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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
North American cover art
Developer(s)Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (West)
Publisher(s)Konami
Designer(s)Hideo Kojima (producer, writer, director)
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
ReleaseUnited States November 14 2001 (NA)
Japan November 29 2001 (JP)
Europe March 8 2002 (EU)
South Korea May 30 2002 (KR)
Genre(s)Stealth action
Mode(s)Single player

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (commonly abbreviated MGS2) is a stealth-based game that was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. Directed by Hideo Kojima, it is the fourth game in the Metal Gear series and the sequel to the critical and consumer success Metal Gear Solid. Its release was followed by Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, a prequel to the entire Metal Gear series. Chronologically, the game is followed by Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Following a strategy used to promote the original Metal Gear Solid in 1998, a movie-like trailer for the game was shown at E3, in 2000. Critics praised the game's level of graphical detail, in particular the use of in-game graphics to render plot-driving cut scenes. It follows a similar stealth-based gameplay to that of its predecessors, along with a number of new features, including a first-person view to aim weapons, and the ability to tranquilize enemies instead of killing them.

As a result of the promising trailers, and because of the huge commercial success of its predecessor Metal Gear Solid, there was a high level of anticipation surrounding Metal Gear Solid 2's release and it became the one of the most highly anticipated games at the time of its release.

Plot synopsis

Template:Spoiler

Tanker Chapter

The story opens in late 2007, two years after the events of Metal Gear Solid, on the George Washington Bridge in New York City. Solid Snake and Otacon now belong to Philanthropy, a UN-recognized fringe organization formed in order to eliminate the various Metal Gears constructed due to Revolver Ocelot's distribution of the Metal Gear REX blueprints on the black market. Snake, aided by Otacon via codec, is investigating the new Metal Gear RAY being developed by the Marines to guard against the proliferation of REXes. While the Marines transport RAY offshore aboard the oil tanker U.S.S. Discovery for testing, soldiers invade the ship by helicopter and dispose of all the Marines on duty above decks.

The mission turns bad rapidly as these troops, formerly of the Russian military and led by the disgraced Colonel Sergei Gurlukovich, seize the tanker and plant explosives aboard it. Snake personally runs into Gurlukovich's daughter Olga, and disables her with a tranquilizer gun, before proceeding into the ship's hold. A large unit of Marines is receiving a briefing from Scott Dolph, their commander, on the new RAY and its role, at the conclusion of which Ocelot strides on stage, applauding. Gurlukovich and his troops descend, taking Dolph hostage, leading to a Mexican standoff between the forces. The tension is broken as Ocelot betrays Gurlukovich, kills Dolph, and detonates the explosives, advising the remaining U.S. and Russian soldiers to swim for shore if they value their lives.

During the ensuing carnage, Liquid Snake's personality usurps Ocelot through his transplanted arm. After mocking the rapidly aging Solid Snake, he boards RAY, carves the ship in two with it, and escapes. Once Ocelot recovers, he notifies former president Solidus Snake that their mission had been successful.

Following these events, Solid Snake was declared dead and framed as the man responsible for the tanker spill, and the Big Shell decontamination plant was created to contain the purported toxins in the wake of the spill.

Plant Chapter

This chapter begins on April 29, 2009, two years after the Tanker incident, as video game players assume the role of Raiden, a rather novice FOXHOUND operative whose mission is to rescue the President and other hostages being held captive by a terrorist group aided by former Soviet soldiers in the Big Shell, a decontamination facility erected at sea to clean up the oil spill which resulted from the sinking of the Discovery. He is aided by his girlfriend Rosemary as data manager, and Colonel Roy Campbell as the mission commander.

Raiden discovers that the Big Shell is nothing but elaborate camouflage for the development of an advanced mobile fortress dubbed Arsenal Gear. Solidus Snake, with the assistance of the remnants of Gurlukovich's private army (now led by Olga) and Ocelot (who has claimed that Snake was responsible for the sinking of the Discovery and the death of Olga's father, Sergei) has seized the facility and is attempting to use it to fight the enigmatic Patriots responsible for the theft of RAY. Following an elaborate sequence of double-crosses it is revealed that Raiden and Olga have each been coerced - directly or indirectly - into assisting the Patriots in eliminating Solidus. Meanwhile, Snake is aboard, battling both sides in an attempt to destroy Arsenal. To this goal, he is assisted by Otacon, and his sister Emma, who designs a computer virus which should disable Arsenal.

Once again, Ocelot reveals himself to be a double-agent, trying to kill his allies on behalf of the Patriots. Liquid then resurfaces through the grafted arm and declares his intention to use RAY to take on the Patriots, and goads Snake into following him while setting Arsenal Gear on a collision course with New York City. Snake then dives off Arsenal Gear in pursuit of Liquid. After Arsenal comes to rest, the Patriots, and their goal - control of the dissemination of information, in order to ensure an Orwellian peace - are revealed. Solidus hopes to use Raiden's implants to identify the Patriots. On the morning of April 30, 2009, over 200 years after George Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States, Raiden eliminates Solidus atop Federal Hall (where Washington's inauguration occurred).

After the final credits roll, it is shown that Otacon is able to decode the viral disc provided by Emma and uncover its information. The information on the disc does reveal the identities of all twelve members of the Wisemen's Committee, the inner circle of The Patriots, with one of the names shockingly enough belonging to one of Snake and Otacon's biggest financial contributors. The disc also reveals that the Patriots did reside in Manhattan, but that they have all been dead for about a century. Template:Endspoiler It is now known that the unanswered questions from Metal Gear Solid 2 will be answered in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots which is chronologically a direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid 2.

Excised plot details

Solid Snake inside the tanker.

The game plan and script reveal some aspects of the plot which are left unclear or confusing during the game itself, or are just interesting to know. Both are available on The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 disc, though the game plan is only in Japanese: Template:Spoiler

  • Raiden's field commander was named Daniel Quinn ("Colonel"). His support team consisted of Maxine "Max" Wark, an Asian woman who saves game data and quotes Shakespeare, and William "Doc" Wilson, the creator of GW. All three would turn out to be AIs. None of these characters survived to the final edition.
  • There were two additional members of Dead Cell: Old Boy and Chinaman. Old Boy was Dead Cell's strategist and a former Nazi general, and was over 100 years old. Chinaman was Vietnamese and a native of Chinatown, and was an expert in martial arts (His movements intended to be like Jet Li), and has used most of Vamp's bullet parrying moves. Both were cut from game appearances -- Old Boy being first (who later was used as The End), and Chinaman next. The only place to see them is the animated footage of "The Liquidation Of Dead Cell."
    • Chinaman originally used most of the moves that would later become Vamp's, such as running up walls and over water as well as being a strong swimmer. Another ability of his was the dragon tattoo on his body coming alive in water. This would happen when the player battles with him in the Shell 2 Core filtration chamber, where Vamp is fought in the final game. However the player would also actually have to battle Chinaman underwater, and he would send sharks after Raiden if he started bleeding.
  • Liquid Snake, controlling Revolver Ocelot, activates Arsenal Gear's navigation system and sets the target as Federal Hall. This detail is never explained in the game, possibly for the same reason that the following scenes were removed.
  • A scene depicting Arsenal Gear's displacement of the Statue of Liberty and half of Manhattan was removed following the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
  • A short coda was to appear after the credits, a breaking newscast showing the Statue of Liberty's new resting place, Ellis Island (see above). The anchorwoman in this piece would've been Karen Hôjô, the heroine from Hideo Kojima's Policenauts.
  • Solidus Snake was the 43rd President, and James Johnson is the 44th.
  • Early concept art shows that Vamp was initially conceived as a woman, while Peter Stillman was originally planned to be a younger version of Ed Brown, also from Policenauts.
  • The AI speaking to Raiden during the final codec conversation is not GW, but another AI named JFK.
  • Both Ames and President Johnson initially thought Raiden was an assassin sent in by the Patriots to dispose of the President (though according to Ocelot, the President was in on the conspiracy- "Of course Johnson knew what was going on, but he played out his allotted part").
  • All three Snakes are (or were) undergoing advanced aging as a result of the cloning process.
  • Iroquois Pliskin and Rose were supposed to have blond hair -- Pliskin's dyed to cover his identity, and Rose's as her natural color.
  • In the passage where Raiden has to swim in order to reach Emma, the player was originally supposed to face sharks. The trick to overcoming them was for Raiden to strategically leave blood in certain places to lead them away and then swim past them before they could attack him.
  • As a child, Raiden took part in the Liberian Civil War.
  • Three additional game modes were planned that didn't make it to the final game: a Bomb Disposal mode (side-missions set in the Tanker and Plant stages where the player must locate and defuse Fatman's bombs), a Mantis Mask mode (where the player can read other characters' thoughts and detect their lies) and a two-player versus mode.
    • The Bomb Disposal missions were later integrated into Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance.
    • The idea of reading characters' thoughts was kept, but in a watered-down form. Instead, the player can only sense their own character's during CODEC conversations by pressing the R1 or R2 buttons.
  • The Arsenal Gear stage was designed to be much longer than it was in the finished game. One of the proposed areas was a temple wherein the player fought against Vamp (in the original plan, Chinaman appears in the Shell 2 Core filtration chamber instead of Vamp).
  • At the point where Solidus dies, Raiden was supposed to have cut the rope on Federal Hall's flagpole where an American flag was supposed to fall onto Solidus' body (albeit the reason for the patriotic music).
  • At the ending scene, American flags were supposed to be on all the flagpoles in New York.
  • Jack and Rose were named after the protagonists of the film Titanic, just as the names Hal and Dave appeared in the first MGS title.
  • Jack and Rose talk about King Kong and Godzilla. According to the GameSpot documentary, is King Kong Raiden and Godzilla is Snake, as Raiden was brought from oneplace to nather, and was used, were as Snake, like Godzilla, was an experiment.

Template:Endspoiler

Weapons

Many of the game's weapons are taken directly from existing military hardware, though some completely fictional weapons (such as Fortune's railgun) appear as well.

Pistols:

  • Heckler & Koch USP (German 9 mm auto-loader, used by Olga and then Snake)
  • Heckler & Koch MK23 "SOCOM" Mk23 Offensive Handgun System Trials - Phase Two Model (German .45 cal pistol. In the Real World, this model of the weapon was a prototype, and differs from the US Navy's Mk23 Mod O. Given to Raiden by Pliskin)
  • Makarov PM (Russian 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, used by some Russian Spetsnaz members and tossed overboard by Olga)
  • Colt Single Action Army (.45 Long Colt revolver, used by Ocelot)
  • Beretta M92F (Italian 9 mm semi-automatic pistol adopted by the United States Armed Forces as standard-issue sidearm; used by Marines)
    • Beretta M9 tranquilizer pistol (an M9 modified to fire tranquilizer darts; fictional, does not exist in the real world)
  • GLOCK 18 (Austria 9 mm automatic pistol, used by Fatman, Spetsnaz reinforcement and Big Shell attack teams)

Sub-Machine Guns:

Assault Rifles:

  • Kalashnikov AKS-74U (Russian 5.45 mm Compact Assault Rifle, based on the AK-74 which itself is based on the AK-47, used by most Russian soldiers and Raiden)
  • M4 Carbine (US 5.56 mm Assault Rifle, used by Marines, Navy SEALs, Pliskin, Snake, Raiden and Presidential Security teams)
  • Nikonov AN-94 (Russian 5.45 mm Assault Rifle, used by Big Shell Russian guards)

Sniper Rifles:

  • Heckler & Koch PSG1 (German 7.62 mm semi-automatic sniper rifle used by Pliskin and Raiden)
    • PSG-1T (A PSG-1 modified to fire tranquilizer rounds; fictional, does not exist in the real world)

Shotguns:

  • Franchi SPAS-12 (Italian 12-gauge dual action shotgun, used by Big Shell attack teams)

Explosives:

Heavy Artillery:

  • M203 grenade launcher (U.S. 40 mm Grenade Launcher, used by Marines, Navy SEALs, and Pliskin/Snake and Presidential Security teams)
  • RGB6 Multi-Grenade Launcher (Croatian copy of the South African Milkor Mark 6 Grenade Launcher, used by Raiden)
  • Nikita Remote Control Rocket Launcher (fly-by-wire TV-guided missile used by Raiden; does not exist in the real world)
  • FIM-92 Stinger (man portable Surface-to-Air Missile, used by Raiden)
  • Rail Gun (used by Fortune, does not exist in the real world)

Melee Weapons:

  • High-Frequency Blade (a "ninjatō" or straightened katana. Capable of both lethal and non-lethal attacks by switching between the sharp and dull sides of the blade. It can also be used to deflect gunfire. Used by the Ninja and then handed to Raiden; also used by Tengu Commandos. Fictional, does not exist in the real world)
  • Minshutō & Kyōwatō (literally means "democracy blade" and "republic blade" respectively; katana and wakizashi wielded by Solidus Snake)
  • Vamp's Hunting Knife(s)

Vehicles

Fan reaction

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was highly successful and critically acclaimed at release, due to its graphics, gameplay and storyline, which explored philosophical themes regarding memes, digital information, censorship, manipulation of free will, artificial intelligence, the problems with democracy and the nature of reality in great detail. However, the game also received negative reaction among English-speaking fans. Metal Gear Solid 2 extended the series' plot line and introduced a major new main character. The established hero, Solid Snake, was for most of the game not a playable character. Instead, players controlled Raiden, a new member of FOXHOUND, fresh from VR training. Many fans reacted negatively to this unexpected twist in the storyline. This was partly due to the fact that Raiden's character was a secret until the game's release; people just assumed that they would be playing their favorite hero Solid Snake. Other areas of contention included Raiden's dashingly beautiful appearance, his naïveté and inexperience, a sentimental and sometimes whiny personality, and a vulnerable position throughout the game; many perceived the character to be a weak-minded prettyboy. Interestingly, his voice in the original Japanese was a low baritone, almost deeper than that of Snake himself.

According to the series' creator, Hideo Kojima, the decision of using Raiden instead of Snake as the main playable character was done in order to develop Snake from a third-person perspective, as well as to avoid treating Snake like a rookie again (considering the fact that Snake was already acquainted with most of the gadgets and weapons in the earlier Metal Gear titles).[1] Hideo Kojima has also stated that Raiden's character and its perception by the audience were important for the overall feel of the story (i.e. they contribute to a sense of lack of control, being subjected to major manipulation by unknown, deceptive and/or mysterious persons, and a general lack of knowledge about the conditions and motives of several characters as well as the twists and turns of the plot).

In contrast to the American reception, Raiden was quite popular in Japan [1] An androgynous appearance is also generally more acceptable in Japanese pop culture.

Furthermore, some felt [citation needed] that the game was self-indulgent, with dialogue that ran on too long, heightened by a somewhat out-of-their-league English translation. The translation and additional English writing for MGS2 was handled by A. S. Kaku of INTACT, rather than Jeremy Blaustein, who had provided the English localization of the original Metal Gear Solid. Kaku was the translator/localizer on Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, a Game Boy title.

Supporters argue that the ideas and themes which Hideo Kojima expresses, such as the nature of reality and how information defines humanity (meme theory), were components of an intellectual and philosophical work of software. Others have tied the game in with other cyberpunk works such as the anime/manga Ghost in the Shell, William Ford Gibson's Neuromancer and the contemporary PC game Deus Ex, while others [2] have labelled the game as a postmodern artifact (to the tune of SNES RPG EarthBound). It has also been linked to the meme theory proposed by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene.

Template:Spoiler On the note of Raiden, it should be acknowledged that the general scenario given to him during the game is similar to that of Snake's in Metal Gear Solid, an issue which is pointed out in the game itself by Revolver Ocelot while he was explaining the "Solid Snake Simulation" scenario.

Some fans have protested against the inclusion of many unexplained, supernatural and/or pseudoscientific aspects in the plot, such as Vamp's apparent immortality and Liquid Snake taking control of Revolver Ocelot through a transplanted arm. There may be a valid in-game explanation for this, since Ocelot remarks in the game how there is no such thing as the supernatural, only cutting edge technology. However, no further explanation is provided beyond this vague reference, and considering Ocelot's personality he was likely just making an arrogant assumption. Recently however, Ocelot's parentage, as revealed in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has given rise to the theory that Ocelot may be gifted as a spiritual medium like his father The Sorrow, and could be channeling Liquid Snake due to direct physical contact with the severed limb. It should be noted that supernatural and sci-fi characters appeared in MGS 1 (such as Psycho Mantis, Vulcan Raven and the Cyborg ninja) and would appear again in MGS 3 (Volgin and the Cobra unit), so these can be considered a part of the series, which just accepts these as reality.

The game had a particular focus on conspiracy theories, with the main villain being a mysterious organization known as the Patriots, headed by twelve men who control a type of shadow government which includes the President of the United States as their puppet. The origins of the Patriots are explored in greater detail in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Many European fans, who received the game 3 months after America & Asia, essentially had the game's big twist (that the player controlled Raiden for most of the game and not Snake) ruined for them, as many magazines had cover stories regarding this issue. In fact, Computer & Video Games magazine actually had "Solid Snake is dead" on the front cover, along with an accompanying picture of Raiden. Template:Endspoiler

Music

Hideo Kojima's choice of composer for Metal Gear Solid 2 was highly publicized in the follow-up to the game's release. Kojima decided upon Harry Gregson-Williams, a Hollywood film composer from Hans Zimmer's studio, after watching The Replacement Killers with sound director Kazuki Muraoka. A mix CD containing 18 tracks of Gregson-Williams' work was sent to his office. Flattered by the research put into creating the CD (as some of the tracks were unreleased, and that what tracks he'd worked on for some films were undocumented), he joined the project soon after.

In order to bypass the language barrier and allow the score to be developed before the cut-scenes were finalized, Gregson-Williams was sent short phrases or descriptions of the intended action. The resultant themes then shaped the action sequences in return. Gregson-Williams also remixed the original "Metal Gear Solid Main Theme" for use in the game's opening title sequence.

Norihiko Hibino, who had worked on previous Konami games such as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, was responsible for all of the in-game music. He also worked on the majority of the game's cut scenes, re-orchestrating Gregson-Williams' "Main Theme" remix for use in several sequences.

As with Metal Gear Solid, the cut scene music includes orchestral and choir pieces, while the in-game soundtrack is scored with ambient electronic music. However, the score as a whole incorporates more electronic elements (particularly breakbeat) than its predecessor, in order to reflect the plot's thematic thrust of a machine-dominated society. Rika Muranaka again provided a vocal ending theme, a jazz track entitled "Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday," sung by Carla White.

Cast

Character Voice Actor (Japanese) Voice Actor (English)
Solid Snake Akio Otsuka David Hayter
Raiden Kenyu Horiuchi Quinton Flynn
Otacon Hideyuki Tanaka Christopher Randolph
Solidus Snake Akio Otsuka John Cygan
Revolver Ocelot Koji Totani Patric Zimmerman (as Pat Zimmerman)
Colonel Takeshi Aono Paul Eiding
Rosemary Kikuko Inoue Lara Cody
Olga Gurlukovich Kyoko Terase Vanessa Marshall
Fortune Yumi Toma Maura Gale (as Maula Gale)
Vamp Ryotaro Okiayu Phil LaMarr
Liquid Snake Banjō Ginga Cam Clarke
Fatman Kozo Shioya Barry Dennen
Peter Stillman Shozo Izuka Greg Eagles
Emma Emmerich Maria Yamamoto Jennifer Hale
Sergei Gurlukovich Osamu Saka Earl Boen
Scott Dolph Daisuke Gōri Kevin M. Richardson
Richard Ames Masaharu Sato Peter Renaday
President James Johnson Yuzuru Fujimoto Paul Lukather
Mei Ling Houko Kuwashima Kim Mai Guest
Navy SEALS Neil Ross
Dee Bradley Baker (as Dee Baker)
Dean Scofield
Jeff Doucette
Dominic Armato
Russian Soldiers Michael Bell
Richard Gilbert-Hill
Roger Rose
Michael Gough
William Morgan Sheppard (as Morgan Sheppard)
Johnny Sasaki Naoki Imamura Dean Scofield
Computer Voice Nancy Linari
Hostage/Referee Scott Dolph
Vulcan Raven Toy Shigeo Okajima Peter Lurie
Ninja Kaneto Shiozawa Vanessa Marshall

Release information

The Japanese release was held back two weeks following the initial North American release. As a result, the developers added new features and cut scenes, including two new modes: Boss Survival and Casting Theatre (the latter allowed players to select cut scenes and change the character models used). Like the original Metal Gear Solid, a Premium Package of the game was issued in addition to the stand-alone version. The box came with the reversible cover art on the DVD case, a DVD video, an A4-sized pamphlet and a metallic-colored Solid Snake figurine.

File:Slpm65078.jpg
Japanese standard edition cover art

The game's original European release date of February 22nd, 2002, nearly three months after the other releases, was delayed another two weeks. As compensation, Konami included, free of charge, a bonus DVD called The Making of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, containing an hour-long documentary on all aspects of the game's production, a comprehensive archive of trailers, a lengthy text article from GameSpot, concept sketches, and other familiar DVD "added value". The added features from the Japanese release were carried over to the game itself along with a new difficulty setting (European Extreme).

Trivia

  • MGS2 was almost not released Stateside after 9/11, due to its inclusion of terrorists and its New York setting. Scenes showing the World Trade Center were removed from the Tanker Chapter's opening cinematic.
  • When Raiden meets up with Snake inside Arsenal Gear (before the battle with the Tengu Commandos), Snake tells Raiden he will provide him with ammo if he should run out. Raiden asks Snake how he will do this, and Snake points to his bandana and says "Infinite ammo". This is a reference to Metal Gear Solid, where if the game is completed once by saving Meryl, the player will be provided with a bandana that gives Snake infinite ammo when equipped as an item during the next playthrough. Snake's Infinite Ammo bandana is also included in the Tanker Chapter as an unlockable after aquiring enough dog tags.
  • Snake adopts the alias Iroquois Pliskin in order to conceal his true identity (as Solidus is posing as Solid Snake at this time). The name "Pliskin" is a reference to Snake Plissken, the main character of Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., who Snake himself is based on and bears a resemblance to in the game (as does Big Boss, mainly due to the eyepatch).
  • Some of the characters are named after the cards it takes to get a straight in a game of poker, with Solidus being the "King", Fortune being the "Queen", Raiden being the "Jack" and SEAL Team 10 being a reference to the number of spot cards. Pliskin, who is actually Snake posing as a SEAL Team 10 member, could be considered the "ace in the hole" (as he was referred to in Metal Gear Solid).

Awards

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
  1. ^ The Final Hours of Metal Gear Solid 2. Featured article from GameSpot
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