Current Events > Playing Metal Gear Solid 2 blind.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Good to know that we're finally off the rails, it's about damn time.

That being said, shouldn't Shell 2 be collapsing right now? It's missing 2 struts...

Ech, that panel's a dick move.

Damn, this dude's got piss for days.

I really love this new direction that the game's taking, but at the same time, the mechanics don't mesh well with how unforgiving the game is with ledges.

oh boy that looks dangerous

Yes, Raiden, that's how normal people enter water, they walk down to the bottom of the stairs and then float up.

This underwater camera's super wonky.

well that dead body's very reassuring

Need a Level 4 card, dammit.

Oh, there's the Nikita.

lmao what

Damn, the President just destroyed Raiden.

Right, so am I going to learn who the hell the Patriots are now?

Here comes the postmodernism.

Solidus is actually a good guy? I think?

Hold up, who was Solidus's vice President?

Oh shit, RAY isn't the new Metal G-WHAAAAAAAAAT

Oh boy dis gun b gud

Damn, this is stepping it up a notch. Bravo, MGS2.

This is coming straight out of 1984. Control the information and you control the truth, and therefore the people.

Solidus is actually a good guy?????????

He claims to have free will, but he's doing exactly what the Patriots want. Hm...

Not gonna lie, that was a great cutscene, even if it was only a Codec call.

Hold up, I thought Ocelot stole RAY? What do you mean, the Patriots stole RAY? Ocelot's in opposition to the Patriots, isn't he?

Who the fuck is-oh

That's not how buoyancy works
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There it is. The moment we've all been waiting for.
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PFFT, Vamp just strutted onto a Claymore and it blew him clear across the room.

and I died. Whoops. Gotta fight back, I guess.

Super armoring through my punches is really getting on my nerves.

I have un-un-deaded him.

Good boss fight. It suffers from having orient yourself before lining up your shot in first person, but that's not something I can fault the boss for.
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OP, once you finish the game I highly recommend watching Superbunnyhop's critical close up of MGS2. It is perhaps the best analysis of a video game I've ever seen.
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Did you manage to avoid drowning?
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I keep swimming straight into every single mine because I keep expecting to go down when I hit up.

Like brother, like sister.

Raiden's actually not a horrible counselor, huh.

oh boy this sucks oh boy this sucks oh boy this sucks OH SHIT I'M STILL BLEEDING FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK okay i'm good except for the fact that i have literally no health left

Huh, you can punch Emma. And tranq her. You can probably shoot her, too. But I won't.

Raiden sounds so proud of not drowning.

Bad foot to get off on, Otacon.

Wow, E.E.'s kind of a dick.

How did the virus survive being underwater, exactly?

Again, right out of 1984. You don't know what is true and what is false because all information is controlled. You don't even know if your own memories are true.

This is going to suck with literally no health at all.

I'm getting really sick of these swimming controls.

I literally can't get past the first mine because Raiden is so hard to move underwater.

Well, that was hell, but I did it.
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NinjaWarrior455 posted...

Did you manage to avoid drowning?

Yes, but not mines.
YellowSUV posted...

OP, once you finish the game I highly recommend watching Superbunnyhop's critical close up of MGS2. It is perhaps the best analysis of a video game I've ever seen.

I enjoyed his MGS1 critical close-up, will have to give his MGS2 one a spin as well.
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This motherfucker only turns around when I barely scrape what his cone of vision would be if he turned around.

It sure is awfully convenient that the bridge, which would have been impossible to cross before and made the entire endeavor pointless, is magically repaired.

Gee, I sure am glad I could see the guards positioned completely outside of the camera's view before you could ever possibly see them. This is game design at its fairest, yes sir.

I'm going to type out the lyrics to Snake Eater for as long as I'm on the ladder.

Well, that's lame. I want to hold down for 3 minutes.

E.E. keeps getting hit by nothing. Am I doing something wrong? I mean, obviously, but still.
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Sounds like she might be hitting the mines. I'm not sure if they show up on all difficulties but use the thermal goggle to make sure.
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Of course, there were claymores. My favorite.

Beat it first try after I figured that out.

Now we're home fr-oh shit

Good thing I'm an ace snip-that's not good

wiat why can snake and emma occupy the same bridge but not me and emma

double standards much

of course that bridge wouldn't be repaired, that would make too much sense

by the way where did fortune go

why the actual fuck is the core mined if snake carried emma while she was bleeding out in his arms through it and while there are zero guards there

I don't know why, but this conversation between Raiden and Snake seems so natural.

That death scene was pretty good, but it didn't make me misty.

Oh, and Otacon just became way worse of a person. Cool.

The lip syncing just shit the bed out of nowhere.

That's a pretty damn cool handshake.

And a reprise of the main theme!

yo WHAT

GRAY FOX IS OLGA?

NOOOO SNAKE WHY

Torture time?

Is this Shadow Moses?

Raiden is Solidus's son?

Why the hell is he naked?

What the hell does "Inside the memory of Shadow Moses" mean?

The Patriots are some cruel bastards, damn.

Well, Raiden's had a shitty life.

Out of curiosity, how close am I to finishing the game? Want to know if I can finish it in around 3 or 4 hours.
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Garioshi posted...

Of course, there were claymores. My favorite.

Beat it first try after I figured that out.

Now we're home fr-oh shit

Good thing I'm an ace snip-that's not good

wiat why can snake and emma occupy the same bridge but not me and emma

double standards much

of course that bridge wouldn't be repaired, that would make too much sense

by the way where did fortune go

why the actual fuck is the core mined if snake carried emma while she was bleeding out in his arms through it and while there are zero guards there

I don't know why, but this conversation between Raiden and Snake seems so natural.

That death scene was pretty good, but it didn't make me misty.

Oh, and Otacon just became way worse of a person. Cool.

The lip syncing just shit the bed out of nowhere.

That's a pretty damn cool handshake.

And a reprise of the main theme!

yo WHAT

GRAY FOX IS OLGA?

NOOOO SNAKE WHY

Torture time?

Is this Shadow Moses?

Raiden is Solidus's son?

Why the hell is he naked?

What the hell does "Inside the memory of Shadow Moses" mean?

The Patriots are some cruel bastards, damn.

Well, Raiden's had a shitty life.

Out of curiosity, how close am I to finishing the game? Want to know if I can finish it in around 3 or 4 hours.

Probably around 2 hours left.
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Is this really happening? Am I actually going through (what I assume is) the final area in the game butt naked?

Did Campbell just casually break the fourth wall? What hell am I in for?

What the actual fuck are these codec calls? A game has never made me completely speechless before.

I think I'm just going to sit here and listen to Campbell for the next 10 minutes.

Why is his skull visible?

WHY DOES HE NEED SCISSORS?

Better use my PSG-1 against Sniper Wolf before she kills Meryl.

WHAT HOW THE HELL DID THEY JUST NINJA JUMP UP AN ENTIRE FLOOR

what the hell is happening to the radar

is this a porn intro

Am I locked in? I might just take the Colonel's advice.
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Probably the biggest mindscrew in gaming.
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How many naked flips have you done
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Rose is kind of a bitch.

Ayyyyyyy Snake is back! In his sneaking suit, no less!

Ooh, a katana. I'm going to use it exclusively for the rest of the game.

Here we go into full postmodernism.

Fission Mailed, oh no.

Oh, there's Fortune.

Time to fuck up some Metal Gears.

Or not. How many am I expected to kill?

That wasn't that bad, honestly.

And Solidus just made the series jump the shark when it comes to action scenes.

Ocelot is a a chess grandmaster, it looks like.

God damn, Ocelot's cold-blooded.

Oh fuck, Liquid's back. This is gonna be a good family reunion.

The plot twists just keep on adding up, god damn.

Gotta say, this is a fantastic buildup.

The Snakes are all sterile? Huh. I bet their snakes can't even get solid.

Some of the things the Patriots are talking about are eerily prophetic of today.

The Patriots make a pretty good argument to defend their actions, all things considered.

This is a badass final (?) boss. Epic duel with one side having a significant advantage.

Oh, the dog tags are a cool touch.

Is this the end or is this going to be ANOTHER plot twist?

Why the hell does Raiden just act like Rose didn't just treat him like a pawn and a weapon or reveal that she's been lying to him for the entire time he's known her?

Well, Liquid's a completely unresolved issue. Kind of a downer, it lessens the impact of the fantastic opening.

Anyway, thoughts about the game.

The tanker is the best part of the game, hands-down. It's paced absolutely perfectly, has one of the best setpieces in the series (that I've played), and has the best hook in the series (that I've played). While the Big Shell has its moments, it's overall too heavy on backtracking, even for MGS1 standards, and there are some things that are communicated extremely poorly, such as the fact that the player can hug the walls on the bridge that collapses to not fall. Being caught may as well be a game over due to how tough the attack group can be. The fact that most ledges are insta-kill if you barely move the tiniest bit off of them and that Raiden likes to swing around combined with the tight spaces you sometimes have to navigate through can get extremely frustrating. I absolutely loved the story, though I don't think it's above MGS3.
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So you asked about the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo a few times. This is a codename for the Patriots. Because they control the nanotech, a lot of people who have them will involuntarily say or hear "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo" in place of the word "Patriots."

Sounds like you also missed the bit in the end cutscene. If you look around in first person at one point, you'll see Vamp casually standing off to the side.

You also noticed the similarities to MGS1. Did you catch that this was intentional?
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An interesting note about the game, some things were cut because of 9/11.

One of the Sons of Liberty, I think Vamp, explicitly talks about using a purified bomb as an EMP over Wall Street to destroy The Patriots

There was an explicit scene were Arsenal Gear crashes into New York and stops right by Federal Hall. In the actual game its not that clear how Raiden and Solidus end up there.

The flagpoles around Federal Hall originally had American flags on them. After the final fight Raiden cuts one down and drapes it around Solidus.
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Garioshi posted...

Of course, there were claymores. My favorite.

Beat it first try after I figured that out.

Now we're home fr-oh shit

Good thing I'm an ace snip-that's not good

wiat why can snake and emma occupy the same bridge but not me and emma

double standards much

of course that bridge wouldn't be repaired, that would make too much sense

by the way where did fortune go

why the actual fuck is the core mined if snake carried emma while she was bleeding out in his arms through it and while there are zero guards there

I don't know why, but this conversation between Raiden and Snake seems so natural.

That death scene was pretty good, but it didn't make me misty.

Oh, and Otacon just became way worse of a person. Cool.

The lip syncing just shit the bed out of nowhere.

That's a pretty damn cool handshake.

And a reprise of the main theme!

yo WHAT

GRAY FOX IS OLGA?

NOOOO SNAKE WHY

Torture time?

Is this Shadow Moses?

Raiden is Solidus's son?

Why the hell is he naked?

What the hell does "Inside the memory of Shadow Moses" mean?

The Patriots are some cruel bastards, damn.

Well, Raiden's had a shitty life.

Out of curiosity, how close am I to finishing the game? Want to know if I can finish it in around 3 or 4 hours.

That is pretty damn cool handshake.

Yo, the Emma shit always fucking gets me.
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The Ray fight also changes depending on the difficulty. On Extreme you have to destroy 20.
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pegusus123456 posted...

So you asked about the La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo a few times. This is a codename for the Patriots. Because they control the nanotech, a lot of people who have them will involuntarily say or hear "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo" in place of the word "Patriots."

Gotcha.
pegusus123456 posted...

Sounds like you also missed the bit in the end cutscene. If you look around in first person at one point, you'll see Vamp casually standing off to the side.

Definitely missed that.
pegusus123456 posted...

You also noticed the similarities to MGS1. Did you catch that this was intentional?

After they explicitly said it, sure.
YellowSUV posted...

An interesting note about the game, some things were cut because of 9/11.

One of the Sons of Liberty, I think Vamp, explicitly talks about using a purified bomb as an EMP over Wall Street to destroy The Patriots

There was an explicit scene were Arsenal Gear crashes into New York and stops right by Federal Hall. In the actual game its not that clear how Raiden and Solidus end up there.

The flagpoles around Federal Hall originally had American flags on them. After the final fight Raiden cuts one down and drapes it around Solidus.

Huh. 9/11 has had quite the impact on games.
Wasssup Now posted...

That is pretty damn cool handshake.

I glad you agree.
MrMallard posted...

Yo, the Emma shit always fucking gets me.

I could definitely see it getting to some people.
NinjaWarrior455 posted...

The Ray fight also changes depending on the difficulty. On Extreme you have to destroy 20.

That honestly doesn't seem that bad, assuming RNG is favorable.
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Hold up, this game has a lockon mechanic? Since when? Was that in MGS3, as well?
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Also, somewhat unrelated, I died 124 times because of my self-imposed challenge.
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Wasssup Now posted...

Garioshi posted...

Of course, there were claymores. My favorite.

Beat it first try after I figured that out.

Now we're home fr-oh shit

Good thing I'm an ace snip-that's not good

wiat why can snake and emma occupy the same bridge but not me and emma

double standards much

of course that bridge wouldn't be repaired, that would make too much sense

by the way where did fortune go

why the actual fuck is the core mined if snake carried emma while she was bleeding out in his arms through it and while there are zero guards there

I don't know why, but this conversation between Raiden and Snake seems so natural.

That death scene was pretty good, but it didn't make me misty.

Oh, and Otacon just became way worse of a person. Cool.

The lip syncing just shit the bed out of nowhere.

That's a pretty damn cool handshake.

And a reprise of the main theme!

yo WHAT

GRAY FOX IS OLGA?

NOOOO SNAKE WHY

Torture time?

Is this Shadow Moses?

Raiden is Solidus's son?

Why the hell is he naked?

What the hell does "Inside the memory of Shadow Moses" mean?

The Patriots are some cruel bastards, damn.

Well, Raiden's had a shitty life.

Out of curiosity, how close am I to finishing the game? Want to know if I can finish it in around 3 or 4 hours.

That is pretty damn cool handshake.

And a reference to the Konami code.
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The_Ivory_Man posted...

And a reference to the Konami code.

That's awesome, didn't think it was possible to make that handshake even more amazing.
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Oh, and I might as well give my ranking of what I've played so far. 3 > 2 > 1, both in terms of gameplay and story. 2 definitely has its moments that surpass 3's average, and I am a fan of not getting spotted by guards that are 30 feet away from me, but 3 has better bosses and more interesting scenarios overall than 2. If the quality of the tanker continued throughout the rest of the game, 2 would definitely be my favorite in terms of gameplay. Having played 2, I think I have a much better grasp on 3's mechanics, so I might do another playthrough of it armed with better mechanical knowledge.

It was suggested earlier that I just watch the cutscenes of 4 instead of buying a PS3 and the game itself. Is that still a good idea? Also, should I seek out a copy of Twin Snakes?
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Garioshi posted...

Oh, and I might as well give my ranking of what I've played so far. 3 > 2 > 1, both in terms of gameplay and story. 2 definitely has its moments that surpass 3's average, and I am a fan of not getting spotted by guards that are 30 feet away from me, but 3 has better bosses and more interesting scenarios overall than 2. If the quality of the tanker continued throughout the rest of the game, 2 would definitely be my favorite in terms of gameplay. Having played 2, I think I have a much better grasp on 3's mechanics, so I might do another playthrough of it armed with better mechanical knowledge.

It was suggested earlier that I just watch the cutscenes of 4 instead of buying a PS3 and the game itself. Is that still a good idea? Also, should I seek out a copy of Twin Snakes?

I wouldn't get a PS3 just for MGS4. That said, it is likely the only platform that you will probably ever be able to play MGS4 on since the game seems very port unfriendly due to the way the game was made. The story is entertaining to watch, although it drags on at some points. Sadly, I think its trying to recapture the magic of MGS2's story, and it fails for the most part.

I thought Twin Snakes was fine, but a lot of people have issues with some of the ridiculous things that happen in the cutscenes. That said, its not really essential to play if you already played MGS1.
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Twin Snakes isn't terrible but some cutscenes are horrendous and easily mocked (

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP29E9MljaE" data-time=") and I dislike some music changes. It does have far better audio quality for the dialogue over the original dub.

With the other titles

I actually prefer Metal Gear Rising to the Kojima titles that followed.

Raiden's personality completely changes in 4 for the worse, Rising brings him back in line, everything in it is actually foreshadowed in MGS2 and MGS4. Brings back an actual fun miniboss squad and things that are missing post 3.

The HD version of Peace Walker is alot of fun, especially if you play it co-op although the story gets really stupid, especially concerning the Boss and the main villain. Control scheme on the PSP isn't the best.

Totally ignore Portable Ops, lame story and the gameplay is painfully slow. Although there are a few good things like Python, it doesn't reedem the rest.

4 has neat gameplay ideas (that can really only be used in Act 1 and 2), but is heavily bloated by cutscenes and has quite a number of awful story decisions. It definitely has to be gone through but I don't think the game is that great.

V has some good gameplay but the mission structure is awful and the plot is easily the worst in the series. Although personally I found Ground Zeroes to be great for what it was, actually makes better use of some of the mechanics.

That's it for the canon titles.... Well aside from the odd tie-in for Ghost Babel.
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My favorite explanation for TTS' cutscenes is that MGS1 is what actually happened whereas TTS is how Ocelot tells the story.
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