Doesn't find new innovative ways of taming the branching narrative game design hydra, but executes the style at a very high level of craftsmanship. The competing voices residing in the player character's head, growing more or less dominant depending on your skill distribution, are Disco's most clever idea, but they do ultimately reveal themselves to be a bit of an infinity mirror: in an organic playthrough, you can never gauge how cavernous these mechanics truly are and are forced to accept whatever cards you're dealt. My signature, most-developed skill (11 points) was Drama, and yet its actual presence in the conversations I experienced felt very muted, and the negative side effects the game teases for when you've developed a skill too far (in Drama's case, intense paranoia,) never manifested in my playthrough.

Disco also relies on many of the narrative/progression contrivances you'd expect: what revealed itself to be the murder case's crucial lead is something I discovered incredibly early into the story, yet you're not actually allowed to follow up on it until a specific late-game event trigger. In my playthrough it was extra bizarre in that I was told about this lead again by a different character, which then prompted the ability to further investigate, as if I hadn't already found the necessary clue myself fifteen hours earlier.

All of this adds up in a way where my actual agency in the plot is incredibly opaque, which in turn makes it difficult for me to fully invest myself in the experience. Yes, the stats and dice rolls literally matter in that they have direct, observable, mechanical effects, but it's hard to gauge how exactly they matter to me when the corresponding outcomes are ultimately still scripted and often somewhat unpredictable. It's hard to know how to feel when a skill check passes or fails because the outcome ultimately wasn't up to me: to put it uncharitably, rather than fully participating in and shaping the story, I'm sorta pressing buttons and seeing what happens.

Where Disco succeeds is in crafting situations that aren't necessarily "morally grey," as if that were the most compelling thing a CRPG could do -- the game is explicit about its leftist, socialist values and thankfully never succumbs to wishy-washy centrist mush -- but instead test your ability to remain resolute in your beliefs while also being sensitive and empathetic toward the world around you. It's a game that encourages you to embrace those voices in your head and not be afraid to be a little embarrassing or off-putting if it ultimately means doing the right thing. Don't let these fascists cramp your style!!

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.

Genre: immersive sim, fps | Released: June 2000 | Platform: PC, PS2 (but like, don’t play this version) | Developer: Ion Storm | Publisher: Eidos Interactive | Language: English | Length: 25-40 hours | Difficulty: Medium, but you can make it much harder | Do I Need To Play Anything First: Nope | Accessibility Options: You can turn on auto aim, but there are limited options | Monetization: Single purchase (often goes on sale for like a buck) | Microtransaction: None | Gambling Elements: None | Content Warning: Language, drug use, violence | Parenting Guide: Rated M for mature, and I agree | How Did You Play It: On my PC, with a modded version of the Game of the Year edition | Did you need a guide: Once, I could not for the life of me find a data pad which ended up being on a shelf. I felt… not smart| Mods: I started with his guide from PC gamer and played GMDX

Is It Good: It’s a classic, and I grew to love it.

Back of the Box: See the game that changed the world.

I’m going to tell you to play Deus Ex. It’s one of the most important games released, and earns its place among the pantheon of classics. BUT, please note it is an old PC game from the year 2000, and temper your expectations accordingly. This game expects you to save scum, and be prepared for CLUNKY game play.

But past that, you will find an astoundingly deep game with expansive levels, interesting choices, and a huge amount of player freedom. Each level feels like its own world, and I loved exploring rooms, streets, and hallways while reading other people's emails. This was great, and I now understand why people have such reverence for this game.