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Name: Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

In 1998, Metal Gear Solid descended on the PlayStation, and forged a new tier for games to aspire to. This was something that had never been seen before - a game that blended story and gameplay with a cinematic flair into an experience that blew its audience away. It took four years and a generational leap, but Hideo Kojima brings the series back to our screens with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

Far away from the Bering Sea, Metal Gear Solid 2 takes place in Manhattan. Solid Snake is now working with his self-titled otaku friend, Hal Emmerich, codenamed Otacon, in an anti-nuclear proliferation group called Philanthropy. Snake sneaks aboard a tanker ship that's sailing the Hudson River in an attempt to find a new Metal Gear that's being stowed below decks. These Metal Gears, bipedal walking tanks, are capable of firing nuclear weapons, and Snake is on a mission to expose it with photographic evidence. The story then moves two years into the future, to a decontamination facility called Big Shell, where the player fills the Sneaking Suit of Jack, codename Raiden, a new character in the series. The bulk of the game takes place here, with old and new faces, antagonists and allies, taking their fair share of screen time. In typical Metal Gear fashion, this description is simply the very tip of the story contained therein, and there is a plenitude of twists that shape the admittedly complex and convoluted plot. The player has the option of playing through these scenarios separately, but the whole story is only revealed after playing both. Overall, the tale that is told is the main attraction on offer here, and will take much of your time. Metal Gear Solid 2 is generous in its cut-scenes, and you may find that you'll probably be watching the game as often as playing it. It's up to the individual to decide if this is a good thing or not, yet the story is so enjoyable and the cut-scenes are made with such care, skill and eye for detail, that it's a merit rather than a fault. Although, a full understanding of what goes on greatly depends on what happened in the original Metal Gear Solid. While the game has text to read giving this back story, newcomers should keep in mind how much this game's narrative relies on the Shadow Moses incident.

Metal Gear created the stealth genre, and this Metal Gear continues to embrace and refine it. When playing, it is essential to remain hidden, especially early in the game. While individual enemies will cause no problems to the player, if you're seen and an alert is called, the reinforcements that charge in will prove a real challenge. Combat is an unrefined experience, but it seems this is an intention rather than a fault. While there is an effective arsenal of pistols, assault rifles and missile launchers, ammo supplies are slim, unreliable and somewhat infrequent. The simple act of shooting is also difficult, as firing while moving is impossible. The player can choose to either shoot from the game's external isometric viewpoint, rotating on the spot, or switching to a first-person viewpoint. This is essential for accurate sharpshooting, as headshots are, of course, much more effective than body shots - an important fact to keep in mind considering the disparity of ammo. It can serve other purposes, too. For example, if a guard sees you and is about to call an alert, you can shoot his walkie-talkie and disable it before he can call his allies. Such tactics are a crucial part of the gameplay. While you can get through the game simply by analysing and exploiting the enemy patrols, there are a host of other options available that make the game much more interesting. To make a list would be a daunting task, but hanging over a railing or donning a ubiquitous cardboard box as a makeshift disguise are methods of particular note and usefulness. Regardless, while the awkward shooting mechanic is reasonable for dealing with ordinary enemies, boss battles play out poorly because of this. Since most of these enemies have fast, frequent attacks, and the player has to remain motionless to shoot, battles can end up being needlessly frustrating as you sustain damage from simply attempting to do anything other than constantly dodge. Yet, despite these annoyances, boss battles are an exciting affair. It seems that, once you begin to become comfortable fighting ordinary enemies, you fight a boss that has absolutely no resemblance to your common foes. As far as the game is concerned, these battles are the high points, and while they may not play with the fluidity one would prefer, they are extraordinairily memorable.

Graphically, Metal Gear Solid 2 has taken full advantage of the improved technology available. Character models are detailed and superbly animated, and runs at an impressive frame rate, with cut-scenes looking especially smooth. A lot of effort has been put into sound, with voice acting that keeps you attentive despite the length of some of the conversations, and while there's little to no stand-out music included, it does complement the environments well.

Such a pity, then, that these environments get so repetitive. The game predominantly takes place on a building called the Big Shell. It comprises of 12 small areas called struts connected by uneventful walkways between each, and two central buildings called cores. Such linear paths make exploration almost non-existent, yet the excessive amount of backtracking makes this even worse. At the beginning of the game, you'll sneak through the same struts so frequently that a measure of lethargy begins to settle in. The environments do diversify in the lead up to the end of the game, but wandering the same tired halls once again before the finale is just another tarnish. It's still a long game, taking me over 13 hours, but more areas would have been welcome to fill this time.

Once the game is completed however, a number of new features are unlocked. Boss Survival is a mode where you can play through all the bosses of the game in succession as fast as possible. Cinema Mode is an amusing peculiarity. This allows you to play a number of the cut-scenes in the game and changing the characters that play in them. Voice-acting remains the same, but it's surprising just how hilarious it is to see Otacon jump around the room with Vamp's dexterity.

A director's cut of the game has been released also, called Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. While the main game remains the same, a number of extra modes are available. The first is Snake Tales, which is a selection of five non-canon missions which the player can play as Snake. These are quite challenging, as the radar is not usable and the guards are much more aware of your presence. Nonetheless, these are quite unsubstantial - there isn't even any accompanying voice acting - but any extra gameplay situations are always welcome. There is also the inclusion of Virtual Reality missions. With 350+ to play through, they prove to be quite varied. There are seven mission types available, all based off features from the full game. There is Photo Mode, where you must snap photographs of particular targets; Bomb Disposal mode, where the player must track down and disable packets of C4; Weapon mode, which is a form of weapon training; Sneaking mode, being sneaking training; Eliminate all, where the player must dispose of all enemies in an area by lethal or non-lethal means; Holdup mode, where you must sneak up on and threaten all enemies to proceed; and Variety mode, which creates custom situations like limiting your weapons or playing in the dark. I feel this mode is far better than Snake Tales, and if you ever tried to complete all of these missions, it'd probably take you longer than the full game. The final feature is a skateboarding mode, in which the player can skate around the Big Shell trying to meet objectives while under a time limit. This is hardly worth a bullet point, and is only intended as a novelty. There's only the one level and two characters, and shouldn't hold anyone's attention for over ten minutes.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is in many ways a masterpiece. Its story, its characters, and its atmosphere all exude a distinctive personality that this series is associated with. While the game purposefully restricts its shooting gameplay for the benefit of its sneaking, it becomes vexing at times because of this. Most of the other problems are simply oversights, like the inability to pause a cut-scene, that blemish a robust and impressive package.