2 never really feels like it gets to make its mechanics shine. Boss battles are overall good, but never reach the heights of MGS1 or 3, with the Dead Cell characters' abilities never translating to particularly interesting gimmicks in gameplay unlike said games' rogues galleries.
Overall the gameplay does the job I ask of it- It's entertaining in short bursts, and the game's focus on story makes it so you rarely deal with more than that. Besides that... I quite loved the look and feel of the game. MGS3 is advanced enough to look pretty darn realistic (which it does with far more style than most other games that try), but MGS2 has an aesthetic all of its own- a sort of shiny, gleaming idealized reality that I think serendipitously fits Sons of Liberty's themes very well. While we've all heard Yell Dead Cell and it is indeed quite good, I also think the game's soundtrack shines the brightest in the more atmospheric tracks.
So much has been said about Metal Gear Solid 2's themes and metanarrative but I think on a simpler level Raiden's character and his arc are not appreciated enough- I struggle to think of any character that heightens and incarnates his story's themes as well as he does and it's genuinely a shame that even today he's thought of as the inferior version of the cool cyborg we got later on. I also love how the Patriots are presented, before MGS4 pulled away the curtain- as an almost supernatural entity that defies explanation. I love how many characters in MGS2 are hiding something or eventually betray Raiden- even the heroic ones like Snake end up stabbing him in the back at some points, and that very much works for the themes of information and misinformation that the game carries. There are some flaws in the storytelling- I overall feel positively towards Rose, but some of her dialogue with Raiden is a bit hard to believe even considering the series' propensity for melodrama, and Stillman's arc resolves too fast to have much emotional impact. Still, I gained a newfound appreciation for the game overall- it's flawed, clearly a bit too ambitious for its own good, and unbearably campy (<- this is a good thing) at times, but it's one of the most clever narratives in the medium to this day, executed in a completely unique way, and all without losing any of its heart and style, which is all pretty impressive for a game where there's a guy called Fatman (because he's fat and makes bombs) who runs around on roller skates drinking wine with a straw (<- this is a good thing).
Since I got into MGS at a time where I was unable to emulate PS2 games, I knew Metal Gear Solid 2's story long before actually playing it- I'd seen a playthrough, I'd watched a friend stream it... that can't ever quite replace playing a game yourself, but I knew I loved its writing long before I ever got around to properly play it.
As for playing the game... I mean, it's fun, but also it's only a little more than "alright". It feels a bit like an awkward in-between of MGS1/the MSX games and MGS3, where its room design and AI don't really fit the overhead perspective, leading to frustration. It's trying to abandon the Soliton radar what with it needing to be re-unlocked for every room, but it needs it more than ever due to the aforementioned issues. Before you do the game is a whole lot of shifting to first person, which is awkward - bizarrely I think this is the game where the cardboard boxes might be the most useful. Take all of the above with a grain of salt- as much as I love Metal Gear I could never 100% get into any game's gameplay loop (Well, excluding Rising's, but I don't think that counts...). Still there's good stuff here, the ability to play non-lethal fits the series' themes brilliantly and is generally a good option to have, and it's always satisfying to quickly headshot a guard with a silenced pistol (tranquilizer or not that it may be): I really like how when you deal with every enemy in an area more are eventually called in by the confused radio operator, it's a nice touch of realism and presents the player with a choice that didn't exist before (although it does remove the satisfaction of systematically clearing out a whole room). Still, especially with how fast the game rushes towards its conclusion and with how full it is of setpieces, MGS2 never really feels like it gets to make its mechanics shine. Boss battles are overall good, but never reach the heights of MGS1 or 3, with the Dead Cell characters' abilities never translating to particularly interesting gimmicks in gameplay unlike said games' rogues galleries.
Overall the gameplay does the job I ask of it- It's entertaining in short bursts, and the game's focus on story makes it so you rarely deal with more than that. Besides that... I quite loved the look and feel of the game. MGS3 is advanced enough to look pretty darn realistic (which it does with far more style than most other games that try), but MGS2 has an aesthetic all of its own- a sort of shiny, gleaming idealized reality that I think serendipitously fits Sons of Liberty's themes very well. While we've all heard Yell Dead Cell and it is indeed quite good, I also think the game's soundtrack shines the brightest in the more atmospheric tracks.
So much has been said about Metal Gear Solid 2's themes and metanarrative but I think on a simpler level Raiden's character and his arc are not appreciated enough- I struggle to think of any character that heightens and incarnates his story's themes as well as he does and it's genuinely a shame that even today he's thought of as the inferior version of the cool cyborg we got later on. I also love how the Patriots are presented, before MGS4 pulled away the curtain- as an almost supernatural entity that defies explanation. I love how many characters in MGS2 are hiding something or eventually betray Raiden- even the heroic ones like Snake end up stabbing him in the back at some points, and that very much works for the themes of information and misinformation that the game carries. There are some flaws in the storytelling- I overall feel positively towards Rose, but some of her dialogue with Raiden is a bit hard to believe even considering the series' propensity for melodrama, and Stillman's arc resolves too fast to have much emotional impact. Still, I gained a newfound appreciation for the game overall- it's flawed, clearly a bit too ambitious for its own good, and unbearably campy (<- this is a good thing) at times, but it's one of the most clever narratives in the medium to this day, executed in a completely unique way, and all without losing any of its heart and style, which is all pretty impressive for a game where there's a guy called Fatman (because he's fat and makes bombs) who runs around on roller skates drinking wine with a straw (<- this is a good thing).
You play as a blonde twink with an existential crisis. Same. Also, it completely impacted and changed the trajectory of my life, especially because of Snake's speech at the end of the game.
This review contains spoilers
Legitimately the closest to being fine art a video game has ever gotten. Like it's unfair how much better this game's story is than anything I've ever played, and I feel like it's unfair to the rest of the franchise. Like I know MGS3 is the fan favorite but I don't know how I'm gonna play the game and not be like "yeah but MGS2 was better" every time something cool happens. Like it's not FAIR
In my review of MGS I said the story was great but the gameplay was awful. I'm not gonna pretend this game has perfect gameplay but it's much more playable than it's predecessor. I actually had FUN at points which was very nice. Some of the bosses were lacking but Solidus Snake, Vamp and Fatman made up for with some really entertaining fights.
I feel like whenever a game tries to be meta, gamers have a fuse like break in their mind. Like they see any meta stuff and assume that means deepness. Like look at Undertale and DDLC. VERY surface level games. The themes can be explained to a toddler and they'll most likely get it. But it has these little gimmicky moments where a character goes "this is a video game" and everyone is like "THIS IS SO GOOD", but I don't think any game I've played that's made an attempt to have a meta story actually did it well. Except this one. It does it in a such a perfect way and doesn't just use it as a gimmick. These fourth wall breaking scenes aren't just put there for shock value, they actually make sense and expand upon the MANY themes of the story. Rather than relying on the fourth wall to feign depth, the fourth wall expanded on already existing depth.
My favorite meta detail in the game is the structure of the story itself and how it criticizes how we perceive sequels. I think a lot of video game sequels have a similar problem that I've become so used to, which is the repetition of plot points to an almost absurd degree.
Here are some examples (of course, spoilers for all the games mentioned)
-Pokemon games following the same pattern of: Get pokemon from professor, beat 8 gym leaders while an evil team bothers you, beat evil team, fight champion (and many other annoyingly repetitive elements)
-Persona 4 and Persona 5 having twist villains who are both brown haired detectives with very similar names (Adachi and Akechi)
-The third case in every Danganronpa game is always a double murder (There are some other repetitions in this franchise but I don't wanna get into it rn...)
-Resident Evil games all being about a different zombie-like virus that are almost the exact same but we're supposed to just ignore the fact that they're kind of just palette swaps of eachother.
These are a few examples I can think of, but I'm in no way saying that any of these franchises are BAD for repeating elements. Videogames, and really sequels in general, rely on familiarity in order to get players to come back, and you become so used to those sometimes absurd repetitions that you begin to glance over them. And that's exactly what happened when I played this.
"Oh ok, Raiden's also starting his mission by swimming into the base"
"The main bosses are a sniper woman, an explosive brute, a guy with unexplained magical powers and the main villain is a clone of Big Boss."
"You're followed around by a mysterious ninja who refers to themself as deep throat"
and really so, so many more connections to the first game were COMPLETELY looked over. I didn't even look at it and go "hmm that's kinda lazy" I just saw it as completely normal. And then by the end of the game, it calls you out with the twist that the whole operation was meant to be a recreation of the Shadow Moses Incident. It's so fucking cool.
And I did kind of skip over this, but "killing off" Snake at the beginning adds to this as well. All the marketing showed Snake as the protagonist of this game. And once people found out he wasn't the protagonist, people got PISSED, and that's exactly what Kojima wanted. They wanted familiarity, they wanted a repeat of MGS1 and revolted when they got something new. That subconscious need for unoriginality links right back to one of the main themes of the game: suppression of ideas
Of course that theme is mostly expanded from a militaristic, societal perspective, which is a whole other can of worms that I would get into but I really don't wanna make this even longer, but I think there's also a case to be made that MGS2 is also about the suppression of art. Even if we don't want to admit it, there's something hardwired in the human brain to make us hate originality, to hate progress, to fear change, and so we suppress that change.
It's honestly depressing how right this game predicted things: the rise of the internet, the growing totalitarianism of the government, the prevalence of AI and the homogenization of art. Like yes this was all happening in 2001 as well (maybe not AI so much), but it's happening even more now.
These are the ramblings of a mad-woman who just finished the game 20 minutes ago. Like I have a lot of things swirling around my brain that I want to say about this game, so many ideas and conclusions, but very little concrete ways to word them but what I'm trying to get to is this: I don't think there will ever be a video game as good as this ever again. Like there will be more fun games (I'm not sure this game is gonna surpass Yakuza 5 as my favorite game, purely for how entertaining Y5 is), but nothing as close to ART as this game. In a way Kojima tried to guide game devs into subverting expectations in a meaningful way and using video games as a medium for real creative expression, and people didn't really listen. Of course triple A games are all the same now, even the good ones are soulless most of the time, but it's the same even for indie games. Even the most respected of indie games seem to get their respect from using the tactics MGS2 use as a shock factor, like I said before. Indie games try to be unique but I've never seen a video game other than this say something truly meaningful that isn't inherently surface level. Consider Nier Automata, a game that feels like it was written by someone who watched a 30 minute "introduction to existentialism" video on youtube, or the beaten to death trope of indie games about depression (which is a horse so dead that the bones themselves have already crumbled into dust, so I'm gonna refrain from shitting on them too much), or games like Hylics which seems to use the avant-garde as an aesthetic, it loves the weirdness but didn't put the effort into finding a reason for it.
All of these games have depth or meaning to them, but they lack one thing that MGS2 has: They don't say anything new. There are no big innovative ideas or things that needed to be said but haven't. It's just repetition, echoes. Even at the deepest level, the most meaningful of games are just relying on familiarity. And that's my big problem with video games as art, it seems like most of them don't know how to be art. But this game does. And it's perfect for it.
Alright pretentious ramblings over. No I don't think what I wrote was some masterpiece nor do I expect to get sucked off for what I said, I just kinda started typing and then didn't stop cuz I felt like getting my thoughts out. Ok bye.
In my review of MGS I said the story was great but the gameplay was awful. I'm not gonna pretend this game has perfect gameplay but it's much more playable than it's predecessor. I actually had FUN at points which was very nice. Some of the bosses were lacking but Solidus Snake, Vamp and Fatman made up for with some really entertaining fights.
I feel like whenever a game tries to be meta, gamers have a fuse like break in their mind. Like they see any meta stuff and assume that means deepness. Like look at Undertale and DDLC. VERY surface level games. The themes can be explained to a toddler and they'll most likely get it. But it has these little gimmicky moments where a character goes "this is a video game" and everyone is like "THIS IS SO GOOD", but I don't think any game I've played that's made an attempt to have a meta story actually did it well. Except this one. It does it in a such a perfect way and doesn't just use it as a gimmick. These fourth wall breaking scenes aren't just put there for shock value, they actually make sense and expand upon the MANY themes of the story. Rather than relying on the fourth wall to feign depth, the fourth wall expanded on already existing depth.
My favorite meta detail in the game is the structure of the story itself and how it criticizes how we perceive sequels. I think a lot of video game sequels have a similar problem that I've become so used to, which is the repetition of plot points to an almost absurd degree.
Here are some examples (of course, spoilers for all the games mentioned)
-Pokemon games following the same pattern of: Get pokemon from professor, beat 8 gym leaders while an evil team bothers you, beat evil team, fight champion (and many other annoyingly repetitive elements)
-Persona 4 and Persona 5 having twist villains who are both brown haired detectives with very similar names (Adachi and Akechi)
-The third case in every Danganronpa game is always a double murder (There are some other repetitions in this franchise but I don't wanna get into it rn...)
-Resident Evil games all being about a different zombie-like virus that are almost the exact same but we're supposed to just ignore the fact that they're kind of just palette swaps of eachother.
These are a few examples I can think of, but I'm in no way saying that any of these franchises are BAD for repeating elements. Videogames, and really sequels in general, rely on familiarity in order to get players to come back, and you become so used to those sometimes absurd repetitions that you begin to glance over them. And that's exactly what happened when I played this.
"Oh ok, Raiden's also starting his mission by swimming into the base"
"The main bosses are a sniper woman, an explosive brute, a guy with unexplained magical powers and the main villain is a clone of Big Boss."
"You're followed around by a mysterious ninja who refers to themself as deep throat"
and really so, so many more connections to the first game were COMPLETELY looked over. I didn't even look at it and go "hmm that's kinda lazy" I just saw it as completely normal. And then by the end of the game, it calls you out with the twist that the whole operation was meant to be a recreation of the Shadow Moses Incident. It's so fucking cool.
And I did kind of skip over this, but "killing off" Snake at the beginning adds to this as well. All the marketing showed Snake as the protagonist of this game. And once people found out he wasn't the protagonist, people got PISSED, and that's exactly what Kojima wanted. They wanted familiarity, they wanted a repeat of MGS1 and revolted when they got something new. That subconscious need for unoriginality links right back to one of the main themes of the game: suppression of ideas
Of course that theme is mostly expanded from a militaristic, societal perspective, which is a whole other can of worms that I would get into but I really don't wanna make this even longer, but I think there's also a case to be made that MGS2 is also about the suppression of art. Even if we don't want to admit it, there's something hardwired in the human brain to make us hate originality, to hate progress, to fear change, and so we suppress that change.
It's honestly depressing how right this game predicted things: the rise of the internet, the growing totalitarianism of the government, the prevalence of AI and the homogenization of art. Like yes this was all happening in 2001 as well (maybe not AI so much), but it's happening even more now.
These are the ramblings of a mad-woman who just finished the game 20 minutes ago. Like I have a lot of things swirling around my brain that I want to say about this game, so many ideas and conclusions, but very little concrete ways to word them but what I'm trying to get to is this: I don't think there will ever be a video game as good as this ever again. Like there will be more fun games (I'm not sure this game is gonna surpass Yakuza 5 as my favorite game, purely for how entertaining Y5 is), but nothing as close to ART as this game. In a way Kojima tried to guide game devs into subverting expectations in a meaningful way and using video games as a medium for real creative expression, and people didn't really listen. Of course triple A games are all the same now, even the good ones are soulless most of the time, but it's the same even for indie games. Even the most respected of indie games seem to get their respect from using the tactics MGS2 use as a shock factor, like I said before. Indie games try to be unique but I've never seen a video game other than this say something truly meaningful that isn't inherently surface level. Consider Nier Automata, a game that feels like it was written by someone who watched a 30 minute "introduction to existentialism" video on youtube, or the beaten to death trope of indie games about depression (which is a horse so dead that the bones themselves have already crumbled into dust, so I'm gonna refrain from shitting on them too much), or games like Hylics which seems to use the avant-garde as an aesthetic, it loves the weirdness but didn't put the effort into finding a reason for it.
All of these games have depth or meaning to them, but they lack one thing that MGS2 has: They don't say anything new. There are no big innovative ideas or things that needed to be said but haven't. It's just repetition, echoes. Even at the deepest level, the most meaningful of games are just relying on familiarity. And that's my big problem with video games as art, it seems like most of them don't know how to be art. But this game does. And it's perfect for it.
Alright pretentious ramblings over. No I don't think what I wrote was some masterpiece nor do I expect to get sucked off for what I said, I just kinda started typing and then didn't stop cuz I felt like getting my thoughts out. Ok bye.
Possibly the piece of fiction.