TLS 2020 Community Playthrough: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

C

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
1.Quite a lot of what happens here ends up setting up pieces of future instalments. Anything stand out?

I'm almost certain it's by accident(as in, not intended at the time), but Raiden's suit is called the "Skull Suit". Definitely double taked (took?) a bit at that

2.There’s also a lot of dialogue doing clever foreshadowing of what comes later in this game. Any particular gems?

Everything to do with Jack and Rose. I'm actually hesitant to save because the dialogue that is cringeworthy when you don't know the context veers into horrifying.

3.Favourite Codec so far?

Predicting fandom sensibilities, Vamp's nickname is because of his bisexuality, not because he looks and acts like a vampire. Because relationships always trump everything else about a character. That or the one where Raiden talks about having to block out memories to focus on defusing a bomb. When you find out what he means by that, well, uurgh. I'm actually struggling to listen to them.

4.Which strut is the most fun to play in?

The strut F Warehouse is where all the cool toys are, plus there are a lot of angles and corners. Dining hall is also fun.

5.What piece of equipment have you been using the most?

Normally, it would be the M9 no contest, but I forgot to pick it up, and decided to try not to use it as much as possible. So the ever reliable cardboard box (aside from the obvious explosives detector).


1.What do you make of Raiden and his support staff?

Colonel is a bit flat. Raiden and Rose are very well written, which is a lot of fun. (And Quinton Flynn is a very good voice actor, he really has to run the gamut of emotional responses.

2.Ditto Dead Cell.

I imagine Olga finds them frustrating to work with.

"WHY? WHY CAN'T I DIE TODAY?" "Can't help, making explosives"

I kind of want to read a fanfic of Scott Dolph having an awkward dinner with them all.

3.What’s your favourite bomb? Which was the most difficult to defuse?

Had to call Stilman to get to the one in the warehouse, because I assumed you had to crawl or slide in instead of hanging and dropping.

Last one I found was Strut D. Took a long time to look behind the door. Heh. Sometimes the silly tricks work.

4.Describe your experience in 4-6 words.

I should be better at this.

5.Anything else you want to talk about?

Liberian Civil War was still ongoing in 2001. I don't know how to feel about that. The writers did a great job, admittedly, but that's pretty, uh, close to the surface at the time.
 
C

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
CLEVER BANNER THE THIRD

Hey folks, hope things are going well for you. Last time, we started swimming into a plant through a hole in the fence and ended defusing a bunch of explosives on a helipad. We also got introduced to some new characters and naturally things got a bit out of hand.

My keypad appears to be speaking Parseltongue today, so if I start sssssspeaking like thisssssss, that's why. I'm sure you understand. But on to business.

Chapter 3 starts at the Helipad and ends Standing on a Burning, Broken Bridge after Rose Prompts you to Save.

All going well, this will be a short chapter, but there are a lot of long cutscenes and codecs in it (and if you play like me, it may not go well.)

  1. So, we meet the cyborg ninja. Thoughts? Do you have a theory on who they are/what their agenda is?
  2. These people sure do love wiring their base to explode. How long did it take to get through the net of bombs on the bridge (a rough estimate is fine)?
  3. We keep getting conflicting opinions on what the terrorists’ goals are, what do you think they really are/who do you think is telling Raiden the truth? Or are they all lying?
  4. Have any of your opinions of the characters changed since your first impressions?
  5. Are you saving much? How do you find the conversations with Rose?

  1. What do you think would have happened if Fatman actually blew everyone up? What was plan B? Seems like a large risk for all these super planner types.
  2. Are you a well-oiled machine by this point, or still getting to grips with the controls and remembering where things are?
  3. Please rate the following characters in ascending order, based on the levels to which they are being plotted against by Ocelot: Snake, Raiden, Olga, Fortune/Vamp, Solidus. You may use a 1-10 scale if you will find it helpful.
  4. Ames appears uniquely straightforward and honest with Raiden. What’s the deal with that?
  5. What is your most anticipated moment in the game from this point on? Anything you are not looking forward to?

  1. Any trouble getting into the core?
  2. What is your main takeaway from that long overheard conversation with the D Mic in the Shell 1 Core?
  3. Did you enjoy the fight with the Harrier? What do you make of Solidus’ intro?
  4. Any notable Codec calls?
  5. Anything else you want to talk about?

Good luck, and enjoy yourselves! (I know I'm a little early with this, apologies)
 
Roger

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
  1. Ocelot was happy to just end the simulation if Raiden failed the simulation at the Fatman stage. Dead Cell would still have the hydrogen bomb, Solidus would still have GW. The Big shell slowly flooding doesn't really matter, as the Ray bombardment showed, it's not where the relevant computer equipment was housed anyway, they'd just need to keep President alive for a few more minutes as the place flooded.
  2. Well oiled machine now, remember the snipe controls was the last part. Harrier fight on Hard was fairly easy.
  3. Olga at the top, Solidus and Raiden tied for second place, then Fortune and Vamp, least of all Snake.
  4. He's not, but as his entire involvement in Raiden's simulation has been uneffected by the unexpected Solid Snake variable he comes off more convincing.
  5. BROTHERS! The Colonel/Rose AI's last Codec calls are an enormous drag.

  1. Got a little sloppy clearing out Strut F, both trips.
  2. That is definitely Solid Snake. What with the signature cape flourish, it's exactly how I remember him.
  3. Went by quickly, I know it's a killer on Extreme. Solidus' intro was awesome, but I'm not overfond of the musclesuit.
  4. I dunno what reliable source Otacon and Snake thought they had, that they mention here. I looked for it, but I couldn't get the Codec call that tells you the new alert team are Secret Service people that defected with the current President and ex-President Sears (who would also still have a secret service detail)
  5. Ocelot says he never trusts a Frenchmen, only Frenchman in the franchise of note is Ocelot. Checks out. Also playing this has made me realise I the old "The Patriots!" meme that used to be big
 
ForceStealer

ForceStealer

Double Growth
Sorry, sorry. Finally got done with Chapter 2, just in time to be a chapter behind again :P Hopefully by next week though I'll be completely caught up.

  1. Honestly I forgot how quickly the "supernatural" stuff started to come into play. I knew Vamp was in this but for some reason I didn't remember thinking "seriously?" on my original playthroughs until Colonel Pikachu in 3. Tets mentioned the ID-tagged weapons which is definitely one, but I do have to wonder why Raiden picked up Pliskin's M-16. I get that he's not using a tagged weapon, but how would Raiden have known that?
  2. I know there's stuff with Raiden and Rose but honestly I don't quite remember where exactly that leads. All of Campbell's references to "the simulation," more particularly.
  3. I like when Rose exhumes Solid Snake's grave and says the DNA is definitely him, though he's missing his right arm. Fun dramatic irony. And also would be something to chew on for someone who maybe skipped the Tanker mission.
  4. Hm, not F. I could not for the life of me find the stupid node and I am not skilled enough to play this game without the radar, lol.
  5. Probably the box, haha.

  1. Way less enjoyable than MGS1's. Raiden is incredibly naive, Campbell is an ass and a lousy commander, and Rose won't shut up about incredibly meaningless stuff. I of course know why all those things are true, but that doesn't mean they're likable now.
  2. More fun that our team, lol. But they are certainly weird. I had completely forgotten about Fatman being on roller blades. Just, what? lol. You have to wonder if Raiden had put his gun right up to Fortune's head after their fight and pulled a Trinity-style "dodge this," would it have worked :P
  3. The most difficult was F. Screw that Strut, lol. I enjoyed finding the one in Strut A's pump room.
  4. Not Good Enough for Normal Mode :(
  5. So yeah, to that end, I did start a new Easy game, and this must have been what I beat it on before, as this is more the difficulty I remember, haha. Finding the M9 right away was very exciting! :monster: But it did make me think about how cool it was the way this game genuinely changes the experience between difficulty levels. It isn't simply changing a bunch of numbers to give enemies less health or shorter vision cones or what have you. Scenarios change altogether. Like reading Tets' think about the bomb on the conveyor belt I was thinking, "I JUST played this, and I'm pretty sure that didn't happen to me."
 
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Prism

Prism

Pro Adventurer
AKA
pikpixelart
I’m gonna have a fun time catching up once I have some free time :P Hopefully sooner than later...
 
C

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
If you're feeling under pressure, I can extend the time, but it's not a big deal. Either everyone is on time, or someone beats my 'seven months late' entry. Win-win for me.

1.What do you think would have happened if Fatman actually blew everyone up? What was plan B? Seems like a large risk for all these super planner types.

Dammit, who came up with these lousy questions? Roger makes a good point re Arsenal Gear being intact, but my impression was that if the Strut A bomb had gone off as well as the strut H one, the facility would immediately sink (and the first place to flood in shell 2 was B1. If that happens in Shell 1, that's where all the leadership and hostages are. Maybe that was an empty threat like the toxins, but even if it was never intended to happen I would have difficulty relying on Fatman not blowing stuff up just because.

Are you a well-oiled machine by this point, or still getting to grips with the controls and remembering where things are?

I'm improving, but still regularly dying. I missed the Cypher explosive and the one directly behind me on the bridge to Shell 2.

Please rate the following characters in ascending order, based on the levels to which they are being plotted against by Ocelot: Snake, Raiden, Olga, Fortune/Vamp, Solidus. You may use a 1-10 scale if you will find it helpful.

Snake at the top (depending on how well you rate liquid's influence), then Solidus, then Olga, then Fortune/Vamp, as that's mostly Solidus' plan. Raiden is not really being schemed against so much as being a tool in the other schemes.

Ames appears uniquely straightforward and honest with Raiden. What’s the deal with that?

Dunno. He seems surprised by his death, but if he was in on the plan, surely he'd know about that part. If he was not in on things, then he seems to give away too much.

What is your most anticipated moment in the game from this point on? Anything you are not looking forward to?

The plot unveiling on top of Arsenal Gear. As I imagine you may have gathered, I'm not a fan of Otacon's family life.

Any trouble getting into the core?

Fine once inside, my L2 button froze inconveniently so I couldn't use the mine detector, which made getting in undetected difficult. And then when I got across, I realised I'd forgotten the AK. Ah well.

What is your main takeaway from that long overheard conversation with the D Mic in the Shell 1 Core?

Despite the conversation being mostly about how little they trust each other, they're still not paranoid enough. Ocelot's just that good.

Did you enjoy the fight with the Harrier? What do you make of Solidus’ intro?

Fun, if easy thanks to resupply. Must be pretty disturbing for Solid Snake, as Solidus looks exactly like Big Boss, who he's already killed twice. Also, 'Harrier' is a good name for a fighter. Descriptive.

Any notable Codec calls?

More Jack/Rose foreshadowing, the one about his nightmares and whether he loves the real Rose. It's so well written with double meanings, they keep (accidentally?) jumping up and down on each other's sore points.

Anything else you want to talk about?

I spent all that time deactivating the explosives, and then they all go off anyway five minutes later. And Vamp appears capable of crossing running water, in one of the many mysteries of nanomachines. Dunno if that's a subtle joke or not.
 
C

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
Clever Banner Four: Even Awesomer than Before

Yo. Hope all is going well. Last Episode, we got done with defusing a mad bomber, spoke to a hostage, and then had a battle on the big bridge. This time... well, I won't spoil it outside tags in case some newcomers actually show up.

Chapter 4 ends When the Ever Reliable Rose Prompts you to save, after you are Electrocuted Unconcious. It's a fair bit longer than the last one, and this is where things start to get weird.

  1. Well, that was a lot to take in. How are you feeling?
  2. Which of the ongoing schemes is your favourite?
  3. Raiden is not having a good day. How do you rate escorting a hydrophobic computer engineer through a flooded, mined, slowly sinking station among his experiences so far?
  4. How do you like the Emma segment? Enjoyable, annoying, quietly horrifying?
  5. So, our cyborg ninja reveals herself. Thoughts?

  1. Anything stand out about the President (I’d prefer if we could refrain from political jokes unless you absolutely must)?
  2. What is your favourite anti Vamp trick?
  3. Assuming you have played the sequels (sorry, I’ve kind of been assuming that all along, if I’m wrong, please correct me) are you viewing Otacon’s family life differently? If you have not, then what are your thoughts on it in this game?
  4. Otacon is not having a good day. How do you rate this relative to his experiences over the rest of the series?
  5. What’s your standout moment in this section?

  1. Did you manage to avoid drowning? Did you blow up the president?
  2. How did you find Vamp?
  3. Notable codec calls?
  4. What approach did you take to sneaking out Emma? Violence, stealth or tranqing?
  5. Anything else you want to talk about?

Moving towards the home stretch now. Good luck, and enjoy yourselves!
 
Roger

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
  1. I like that he casually affirms that yes, just absolute power would have justified some terrorism.
  2. Using the grenade launcher to shot down essentially depth charges is a real cool mechanic I feel.
  3. I feel like the kind of man his father was is irrespective of what his second wife did to Otacon. And I'd give Huey enough credit to say he wasn't trying to murder-suicide Emma as most people on the internet now seems to believe.
  4. This is his most legitemate heartbreak, then Naomi, then Wolf. I really wish Wolf wasn't the one always getting brought up. He knew her for like hours at best.
  5. The puzzle of how not to kill the president with the nikita really becomes something on Hard. He really loves those panels

  1. Yes and No.
  2. Was the trickiest boss thus far easily, had to spend all my Stinger ammo, Grenade launcher ammo then tackle his last phase with the m4 and really work to keep up with him.
  3. Emma's gibberish hold up less well as time goes on. She was truly the first big mouthpiece for any and every factoid that Kojima just thought was cool to mention.
  4. Violence!
  5. For all Snake's claims that the Big Shell would be all but deserted, there are irresponsible amount of people hanging out on the oilfence. Snake's codec calls seem badly edited too. They are inconsistent with when the found out about Arsenal and if they can overhear Raiden's dialogue with the President and Ames.
 
C

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
Anything stand out about the President (I’d prefer if we could refrain from political jokes unless you absolutely must)?

His voice actor is Paul Lukather. I wondered where I knew the name, then I remembered he was the vampire Vorador.

What is your favourite anti Vamp trick?

Punching him in the face/back of the head is oddly effective.

Assuming you have played the sequels (sorry, I’ve kind of been assuming that all along, if I’m wrong, please correct me) are you viewing Otacon’s family life differently? If you have not, then what are your thoughts on it in this game?

Not really, no.

Otacon is not having a good day. How do you rate this relative to his experiences over the rest of the series?

Easily the worst moment, with a lot of bad luck all round. Agreed with Roger, mostly.

What’s your standout moment in this section?

That handshake. Otacon might just come up with a Philanthropy secret handshake, and Snake has been asked to do so much weird stuff by his superiors that he just rolls with it. Says a lot about their bond,

Did you manage to avoid drowning? Did you blow up the president?

Embarrassingly, no and yes. I kept forgetting which was the punch button. The first time I got a rocket in the room, I hit the railing beside the panel, which Prez was standing beside.

How did you find Vamp?

Pretty easy, actually. Unusual for me.

Notable codec calls?

Raiden starts complaining about Snake, when he's standing right beside Otacon listening.

What approach did you take to sneaking out Emma? Violence, stealth or tranqing?

Tried stealth and failed, so had to break out the M9 and fail my no M9 run. Ah well. Once we got to the sniping section I gave up and just murdered everyone.

Anything else you want to talk about?

I would like to amend the record for the previous chapter, I forgot about some mishaps. To get into the hostage room, I forgot how to get the henchman to use the scanner. I tried holding him up, which didn't work, so I knocked him out and stuffed him in a locker. The next time, I forgot I was holding my AK and blew his head off from behind, which alerted everyone and had to go hide. Third time, I was able to shove his face into the scanner stained with the blood of his compatriot.
 
C

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
Chapter Five: The Final Chapter.

And here we are, folks! The end, the final chapter! It's been fun, for me at least, and hopefully at least some of the rest of you. This is it, the one you've all been waiting for. I recommend keeping your beverage of choice on hand, as this is where the cutscenes get long.

  1. Well, that was even more of a lot to take in. Thoughts?
  2. The HF blade takes some getting used to. How do you find it?
  3. So, the Colonel is an AI. Had you any suspicions? What is happening now?
  4. Twenty five Metal Gears, huh? How’d that go for you?
  5. Is this game what you expected going in?

  1. What’s your favourite garbled Colonel message?
  2. How did you react to Raiden and Rose’s revelations first time through? Is your reaction different now?
  3. Which gameplay section holds up the best? Sneaking around naked, carving through the Tengu, the Rays, or Solidus?
  4. What was your favourite bossfight in the game?
  5. How did you enjoy this playthrough? What was the same, what was different?

  1. Anything notable about the final fight? Or the Rays?
  2. Describe your overall experience in… as many words as you like.
  3. Please rate the following giant speeches relative to how compelling they were: Colonel/Rose via Codec, Ocelot outlining his plans, Solidus in front of Federal Hall, Olga re her motivations, Snake and Raiden at the very end. Which would you keep entirely, which would you edit, and which would you most be willing to lose?
  4. Which character or experience stands out the most?
  5. Anything else you want to talk about?

And so it ends. Thanks to everyone who participated, read the thread, or heckled from the sidelines. Anyone wants to add any bonus questions, feel free.
 
Roger

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
  1. Colonel: Actually, I am in really bad shape financially. I pay money to my ex-wife as part of our divorce settlement, among other bills... I just had no choice but to make you pay for lunch the other day. I'm really sorry.
  2. Their relationship didn't really land for me way back when but I'm less invested now that I know that the real Rosemary isn't actually substantively different in MGS4.
  3. Rays is definitely still a great ride.
  4. I think Fatman was the best boss fight. It's just a fun problem to deal with, the skater with an uzi and planter of C4s
  5. I enjoyed discovering which areas are and aren't harder without silenced weapons or using the m9.

  1. Solidus was way easier in his second phase compared to his first, there's clear rhythm to his techniques at that point.
  2. Not very stealthy at all honestly!
  3. Please rate the following giant speeches relative to how compelling they were: Colonel/Rose via Codec, Ocelot outlining his plans, Solidus in front of Federal Hall, Olga re her motivations, Snake and Raiden at the very end. Which would you keep entirely, which would you edit, and which would you most be willing to lose? Snake's dialogue actually struck me as compelling and poignant this time. Ocelot I would keep in it's entirety. Olga was alright, Solidus needs to hire an editor, I could lose a lot of the Colonel/Rose stuff.
  4. Solid Snake, accept not substitutes!
  5. Ocelot had to go through a LOT of trouble to retrieve his torture bed from Alaska, get it installed on Arsenal Gear and explain to Solidus why he shouldn't question it. As MGS1 makes clear, that's his personal device, came with him all the way from Afghanistan.

What rank did everyone get? Got Mammoth myself
 
Tetsujin

Tetsujin

he/they
AKA
Tets
Chapter 3 done!

What do you think would have happened if Fatman actually blew everyone up? What was plan B? Seems like a large risk for all these super planner types.

Ocelot would probably be the first on the elevator to Arsenal before anything blows up since he knew that Fatman was a test for Raiden. Everyone else can just drown I guess :monster:

Are you a well-oiled machine by this point, or still getting to grips with the controls and remembering where things are?

Well I did just stop playing MGS2 for another three weeks so I actually messed up a few times. Even got a death ( D: ) because I tried leaving Shell 1 on alert and got shot by a Cypher, which stunned me long enough for the trap panels on the bridge to give way...>.>

Please rate the following characters in ascending order, based on the levels to which they are being plotted against by Ocelot: Snake, Raiden, Olga, Fortune/Vamp, Solidus. You may use a 1-10 scale if you will find it helpful.

Raiden - He is part of the plan so he isn't so much plotted against as much as he's part of the plot
Snake - he's an unexpected variable so there probably isn't much of a plot against him yet. Gotta improvise with that one!
Fortune/Vamp - Ocelot probably can't wait to turn off Fortune's "luck" and reveal how fake that shit was
Olga - he's been scheming against the Gurlukovich family for a few years now all while pretending to be Sergej's "friend"
Solidus - doesn't get much schemier than when your second-in-command was your enemy all along

Ames appears uniquely straightforward and honest with Raiden. What’s the deal with that?

You get the impression he's someone who thinks Raiden knows he's an agent of the LaLiLuLeLo when Raiden doesn't know shit
Speaking of which, both Ames and Pliskin have now mentioned that FOXHOUND was disbanded and Raiden barely reacts to that despite him thinking he *is* FOXHOUND. It's one of my pet peeves with Kojima's writing at times - these lines are thrown in there purely for the player to ponder their meaning but the main character doesn't react to them even though it should make them ponder the same things as the player.

What is your most anticipated moment in the game from this point on? Anything you are not looking forward to?

High. Frequency. BLADE. Love cutting up some goons :P
Not looking forward to? The numerous codec cutscenes in the later sections that they explain by saying they wanna prevent eavesdropping but it's clearly just budgetary reasons and they didn't wanna animate full-on dialogue scenes. :P

Any trouble getting into the core?

Nah, I'm a sneaky sneak

What is your main takeaway from that long overheard conversation with the D Mic in the Shell 1 Core?

That Johnny needs some toilet paper, stat

Did you enjoy the fight with the Harrier? What do you make of Solidus’ intro?

Love the Harrier battle and the cutscenes before and after. I also got reminded that you can't just hide behind the pylon when it uses its machine gun on Hard, as the Harrier will actually circle around. Gotta keep moving here!

Any notable Codec calls?

None that I can think of...well I guess Rose is getting notably naggier each time I save now.

Anything else you want to talk about?

I'm kind of sad that the Harrier fight on the GWB at night in one of the trailers was just a deception. As much as I like the one in the game, it looks so much more atmospheric in the trailer with Snake, lol
 
Tetsujin

Tetsujin

he/they
AKA
Tets
Chapter 4!

Anything stand out about the President (I’d prefer if we could refrain from political jokes unless you absolutely must)?

I still don't understand why the fuck he just grabbed Raiden's crotch lol
I kind of appreciate his honesty in admitting he just wanted more power and he's totally cool with terrorism to justify that. Fucked up but at least he doesn't make excuses.

What is your favourite anti Vamp trick?

Lie prone in the northeast corner (at the exit). When you do that, Vamp will always slowly walk towards Raiden. He's in permanent dodge mode except it's no use if you just use Nikita missiles. You can just do that the entire time and never worry about all his other attacks, as long as you're prone at the door he'll keep trying to menacingly slow-walk towards you. This cheap and easy method saved my ass on Extreme :P

Assuming you have played the sequels (sorry, I’ve kind of been assuming that all along, if I’m wrong, please correct me) are you viewing Otacon’s family life differently? If you have not, then what are your thoughts on it in this game?

I feel like some things make more sense in context knowing Huey was kind of a piece of shit :monster:

Otacon is not having a good day. How do you rate this relative to his experiences over the rest of the series?

I don't think anything really tops losing Emma.

What’s your standout moment in this section?

Emma meeting Johnny behind one of the columns and him shitting his pants again. As usual, my favorite thing is a hidden jokey easter egg :P

Did you manage to avoid drowning? Did you blow up the president?

Yes. And no. Almost did though. I lured him to one of the walls by knocking on them but when he spotted the missile he ran towards the panel like an idiot.

How did you find Vamp?

He was tougher than I'd like to admit. I tried not to use the cheese strat I mentioned above and ended up with a few knives in my butt :monster:

Notable codec calls?

I didn't get it this playthrough but I remember there is one where Raiden and Rose discuss the Patriots' control of information and whether it would be possible to even manipulate peoples' tastes, like music, movies etc. since people often seem to go with what's at the top of the charts.

What approach did you take to sneaking out Emma? Violence, stealth or tranqing?

Mostly tranqing, except during the sniper section. Went lethal on that one.

Anything else you want to talk about?

With how much fake news and conspiracy theories are being peddled on social networks and the internet these days, sometimes I wish something like the GW AI was actually real to weed out the bullshit and to stop the proliferation of idiocy :monster:
The potential for misuse of something like that is too big however, I suppose.
The internet is a great tool and I love having access to all kinds of information but at the same time I hate how every Karen's crackpot theory can be given just as much validity as genuine information and facts. I can sometimes understand where the Patriots are coming from, I guess.
 
Tetsujin

Tetsujin

he/they
AKA
Tets
Final chapter! I was done a few days ago but wanted to wait and see if somebody else posts something so I don't triple post :awesome:
Alas, triple post it shall be. "Why not just edit?" you ask but then how would you know there's been an update! :monster:

What’s your favourite garbled Colonel message?

There are tons to choose from but I like the one with the IdeaSpy 2.5 audio drama. Apparently that's from Ghost Babel (which I've never played)

How did you react to Raiden and Rose’s revelations first time through? Is your reaction different now?

I honestly don't remember my reaction from then, it's been too long. Now I'm just indifferent :monster:

Which gameplay section holds up the best? Sneaking around naked, carving through the Tengu, the Rays, or Solidus?

Probably sneaking, because that's the core gameplay after all. I like fighting the Tengu but the sword controls are also a bit awkward and it's annoying how Snake keeps stealing my kills :P
The Rays went on a bit too long (on Hard at least, though Extreme is even worse since you have to fight 20 of them). Solidus feels weirdly easy compared to previous bosses.

What was your favourite bossfight in the game?

The Harrier. I like the spectacle of fighting a jet, the arena being two levels, the various weapons the Harrier can use, the environmental destruction halfway through and Snake assisting you from the Kamov.

How did you enjoy this playthrough? What was the same, what was different?

I always enjoy a round of MGS2. :monster:
I didn't do much different this time, I'm a creature of habit and don't try new things very often :monster:
Only difference is I didn't listen to as many optional codec calls as usual and focused on just playing a bit more.

Anything notable about the final fight? Or the Rays?

The Rays take too long on anything but Normal imo. Hard ends just as I start to get annoyed with how they just keep coming but when I did it on Extreme it was torture. Solidus is notably a pushover with how almost anything he does can be blocked, heh. Apparently you can also slice the missiles he shoots though I never tried.

Describe your overall experience in… as many words as you like.

It is always very nostalgic playing this game. I remember being insanely hyped for this back in the day and playing through it several times with a friend trying to get all the dog tags. Always brings back those memories.
The load times for the codec on the HD collection are way too long and it always annoys me. It takes several seconds to load and it was faster on PS2 (although I think load times on Substance were also slightly longer).
Also, the cutscenes hold up imo. The character models and facial animations are pretty outdated by now but there's something about the cinematography, the way the camera is often placed that makes them visually more interesting and cinematic than most other games even today imo.

Which character or experience stands out the most?

Snake as a competent badass that is often a step ahead of you ("oh yeah we totally found out about Arsenal Gear while you were still fighting early game bosses. To be honest, I'm already on New Game+ too, how do you think I got infinite ammo. Fuckin n00b!")
This stands out because whenever Snake is the main playable character he is a bit of an idiot that constantly gets played by everyone and is suprised to see a surveillance camera at Shadow Moses :monster:

Anything else you want to talk about?

That AI Colonel rant at the end was just confusing gobbledegook for me when I was 16 and didn't even own a PC let alone internet access but now it actually kind of makes sense.
 
C

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
What’s your favourite garbled Colonel message?

Infiltrate Outer Heaven. Destroy the Final Weapon...Metal Gear, ie the opening message from Metal Gear 1. Made me want to play that again, but I ended up playing MGS4 instead.

How did you react to Raiden and Rose’s revelations first time through? Is your reaction different now?

Thought it was very clever first time, but now I have a better idea of what 'child soldier in Liberian Civil War' means, which ended up being very distracting. I wouldn't say they're enjoyable to listen to, exactly, but it's very, very well written.

Raiden as a character starts to make so much sense. He really really wants to be the naive kid with no direct experience of battle...but he's not.

Starts out as being a parody of randomly shoehorned into the story love interests, becomes something much more complicated. Raiden is a little more forgiving than I'd expect.

Which gameplay section holds up the best? Sneaking around naked, carving through the Tengu, the Rays, or Solidus?

The Rays, I think. I was disappointed there was only seven to kill on Normal Mode. It's a really good use of frustrating the player as storytelling, because it's a long, dull, endless series of identical robots, which is exactly what it's supposed to be in universe.

What was your favourite bossfight in the game?

Tied between the Rays and Olga. Both of them have very good storytelling elements embedded in the experience.

How did you enjoy this playthrough? What was the same, what was different?

This being one of my favourite games ever, I knew I was going to have fun. I ended up being less ineffective than I was expecting. Obviously knowing what to expect makes a difference, but I'd forgotten enough to make things interesting. (Previous playthroughs in 2012 and 2014)

Anything notable about the final fight? Or the Rays?

I'm curious as to where Solidus got his Snake Suit. Most things like that have a backstory, but he's a former US president. US army is stamped on it, but did they just hand him a tentacle suit and go 'we think you will find this useful, sir'. Does James Johnson have one too?

Also, apparently you can use his blind side against him in combat. That's some great attention to detail. And importantly, the attention to detail gets the player something, be it codec calls or an advantage. Sometimes attention to detail can just waste the devs' time rendering more realistic grass or whatever, but it matters here, they do a great job.

Describe your overall experience in… as many words as you like.

Thoroughly enjoyable. My typical floundering got to a manageable enough level to really make things fun. Even Emma's story was less cringeworthy than I remember, although I kept getting distracted by Jack and Rose.

All my favorite games seem to be somehow the ones that were left unfinished or had a lot of cut content.
. Soul Reaver 1, Dirge, MGS2. It adds that extra edge of realism of a larger world existing.

Please rate the following giant speeches relative to how compelling they were: Colonel/Rose via Codec, Ocelot outlining his plans, Solidus in front of Federal Hall, Olga re her motivations, Snake and Raiden at the very end. Which would you keep entirely, which would you edit, and which would you most be willing to lose?

Ocelot comes in at the best, then... surprisingly enough, Colonel and Rose AIs made sense and made me contemplate the Google algorithm. It's...weirdly prescient, actually. Solidus' giant rant at Federal Hall was interesting enough, but I've already forgotten most of it. Olga's is pretty straightforward although I continue to wonder why people warn each other 'time to use nanomachines' instead of just calling each other to begin with.

Snake and Raiden... I just got frustrated by all the random stock footage of new york and forgot to pay attention. I've never actually been to New York, but I'm oddly annoyed with it for being where all fiction happens. Was it really necessary to zoom in on the don't walk sign?

Which character or experience stands out the most?

Definitely Jack and Rose. I probably talked about them too much in the thread.

Anything else you want to talk about?

I looked up Liberty Hall, and it's not on the coast. Arsenal Gear took a big chunk out of Manhattan Island.

So, do I need to do anything else? If not, anyone that wants to give feedback, you have the floor. Or we can all just silently sit in judgement of Force for not playing video games on my arbitrary timetable. (Seriously, the last thing I want is to have anyone feel pressured.)
 
Tetsujin

Tetsujin

he/they
AKA
Tets
ForceStealer said:
Sorry, I'll catch up!
Click to expand...

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Meanwhile I've gone back to the VR/Alternate missions to get that last missing trophy. One thing I never noticed, the color scheme of the VR missions actually changes based on time of day. I used to think it's just different missions using different colors but upon retrying a mission I noticed it suddenly changed color from orange to a dark green/blue just after 6pm had passed. Huh.
 
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