Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

• 1. Development And Design Choices

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  Hideo Kojima completed his original design document for the game in January 1999. The Japanese document was published by Konami in 2002 and translated into English in 2006. It mentioned that the game was originally going to be called Metal Gear Solid III to symbolize Manhattan's three tallest skyscrapers. The document outlines new game mechanics such as bodies that need to be hidden and enemies being able to detect shadows. Lights in an area can be destroyed to affect enemy vision. Realistic enemy AI relies on squad tactics rather than working individually. Multi-level environments add an element of vertical tension to the stealth gameplay. Themes include passing on memories, environmental issues, and social themes regarding the digitization of the military. The aim of the story involves a series of betrayals and sudden reversals. The player is unable to tell fact from fiction. Every character lies to someone once. Ironies are aimed at the digital society and gaming culture. The production budget was $10 million, similar to the budget of a Japanese Godzilla film. Kojima states that when he heard about the hardware for the PlayStation 2, he wanted to try something new. Up to that point, all cutscenes had focused more on details like facial expressions. He wanted to pay more attention to the surroundings. The game was in development for four years. Over 100 people worked on the game.

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• 2. The Big Shell Narrative Arc

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  An environmental clean-up facility called the Big Shell has been erected to clear up the oil spill. During a tour by US President James Johnson, the Sons of Liberty raid the facility. They take Johnson hostage and threaten to destroy it. FOXHOUND's Raiden is ordered by the Colonel to rescue the hostages and disarm the terrorists. The surviving members of a responding Navy SEAL team help Raiden disable explosives planted by Fatman. A timed bomb goes off, killing Peter Stillman. Raiden kills Fatman and encounters a mysterious cyborg ninja. Raiden and Pliskin arrange to transport hostages via helicopter. They are confronted by Dead Cell's leader identifying as Solid Snake. Raiden shoots down the Harrier but Solid Snake escapes with the stolen Metal Gear RAY. Pliskin reveals he is the real Solid Snake. Along with Otacon, they help locate Johnson. Johnson reveals to Raiden the United States' democratic process is a sham staged by an organization called the Patriots. Furthermore, the Big Shell is a facade to hide Arsenal Gear. Arsenal Gear is a submersible mobile fortress that houses an AI called GW. He explains the leader of Dead Cell is his predecessor George Sears. George Sears is a clone of Big Boss known as Solidus Snake. Solidus plans to seize Arsenal and overthrow the Patriots. Ocelot then kills Johnson.

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• 3. Social Engineering And Memetics

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  Raiden rescues computer programmer Emma Emmerich, step-sister of Otacon. She plans to upload a virus into GW to disable Arsenal. Vamp stabs Emma before being shot by Raiden. Emma uploads the virus but dies from her injury as the virus is cut off prematurely. Otacon leaves to rescue the hostages while Raiden is captured by the ninja. The ninja is revealed to be Olga when Snake seemingly betrays him. Big Shell collapses as Arsenal departs. Raiden awakens on Arsenal before Solidus. Solidus reveals he raised him as a child soldier during the Liberian civil war. Solidus leaves and Olga frees Raiden. She explains she is a Patriot double-agent forced to aid Raiden in exchange for her child's safety. After the Colonel begins acting erratically, Raiden discovers he is a construct of GW. The Colonel was damaged by the virus. Rose tells Raiden she had been ordered by the Patriots to become his lover and spy on him. She is pregnant with his child. Raiden finds Snake who had helped Olga capture Raiden so they could gain entry to Arsenal. Fortune battles Snake while Raiden is forced into battle with AI-controlled Metal Gear RAYs. The virus causes the RAYs to malfunction. Olga sacrifices herself to save Raiden from Solidus. Snake and Raiden are captured and taken to the top of Arsenal by Solidus, Fortune, and Ocelot. Ocelot reveals himself to be a Patriot agent. The entire affair was orchestrated by the Patriots to artificially replicate a soldier named Raiden on par with Solid Snake. This plan is titled the S3 Plan. It recreates the environment of the Shadow Moses Incident.

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• 4. Tactical Espionage Mechanics

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  Metal Gear Solid 2 carries the subtitle of Tactical Espionage Action. Most of the game involves the protagonist sneaking around to avoid being seen by the enemies. The first-person aiming mode allows players to target specific points in the game. Guards can be blinded by steam or distracted by a flying piece of fruit. Players can hit guards in weak spots. Players can walk slowly to sneak over noisy flooring without making a sound. They can hang off walkways to slip past below guards' feet. The corner-press move from Metal Gear Solid allowed players a sneak peek around the next bend. It expanded to allow players to fire from cover. Other abilities included leaping over and hanging off of railings. Players could open and hide in storage lockers. Sneaking up behind enemies allowed them to hold them at gunpoint for items and ammunition. Players could shoot out the enemy's radio so they are unable to communicate with others on their team. The environment has a more significant impact on the stealth gameplay. Factors such as weather, smell, atmosphere, and temperature affect gameplay. Enemy guards are given more advanced AI to prevent an imbalance of power. Unlike the original Metal Gear Solid, they work in squads. They call on their radios for a strike team upon seeing the player. Strike teams attempt to flank him and cut off his escape while avoiding the player's attacks. Often strike teams carry body armor and riot shields. Even if the player escapes to a hiding place, a team will sweep in to check the area.

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• 5. Controversial Reception And Criticism

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  There was a high level of anticipation in the gaming community surrounding the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The game's E3 2000 demo drew a lot of speculation about the potential for the PlayStation 2. Hyper Magazine named it the most anticipated game for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. In Japan, the game sold 400,000 units in its first day. It had 600,000 pre-orders in the country. Metal Gear Solid 2 ultimately sold 687,000 units in 2001. It made it the tenth-best-selling video game of 2001 in Japan. It was the best-selling Konami game in Japanese Market of that year. In the United States, the game sold 500,000 units within two days of release. It sold 680,000 copies within five days. It was the top-selling game in November 2001. It topped the video game rental chart the same month. By July 2006, it had sold 2 million copies and earned money in the United States alone. Next Generation ranked it as the 16th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006. In Europe, the game received

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• 6. Commercial Success And Sales Records

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  pre-orders surpassing Konami's initial expectations. In the United Kingdom, it set a fastest sales record with 200,000 copies sold. The PlayStation 2 version received a Platinum sales award from ELSPA indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies. It also received a Platinum Award in Germany for sales above 200,000 units. The overall game went on to sell over 7 million copies by 2004.

  In a 2006 viewer poll conducted by Japan's Famitsu magazine, Metal Gear Solid 2 was ranked at No. 42. In the 200th issue of Game Informer Magazine in 2009, its list of top 200 games of all time ranked the game at No. 50. Metal Gear Solid 2 was ranked No. 7 in Game Informers 2008 list of the top ten video game openings. GamesRadar included the game in its list of top seven games with mega plot twists you never saw coming. It has been listed as one of the best games of all time by Electronic Gaming Monthly and Empire. According to John Linneman of Digital Foundry, the game was a technical milestone for its time. It served as a killer app showcasing what the PlayStation 2 hardware was capable of. It set a new standard in cinematic presentation. Huge numbers of enemies remain on screen with bodies that stay in the scene. Physics interactions occur with real world objects. Multi-tiered environments allow for advanced enemy AI. The early anticipation surrounding Metal Gear Solid 2 since the E3 2000 demo is credited as a critical factor

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• 7. Enduring Legacy And Cultural Impact

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  in the PlayStation 2's dominance during the sixth console generation. Wired included the game in its list of The 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade at No. 13. Every videogame story that subverts a player's expectations owes a debt to the ground broken by Metal Gear Solid 2. Artistic influence can be seen in later video games such as Killer7 and Portal. Survival horror title Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem also shows this influence. First-person shooter BioShock featured a similar plot twist.

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