Metal Gear Solid 2 : First Impressions

March 27th marked the arrival of the single most anticipated Playstation 2 disc to the states and it's only a demo. That's right, us Yanks finally have the opportunity to witness firsthand Hideo Kojima's masterpiece in the works. Although only a demo disc, Metal Gear Solid 2 already has enough features and goodies to keep gamers glued to their set for hours.

Upon starting the game, you get the option to review the storyline from Metal Gear Solid in a book review type format. It basically tells the story of what happened during the Playstation classic, but the book review format gives it some nice style. There is also a training option that details Snake's moves, complete with descriptions and a cool snippet of game play footage to show the player how each move looks. When starting a new game (you can't continue, it's only a freakin' demo), you have the option of choosing difficulties ranging from very easy to very hard. So, being the gutless little prick that I, er, you are, you put it on very easy and strap yourself in. To start off, the intro is simply amazing. Rain comes down in sheets and beads off Snake's trench coat while smoke pours out of his cigarette. As Snake walks along the George Washington Bridge in New York, cars pass by leaving blurred taillight trails and the oncoming cars nearly blind you with their lights. I won't go in to the whole introduction, but let me just tell you that between the rain beading off the screen like it would on a camera lens from Snake's ripcord being blown around in the wind, it's damn impressive. A particularly engrossing part takes place when Russian troops storm the ship that Snake has landed on, changing his mission from one of evading unarmed Marines to evading and taking out sub-machine gun toting terrorists. The Russian soldiers realistically clear the deck and sneak up on the Marines with combat knives in hand. You just haven't lived until you've seen a guy's jugular spurt out a two foot stream that in the gusting wind.

After the introduction has properly pumped you up, it's time to take charge and either sneak by or kick some Ruskie boo-tay. This is where you first learn that although it's gonna take you a little bit to acclimate yourself to the game, once you do, there isn't going to be any trouble getting Snake around. The controls are tight and responsive with great usage of the PS2 controller. Moves familiar to the MGS crowd such as wall hugging, crawling under tables, snapping necks and 3rd person auto-fire are all in, but the new animations and moves are really welcome additions. First off, there's the first person perspective that allows you to draw a bead on just about anything you want to. In the first Metal Gear Solid, the Playstation took care of aiming for you, so you really didn't have a lot of control over where you shot without using the lovely sniper rifle. That's all changed though as Snake can whip out his weapon and point it anywhere he wants with the help of the left analog stick. While hiding under a set of shelves in a store room I managed to send a round through one of the soldier's feet, causing him to drag it along as he walked. Taking out his other foot caused him to flop to the ground, where after he propped himself up against the wall and went for his radio before I finished him off with a shot to the crotch. Secondly, the new dive-over-the-rail-and-hang move helps you out of some really tricky situations and even allows Snake to knock out anyone standing below.

But really, I'm sure you've heard some of this before if you've been even remotely interested in videogaming, so I'm sure the real question you have is, "But what exactly can a sick bastard like me do with this marvelous game?" Well slappy, plenty. First off, you can pretty much shoot anything. You've probably heard about the bar and the magazine rack, but there's also a TV that has an awesome dying effect if you hit it. Pipes produce steam when shot, fire extinguishers spray out uncontrollably after being punctured, disorienting the bad guys and showing any nearby laser traps. In the kitchen, dishes shatter when hit and hanging pots and pans swing around after giving a loud "clang!" While the surroundings are great, it's the interaction between the bad guys and your ammunition that really provides that extra spark. Sneak up on a sentry and pull your gun and Snake will tell them to freeze (or something like that, the voice acting is still in Japanese). If you move around to the front, you can point the gun at their head or their crotch, both causing the soldiers to cry for mercy and shake, often producing useful items for Snake to pick up. If you're not feeling merciful, a quick head shot will spray some blood on a nearby wall, or a crotch shot will double the guy over as he dies a most agonizing death. If you're feeling a bit more medieval, pop his radio so he can't call any of his buddies and see what types of interesting bodily piercings you can give him with your .9mm. Limb shots aren't fatal right away, so you can enjoy watching them crawl away in fear before giving them the final .9mm Justice.

The final battle of the demo with the Russian troop leader who also happens to be a hairy armpitted, pregnant but not-showing woman is ICONIC. As you hide behind whatever cover you can find and swing around for a shot around the corner, your heart will race as the bullets fly past Snake. It's a fairly easy battle, but if it's a sign of things to come in the game, I'm there.

In all, this demo just reaffirms each gamer that Sons of Liberty is going to be one of the best videogames of all time. The demo is amazing and oh, by the way, Zone of the Enders, possibly the most visually stunning (finished) game for the PS2 comes with it. What a bonus! If you're even interested in seeing what will be the benchmark for the videogaming future, I suggest you run out and pick up this great demo and this great game. It just goes to show you, Konami is our friend and Hideo Kojima is our fearless leader. If all developers could emulate him, we wouldn't have to even hear about crappy games because they wouldn't exist. All hail Kojima and his newest creation!

-Now that you've read something, he's written. Wouldn't you like to find out more about Charmel? Here you go.