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Let's appreciate: Metal Gear Solid 2 - Sons of Liberty

SolidusDave said:
oh and MGS2 had the best boss characters/antagonists. I was SO disappointed by the Cobras&BBs in MGS3&4 in this regard: Awesome bosses/designs but they are ZERO involved in the story and simple exist as an obstacle for the player.

Man, this is a good friggin' point. MGS1&2 built up the FOX-HOUND members as characters and they really had some weight. Sniper Wolf's and Vulcan Raven's death scenes were some heavy shit. I don't think MGS2 did it quite as well but Fatman was nicely built up and the others were done well enough.

In MGS3 and 4 you got a flashy boss bottle and maybe some bullshit explanation in one codec conversation for background. I beat the bosses and moved on. The only one I really cared about out of these two games was The End, and that was only a little bit.
 
Best of the series for me.

Not really fond of the writing in any of the installments though, I only really love it now because of Nostalgia.

Also wtf@ Kojima naming the couple "Jack and Rose".
 
I seriously can't think of anyone that genuinely dislikes the game just because of Raiden. I think everyone is pretty much over that by now....
 
This was my first entry to the MGS series. I loved the twists and most things. Fatman was a bit of a terrible boss, but then again I found the bosses more interesting than those of the original (Psycho Mantis an exception). I understand the impact of the first but I still had a much better experience with the second game.
 

Leckan

Member
I don't care if it has or hasn't been posted. This video is mandatory everytime soneone talks about MGS 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq6L1HV5gz4

BEST.TRAILER.EVER.

I remember downloading it on my measly 56k modem which took hours. I must have watched it 20 times a row afterwards. Still haven't been so impressed by any game. It was so far ahead of it's competition it wasn't even funny. Never been so hyped in my life.
 
Leckan said:
I don't care if it has or hasn't been posted. This video is mandatory everytime soneone talks about MGS 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq6L1HV5gz4

BEST.TRAILER.EVER.

I remember downloading it on my measly 56k modem which took hours. I must have watched it 20 times a row afterwards. Still haven't been so impressed by any game. It was so far ahead of it's competition it wasn't even funny. Never been so hyped in my life.

Yup that trailer is still all kinds of amazing. I'm a not a huge fan of MGS2 like other people in here, but that trailer is so good.

I'm sure a lot of the backlash was due to the awesome trailer with snake, then people getting let down by Raiden's entrance when the main story started. Similar, but not as bad as what happened with Wind Waker.
 

Leckan

Member
Also, I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life by a game as when the colonel told me to stop playing. A shill was sent down my spine as I almost did before coming to my senses :lol. It was probably amplified by the fact that I DID play for many hours straight and was tired so I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul8j9I90ueM&feature=related

Some serious psychological horror shit going on right there.
 

Ratba

Unconfirmed Member
Really liked the game but every time I get to Otacon's boo-hoo scene I want to kill someone. I can't stand listening to it.
 

rvy

Banned
SolidusDave said:
I'm glad we ALL finally agree MGS2 is the best MGS overall, especially in story&characters.
This isn't a fucking utopia. Such a thing will never happen.

Also, Japanese voice acting > English voice acting. Not to mention the translation is all over the place, but this is because Kojima ditched Jeremy Blaustein. Huge mistake.
 

tzare

Member
it also has one of the most awesome opening scenes, jumping from that bride, the music in the background. Genius. I miss that old MGS feeling. I really enjoyed MGS3 and 4, but nothing comes close for me.
 

jett

D-Member
Leckan said:
I don't care if it has or hasn't been posted. This video is mandatory everytime soneone talks about MGS 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq6L1HV5gz4

BEST.TRAILER.EVER.

I remember downloading it on my measly 56k modem which took hours. I must have watched it 20 times a row afterwards. Still haven't been so impressed by any game. It was so far ahead of it's competition it wasn't even funny. Never been so hyped in my life.

Hah yes! I remember one time back in 2000 I took my PC in for repair to a computer shop, I had the trailer on my desktop. When I came to take back my PC the MGS2 trailer was playing in all their computers. :lol I guess they liked it too. :p
 

Dipswitch

Member
I forgot to mention earlier that the title sequence and accompanying music is the best I've ever seen in a video game, bar none. I put the game on occasionally specifically just to watch that - gives me goosebumps every time. Harry Gregson Williams composition was the balls.
 

Salaadin

Member
Dipswitch said:
I forgot to mention earlier that the title sequence and accompanying music is the best I've ever seen in a video game, bar none. I put the game on occasionally specifically just to watch that - gives me goosebumps every time. Harry Gregson Williams composition was the balls.

It really, really is. I remember the first time seeing it with the MGS2 demo (that came with a free copy of ZOE1!) and almost crapping myself at what I was witnessing. Its amazing.

MGS2 isnt my favorite MGS (Im an MGS1, MGS3 lover) but it still ranks up there as one of my favorite games ever.
 

tzare

Member
i also remembre that joy invaded me when i met Pliskin. I mean, i really like using Raiden as main character, but being aided by Pliskin was fucking awesome :)
 
I remember the E3 trailer with Harry Gregson Williams' MGS theme rendition, and it gave me fucking shivers. Glad he stayed on for the rest of the series.
 

Mr_Zombie

Member
The problem with MGS2 was that it had too many unnecessary sub-plots (do we really needed to know that Otacon had a romance with his step-mother) and too many unnecessary long dialogues/monologues. Take the movie posted by Killing_Joke for example. Both Otacon's monologues (1:06-2:00 and 6:33-7:30) could easily be omitted and the scene wouldn't lost it's meaning and power. Instead it is interrupted twice by some out-of-the-place monologues with the Big Shell in the background.
And there's lots and lots of similar scenes throughout the game :/.
 
MGS2 is one of my favorite/most played/best games ever and for a reason! I pretty much loved every single aspect of it. It also has the best demo ever (the one that came with ZOE).

If I need to add something, best e3 trailer EVER.
 
Mr_Zombie said:
The problem with MGS2 was that it had too many unnecessary sub-plots (do we really needed to know that Otacon had a romance with his step-mother)

well uhm yes? It was the reason why Otacon left his sister / the background of their now fucked up family which results in part to the setting of MGS2/MGS4.
This even made EE programme the AI of GW (and we know where that led to) and contact Otacon to impress him/seeking for attention/love.

btw I especially liked the monologues about conspiracies and tech stuff :p
 
Salaadin said:
I never really fully understood the hate from Otacons breakdown after she dies. Was it because of how goofy he sounded? IMO, most people sound goofy when they cry.

I just remember sitting there feeling pretty bad for him when she died.

I agree. I found the scene to be incredibly moving. Otacon sounded so pathetic, but that's how it was SUPPOSED to sound.

The only awkwardness came from the fact that the motion capture didn't really sync up with the voice acting. So Otacon's model would be convulsing out of sync with the voice actor's sobbing. But that's just a sign of the game's age more than a knock against it.

That scene makes the whole game worth it for me. And that slow motion walk is so damn cliche, but it was so fucking awesome when it happened in the game.
 

R-User!

Member
autobzooty said:
I really don't like this game, and it's not because of Raiden.

It's by far the most frustrating game to play in the entire MGS series, and I really don't understand why people like it. I feel like I'm missing out on something here, but I've given the game more than enough chances, and it just gets worse for me each time. It's like the controls, level design, and radar are all designed to work against me. Most MGS games are more fun as you turn up the difficulty and turn off the radar, but doing this in MGS2 makes it so that enemies who are not on your screen and on a catwalk 100 feet above you spot you. And the camera is static so there's not a single thing you can do about it unless you wanna go through the arduous process of looking around in first person. And even if you have the radar on, you're still getting spotted by enemies you have no way of seeing due to the static camera.

God it's so frustrating.
*chirrp-chirrp, chirrp-chirrp*

*you press select... and The Colonel appears on screen*

"You need to press yourself up against a wall before you proceed to a new area, Raiden! It's the only way to get a bearing on your surroundings without using the First Person View! Survey your area well and proceed at the right time and no one from one hundred feet away will see you! Now go back to work and kill the
President! I want scissors, 61!

No, seriously. It's not the game, it's how you're not playing it.
 
rvy said:
Also, Japanese voice acting > English voice acting. Not to mention the translation is all over the place, but this is because Kojima ditched Jeremy Blaustein. Huge mistake.

Could you elaborate? I'm not trying to be sarcastic and I have heard about what you're talking about (I have heard, from people who understand the language, that the Japanese script and acting for MGS2 is better than the English script) but I'd just like to hear more about your opinion on this, because it interests me.
 

bhlaab

Member
I don't mind raiden, it's just that the big shell is such a boring location, all the boss fights are lame, and so many corners were cut near the end of development (cutscenes replaced by extended codec conversations, a good 1/4 of the struts unavailable, etc)

Oh, and EE's death is without a doubt the stupidest thing ever so I don't know what yall talkin about
 

Trakdown

Member
Excellent game. The fight against the army of Rays is still one of my favorite boss battles ever, and the ending where Solidus dies as the MGS theme plays...so awesome.

Although Rose got on my goddamn nerves.
 

oracrest

Member
I loved it.

The Document game was really interesting to peruse. That's where I learned how fake reflections are done in a game engine.

I always thought they really did a lot with the first person view this go around. From the fake Raven shadow on the wall, to swimming, to shooting seagulls and radios out of hands. They really pushed how a shooter could interact with other characters.

And this was the game that got me to play every Metal Gear since almost exclusively in "Tranquilize Mode."

lol at slipping on bird shit.
 
Probably my most anticipated game since GTA4.

It's up there with MGS1.I've finished it several times, because it's such a joy to play and there's tons to do thanks to all the attention to detail kojima put in.


I didn't mind playing as raiden one bit.It was a good decision, we got to view snake from his perspective and don't forget doing cartwheels in the nude!.

State of the art gfx for its time, excellent score and presentation.A huge amount of easter eggs.I loved playing around with the guards...there was just so much you could do to them.

The game of last generation.It was like a blockbuster movie.
 
My favorite MGS followed by MGS1. It's nice to see how badass Snake suppose to be when you are observing his actions and not doing them.
 

oracrest

Member
raped.jpg
 
oracrest said:

Reminds me of what evil things I did to the guards as I was testing the AI/possibilities. For me it was the first game which actually let you interact with the enemies on soooo many levels and the MGS series is still unmatched in this regard imo.

They should bring back the dog tags though, btw did someone from this forum made it into the game?
 

Gomu Gomu

Member
Gentlemen,
I would like to make an official apology to Kojima and all MGS2 fans around the world for my previous post. So last night I though hey, why not try to finish MGS2. And the next thing I know, it's morning and I just finished the game.

OH MY GOD, this game is brilliant. I can't believe how good does it get once you start discovering the truth behind everything. When I finished the game back in the day, my English was very good. So 70% of the story just flew by, and ended up with a shallow story. But I'm so glad I decided to go back and replay all the MGS games. Because MGS2 was NOTHING like I remember. The scale of the story is ridiculous and the amount of twists and unexpected fact/events it throws at you is insane. Now I know why Kojima decided to choose Raiden as the main character. Actually, My perception of Raiden changed 180 degrees after replaying MGS2. I've always though that Kojima wanted a new and fresh face for the series. And Raiden was just a beautiful face. But now I know he wasn't that at all. Raiden's charter is deep and if you put him in the context of the story, the decision of making him the main character becomes a brilliant choice.

However, I still hate the Big Shell as a setting. And I wish there was more variety in gameplay. And the boss fights weren't nearly as interesting as the first one.
 
RustyNails said:
Lets not. Fuck off!

Laugh and grow fat.


I think my favorite part is inside Arsenal with the naked cartwheels. It's so eerie and brisk.
I once tried playing on the difficulty mode in which a single alert means "game over". I suck at stealth. I should give it another try sometime, though.
 

Blablurn

Member
Gomu Gomu said:
Gentlemen,
I would like to make an official apology to Kojima and all MGS2 fans around the world for my previous post. So last night I though hey, why not try to finish MGS2. And the next thing I know, it's morning and I just finished the game.

OH MY GOD, this game is brilliant. I can't believe how good does it get once you start discovering the truth behind everything. When I finished the game back in the day, my English was very good. So 70% of the story just flew by, and ended up with a shallow story. But I'm so glad I decided to go back and replay all the MGS games. Because MGS2 was NOTHING like I remember. The scale of the story is ridiculous and the amount of twists and unexpected fact/events it throws at you is insane. Now I know why Kojima decided to choose Raiden as the main character. Actually, My perception of Raiden changed 180 degrees after replaying MGS2. I've always though that Kojima wanted a new and fresh face for the series. And Raiden was just a beautiful face. But now I know he wasn't that at all. Raiden's charter is deep and if you put him in the context of the story, the decision of making him the main character becomes a brilliant choice.

However, I still hate the Big Shell as a setting. And I wish there was more variety in gameplay. And the boss fights weren't nearly as interesting as the first one.

good to see! appreciate that.

and thank you all for contributing!
 
Yeah I'm one of those few that liked raiden right off the bat. The only thing I didn't really like about him was his outfit. Waaaay too tight for my comfort. He gave me a real gray fox vibe from the moment I saw his cartwheel and melee combo I knew I would grow to like him.

I was glad to see that Kojima and company just basically turned him into a complete cyber ninja for MGS4 but dissapointed that I couldn't play as him again. MGS2 is probably my most visited MGS game. Finished it about 3 or 4 times. The bosses weren't as great as the MGS1 bosses, but some of the boss fights, specifically the final one were just so good.
 

Safe Bet

Banned
The Citizen Kane of games.




PS

I'm not "gamer enough" to make that assessment with any seriousness.

Just throwing it out there...
 

StuBurns

Banned
Safe Bet said:
The Citizen Kane of games.




PS

I'm not "gamer enough" to make that assessment with any seriousness.

Just throwing it out there...
BioShock is the Citizen Kane of video games. Possibly.

The MGS series uses cinema tropes far too much to be considered the Kane of video games.
 

Safe Bet

Banned
_Bro said:
Then he insults them with Raiden. It's hilarious and enjoyable to play!
Asking someone (the player) to self-reflect is not an insult.

Pretentious?

Arrogant?

Maybe...

Personally, I enjoy a demanding teacher.


Edit:

My only complaint of MGS2 would be need to look to outside sources to "get it" which leads to accusations of audience creating artistic intent.
 

bistromathics

facing a bright new dawn
just beat this game today and really enjoyed it, although not as much as mgs3. I liked holding people up for their dogtags...i've never obtained stealth cammo in an mgs game, but this method seems way better than the keroppi's in mgs3 or the no-alert in mgs4.

I also love the use of the analog square button (mgs3 did this as well, but without dogtags, holding people up wasn't as big a deal). It totally evokes the feeling of squeezing a trigger just a bit, then gently letting off.
 

Dolemitesooner

Neo Member
Ok so I started playing this last night for the first time and I am having fun. I have a few questions though.

I have found 5 dog tags, and I can see them in my left menu while in game, but out of the game in the menu under dog tags it says I have none when I load my game file. What do I need to do to get them recognized there.
 
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