Metal Gear Solid 2 screenshots Raiden from the "beginners" mission. Raiden. Solid Snake, our main hero! It's all in the little details.   The Final Say! Gameplay 12 Graphics 12 Sound 12 Value 12 Metal Gear Solid 2 - reviewed by Tory F Review Date: 09 March 2002 Review Score: 12/10 Review Score is not a typing mistake. You will have not ever played a game as good as this. Distributed By: Gamenation

"Three words, Buy This Game!" This is not a just a game, it's a life-changing experience. To do the title true justice, I am going to take my time with this review. Hold my hand and let me take you with me into quite possibly the first interactive movie of a sort. Please realise that the score below is after fully playing this title.. just getting my notes together for the review.   Imagine a game that is better than any action movie you have ever seen or adventure book that you have read. Only then, you might come close to the grandeur that is Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.   impulsegamer.com was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of the game courtesy of GameNation about 5 days from release to rip into. To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement. Let's get one problem with the game out of the way first and then go on to lavish all the praise and accolades that the title deserves - you are expected to know a little too much of the game's background story and the history of Solid Snake. This will tend to alienate the gamer, but get over it quickly or you will miss the game of your life.   It's hard to write too much about the game without giving away too many spoilers but basically you will be presented with some difficulty settings at the start of the game. Depending on what you choose at the time will affect the rest of the game to a greater extent than you might think it would.   The amount of detail in this title is absolutely staggering and it is a must replay game. Even when you have completed the title, you haven't even begun to experience the game the way it was meant to be. Little hidden items all over the place abound and will have you gasping at the ridiculous amount of detail lovingly put into Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.   It's not often that I would recommend purchasing a guidebook for a game, however I will make an exception for MGS2. There are walkthroughs in the game and I don't suggest you use them. However look at the secrets and other items and you will see why you will want to repeat the game over and over again. It's only $29.95 (AUD) and with 212 vibrant colourful pages, it is a purchase that you will not regret.   Just imagine a movie where you could go back again and again and catch all the bits you didn't notice the first time round!   Character development and story progression are key players in this title. Make sure that you do not skip over a single conversation or stop a cut scene from running in it's entirety. Some of the topics up for discussion will have you amazed at how much development went into the game. You can even develop relationships with other characters and end up truly caring about them.

You communicate with others through the use of a Codec that is your communication device. You can get some funny results by contacting different individuals whilst looking at certain items. For example, look at a pin up in first person mode and then call Rose on the Codec!

MGS2 is essentially 2 games in one. If you choose the later settings saying that you have not finished the game Metal Gear Solid (Playstation), you will start on the Big Shell as a covert operative named Raiden. If you have finished the first game you will start on the Tanker as Solid Snake. I started the game on the Big Shell, just to see what Raiden was like - the official guide recommends you start on the Tanker.

Nothing is as it seems in MGS2 so be always on the lookout for new facts and other information as it presents itself. Everyone on your Codec has something of worth to tell you. And if it's not instrumental to you finishing your mission, it just might give you a chuckle.

If I keep typing I am going to give away something that will upset someone out there, so I will sum up very simply: Buy this game, buy the book. Play them and treasure a moment in gaming history that you will be unlikely to for some time.

- Tory F