Metal Gear Solid 2

Okay, so this may be a totally pointless post since it deals with a video game that came out over a year ago. So, people that don't care about video games won't care about this, and people who do probably played this one a while back. But I'm always a bit slow with these things and I just now got around to actually finishing it so I'm going to write this anyhow. Besides, isn't pointless stuff what blogs are all about?

So, I have been playing Metal Gear Solid 2 off and on since I moved to Japan. At first I was just messing around, then I got serious, then I got the Internet and pretty much didn't look at it for well over a month. However, a few of my English students would come over occasionally to play video games and they were interested in MGS2 since it was also popular in Japan, but was slightly different. Eventually this got my interest worked up again and about a week ago I got back into it with a vengeance. Finally, tonight, I finished the game. And I have to say that it was great. I know some people (Kevin Savage) didn't like it because you spent as much, if not more, time watching the game as you did playing it. But that was part of what I really enjoyed. This is a different type of game and if you are expecting an action-adventure Mario type game you will be sorely disappointed. This is better described as an interactive movie. It's like watching a very long mini-series on TV, one which is even longer than Shogun (which is saying something). But this mini-series has two big differences.
1. It's on when you want it to be on. It starts when you feel like it and ends when you feel like it. If you want to watch for 30 minutes, an hour, 3 hours, whatever, that's how long it's on for.
2. You have to work for it. Instead of just sitting back and watching, like you would Roots or Shogun, you have to earn the next chapter. When it comes to the action bits you don't just watch the character sneak through the room and surreptitiously tranquilize the enemy, you have to do it yourself.

So, you end up becoming more involved with the characters than you might in a movie since you ARE one of them. And honestly the plot was great too. Complicated enough to keep you guessing and thinking, but not too hard to follow. Great graphics gave you people with facial expressions that made it easier to watch, and the voice acting was good too.

So, yeah, I really liked Metal Gear Solid 2. And since it took me so long to play it, Metal Gear Solid 3 is about to be released. Maybe I'll get that one in some time during 2005. We'll see.

Kevin