I was pleasantly surprised playing this. Metal Gear 1 was a very rough experience and gave me no shortage of issues, but this managed to take what was a very rough foundation and turn it into something genuinely fun to play despite its age.
MG2's stealth is hardly complicated. Stay out of guards' lines of sight, avoid stepping on surfaces that make noises, and if there is no opportunity to slip by undetected then wait for the guards' patrols to line up and give you the chance. With a top-down perspective and a radar in the corner showing all enemy locations (even on adjacent screens) the game is pretty generous at giving you the tools to remain undetected instead of using unpredictability as a substitute for difficulty.
This game improves over its predecessor in a number of major ways. The design and layout of the map is far better at keeping up the pressure with nearby enemies without feeling overbearing or too simple. At the same time, it avoids the constant backtracking of the previous game by introducing plenty of shortcuts and a more centralized structure for the base so that no part of the map is absurdly far away. Combine this with a much better hints system with the Codec calls (which were extremely minimal in the first game) and better instructions for progression and I never hit a point where I felt like I had no idea what to do.
Its easily one of the best aged games of its time period and rarely gave me any difficulties. So I don't have to preface the review with any statements about rough edges or outdated design choices. Just give it a shot and even a modern gamer shouldn't face any issues.
MG2's stealth is hardly complicated. Stay out of guards' lines of sight, avoid stepping on surfaces that make noises, and if there is no opportunity to slip by undetected then wait for the guards' patrols to line up and give you the chance. With a top-down perspective and a radar in the corner showing all enemy locations (even on adjacent screens) the game is pretty generous at giving you the tools to remain undetected instead of using unpredictability as a substitute for difficulty.
This game improves over its predecessor in a number of major ways. The design and layout of the map is far better at keeping up the pressure with nearby enemies without feeling overbearing or too simple. At the same time, it avoids the constant backtracking of the previous game by introducing plenty of shortcuts and a more centralized structure for the base so that no part of the map is absurdly far away. Combine this with a much better hints system with the Codec calls (which were extremely minimal in the first game) and better instructions for progression and I never hit a point where I felt like I had no idea what to do.
Its easily one of the best aged games of its time period and rarely gave me any difficulties. So I don't have to preface the review with any statements about rough edges or outdated design choices. Just give it a shot and even a modern gamer shouldn't face any issues.