Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Tags: violence

Plot synopsis:
=== Characters ===
The protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2 is a young rookie agent named Raiden. He is supported by his commanding officer, the Colonel, and Rosemary, his girlfriend. Allies formed on the mission include Lt. Junior Grade Iroquois Pliskin, a Navy SEAL of mysterious background who provides his knowledge of the facility and later revealed as the claimed terrorist Solid Snake; Peter Stillman, a NYPD bomb-disposal expert; Otacon, a computer security specialist; and a cyborg ninja imitating Gray Fox's persona, first calling itself Deepthroat, then changing its name to Mr. X.
The antagonists of peace are the Sons of Liberty, a group of terrorists who seize control of the Big Shell Disposal Facility, including anti-terror training unit Dead Cell, and a Russian mercenary force. The Dead Cell team members are Vamp, an immortal man exhibiting vampire-like attributes; Fatman, a rotund man with exceptional knowledge of bombs; and Fortune, a woman capable of cheating death by apparent supernatural means. The leader of Sons of Liberty claims to be Solid Snake, previously declared dead after a terrorist attack, later revealed to be Solidus Snake, a third clone in "Les Enfants Terribles" project. Assisting the Sons of Liberty are Olga Gurlukovich, commander of a rogue Russian mercenary army, and Revolver Ocelot, a disenfranchised Russian nationalist and former FOXHOUND agent, Solid Snake's old nemesis, and henchman of Solidus Snake.
Other characters include Emma Emmerich, Otacon's stepsister and a computer wiz-kid; Sergei Gurlukovich, Ocelot's former commanding officer and Olga's father; President James Johnson, held hostage by the Sons of Liberty; and DIA operative Richard Ames. Liquid Snake returns as he communicates via Ocelot because his right hand, sliced by Gray Fox in the previous game, has been replaced with the right hand of Liquid. The game also features cameos by Mei Ling, the communications expert who aided Snake in the first game, and Johnny Sasaki, the luckless soldier with chronic digestive problems.
=== Story ===
==== Prologue - Tanker chapter ====
The game opens with a flashback, two years after the Shadow Moses incident in the original Metal Gear Solid. On August 8, 2007, Solid Snake and Otacon, now members of the non-governmental organization Philanthropy, are investigating the development of a new Metal Gear by the United States Marine Corps. Snake arrives on the tanker transporting the weapon in the middle of an attack by Russian mercenaries, led by Colonel Gurlukovich, his daughter Olga and Snake's enemy Ocelot, who has transplanted the right arm of Liquid Snake following the loss of his own in Metal Gear Solid. After Snake knocks Olga unconscious, he sneaks down to the hold in order to record pictures of the new Metal Gear RAY. As the mercenaries take control below, Ocelot betrays his allies and shoots both Colonel Gurlukovich and the Marine commander. Just before Ocelot can commandeer Metal Gear RAY, Snake emerges and confronts him. Upon seeing Snake, Ocelot becomes possessed by Liquid Snake and escapes with RAY, leaving the ship to sink. In the aftermath, Snake is blamed for the disaster, and is believed to have perished. The Big Shell clean-up facility is later constructed, ostensibly to help clean the Hudson River after the major oil spill that occurred due to the tanker sinking.
==== Plant chapter ====
On April 29, 2009, Raiden (who operates briefly under the code name Snake) is tasked under a reformed FOXHOUND. He has orders to infiltrate the Big Shell to rescue hostages, including the US president, from the terrorist group Sons of Liberty (whose leader claims to be Solid Snake), backed up by the rogue anti-terror training unit Dead Cell, who are also threatening to destroy the facility. All members of SEAL Team 10 are killed by Dead Cell members Vamp and Fortune, and the Big Shell is patrolled by the surviving Russian mercenaries from the Tanker chapter, led now by Olga, who is unaware of the extent of Ocelot's betrayal, and believes Snake was responsible for her father's murder. The remaining members of the SEAL assault team, Iroquois Pliskin and Peter Stillman join Raiden to disable explosives planted on the Shell by Stillman's former pupil, Fatman, now a terrorist. Stillman is killed by Fatman's booby trap in Shell 2, though he manages to warn Raiden in time, who successfully disables the respective bomb in Shell 1, preventing the sinking of the facility. Raiden then survives a direct confrontation with Fortune and Vamp, and kills Fatman on the heliport.
As Raiden searches for the President, he begins to doubt Pliskin's identity, but agrees to the plan of transporting hostages off the Big Shell with a helicopter. However, they are attacked by the leader of the Sons of Liberty, who identifies himself as Solid Snake. Pliskin, however, shouts that the man is not Snake, and assists Raiden in fending off the leader when he attacks with a Harrier Jet piloted by Vamp. The battle ends with the Harrier being shot down, though it is seized by the Metal Gear RAY seen in the Tanker chapter, and the two terrorists escape. Pliskin reveals himself to be the real Solid Snake, who, along with Otacon, helps Raiden locate the President. When Raiden finally contacts President Johnson, he is informed that the Big Shell is a facade to hide a new Metal Gear. Known as Arsenal Gear, it houses a powerful AI called "GW", which is capable of controlling the transmission of digital information. The President also claims that the democratic process is a sham, and the true rulers of the United States are a secret organization called the Patriots. The President then reveals the leader of the Sons of Liberty is his predecessor George Sears, a perfect clone of Big Boss known as Solidus Snake, who fell out of the Patriots' favor following Shadow Moses, and has now gone rogue with Dead Cell to escape the Patriots' control. Ocelot kills the President soon after this revelation. Raiden moves on to disabling Arsenal Gear, going to rescue an engineer, Emma Emmerich (Otacon's step-sister). After fighting Vamp, who seemingly drowns after being shot, Raiden rescues Emma, who agrees to help upload a virus into the "GW" mainframe. However, the upload is halted partway when Emma is attacked by Vamp. Raiden then defeats Vamp by shooting him again, although the injuries Emma suffers prove fatal. Otacon escapes with the surviving hostages, while Raiden is captured by Olga when Solid Snake seemingly betrays him.
Raiden awakens in a torture chamber where Solidus Snake reveals that he once adopted Raiden, a former child soldier, as his son during the Liberian civil war, and that Raiden is now a Patriot agent. Solidus then leaves the chamber, and Olga steps in and frees Raiden, telling him that she is also a Patriot double-agent and that she was blackmailed to aid Raiden in order to protect her child. Olga also tells Raiden to find Solid Snake, who only allowed Raiden to be captured so he could gain access to Arsenal Gear. While Raiden makes his way through the bowels of the facility to rendezvous with Snake, his commanding officer, the Colonel, begins to act very erratically. Upon investigation, Otacon reveals that the "Colonel" is actually a construct of the GW supercomputer, and that the partially uploaded virus is beginning to damage its systems. Raiden receives a call from Rose, whose voice begins to deepen and slow down as the conversation is cut off, but not before she reveals she is pregnant with his child. Raiden reunites with Snake and his gear, and the two then encounter Fortune, who fights Snake while Raiden searches for Solidus. He is then forced into a battle with twenty five Metal Gear RAY units in Arsenal Gear. Olga protects him, before Solidus kills her, and captures Snake and Raiden. Ocelot reveals that he too is a Patriot agent, and that the entire Big Shell mission was a carefully coordinated attempt to reenact the events of the Shadow Moses incident, for the purpose of creating a soldier (Raiden) on par with Solid Snake. Ocelot kills Fortune, before being possessed by Liquid again, who announces his plan to hunt down the Patriots using his host's knowledge and the first Metal Gear RAY. Snake escapes to pursue Liquid, as Arsenal Gear goes out of control.
The next morning on April 30, 2009, Arsenal crashes into downtown Manhattan, launching Raiden and Solidus onto the roof of Federal Hall National Memorial. Solidus attempts to kill Raiden, intending to use his nanomachines to lead him to the Patriots, eliminate them, and form a nation of "Sons of Liberty". At this point, Raiden is contacted by AI's of the Colonel and Rosemary, introducing themselves as representatives of the Patriots, who reveal that the true purpose of the simulation was to see how they could simulate and control human behavior in order to prevent society from dumbing down due to trivial information drowning valuable knowledge and inconvenient truths. Raiden is forced to fight Solidus, after the Patriots threaten to kill Olga's child and Rose if he does not cooperate. After Solidus's defeat, Snake reveals he planted a tracking device on Liquid's Metal Gear. Snake and Otacon plan to follow him, rescue Olga's child, and hunt down the Patriots, whose details were hidden in the GW computer virus disc. Raiden is finally reunited with Rose for the anniversary of their first meeting.
In a brief epilogue, Otacon and Snake discuss the decoding of the virus disc, which contains the personal data on all twelve members of the Patriots' high council. However, it is revealed that all of them in the Wisemen's Committee have been dead for about one hundred years.

Review: All the other characters look completley realistic.10/10The Controls: Awesome, is easy to control snake,raiden and the weapons you get to use.10/10The Story: Mind-Blowing.
10/10Lasting Ability: Collecting all the dog tags is very fun but other people would probably stop playing it for awhile, mainly to free there minds of what they just witness.9/10Overall: This is the greatest game ever made, simple as that.
BUT you won't get the story, witch is the best thing about the game, if you haven't played Metal Gear Solid 1 recently.
There are some parts in Metal Gear Solid 2 that will seem too similar to the first game, which is the weakest point of this sequel, but the new quotes and philosophies, outstanding gameplay, wonderful story, and hilarious humor will make this game worth a purchase.
Another congratulations to Hideo Kojima and the crew at Konami for making the second best game out there (the best game out, in my opinion, is the first Metal Gear Solid still...)..
"Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" is the best action game ever made.
It is a masterpiece that redefines what a video game can be and will be the standard of this industry for years to come.If there's one thing all players can agree on, it's that "Metal Gear Solid 2" excels in its cinematic presentation.
I didnt play Metal Gear Solid for the PSone but I played demos foe MGS2 and I was so impressed by both the graphics and gameplay I went and bought it on the release date.
The story line is excellent, the graphic is a benchmark for future releases and the sounding matches every part of the game.It's a shame where you don't get to play as Snake full out the game but the character Raiden is a good replacement (especially that cartwheel stunt) but he crys to much!.
Maybe not the best in the world, but better than most iv seen beforeMusic 10 a powerful score makes the setting come alive.Plot 10 ...yeah read above.game play 10 Lots to do, and lots of places to play around.
Nearly 16 years later, it's still a landmark in video games just like its predecessor and the final MGS game for this system, Snake Eater..
I thought that the graphics were perfect, the way the rain would distort the lights on the oil tanker, the voice acting was just as good as MSG1 with both Snake and Otacons friendly banter and the character movements looks awesome.The demo would allow for me to play up to the first boss fight and then would end, little did I know that thats about all I get to play as with snake, thinking that when I got the full game that I would be able to explore more into the tanker, maybe get off the tanker and look around a new destination with Snake.
It would not have been as bad if I knew that I was going to be Raiden but the developers decided not to let on to this until I owned the game.About the full game; well once you get past the tanker everything changes, the graphics become dull and lifeless with horrible orange walls in every part of the oil rig and then there is the storyline.What i liked about the Tanker was that the cut scenes and radio comms were short and sweet, not anymore they ain't.
Every time I entered a new part of the oil rig there would be a cut scene showing me where all the enemies were, followed by a 15 minute lecture about how to tackle them, this don't just happen once but every time for the first 15 minutes of the game and every time a new enemy comes into the game.This game is also heavily bogged down with unnecessary radio comms, for example when you first open the door on the oil rig you see a lone guard recovering from some kind of an attack, this frightens our hero who then runs into the corner (The Computer Will Take Control Of The Character) and rings the commander;"Colonel, I've spotted an enemy, what should I do" "Raiden, Engage the enemy" This will always be repeated with a questioning tone "Engage the enemy?" "Yes, Engage the enemy" "How should I best do this?" "Well..." and about 20 minutes later you get back to the game.Bad, but not half as bad as when his girlfriend pops up with more ear bending."Jack, Do you remember when we first met" "Jack, Do you know what to day is" or "Why don't we talk anymore"Jezz, Its seems to me they do nothing but talk.
I've clocked it about three times and I still can't make head nor tail of it.Your better off playing Pac-Man, at least that games story line was easier to follow, and Ms. Pac-Man didn't keep popping up asking Mr. Pac-Man about if he knew when their wedding anniversary is..
At that time, people were talking about the possibilities to further this hybrid trend between Eastern and Western culture, using video game as a prior tool, but sadly the good dream didn't last long as MGS witnessed its changes.
With that in mind, the second sequel to the celebrated and critically acclaimed Metal Gear series is a true leap over it's predecessor in more ways than one.Taking place several years after the events of the first game, war hero and super spy extraordinaire Solid Snake, undertakes a mission near the heart of NYC to uncover evidence of a devastatingly powerful super weapon that can wipe humanity off the face of the earth.
But you don't play as him first, that honor goes to the bad-ass of all video game super spies: Solid Snake.
Although Raiden's role in the game is a bit distracting from the more genuinely compelling actions of Solid Snake, as I progressed through the game, the character grew on me.
More on them later.The graphics and game-play are much improved this time around although it can be a little tricky when switching weapons in the middle of a fierce firefight.
Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty has one of the most breathtaking action scenes I've ever seen in a video game.
One of the key elements that make a game great is it's direction and Kojima pulls it off marvelously with a heavy arsenal of great special effects; especially during the swimming levels and boss battles.Along with Raiden comes Dead Cell, a group of super terrorists with their own brand of attacks against the player.
I ended up playing this game more than MGS1 because though it's confusing at first, it rewards you by replaying it over to truly understand the whole plot.
The game play is better than the original, the story, while complex, is on par with the the first Metal Gear Solid.
Right at the end, I started to respect Raiden more, however, because he realized he was being used, even though still surprised about it, like he is different from any other in the government's eyes, and refuses to play the game any more until he is forced.
I've been reading articles, reviews and thinking "When is it going to be my turn?"  Well, when Metal Gear Solid 2 finally sold, I sent my Mom to pick it up after work and played the crap out of it the first night.It was awesome.
Their reactions, the fact they check in with radios, and co-ordinate attacks is amazing...however they are still easily distracted by a girly mag or odd sound.This game gets a A+...from story to character development to a new level of game play, it is the best game ever produced...my hat goes off to Hideo Kojimi and the entire MGS2 team.Get this game and enjoy...you won't be disappointed.
"Sons of Liberty" opens in grand style, with its fantastically atmospheric tanker mission, but things go rapidly down hill from the moment we find ourselves playing, not as Snake, but as the inexplicably effeminate looking Raiden.
Having such a lack of sympathy for the lead character is definitely not a good thing.The main story is also hugely disappointing, riddled with crazy characters (a fat bomber on roller blades and a flamenco dancing vampire, to name a few), silly attempts at comedy and ludicrous plot twists which get increasingly more stupid as the game goes on.
Game play was fantastic with all the new moves, Controls were set better than MGS1, Graphics and realism were second to none, Sound and Music were brilliant.
But boy, was I wrong - MGS2 overwrites all the flaws of the original and creates a gripping, thrilling, moving and often funny game that will stand out as one of my favourites for a long time.The key issue most people moan about is that you don't play as Solid Snake in this game, but that's barely an issue - viewing him from the third person as the unstoppable 'cool' guy and playing as a slightly more relatable and sympathetic character, Raiden, had actually a much better effect than I had once thought it would be.
The only problem I can see here is the slightly odd Japanese control layout, where triangle is the action button, circle is select and x is back(!), which might be a bit of a pain if you're used to the normal western format - but not me, because most of my favourite Playstation games use this format anyway.And, as for the story - it starts off slow, but gets interesting with some fantastic twists - I won't ruin anything for you, but there's a few ingenious turning points and unexpected surprises that come out the blue and catch you off-guard completely.
This part of the game is one of the biggest steps up from Metal Gear Solid - rather than the strange set-up there where there doesn't seem any point in understanding the nonsensical plot, we get a rock-solid thrill ride packed with emotion as well as action.And, much like the rest of the series, it has a very distinct cinematic feel to it - rather than the usual cramming of a story we don't care about around the fun gameplay, we get what is essentially a brilliant spy/action film come to life.
The tension and the quality of this action increases towards the finale, getting better and better until it gives us a stunning ending.In conclusion, MGS2 is a game you need to play before you die - a real, ground-breaking experience that stands out as one of the best games on the Playstation 2.Overall score: 9.8/10.
The character of Solid Snake really was one of the coolest bad-asses I had ever played in a game (if not THE coolest of them all), and the gameplay was fantastic, all-though the story was sometimes incoherent and the dialogue over-the-top cheesy (but then again it was written by Japanese people, the master race of entertainment but when it comes to original plots...
I thought this was some sort of super-trained nerves-of-steel-soldier they sent in here, in stead it feels like the brain of Gomer Pyle on the body of Markus Schenkenberg.To sum it all up: great gameplay, wonderful graphics and locations, hampered too often by silly dialogue, a couple of annoying characters (which I hope I get to assassinate in the sequel), predictable storyline, movie-sequences that are way overlong and a whimpering baby for a hero.Wow, this sounds like below average, but no, it is still Metal Gear Solid so I give it a 7/10..
i have played this game many times and i have to say that beside's the graphic flaws mgs1 was alot more deeper into the story than this game.
Really Really Good and Really Bad. The first Metal Gear Solid is still the best game ever.
The flaw is that the plot for this game isn't as fun, enduring, nor suspenseful as the first Metal Gear Solid.
Also nothing wrong with new characters, but not using Solid Snake kind of ruins some of the game.
My evaluation:Gameplay 8: The fact that you aren't Solid Snake really knocks this game down, and also the ending of the game gets too repitive.Graphics 9: Very good, with excellent attention to detail.
Codec could use a bit more work though.Sound 10: Excellent musical score by Harry Gregson Williams, very cool attention to details and also great voice acting.Lasting Ability 8: Like the first one, there isn't much to, Dog Tags add life but not much else.Overall: 8.5/10.
After Solid Snake jumped onto the tanker, I was into the story, and after Metal Gear Rex was taken, I was sold.
The previews all made it seem like I would be Solid Snake......not this Raiden guy, and I was getting disappointed.To be fair, the game by itself is a pretty decent RPG.
To really understand this game you should have played through Metal Gear Solid (1998) to understand the refrences in the storyline.
I'm tired of reading so many reviews for MGS2 that are prefaced with "It's a great game but it made no sense at all and Raiden was gay." It is sad to see that so few people who played Metal Gear Solid 2 thought about anything deeper than what was explicitly told to them during the game.
Yes the game is complex, yes things are not always explained as well as they should have been and yes Raiden is not as cool as Snake, however that does not change the fact that Metal Gear Solid 2 might be the most intelligent game ever created.
It is the same for the player, 'this doesn't make any sense', 'why am I not playing as Snake?', 'Raiden, turn the game console off now!', 'why am I naked?!?!', etc.
The fatal 'flaw' people always seemed to find in MGS2 was that you play as Raiden, instead the ideal game character, Snake.
First, let's make this clear: THIS GAME IS NOT FOR ANYONE WHO CANNOT SIT STILL IN A CHAIR AND LISTEN TO CONVERSATION OR FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T PLAYED AT LEAST METAL GEAR SOLID.
You'll be too confused and you will whine about it.From the start, it looks like you'll be playing a typical Metal Gear.
Enemies are smarter and deadlier, and the great new feature of getting through the game without killing a single boss character is very welcome to stupid naysayers.But, in the Plant Chapter You take on Raiden, the aforementioned rookie FOXHOUND agent.
In many ways, the game fits so perfectly with Raiden than with Solid Snake.
Codec conversations are still excellent, mind you, but they do hamper the game-play.In short, the Metal Gear series is known for it's intricate plot, it's drama, and it's characters.
But with the voice acting, character developments, all the twists near the end and the whole Patriot subplot starting here, this is a great game in the series and needed for the over all narrative if you are a fan of the story of the series as a whole..
It's wrong that they didn't inform, the gamers that Solid Snake is only playable in the first mission, and that, the rest of the game, the gamer controls Raiden.
I really dislike Solid Snake's removal as the playable main character, but I was willing to finish the game, regardless, even if I have to play a whiny baby face character like Raiden to get through it.
Despite that, Metal Gear Solid 2 manages to be a good fun game.
According to Kojima, the original plot of the game revolved around nuclear weapon inspections in Iraq and Iran and had Solid Snake trying to stop the Metal Gear while it was located on an aircraft carrier, in a certain time limit.
"Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" was released November 2001 on the PlayStation 2, and the exposure and marketing of this game was insane.
If there is anything to take away from playing "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty", is that it is possible to be moved regardless whatever form of media, and for the time when it was released that was very ambitious.
This is one videogame I would want my kids to play some day.Although, I found that the Codec conversations between Raiden and Rose were the games biggest flaw.
WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS HEREIN!>>Pros: Jaw-dropping graphics; great sound effects and music; a very good plot; voice acting is really good>>Cons: You only play as Solid Snake 10% of the game; two many similarities to the first MGS; cut scenes seem to take forever
You only play as Snake 10% of the game, and the other 90% as Raiden.
Raiden is okay to play with, but his feminine good looks and childish personality don't fit in with an MGS game.
Otherwise, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a great sequel that no video gamer should be without.>>My last 2 cents: If you haven't played this game by now, then what are you waiting for?
By the way, a "director's cut" version of this game will be out later this year for the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft X-Box called Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance.>>My rating: 9 out of 10.
Metal Gear Solid is, in my opinion, one of the greatest games ever made.
I thought she was perfect.With the exception of Raiden and his girlfriend, and the misuse of the Campbell character, this game was okay, but doesn't hold a candle to Metal Gear Solid.5/10.
I hope David Hayter remains the voice of Solid Snake for every Metal Gear game from now on; his voice is just perfect for this character!
The story, to put it mildly, doesn't even come close to the first Metal Gear Solid.
Games like Metal Gear Solid 2 (and MGS1, of course) are the type of game that brings me back.
And yes, I did like Raiden -- he's a good character in the wrong game.*SPOILERS FOLLOW*The story is where the game falls on its face, but not from the start.