Metal Gear Retrospective: Part Three explores the Big Shell incident
by Griffin McElroy 
{ May 25th 2008 at 12:00PM }
Sure, there was plenty that we didn't like about Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, like the ol' protagonist switcheroo, and the outrageously confusing ending, and the mind blowing amount of endgame dudity (that is, dude nudity) -- but petty qualms aside, it remains one of our favorite PlayStation 2 games, just as the obligatory companion game, Substance, remains one of our favorite Xbox titles. Relive those Big Shell memories by checking out the above video, and ponder what other undiscovered pockets of nostalgia GameTrailers will drill into next week.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lord Bowser @ May 25th 2008 12:16PM
Skateboarding Snake!
BananaBoat @ May 25th 2008 4:44PM
Holy nude cartwheeling Raiden, Batman!
Mr.ESC @ May 25th 2008 4:44PM
As ridiculous as it sounds is a very fun mode and the guitar version of the MGS theme should be in Rock Band of Guitar Hero is just awesome.
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 25th 2008 4:52PM
Mr. Esc, the MGS theme did make it into Beatmania for it's US release....
tmacairjordan87 @ May 25th 2008 12:44PM
My favorite metal gear solid game by far. I loved and understood the entire thing, it just takes some sharp attention.
Hyams @ May 25th 2008 12:52PM
Really? It was my least favourite. I mean, it's still a good game an' all, but it's not as good as the origional, and no where near the awesomeness that is MGS3.
The storyline is good up to the end. The first 3/4 of it builds up a nice sense of paranoia and fear, but they leave too many untied-up plotlines for the end and so have to do loads of explaining - way too much explaining - so that it all makes sense.
brandon_r87 @ May 25th 2008 1:37PM
I agree, MGS2 was the best. My problem with MGS3 is that the action was broken up too much by the camo menu. Sure, Raiden was annoying in MGS2, but I think for both games there are things you have to look past to see a great game. MGS2 is the best $5 game I've ever bought, though now I wish I'd have gone for the updated version with all the extras.
Joeshie @ May 25th 2008 2:24PM
MGS2 was extremely disappointing. The story line was pretentious and incoherent. It was a prime example of poor storytelling and Kojima trying to do way too much.
Of course, many 13-17 year olds thought that since it was difficult to understand that it was a "deep" storyline, much like they thought that the Matrix was "deep".
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 25th 2008 3:03PM
Oh god, not this again. Look, Joeshi, I know this is tough to understand since you're obviously deeply in love with debating the mental masturbations of Socrates. Let's just put it this way, everything you hate about MGS? Kojima did it intentionally. He is a big fan of vaudevillistic heathenism slathered upon ridiculous, yet enjoyable, narrative. He's stated it several times...
On the surface, MGS storylines have something to say, but only on the surface. Nuclear Weapons = bad. DNA cloning does not replicate a lifetime of experience = duh. Simulator training leaves soldiers woefully unprepared for war = no shit.
That's the surface. This shit about the patroits? Jack the Ripper, etc? DNA taking over host bodies? It's high fucking fantasy, unbelievable to it's very core, and ultimately, meant only to be enjoyed as a highly cinematic adventure.
In other words, your bitching about Metal Gear Solids convoluted plots as convoluted and having no function as serious storytelling is a pretty big "no fucking shit" moment. I mean seriously, as Snake offers Raiden ammo replinishments inside Arsenal Gear and points to his bandana and says "I won't miss it, infinite ammo," did you really throw down your controller and say "well, if this game doesn't take itself seriously, why should I?
But you're much cooler than the rest of us here for hating Metal Gear.
John McPoop (PSN:johnnynumber5) @ May 25th 2008 3:20PM
MGS 2 is also my favorite game out of all the Metal Gear games and my favorite game of all time for that matter ... Snake Eater was also good and did some cool stuff like the healing of yourself from injuries, food spoilage and the camo menu ... I don't see what the problem was with Raiden ... I liked Raiden ... He is not Sname but he was a good character
I can't wait for MGS 4 to hurry up and be released!
Mr.ESC @ May 25th 2008 6:33PM
My favorite is also MGS2.
My problem with MGS3 is that I couldn't see anything most of the time and the Cammo was almost un-necessary.
Another problem is that it was a game were you could screw up so easily I just wanted to restart from a previous point from time to time but that was impossible. You had to restart the Ps2 you don't even get a load save system like in GTA.
Sometimes I just died on porpoise just to restart.
DiRT @ May 25th 2008 12:44PM
Ummm... yeah. Substance came out on PS2 also. It wasn't an Xbox exclusive.
ZenGaijin @ May 25th 2008 12:51PM
Yeah, the do state that is was supposed to be but was later ported to the PS2 will all the additional content.
DiRT @ May 25th 2008 1:37PM
The Joystiq post, not the video.
doom saber @ May 25th 2008 2:08PM
I guess you overlooked the retrospective where it said substance came out for the pc and ps3 months after the xbox. This was the segment where thay showed snake skateboarding and mentioned how this portion was only in the ps2 version.
Hyams @ May 25th 2008 12:50PM
I think I'm one of the few people that don't hate Raiden.
ZenGaijin @ May 25th 2008 12:53PM
I didn't hate him but I do remember wanting to play as and being disappointed that I wasn't Snake.
Raiden became kinda interesting when they dove into his back story and his old alias "Jack the Ripper".
tmacairjordan87 @ May 25th 2008 1:00PM
I don't hate him either. While I wouldn't call him an enjoyable character he's not as bad as people make him out to be if you know everything that has/did happen to him.
DangerMouse @ May 25th 2008 1:15PM
I thought playing as Raiden was awesome, it was such a huge twist, since they never even showed him in any of the trailers. It never bothered me at all. Snake still ended up being the main character, but i felt that it was more rewarding as the player to see Snake as a mentor of sorts instead. I also loved the setting of the big shell. I would've never expected them doing a game in broad daylight like that.
The story was convoluted at times, but it was presented well enough that i've played through it many times over. So far, the best in the series, IMO.
jcd @ May 25th 2008 1:25PM
I don't hate raiden either, I hate rose.
"Do you know what day tomorrow is?"
Shut up bitch I'm trying to kick some ass!!!
Nutchos @ May 25th 2008 2:29PM
Agree with JCD, rose was the problem. All the codec conversations with relationship issues were just getting annoying (I didn't wanna skip anything in case of some plot development).
MGS2 was definetly the best of the series. I didn't like MGS3 as much. Gonna try to complete it again b4 MGS4 comes out.
FSK405K @ May 25th 2008 1:12PM
Screw Metal Gayear. Where's the next episode of the Star Wars Retrospective?
Lord Bowser @ May 25th 2008 1:19PM
I see what you did there. It was a clever play on words.
Gay + Ear = +1
DangerMouse @ May 25th 2008 1:21PM
Nice try, but Metal Queer sounds much better.
Nightvortez @ May 25th 2008 1:28PM
Both of those are acceptable but my favorite still remains Metal Peenuptherear.
FSK405K @ May 25th 2008 1:30PM
You mean like Metal Queer Flaccid 4: Cums of the Gay Tryouts?
Hyams @ May 25th 2008 1:34PM
Who DOESN'T enjoy screwing gay, metal ears?
Jhongerkong @ May 25th 2008 1:47PM
I need scissors!
61!
Hyams @ May 25th 2008 2:16PM
"I hear it's amazing when the famous purple stuffed worm in flap-jaw space with the tuning fork does a raw blink on Hara-Kiri Rock. I need scissors! 61!" is the Colonel's best line in MGS2.
NvM @ May 25th 2008 2:01PM
I really liked it, can't say I liked it better than MGS1, but was still an excellent game.
Snake as a supporting character was awesome, and Raiden wasn't that bad towards the end.
The very very end, I'm not sure that I like, but the story overall was the deepest and the most thought-provoking.
It could've been more subtle and less "Fuck America" but shit's cool.
kleiman @ May 25th 2008 2:09PM
No mention of Fission Mailed?
doom saber @ May 25th 2008 2:10PM
I really didn't care of playin raiden in mgs2 since it was interestin to see new blood in the game whereas I would probably have loathe the story if all six games involved solid snake savin the world. It is awsome that mgs2 is raiden and 3 is bigboss.
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 25th 2008 3:05PM
I will say this right here, right now, if MGS continues with Raiden as the lead, I wouldn't mind one bit.
edenmcl @ May 25th 2008 3:34PM
HA HA HA ha ha ha..........ha....ha....ha........wait you actually like Raiden?!?!?!
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 25th 2008 4:50PM
Judging by this thread, I'm not the only one. Plus keep this in mind.
Snake had been established as a character by three games before MGS came along. Further developed as MGS played out. So by the time MGS2 came out, Snake was an icon. Raiden was.. what exactly? Raiden was nothing more than a manipulated soldier who was told he was ready for the "big time" because he's played Snake's missions over and over in VR Training. You saw Raiden change from smug upstart to "holy shit, I know nothing compared to this god" and ultimately breaking his own bonds and deciding his path for his own. Something neither Solidus or the Patroits gave him.
The-E @ May 25th 2008 5:42PM
hey i'm sorry if i offended you....it definately wasn't my intention.....I get what you mean....I just found Rainedn too cocky and arrogant at the beginning and I just didn't like him....By the end I had started to grow on him but not to the extent of snake....sorry again I really don't want to be that dude everyone hates on this site!!!!sorry again but I just love Snake!!
SonicRift @ May 26th 2008 12:10PM
I wouldn't mind Raiden taking over the series either. Hated him at first, but he grew on me.
But doesn't he die in one of the earlier trailers in a fight with Vamp? That was him, right?
Not that these characters can't survive frikken ANYTHING. Helipcopter crash and explosion? I'm fine. Fall of giant robot? Whatever. Car crash after a shitload of bullets rip through cranium. I'm still good. Foxdie? Ooo... got me. Sorta... So what's a little sword to Raiden?
Yeah... I marathoned MGS in one sitting yesterday. Gotta start on 2. I only played it through twice. The story was pretty daunting. I'm sure some of those unresolved plots will carry over into 4.
edenmcl @ May 25th 2008 3:35PM
HA HA HA ha ha ha..........ha....ha....ha........wait you actually like Raiden?!?!?!
The-E @ May 25th 2008 3:38PM
double post......god damn it....-1
Mr.ESC @ May 25th 2008 4:55PM
I think Raiden is pretty cool guy, eh kills terrorist and doesn’t afraid of anything.
Raiden and Rose were mellow and a bit annoying at first but by the end of the game when you learn Raiden and Rose back story Raiden is actually pretty badass. Like Nero in DMC4 which is also a cool character but man he simply sucks compared to Dante but thinking about it most videogame characters suck compared to Dante.
MGS2 was a great videogame and the part when Roy “lose it” was pretty damn cool. When I got to that part was midnight and I got the message with Roy saying I should turn off the game just when my parents told me to do so, It was both weird and scary so I turned off the game and went to sleep.
Jeffrey @ May 25th 2008 5:32PM
Raiden was a bad ass. If he wanted to he could have kicked Snake's ass.
The-E @ May 25th 2008 5:44PM
ahhhh Raiden is cool and all but no....just no.....anyone back me up??
Mr.ESC @ May 25th 2008 6:35PM
Snake would win, snake always wins.
Raiden is sort of cool but don't exaggerate. Kind of like Nero, he is cool too but dude no he couldn't ever beat Dante.
Varone @ May 25th 2008 5:34PM
Why is my soliton radar showing me videos of hot japanese girls and more importantly, how can I get them to continue?
Levi @ May 25th 2008 6:27PM
Wow, I’m surprised that so many people like MGS2. I really did not like this one at all. I could not stand the story, or what I could make of it. I thought that some of the characters were too ridiculous (a fat explosives expert on rollerblades sipping sangria? A fucking vampire?). And one of my biggest complaints of the whole game: God damn Rose. Does anyone remember how freakin’ annoying she was? Or how useless she is to the story? Well, maybe she was important by the end, but I didn’t really care by that point. I just wanted to kill Dr. Octopus and get it all over with. I didn’t want to hear somebody whine to me why my bedroom is completely empty while try to save some oil rig.
Kudos to Game Trailers. That video actually made me want to play the game again. They really focused on the few great things about the game. But thankfully I just played the game a few years ago and all the bullshit is still fresh in my mind.
Umeadi @ May 25th 2008 9:48PM
Lol @ "I just wanted to kill Dr. Octopus and get it all over with."
RonnyK @ May 26th 2008 1:34AM
Nothing in Video Game history has made me laugh harder then in MGS2 when you Save before that Fight with Vampire before you rescue Emma. Rose just blurts out she was afraid of Jack because she went into his room.
"Your Room was Empty, Empty like your Soul!"
VG Cats did a Great Parody of that moment in their MGS2 strip ages ago. Plus the idea that you could Knock People out with Cartwheels...
FemaleOrca @ May 27th 2008 6:16PM
Ok. Enough is enough.
Is there any PS3 owner in the NYC area that is willing to rent out their PS3 for a month or so to allow a Sony Ex-Pat turned 360 owner taste the bittersweet nectar that is finale of his all time favorite franchise?
Id even be willing to turn over the Xbox for collateral in what is sure to be a landmark exchange in this increasingly hostile next gen console war.
Come on. See how the other half lives.
Im totally serious about this btw. Im even willing to wait a bit for you to beat it first.
(Insert, xbox for PS3 is not a fair trade / RROD / Gears of War suxxxx comment here).