Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

by Konami

Product Features

• In this sequel to Metal Gear Solid, you resume the role of Solid Snake, commando & spy, out to stop a new Metal Gear weapon from falling into the wrong hands
• The action is more intense than ever, as you must infiltrate their compound and stop the high-tech terrorists from using Metal Gear Ray to destroy a major city
• The guards are smarter this time, but you have new moves and new equipment to take them out
• Stealth is the name of the game -- the less you shoot or blow things up, the better
• When you do shoot, you do it in a first-person perspective that's so real it's staggering

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006F2ZQ
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.4 x 7.5 inches ; 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 5, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,656 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is the PS2 espionage action game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty with new playable characters, new VR missions, and a few twists. More than 350 new and moderately interesting VR missions fill in some of the gaps in the original game's story. There are also five separate "Snake Stories" that act as new missions. These take place apart from the main story, making them feel less like an expansion to the sprawling events in Sons of Liberty and more like an unconnected romp designed to pad the original game. Unfortunately, the "Snake Stories" lack the thrill, tension, and exposition that made Sons of Liberty so special.

The "substance" is nothing more or less than a collection of disconnected additions to the core game Sons of Liberty, which remains unchanged from its original release: you play as Solid Snake in stealthy espionage/assault missions, infiltrating the lairs of bad guys to take down nuclear-powered bipedal creations called Metal Gears. Snake has all kinds of tricks up his sleeves: high tech weapons, the ability to sneak around undetected--he can even flip over the side of a railing to hide (a "Grip Meter" counts down, increasing the tension and making you pray the enemy walks away). Both a boon and a detriment to the game is its reliance on cinematic scenes to further the convoluted plot. They're well-rendered and professionally done, but you'll seemingly find yourself spending more time watching the game than playing it.

Substance is worthwhile for anyone who doesn't already own Sons of Liberty. That goes double for Xbox and GameCube fans, because the game looks much better on those consoles than it did on PS2. For those who've already played the original, this reissue just doesn't add enough, pardon me, substance, to merit purchasing it again. --Bob Andrews

Pros:

• New modes and missions
• Graphics improvements on Xbox and GameCube

Cons:

• New content too sparse for players who already have the original game.

Product Description

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a highly-anticipated game that lives up to all the hype -- it's a powerfully dramatic, cinematic and realistic gaming experience! Brilliant graphics will astonish you as you marvel at the film-style cutscene and gorgeously rendered locales Heart-stopping action and in-depth strategy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite Possibly the Most Fun Game Ever... No, really! Read!, November 27, 2002

By 

uh... tim "crimsonred" (the computer... duh.....) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Video Game)

By far, Metal Gear Solid: Substance is one of the most fun, innovative, awesome, and needless to say, quite possibly the most fun game ever... bar NONE! MGS2:S (Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance) is a highly stylized stealth game based around several main and supporting characters. Unlike most games, you are not force-fed the same character the whole time. The developers at Konami had the insight to include several characters. Basically, there are several reasons I love MGS2:S.

The first reason is the ambience. The general atmosphere of this game screams stealth. The plot has more plot twists than you can shake a stick at. Those of you with an IQ lower than butter may not be able to comprehend the full plot. Yes, some portions of the plot are, to say the least, unbelievable. At first, anyway. Most of them are explained away as the plot matures. Some are left unresolved, thus leaving the audience either wondering what happened, or wanting more. The lower percentage of you may not understand much of the story, and I can not recommend it for you, however there is plenty of action (which I will address later). There are no plot flaws, and that leaves most of us with a refreshing alternative to the regular shooter; a smart stealth action/adventure/shooter.

The second reason I love MGS2:S is the intelligence. The gaurds are not morons! If you are sneeking around in a box (fun) and you park in the middle of the hallway, they will pick it up and shoot you. If they hear gunshots, they will investigate. You cannot stay in the same place. If you kill a gaurd, and he doesn't report in, they come and sweep the area. If they see wet footprints, they will investigate. They occasionaly fall asleep, but that does not make the game much easier. There are several details that may destract you, like posters. The complexity of this game is amazing. The enemies may not be stupid, but the upside is everything, and I do mean everying is a LETHAL weapon. This includes broken glass, pepper spray, and even knocked out or dead gaurds.

The third reason I love this game so much is the complexity. The attention to detail is amazing. The graphics are superb, as is the sound and AI. Everything about this game screeches first-rate. The cinematics include in depth character and relationship development. The less intelligent may not get or appreciate this, but it adds to the complexity of the game. One example of the game's complexity is the various sidequests. Collecting dogtags is my favorite. If you hold up a gaurd (the russian ones are funny) and point the gun at his head or crotch in first-person view, eventually he will shake and drop a dogtag. They are pointless, but will add to the hours of gameplay they will sustain.

The fourth reason I love this game so much is the gameplay and replay value. If you hear the common "this game only plays four, like, six hours!" don't believe it for one second. There are well over 500 (yes, that's right, five hundered) VR missions. They may take as short as a few seconds to complete, or as long as an hour or two. These missions add to the gameplay several hours, about 70-80 hours to perfect. Yes, I have to admit, there is no multiplayer (*sigh*), and the actual story mode may take as short as 6-10 hours of gameplay, but the cinematics and cutscenes add at least 4 or 5 hours. Some people say they are boring, and I say revert to your plotless, bland games, like "Doom". Obviously, this game has proved impressive. Look at the reviews in magazines and TV shows hailing it as one of the best games ever, bar none. This game is everything it should be. No matter what people say, this game's raplay value is nothing near short.

The PROS:
The game's level design fits with the plot perfectly, and is pure genius.
The graphics are superb and state-of-the-art. Eye candy!
The sound quality is nothing less than exceptional. Movie-quality.
The gameplay is awesome. Hours of entertainment.

The CONS:
In the rain, the game slows a little. I am told this is due to the emulation of the PS2 was direct, and the time was not taken to correct it.
The storyline is sometimes confusing to the less-intelligent.
The cinematics may be a little over the top, some lasting over 30 minutes...Before the gaurds can call in, shoot their radio so they lose contact.

Keep an eye on the radar.

When trying to catch the gaurds on surprise without them knowing, when in corner veiw press the weapons button (X) and jump out and shoot them. Press (X) several times to shoot several times. Just make sure they are facing the other way when you try this.

If you have an M9 modified for tranquilizer rounds, and you knock someone unconsious (they have little stars spining around teir heads) shoot them so they fall asleep longer and probably won't bother you for a while.

Try not to use guns that are not sileced or surpressed.

Try to not use your ammo. If you can, choke the gaurds or break their necks. Practice doing this in a patrol route with multiple gaurds without being dectected. You should probably conserve ammo for when you need it.

Save often, so if you are detected, you can revert to that ideal position.

If blood makes you uneasy, you can turn it of in the options menu. The cinematics still have blood, and the "Plant" portion of the game where the introduction to Vamp is will still have blood, though.

Thanks for Reading, and good luck with the game!...

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MGS2.5, September 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Video Game)

MGS2 was good but I was disappointed by the lack of game play innovation. Now Konami is milking the cow presenting this port that doesn't take advantage of the Xbox hardware, but excuses itself by giving extra half-baked missions.
I think that MGS2 was made for the PS2, if you haven't played it, it is maybe worth on Xbox, otherwise get a game that was done for the Xbox like Splinter Cell.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MGS2: Substance, October 26, 2002

By 

Aaron "kraus107" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Video Game)

I loved the PS2 version, and will definitely buy this one! That said, this game is not for everyone.

MGS2 is VERY story driven. There are times when you will sit for 10-15 minutes just watching a cut scene or viewing dialog between the characters. As a result, there is some very good character development enough so, that you can begin to sypathize with them and care about their fates as the game progresses. Some have complained that you play very little as Snake (the protagonist from all the other MG games). Although, I wish you had more time with his character, the game accomplishes its purpose in not allowing you to play as him throughout. The whole point is for you to see Snake's character though the eyes of a third party, and this is accomplished very well. (in the Substance version you can play as Snake for the whole game if you want). This game is more like having an active role in a novel, or movie than your traditional video game, never-the-less, the gameplay is excellent.

As a note, I wish people would quit comparing the game to Splinter Cell, because the only commonality between the two is that the core gameplay is based on stealth.

By the way, I did not think that the story of this game was as good as that of MGS1, but the gameplay is MUCH more developed. The only drawback, if you would even consider it such, is that the gameplay is rather short. At a leisurely pace you can finish the game in well under 20 hours. You can probably speed through it in closer to 10 if you are rushing it and not doing any exploring.

The game may be short, but would you rather play a bad game that is really long, or a short one that is really good?

Finally, I am excited that in this release you can go straight to the boss fights, which, are some of the best boss battles I have ever played!