I don't even know where to begin with this.

This was one of the most batshit crazy gaming experiences I've ever had. Every time I thought the story couldn't possibly get any more unhinged, Hideo Kojima surprised me by making this shit even more insane. And I absolutely loved every minute of it.

MGS2 really improved the gameplay for me in a lot of ways. The controls felt smoother compared to MGS1, and I appreciated the myriad of ways you could approach each encounter that didn't rely on strictly stealth or combat. Despite the fact that MGS2 has a limited setting(s), I really enjoyed the environmental design of the levels, and found the AI this time to be much more of a challenge.

And holy shit, this story. I love how it gradually unspools itself into this complex interwoven clusterfuck that doesn't let up until the credits roll. I've read a lot about how this game predicted a lot of the shit we deal with now in 2023, and I do have to say that it is eerily prescient. Kojima is a genius, plain and simple, and the fact that he created this story in 2001 (and more likely before that since 2001 is when it was released) is mind blowing.

MGS2 has catapulted itself into my all-time favorite games, and I can't believe I'm just now getting around to this series as a whole. This was such a masterpiece, and I'm so hyped to continue with MGS3.

The Metal Gear Solid series shines once more with its second entry, Sons of Liberty, after having used techniques used in film for cinematic storytelling in video games, Sons of Liberty grabs what the first game did for the stealth genre or video games as a whole and runs with it. Seriously, the game experience is absolutely refined with this one, it quite literally is Metal Gear Solid on crack, and the attention to detail, the extent of all the items you can get and situations you can be in while you deal with a very engaging fourth wall-breaking story is immaculate for a 2001 game.

It all really starts to show how deeply existential and unhinged Hideo Kojima's ability to show us a complex and multi-layered metafiction story is when Metal Gear Solid 2 literally predicts and puts the nail in the head when it comes to contemporary themes in the digital era, such as AI and censorship, the abundance of information making us more deterrent to absorb and accept information and what we pass on based on our own precognition, how the absolute state of information out there will create a lot of ignorance for people who choose not to listen, and how humanity would take it moving forward into the future.
It also shows a very good story of existence, showing us Raiden's story literally figuring our who he is and what place does he take in all of this as we're literally shown nothing about him but have to piece together parts of the story based on his interactions with other people that seem to know him.

It's a truly brilliant story with some bone-chilling accuracies, political substory and overall just great dynamics all across its characters, the objectives you have to do being part of a bigger plan all across Big Shell make for a great and unique game experience, even if this one is a bit tamer than Shadow Moses I think it makes the familiarity with the places you're placed on be better as you piece out specific strategies on how to deal with guard placements or room layouts in the different struts.

Can't recommend it enough to anybody looking to play it, it's probably one of the highlights of stuff I've played this year and has pretty much grown a staple in gaming, and for a good reason. I love Raiden, he's such a silly billy.

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

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

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

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

Ah, Sons of Liberty. One of the most noteworthy titles of the sixth console generation, a top contender for the majority of the fanbase’s favorite entry in the entire series, and nigh universally considered to rank among the best games ever made. Oddly enough, it might also be the perfect litmus test to determine whether the larger scope of what the Metal Gear franchise has to offer is for you or not. Y’see, there’s a small group of people out there who, despite loving the first Solid, found this to be the point where the property as a whole simply stopped being for them. Their reasoning? The writing. 

While critically acclaimed and its most direct predecessor not exactly shying away from going over the top itself, the storytelling does take a turn for the excessively gonzo in this follow-up and it’s not like the plotting in subsequent releases got any less polarizing from here on that front. You fight immortal vampires who can walk on water, people get possessed by ghosts lingering in transplanted limbs, and there’s a subplot involving a certain otaku hacker that feels like something out of a bad stepson/bro porno. Really reveals how ridiculous all those complaints about the Matrix-style antics in the cutscenes of The Twin Snakes are. I mean, this literally opens with Snake doing a backflip somersault off of the George Washington Bridge to land on a tanker passing underneath. So yeah, that remake isn’t exactly the tonal anomaly its detractors claim it to be…

The tale is ultimately redeemed for many by the strength of its deep, poignant thematic material, which covers topics such as censorship, misinformation, and governmental attempts to use both to control public opinion in the digital age. Stuff that has only gotten more relevant as the years have gone by, but personally aren’t enough to keep me from counting myself among the portion of players who view SoL as the point where the narrative first seriously jumped the shark. And this is coming from someone who is more forgiving of the most heavily criticized elements than the majority of others typically are. The disdain for Raiden as the protagonist because he’s “weak” and “whiny,” for example? I totally don’t buy into it all. The guy is pretty likable and it’s hard to think of him as a wimp just because he’s inexperienced when he still manages to kick an insane amount of butt by the time the credits roll. Not to mention his inclusion makes the overall world of Metal Gear feel more expansive in a cool way. Honestly, I imagine part of the hate (outside of the general anger at a lack of Snake) is simply misplaced frustration at his girlfriend. Don’t get me wrong, I actually understand why she’s having trouble with aspects of their relationship, but could she legit have not found a better opportunity to constantly pester him about it than right when he’s in the middle of trying to rescue the President from a group of terrorists?

It’s a shame that the utterly outlandish qualities and willingness of the characters to dive into every little detail of their personal dramas at inappropriate moments causes the plot to come up short considering what a huge element of the brand that is. It’s not enough for me to turn my back on the title as a whole however, as it’s hard to fault the actual gameplay much. I’m someone who prefers to play stealth games aggressively taking out guards before they’re aware of my presence rather than waiting around to memorize the blind spots in their patrol patterns, particularly in offerings like this one where you’re regularly required to revisit prior locations, so additions such as first-person aiming are a godsend! Kojima even managed to give you the tools for an effective offense without compromising the underlying motif introduced in this outing of pacifism that encourages the player to resolve situations non-lethally and would become a staple moving forward. A variety of systems and items were created here that make it completely possible to avoid killing anyone, including the bosses (not that it has any affect on their fate already predetermined by the script though).

I also just love the new setting! It may not have the personality or atmosphere of Shadow Moses, but its layout is a massive improvement. Admittedly, that is because they sort of took the easy route of making it basically one big circle. Yet, I’ll accept that as it severely reduces the tedium of backtracking and the sheer variety of one-off scenarios you’ll encounter prevent the surroundings of the adventure from ever coming off as simplistic or repetitive. If you look back at prior Metal Gears up to this point, you’ll notice a cycle of Kojima taking previous set pieces and recreating them with refinements and at a grander scale. Something he does in Solid 2 to a degree as well, but evidently the gaming auteur realized there wasn’t much else he could do differently with those old ideas so he started finally cooking up fresh concepts à la underwater swimming areas and thrilling sniper sections where you provide cover for a moving ally that kept me enthralled in the moment-to-moment action.

This captures almost perfectly how I’ve always wanted a Metal Gear to play, right down to little touches like the map that pops up on the pause screen. You may find the overall yarn encapsulating the highly enjoyable interactive portion of the package to be exasperating to the degree that it effectively dashes your enthusiasm for the rest of experience entirely the way a minority of players have. Especially since it becomes borderline unintelligible in the final act and it director’s penchant for lengthy cinematics/codec calls mean you’ll be sitting through extended stretches of it. I’m not saying there aren’t still those classic MG segments that will leave you wondering whether or not their creator is some kind of sadist either (that darn shell 1-2 connecting bridge…). Those otherwise serious faults end up turning into quibbles when faced with the fine tuning of the mechanics and plethora of excellent QoL features though. Earning Sons of Liberty a well-deserved seat alongside the crème de la crème of the stealth-action tactical espionage action genre. In my eyes at least.

9/10

It is no mistake that MGS2 is considered ahead of its time. This game is literally more topically relevant today than when it was released and contains one of the greatest endings in video game history. Sons of Liberty was so prophetic that it was alienating to audiences in 2001, who were hearing words and ideas that would not be relevant in everyday life until social media platforms started to blow up in the late 2000s/early 2010s. In what has been dubbed “the most profound moment in gaming history,” MGS2 warns the player of an oncoming flood of information that will drown humanity in trite and trivial information, with ideas such as celebrity gossip and baseless slander (the “fake news” of today) taking the forefront and leaving the important, necessary information forgotten under the rubble. While some aspects, namely the controls and the backtracking for weapons, are dated, the game still holds up incredibly well overall.

Jugabilidad exelente
Historia genial
BGM exquisito

Lo único malo es que el protagonista es Jack raiden y es pésimo protagonista, es más llorón que la mierda y se la pasa webeando con que ai no Quiero hacer la misión me da anciedad, y cuando habla con su polola se pone re odioso diciéndole cosas como ai weona no quiero hablar es que estoy en una misión 😭😭🥵

Fuera de eso está bueno el juego

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