Short answers, pulled from the story.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty launched in North America on the 13th of November 2001. This release date occurred just days after the September 11 attacks, which significantly altered the game's reception and legacy.
The main playable character in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a young rookie named Raiden. This decision replaced the expected hero Solid Snake and sparked a firestorm of controversy among fans who anticipated the veteran soldier's return.
The S3 Plan is a radical theory of human control orchestrated by the shadowy organization known as the Patriots. This plan focuses on the manipulation of information and the shaping of thought rather than physical destruction.
Hideo Kojima created Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty after spending four years crafting the narrative. He designed the game to blur the lines between reality and fiction while challenging the nature of player agency.
The Patriots are revealed to be a group of dead men from a century ago. This revelation adds existential horror to the narrative by suggesting that the past controls the present from the shadows.