Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

A must-own, state-of-the-art tactical espionage stealth-a-thon. [Jan 2007, p.106]

From the attention to detail that went into the graphics to the sophistication of gameplay, Hideo Kojima and his team set out to create the perfect game, and the result is nothing short of this. [Dec 2001, p.84]

The best part of the whole thing is, you become so comfortable with the controls that the movements feel like a natural extension of your body. You’ll find your self ducking your head every time a bullet whizzes by you during a gunfight.

One of the most interesting aspects of MGS2's gameplay, though, is the emphasis on nonviolence. For a game with such a huge arsenal of destructive implements, and such a horribly rich killing experience for the twisted among us, it honestly provides considerable opportunity and incentive to be a benevolent commando.

Enjoyable, captivating, and thrilling.

Truly astounding. Not tarnished at all by all the hype, and truly worth the wait.

SOL's storyline (and this is being generous) is woefully inept, consisting of such high-calibre nonsense that there's absolutely no point following it.

An absolute classic from start to finish. MGS2 was one of the games that really made me fall in love with the Metal Gear series. I first played it on PS2, and I’ve replayed it several times since then on PC through emulation. Every time I come back to it, I’m still amazed by how much detail and thought Hideo Kojima put into this game. I absolutely love Raiden, and I especially love the bait and switch with the game’s story and characters. The way the game plays with your expectations is still brilliant to me. I also love all the little details Kojima put into the game. For example, if you choose that you’ve never played a Metal Gear game before starting, you skip the entire Tanker section with Snake and start directly with Raiden. It’s such a small detail, but it gives you a completely different introduction to the game depending on your answer. And honestly, despite being more than 20 years old, the story and its themes feel more relevant than ever today. Some of the ideas Kojima explored back then are still incredibly relevant in the world we live in now. It really shows how much of a pioneer and visionary he was. Even by today’s standards, the graphics, cinematics and art direction still hold up incredibly well. There’s so much personality and attention to detail in the presentation that the game still looks and feels special after all these years. The gameplay, the characters, the atmosphere, the story and all the little details make this game an absolute classic for me. I’ve played it multiple times on PS2 and on PC through emulation, and I still love it every time. I really hope we eventually get a proper remake of MGS2. After seeing what has been done with MGS3, I would absolutely love to experience this game again with modern visuals while keeping the spirit of the original. A true classic, and one of the games that every Metal Gear fan should experience at least once.

MGS2 es un juego brillante por momentos y frustrante como sistema. Sus bosses funcionan como ideas puras, casi ensayos interactivos, pero todo lo que los rodea se siente constreñido, reducido, artificialmente controlado. El diseño de niveles es rígido, la libertad es ilusoria y la experiencia depende más del discurso que de la interacción. Es un juego que piensa mucho más de lo que juega, y aunque eso lo convierte en una obra interesante, también lo aleja de la solidez mecánica. Importante, sí. Pleno, no.

"Stunning graphics, captivating story, smooth gameplay. An immersive and enjoyable experience from start to finish

Usually enjoyable when you adapt the controls with good story but way too many glitches with weird gameplay mechanics. Some of the bosses are extremely stretched out and have some undodgeable attacks as well

This game was never good. This game still isn't good. The camera is your worst enemy. Guards constantly spot you when you can't even see them and this get's worse once you need to turn on your radar in the rest of the rooms in the game. The Story is just plain un-interesting. Hideo Kojima may be a master writer of stories, but this one doesn't deliver until the last hour or so of game play and cut scenes, and even at that point I find myself not caring about some of the things, while the parts while interesting feel more like they belong in a film or some documentary. This is not a good game and it's a boring movie.