This review contains spoilers
Traditionally sequels deepen the world of and around the first installment, and deepen our connections to the characters by challenging them in greater ways than we've seen with them before. Metal Gear Solid 2 goes further in those typical sequel-related regards, but also deepens our understanding of our connection to media in general. It's not just Metal Gear Solid, or video games, or interactive media. It's literally all of it.
If every decision behind the first game didn't feel artistically motivated, Sons of Liberty is almost unfathomably dense by comparison. You name a flaw that isn't quality of life related or something to do with controls, and it contributes to something deeply embedded within Kojima's four-dimensional dodeca-narrative. To say nothing of the meta aspect of why the story is similar to that of the first in many ways, think back to how you first felt playing the game after 1, and how you tried to shake off every sense of familiarity. The new context is what you focus on deliberately, but really that's a battle we shouldn't have to fight. We ignore the history of art, we ignore the messages we consistently see, we rarely try to connect the dots. We often do everything in our power to stay locked into the ride, and thus unwittingly take part in the simulation.
However much we try to ignore the way our reality is becoming a simulation, whether we can even be classified as players (are we truly free?), the game is being played somehow and by someone. I guess the joke here is that if you're not informed on the subject, you might as well be an NPC, but that would reduce the game's ideas to memes, and not the MEMES that are its subject.
Speaking of memes, there's a harrowing moment when Stillman discusses his mistakes with training Fatman, but he also realizes that Fatman has developed his techniques beyond that of which he was taught. That being said, he did potentially incubate the walking disaster he became. The problem wasn't that Stillman gave Fatman tools for acts of terror, but perhaps that he didn't give him something more beyond that, not that we should blame him for it. How can you really tell when you're not doing enough for someone? All we can hope to do is more. And that's the cure for all of this modern trauma. If we do things out of the good of our hearts, with sociological and spiritual awareness, then this is not a simulated action. That's more real than anything.
If every decision behind the first game didn't feel artistically motivated, Sons of Liberty is almost unfathomably dense by comparison. You name a flaw that isn't quality of life related or something to do with controls, and it contributes to something deeply embedded within Kojima's four-dimensional dodeca-narrative. To say nothing of the meta aspect of why the story is similar to that of the first in many ways, think back to how you first felt playing the game after 1, and how you tried to shake off every sense of familiarity. The new context is what you focus on deliberately, but really that's a battle we shouldn't have to fight. We ignore the history of art, we ignore the messages we consistently see, we rarely try to connect the dots. We often do everything in our power to stay locked into the ride, and thus unwittingly take part in the simulation.
However much we try to ignore the way our reality is becoming a simulation, whether we can even be classified as players (are we truly free?), the game is being played somehow and by someone. I guess the joke here is that if you're not informed on the subject, you might as well be an NPC, but that would reduce the game's ideas to memes, and not the MEMES that are its subject.
Speaking of memes, there's a harrowing moment when Stillman discusses his mistakes with training Fatman, but he also realizes that Fatman has developed his techniques beyond that of which he was taught. That being said, he did potentially incubate the walking disaster he became. The problem wasn't that Stillman gave Fatman tools for acts of terror, but perhaps that he didn't give him something more beyond that, not that we should blame him for it. How can you really tell when you're not doing enough for someone? All we can hope to do is more. And that's the cure for all of this modern trauma. If we do things out of the good of our hearts, with sociological and spiritual awareness, then this is not a simulated action. That's more real than anything.