Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

"More than we deserve..."

What can be said about Metal Gear Solid 2 that has yet to be mentioned? Released late last year (as Sons of Liberty for the PlayStation 2), you either know about every facet of its being, or you do not care to know at all. Its creators acknowledged this as well and have furnished Xbox owners with something much more than a direct port. Appropriately renamed Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (MGS2:S), this is a rare instance amongst video games where quantity is actually more beneficial than quality.

The reason? Ingenuity. The Metal Gear Solid (MGS) formula is so tight and well-conceived that filtering it through literally hours of storyline and dialogue hinders our enjoyment to where we no longer question what happens next but rather when do I get to play next. The answer is too long for too little.

Fortunately, with welcomed additions consisting of hundreds of VR Missions, Alternative Missions, a series of Snake Tales (a cure for when you-know-who takes center stage), and countless other delights, Hideo Kojima and the fine folks (yes, I actually wrote “fine folks”) at Konami have robbed us our innate right to complain. What we are left with is the ultimate fix for MGS addicts that suffer withdrawal effects during those infinite cut scenes.

Let’s break it down:

Graphics: 10/10

Many have griped about the slowdown apparent during the raining segments of MGS2:S. While the reason for such slowdown has been logically explained (see any other review), I must ask: are we so indifferent in terms of “overall experience” that we instead chastise the one occurrence that isn’t consistent?

The villains, however, are another issue. They have no excuse. They just do not belong in this game. Solidus cannot hold a candle, not even its wick, to Liquid. Nor can Fortune to Vulcan Raven, nor Vamp to Psycho Mantis. And don’t get me started on Fatman. Together, they command all the fear and threat of the Saturday morning ideals that inspired them.

Yet, they are but a crack amongst an unbelievable canvas.

Look at it. Just look at it. While I sincerely doubt that any of us shall ever find themselves aboard a hijacked tanker or chemical plant, I promise you the result will seem very much like this. Whereas lush landscapes and fertile environments are merely an artist’s palette given absolute freedom, coldness and sterility are incredibly hard to simulate. Such traits are so definite and so rigid--too elaborate and they look fake, too modest and they lack menace. The fact that they have not only been done, but done well, is an achievement in and of itself.

Sound: 9/10

Video games should really be called A/V games because the aural element is as integral to their encompassing value as the visual. With that, the real celebrity of MGS2:S is a who’s who of Hollywood composers, Harry Gregson-Williams. His brooding score narrates the action perfectly--rising to the dramatic, yet knowing when to rescind. It is as much of a relevant character to the story as Solid Snake himself.

Sound effects are tiptop, as is the voice acting. Fellow screenwriter, David Hayter, has the exact, weathered monotone to suit Solid Snake... unfortunately what he, and the rest of the cast, say isn’t as impressive. Although the game is extremely well-written (especially when compared to the grammatically incorrect “truck have started to move” errors plaguing the original Metal Gear for the Nintendo Entertainment System), let’s face it: the characters are babbling.

When one thinks Tactical Espionage Action, one does not look for philosophical conversations about life, existence, and identity. Certainly not this meandering trite (that’s about as deep as a rice paddy). It’s about being the world’s foremost ass-kicker, and it should sound as such.

Gameplay: 10/10

An Anti-Action Action game, where stealth is valued over gunplay, and gunplay is a promised death. It is possible to complete MGS2:S without harming a single soul unrelated to the story. This adds a nice symmetry to the stop-the-pulse-of-anyone-that-has-one attitude plaguing the industry today. Of course, this is why the series was worthy of becoming a series, thus I need not affirm what is already commonly-known.

What makes the MGS formula especially unique, however, is it’s rewards for curiosity. If I shoot a guard, he’ll simply flicker and die (as they always have), right? I see a locker, but they wouldn’t have thought to allow me to stuff a body inside, would they? I see a dirty magazine, I couldn’t--well, I won’t go there. The point is that they are asked without the game prompting you to ask, and their answers are much too satisfying. Does this game exploit our cruel fascination? Oh, you bet’cha.

Story: 6/10

What begins as a worthy continuation of the original MGS’s narrative (aboard the tanker) ends as pure contrivance (aboard the plant). It is one thing when a plot twists, it is far another when the twist is forced upon us. Hideo Kojima is much too in love with his story to constrain himself--he not only embellishes, he contorts, double backs on himself, and says nothing in the guise of something so many times that by the end I was simply exhausted.

That is not to say it had me confused, nor was I impatient with the idea of an “interactive movie” (though video games truly are meant to be played, and not watched)... I was merely waiting for closure. MGS2:S explains and explains to where one would rather unplug the console than have to witness another flashback.

Konami attempted a similar approach with another sequel, Silent Hill 2--which succeeded because it was a ghost story where anything could happen (and did). This installment of MGS fails, however, because the series has always prided itself on halfway plausibility. As was the case with the original, where a bipedal tank equipped with a rail gun would not only be feasible technologically, it would easily constitute the greatest threat to National Security in the wrong hands. The story had its twist and turns to be sure, but they served a purpose instead of simply being... well, twists and turns.

Without spoiling to much, I will ask a question as an example of where much of MGS2:S goes wrong: do heroes and villains really stand around, in open arenas, with their guns poised at one another, exchanging looks and speaking dialogue that is said only to be spoken (in case any gamers should happen to be listening) as opposed to pulling the trigger?

No, they do not.

Replayability: 10/10

Flowing in the vein of the DVD phenomena, MGS2:S contains more bonus features than actual material. With the aforementioned missions and Tales, unlockable characters and modes, dog tags to collect, and of course the main game (which ironically is the most minute portion), your patience will run out before the game does. Which, of course, is the highest possible compliment for this category.

Conclusion: 10/10

If this is Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance then Sons of Liberty should have been dubbed Metal Gear Solid 2: Style, as it was it more of an exercise of the latter than the former. The controller spent as much time resting upon the floor, as it did in the gamer’s hands. While there is nothing wrong with this approach (RPG’s have used it for years) it’s unfair to the game itself. The MGS scheme is too specific and too phenomenal to not only be shelved, but upstaged by such strenuous cinematic elements.

Thankfully, with such necessary (yet equally frivolous) inclusions, we no longer have this problem.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/02, Updated 11/26/02