[Completed on PS3, Not PS2]

8.5/10 (A-)

My MGS playthrough has been continued with MGS3, and like the other two before it, I still really love this game. In terms of which title I prefer between MGS2 and MGS3, this is both harrowing and difficult. MGS3 totally has the edge in certain areas… such as the Codec Crew (Major Zero was obviously much more personable than A.I Campbell, and as the movie-buff that I am… I seriously enjoyed talking to Paramedic after saves. She is so much better than Rose in every single way, and Sigint was also nice to have as well!). I was refreshed by the free-roaming camera system this time around, and it was also pleasant to be able to use the fixed-angles whenever I wanted, because they did help me out with spotting enemies and routes on occasion. The introduced side-characters here all had their moments, like Sokolov’s panzy-mannerisms made me laugh out loud multiple times, Eva as a persona was interesting throughout, and I did enjoy that one cutscene with Granin, also the guards in this entry are pretty hilarious at times. However, I do ultimately prefer MGS2’s side characters overall. More memorable. The bosses are all fairly memorable though… like sure, multiple of the earlier bosses do come off as largely one-dimensional (The Pain, The Fear), which once again pale against MGS2’s Olga and Fortune, and the majority of the battles are exploitable if you even “kinda” know what you’re doing, but MGS3 isn’t at all lacking for “great antagonists”. The Fury brought genuine challenge and even insight into his character, and who he was. The Sorrow is one of my personal favorites, his battle having narrative significance, and was somehow able to recreate the lonely, isolated feeling of MGS1. The Boss is recognized as one of the greatest final bosses of all time, and I’m not here to argue with that. I sincerely love her character, her importance to the storyline, and her true intentions with regards to “Operation Snake Eater”. The narrative itself is obviously much more… “restrained” in terms of its whole “craziness”, especially in comparison to other entries, but it’s also able to use that aspect as a strength to make everything feel much more concise and coherent. This game, like MGS1, plays like a complete experience, a tale from beginning to end, hardly any loose ends… if you’re smart enough to piece things together. Threads here are birthed and ended, and to me that’s where I think I’ll slide MGS3 the edge over MGS2. MGS2 is an exceptional game, and I truly do understand the story, but it leaves a lot of aspects open to interpretation or to be continued with MGS4, while MGS3 can be played as either a standalone experience, or an introduction to the franchise, and while “leaving things open” doesn’t necessarily mean “negative criticism” for MGS2, MGS3 is able to handle everything it needs to within the time it’s allotted, which is symbolic for the mission of the game itself. I do love all of them though.

8.5/10 (A-)

Continuing my MGS playthrough with MGS2, and yeah… I still really admire this entry. As far as which I “prefer” in terms of MGS1 vs MGS2, I do honestly think MGS1 is slightly better, but that’s nothing of an insult to MGS2. MGS1 gets my vote due to myself personally being able to attach myself more to that codec-crew, the side-characters, the musical soundtrack, and the villains just stand out more to me… that being said, it’s just a minuscule difference, and this game is still the wonderful pseudo-bizarro masterpiece that it’s always been. MGS2 is really a think-piece, I know everybody loves to label this as “ahead of its time”, but that’s because it absolutely was, I loved all of the themes and messaging about constant digital-censorship, and choosing your own freedom, making things out to be how you see them, and not what other people tell you to do with them. I did enjoy the antagonists here a lot… like Fatman is so ridiculously campy that it’s endearing, Fortune was interesting (loved her theme), Vamp was the biggest menace, and Solidus Snake made for a memorable villain (second villain in a row who ended up being the most duped). I actually do enjoy Raiden as the new protagonist, and he does grow on you as you uncover more about his character. I also quite adored the new supporting cast… okay, well Rose was actually quite annoying for around 95% of the overall runtime, and plays somewhat of reason of why I prefer MGS1, but everybody else? Really awesome! From Peter Stillman, to Olga, and then E.E… all of them and others left an impact on me. From the first glance, this game tends to noticeably retread a lot of MGS1’s steps, in terms of structure, and how threads play-out from beginning to end, but then the game goes out of its way to make that a point, even revealing that one Shadow Moses was also an “exercise”… (it’s insane). The gameplay was certainly cleaner and more refined here, so that is an improvement I will provide MGS2, and Big Shell did deliver a fresh atmosphere when compared to MGS1, instead of simply trying to recreate the same feeling, which is something I can appreciate. All in all, while this wasn’t my personal favorite in the series, it definitely still stands up with the rest admirably. While MGS1 was more melancholic and romantic, MGS2 was more physiological and mind-bending. Great franchises always offer memorable aspects with every entry.

9/10 (A)

Replayed MGS1 for my MGS playthrough. Still absolutely adore this game, and yes… it does hold up. Whine about the “dated graphics” (revolutionary for the time) all you want, but they still fit this game like a glove, and besides I’d say a couple of minor nitpicks, such as the second Sniper Wolf boss fight… and relatively annoying backtracking here and there, this is still a complete gem. Entirely love the lonely, melancholic atmosphere. The game feels cold and isolating, and I can never get enough of the characters. From Solid Snake to Meryl (this game is so romantic), and Otacon and Ocelot, to the entire codec crew and almost all of the antagonists… this is literally a “lightning in the bottle” set of people. I was also completely invested into the narrative and found the vast majority of the conversations and exchanges to be engaging. I’m totally willing to forgive the “cheesiness” and redundancies in the writing when considering the grand-scheme of the storyline, which even hints/sets up ideals that wouldn’t be seen until MGS4 (FoxDie Aging). I adore the musical score as well, easily one of the greatest soundtracks of all time, and that’s going across every type of medium. All in all, I still completely love this game, and it was truly joyful to experience it once again. So beautiful.