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RATING: (weak) 1 2 3 4 5 (awesome) (No Rating Assigned)
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IN BRIEF
Pros: Incredible pace, look and feel. Design is unprecedented. Cons: We're still looking for any real cons. In a nutshell: A brilliant game where the creator's style and appreciation are apparant. *ESRB rating: M |
FACTS
Game Title: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Release Date: November 1, 2001 Price: 49.99 |
THE REVIEW by Steven Kent for Gamers Today
BELIEVE THE HYPE
Konami's Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was the hit of last E3, simply based on a movie. No one knew whether the footage was from non-playable cut scenes or actual game play. For all Konami would divulge, the entire thing may have just been an elaborate hoax - a skillfully made cartoon that looked like a video game. But it wasn't.
On December 7, Konami finally exhibited a playable demonstration of Metal Gear Solid 2, and it meets and exceeds everything shown at E3.
The Metal Gear Solid 2 demo begins with now well-known footage of Solid Snake, the mercenary hero of the game, doing a Goldeneye-like bungee jump from a tall suspension bridge and landing on the deck of a freighter. His mission, to infiltrate the freighter and look for a Metal Gear (a giant robot), changes when he witnesses Russian soldiers slaughter the ship's crew and hijack the ship.
For those unfamiliar with Metal Gear games, they feature an interesting mix of stealth and combat. Solid Snake is a mercenary of the future. Half Clint Eastwood, half Toshiro Mifune, Solid Snake is a hardboiled killer with a soft voice.
While he generally begins his missions with little more than a pistol for a weapon, Snake's most important accessory is a radar that informs him when enemies are near and which direction they are looking. This enables him to slip through halls and decks unseen. It also helps when he sneaks up on enemies.
Konami has not yet allowed journalists to do more than watch one play of the demo disk. The demonstration showed Snake infiltrating the freighter, slipping in from the outer deck, incapacitating a few enemies with a dart gun, and using an empty cardboard box as camouflage as he sneaked around the ship.
The demonstration was as notable for what it did not show as for what it did. Metal Gear Solid 2 appears to be everything Konami promised in pace, look, and feel. The game's design exceeds that of any game that came before it. Snake looks and acts like a human from a distance, and has detailed style up close.
The ship looks entirely authentic, the enemies appear to have adequate intelligence, and everything is as expected or better than expected. Konami did not give any hints about the latest Metal Gear. The new giant robot, which is said to be bigger than Godzilla, is still under wraps and presumably way below deck.
Hideo Kojima (the writer, director, and producer of Metal Gear Solid) is a member of the second generation of video game producers, the guys who joined the industry during the Nintendo-dominated eighties, after the arcade business slowed. By all indications, he will likely emerge as the most significant game designer of that generation.
Kojima is a video-phile who gets psyched when critics or gamers recognize certain elements from particular movies in his games. He clearly could have been a strong presence in the motion picture industry.
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a brilliant game, and its excitement is heightened by its creator's style and appreciation for cinema.
*For a complete explanation of ESRB ratings, check out the official ESRB Web site.
