Hideo Kojima is a brave individual for exchanging series
star Solid Snake (voiced by David Hayter) for neophyte Raiden. A risk so
stunning, that it created a rift among the most devoted MGS fans, as a beloved
favorite was placed in, essentially, a co-starring role. While Raiden
demonstrates moments of petulance, I really don't have much ill-will towards
him, only to say, his backstory is very melodramatic, and, at times,
overwrought. I could deal with his VR training and his cursed childhood, but;
it's the bouts of dialogue he and Rosemary (Raiden's girlfriend voiced by Lara
Cody) exchanged that lack flair. It didn't hurt my overall impression of the
already complicated story, but, it was forced in moments. He and Snake are
negligible as far as controllability goes, only their animations are different.
Snake runs like a football player, while his predecessor looks like a pouty
ballet performer who lost a competition.
The talented cast of voice-overs also helped the narrative,
tremendously; because, even if the player had a difficult time understanding
the history of the "La-Le-Lu-Le-Lo" or "The Wisemen's
Committee" they kept things moving along without overcooked their lines.
My favorite moment involves Revolver Ocelot (Patric Zimmerman) confronting Col.
Sergei Gurlukovich (Earl Boen) and
Commander Jackson (Kevin M. Richardson) inside the hold of the tanker. It
wasn't just the stirring music by Harry Gregson-Williams that moved that
particular scene, but the camera work by Kojima to illustrate the parameters of
the sequence. The lighting, the textures, the stakes of the entire scene set in
that one place, which is punctuated with the destruction of the entire tanker,
thanks, in part, to Ocelot successfully stealing (or, in his words,
"taking back") Metal Gear Ray.
There were many other scenes in the game that stood out and
were epic in scale, like, the moment when Snake, Fortune, Solidus (MGS2's main
antagonist and brother of Solid and Liquid Snake) and Raiden (the son of
Solidus) finally learn of the purpose of The Big Shell, as told by Ocelot
revealed to be the brains behind this “simulation.” The entire idea was to
produce a re-orchestration of the Shadow Moses, that Solid Snake took on four
years preventing a nuclear strike & destroying Metal Gear Rex in the
process.The same goes for the virus that killed Liquid Snake in MGS1, FOXDIE, a
retrovirus programmed to kill specific people via DNA, was used as a computer
virus to mimic the program. This was also in turn Raiden's first official
mission sanctioned under a fictional group disguised as FOXHOUND; the same
group Snake took down in MGS1. Where does Raiden fit into this? The idea was to
create a soldier that was the equivalent of Snake or to create the perfect
simulation, like Shadow Moses. The exposition that I’m describing here doesn't
do the game justice, because, it’s all so vastly complex.
For its time, the game-play was astonishing. Stealth
mechanics were improved and so was the AI in the game, too. For example, if you
left a trail of footprints or blood, they would follow it to wherever it leads
them; solo or back-up personnel. They're also equipped with walkie-talkies to
notify guards if an area is clear or if an intruder has appeared. Finding a
hiding place became more crucial than before and if you didn't, the game will
be over, if you aren't careful. Aiming became more improved with the
incorporation of targeting in first-person and the controls were even better
than they were in the first game; sure, you had to use a couple of buttons to
do certain things, though, it was nearly flawless, just like everything else
with the entire production.
The gameplay just makes it easy to forget that there was
such narrative and composition to follow, because when you actually had the
opportunity to play it. While long-time Kojima fans were upset for some
differing views of where the franchise was heading back in 2001, they missed out on one of the best gaming experiences during the era of the Playstation 2.
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