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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is an action-adventure stealth video game developed and published by Konami for Nintendo Switch. It is the fourth main entry in the Metal Gear franchise, the second game in the Solid sub-series, the seventh released overall, and a sequel to Metal Gear Solid. As with its predecessor, the game was directed, designed, co-written and produced by series creator Hideo Kojima, who scripted the game with Tomokazu Fukushima. It is also the first main entry in the series to feature a score co-composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, notable for scoring American film productions such as Phone Booth (2002), the first two Chronicles of Narnia films and The Martian (2015), bridging the games closer to emulating filmic qualities.
Sons of Liberty's narrative takes place between 2007 and 2009, beginning two years after the events of Metal Gear Solid. Solid Snake, now working for a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating the Metal Gear threat, is caught in the crossfire of a successful heist surrounding a new Metal Gear model, nicknamed "RAY". Sometime later, a clean-up facility for the incident named Big Shell, is seized by a group of terrorists calling themselves the "Sons of Liberty", who demand a significant ransom in exchange for the United States President's life. Threatening to trigger a nation-wide electromagnetic pulse and cause cataclysmic events, FOXHOUND sends in a new recruit codenamed "Raiden" to infiltrate the facility and uncover their ulterior motives, leading to the discovery of a conspiracy that has shaped the country's history for decades.
Metal Gear Solid 2 was originally released worldwide in November 2001, initially receiving acclaim for its graphical fidelity, improved stealth gameplay over its predecessor, and an attention to detail regarding environmental interactivity, that was considered unprecedented for games released during that generation of gaming hardware. At the time, a point of controversy amongst critics and commentators stemmed from the game's various philisophical themes and social commentary, drawing on topics such as the Information Age, digital manipulation, media censorship, artificial intelligence, existentialism, and the development of free thinking. Just like its predecessor, it has been retrospectively remarked upon as one of the greatest and most important video game releases ever made, and has been viewed as a key example of games as an art form due to its interpretive themes and directorial expression, in addition to tackling subject matter that would subsequently become relevant in the years following its original release. The game's story has been adapted into other forms of media, such as a monthly limited comic book series, and as with its predecessor, a Digital Graphic Novel motion comic adaptation released in 2009.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is set to be released as both a standalone digital title on Nintendo eShop, and as part of the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 compilation on October 24, 2023. The Master Collection version of MGS2 was ported by Rocket Studio.
Gameplay[]
Metal Gear Solid 2 is built upon the foundation established by its direct predecessor, Metal Gear Solid. As previously, the core objective during gameplay is to navigate the dual protagonists Solid Snake and Raiden through various smaller areas throughout the prominent facilities featured in the story, and avoid being detected either by enemy guards capable of flanking Snake or Raiden in large numbers if spotted, or by devices such as surveilance cameras and infrared lasers which can trigger alarms, thereby alerting the aforementioned enemy types to your presence.
In addition to the returning Soliton Radar system, which has been updated to provide an expanded view of the character's current position, the First-Person View angle now allows either Snake or Raiden to aim their equipped weapon in front of them. enabling them to take out enemy guards either by killing or tranquilizing them. As an alternative to simply knocking them unconscious, both characters are able to corner an enemy in first-person mode and hold them at gunpoint, which when prolonged has a chance of the guard providing players with consumables such as Rations, or special collectibles known as Dog Tags, which will unlock additional perks for the player to use in repeat playthroughs of the game should all of them be collected. When holding up an enemy, the player is also able to use their weapon to disable their radio, cutting off their ability to communicate with other guards to coordinate a surprise ambush. Stealth is also affected by various environmental effects such as rain causing either character to catch colds if they remain outdoors for too long, offering another way guards can be alerted to their presence if they sneeze partway through infiltration.
The enemy A.I. has also seen significant improvements over the first Metal Gear Solid. They now work in groups surrounding and surveying the current area, and are able to coordinate with each other for any particular tasks due to being equipped with radio receivers. For example, if they notice one of their men is dead or unconscious, they can issue reinforcements to surround the area around the body, putting the location under tighter security. When spotting the player, they can also request strike teams adorned in riot gear to flank them and cut off any evasion routes. If successfully evaded, they can also perform clean sweeps around the area to check for the player's position, which will be displayed on the Soliton Radar while escaping guards. To compensate for the smarter behavior of guards, the player has also been given additional means of retaining a low profile, further encouraging usage of stealth. Enemies no longer disappear off the map when killed or knocked unconscious, meaning they remain visible in the scene at all times; players are now able to drag their bodies and hide them secluded spaces such as lockers as a means of not drawing attention to them. Snake and Raiden are also able to pop out from behind cover to either get a more direct view upfront, or to shoot enemies in their vicinity. They are also able to use their procured firearms to briefly disable surveillance cameras, as well as drop down and hang from ledges as other means of avoiding detection.
Release[]
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty will be released for Nintendo Switch on October 24, 2023 as a standalone digital release for the console's Nintendo eShop. It will also be included as part of the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 compilation alongside Metal Gear (1987), Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990), Metal Gear Solid (1998) and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004). The Master Collection version of MGS2 is a direct port of the 'HD Edition' previously developed as part of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection compilation released for seventh-generation consoles, being primarily based on the game's initial re-release, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. It will come included with bonus content such as the "Snake Tales" mode, which is a mission mode recreating some of the game's key set pieces with Solid Snake as opposed to Raiden, as well as VR Missions, Bomb Disposal Mode and Photo Mode. However, the 'HD Edition' omits the skateboarding minigame from the original release of Substance.
External links[]
Metal Gear series | |
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Main series | Metal Gear • Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake • Metal Gear Solid (Master Collection) • 2: Sons of Liberty • 3: Snake Eater (Master Collection) • Master Collection Vol. 1 |
Non-Canon games | Snake's Revenge • Metal Gear: Ghost Babel |
People | Hideo Kojima • Yoji Shinkawa • Shinta Nojiri • Mineshi Kimura • Harry Gregson-Williams • Norihiko Hibino • David Hayter • Akio Otsuka • Project Itoh |
Related | Hybrid Heaven • Super Smash Bros. |