Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

"Metal Gear on Xbox."

Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty was one of the most highly anticipated games of last year on the PS2.MGS2 being the sequel to the smash Psone hit Metal Gear Solid. The series originally started on the MSX and its latest incarnation Substance now appears on XBOX as an exclusive
(until early 2003 at least).

Well lets begin. Firstly for those of you who are new and have not experienced MGS2 before.Without giving any of the story away, the game takes place in 2 settings with 2 different characters. The main character Solid Snake (the hero of the previous games) and Raiden (the new kid on the block). You start the game as Snake, with your job being to infiltrate and gain pictures of a new weapon being transported through NYC by a heavily guarded tanker. The onus here definitely being on stealth, although the game does allow you to go guns a blazing if you so wish.
You are armed with various weapons and gadgets that you find as you progress through an ever changing and intense storyline. The story being told is presented to you in the form of Radio conversations (codec) and movie quality cut scenes.These do make up a hefty part of the game time but are crucial if you are to learn about what is going on here. The cut scenes themselves are accompanied by an awesome musical score which really adds to the movie like tension throughout the game. Controlling Snake/Raiden is relatively easy, with vast amounts of moves available. Konami has included 4 controller settings to suit your style of play.
If I were to criticise this game then it would have to be on the story aspect of the game and the way it is told. Although there is no doubt over the technical prowess on display here through the cut scenes. Some gamers may be dismayed at the sheer length and regularity of these. The same being for the radio conversations. Also there are some points of slowdown which can affect the game play.

MGS2 is a cool game and worthy of belonging in your games collection. There are loads of secrets to discover and several difficulties to choose from. Meaning you will want to play it more than once (if to just understand the story a little more). If you have never played MGS2 before on
the PS2 then this is a must have.

METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SUBSTANCE.

So like myself you may have played MGS2 on the PS2 to death and so the Sons Of Liberty story will be old news.
Although I did play through the main game again I noticed some minor changes. Any new Xbox effects were not noticeable and the picture may be marginally sharper.

So why buy Substance I hear you ask. Well Xbox owners can now experience 350 all new VR missions ( similar to the VR missions disk for the Psone) 150 alternate missions and finally 5 all new Snake adventures.
The VR missions are set in CPU generated areas and generally require you to sneak or shoot you way through in the quickest time possible. These are excellent mini games and can be played with various MGS2 characters (you unlock more as you complete more missions).The Alternate missions are more realistic and are set in locations lifted from the MGS2 world.Your objectives here are to defuse bombs, eliminate certain amounts of enemies, hold up enemies and finally a photograph mode. I found these to be great especially as you unlock more characters (each character having his own strengths and weaknesses). If you are a fan then you will love these missions, if not then these are a welcome addition to the main game.
The Snake tales are also pretty cool and allow you to take part in 5 stories not directly linked to the main game (although there are some similarities). These are presented with the least amount of fuss, with text replacing lengthy cut scenes and no Codec. This may disappoint you or be a blessing, depending on what you like. I found these equally engaging and I wanted more of
them. These missions technically allow you to play as Snake on the Big shell but as I said not being part of the Main storyline.
For me I found that the additions to Substance made a worthy purchase even though I have the PS2 version. The question is also raised as to why these were absent from the original release. If you can ignore that and get on with having fun then substance surely rocks, especially if you are new to the MGS world. So for newbies this package is a 9/10 score. The main game is a year old now and I guess most of you will have played MGS2 already. Get this game for the extras because if you are a fan then they are definitely worth it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/09/03, Updated 06/09/03