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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty ps2 Game Reviews
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Critic Score
Metascore: 96 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.3 out of 10
based on 42 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 212 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

Since the incident on Shadow Moses Island, Metal Gear's top-secret technology has been leaked into the black market through the machinations of Revolver Ocelot. As a result, countless variations of Metal Gears have sprung up in every corner of the globe, making the weapon an increasingly common component of the armed forces of nuclear powers. In the midst of all of this, Solid Snake, now a member of the anti-Metal Gear group "Philanthropy," has learned that a new prototype Metal Gear has been developed by the U.S. Marines and is being transported in secret to an unknown destination. To learn more about this new machine, Snake must infiltrate the transport, disguised as a tanker, as it makes its way down the Hudson River. Just as Snake is about to begin his mission, however, the ship is seized by a mysterious and well-armed group bent on stealing the new Metal Gear for their own, nefarious purposes. [Konami]

PUBLISHER: Konami
DEVELOPER: Konami
GENRE(S): Action
PLAYERS: 1
ESRB RATING: M (Mature)
RELEASE DATE: November 13, 2001

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Cloudchaser
The environments are amazing, when on the deck of the tank the rain effects are extremely lifelike, along with rain drops hitting the ship and characters.
Read Full Review
100
GamePen
The best part of the whole thing is, you become so comfortable with the controls that the movements feel like a natural extension of your body. You’ll find your self ducking your head every time a bullet whizzes by you during a gunfight.
100
GamePro
MGS2 delivers everything it was teased, touted, hyped, and, in some circles, feared to be. It's easily one of the most memorable gaming experiences you're likely to have.
Read Full Review
100
Into Liquid Sky
Anyone who comes away from this game with anything more than a few nitpicky complaints should just give up videogaming, period. Everything that this game does goes above and beyond the capability of the current competition and will easily set a bar for quality for years to come.
Read Full Review
100
PSX Nation
Nearly everything in the game is interactive the way it would be in the real world whether it’s melting ice cubes to leaking flour bags. The detail is staggering.
Read Full Review
100
Maxim Online
You’ll be more impressed that you can make Snake stare lecherously at a centerfold poster one minute, only to have him pop out and choke someone to death the next.
Read Full Review
100
Total Video Games
A perfect balance between videogames and cinema.
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100
All Game Guide
Looks beautiful, plays precisely, and has a complex, detailed plot that will tax your brain and maybe even have you questioning the greater truths of life. If that's not a game that qualifies for a perfect score, then no game possibly can.
Read Full Review
100
Game Informer
From the attention to detail that went into the graphics to the sophistication of gameplay, Hideo Kojima and his team set out to create the perfect game, and the result is nothing short of this. [Dec 2001, p.84]
100
Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
I know everyone is expecting this game to be good, but I have to tell you I was shocked at how great it is. [Dec 2001, p.159]
100
Cinescape
Astoundingly beautiful. From the sunset, to the rain effects, to the guard animation - everything is very well done. There’s dynamic cloth effects, beautiful lighting and most importantly, some incredible textures to round it off. [Grade = A+]
Read Full Review
100
GameShark
If you own a PS2 and you do not own and play through this game 100% you will forfeit your right to call yourself a game player and should trade in everything you own and become a monk.
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100
Hot Games
The game is nearly perfect, with stunning graphics, great sound, and controls that enhance rather than detract from the overall cinematic experience.
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100
Next Generation Magazine
A stunning creation, a tremendous achievement. [Jan 2002, p.73]
100
Core Magazine
MGS2 includes all kinds of incentive to play the game again and again, including the new collectable "Dog Tag" feature, but to be honest the real replay value lies with the beauty of the game.
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100
Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
A must-own, state-of-the-art tactical espionage stealth-a-thon. [Jan 2007, p.106]
98
GameZone
The graphics are virtually flawless, down to the smallest detail - the interactivity with your environment and the attention to detail will have most people playing through multiple times just so they can find every little secret.
Read Full Review
98
GamingTrend
A masterpiece. The story and scope of MGS2 is much larger than the original and Kojima should be commended for creating a game that makes you feel like you are in the game. I never put this game down until I beat it.
Read Full Review
97
IGN
One of the most interesting aspects of MGS2's gameplay, though, is the emphasis on nonviolence. For a game with such a huge arsenal of destructive implements, and such a horribly rich killing experience for the twisted among us, it honestly provides considerable opportunity and incentive to be a benevolent commando.
Read Full Review
97
GameSpy
The experience will stay with you for a long time -- everything from the action to the masterful story...Game of the Year on PS2? No arguments here!
Read Full Review
97
Electric Playground
At times, it's hard to tell where sincerity ends and irony begins--select Snake's cigarettes in the inventory list and you're provided with the helpful information that cigarettes are highly addictive and bad for your health. Not like, for example, guns or anything.
Read Full Review
97
GamerWeb Sony
Not just a game, it's an experience, and well worth the three-year wait...It almost makes you wonder how Hideo Kojima might fare directing a movie based on the Metal Gear license.
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97
Gamezilla!
If you’re wearing body armor just before you start a new part of the plot, you’ll see your character wearing it in the cut-scene as well. I feel that this effect really adds to the suspension of disbelief in MGS2 and helps it be that much more impressive.
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96
GameSpot
Though you'll undoubtedly get swept up in the game's plot and be dazzled by its cinematics, it's the incredible story and the tense, enjoyable action at the heart of Metal Gear Solid 2 that make it so extraordinary.
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96
Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
A bit plot heavy, but that's a tiny criticism of one of the most inventive, ambitious and downright fun games to play, well, ever.[GamesMaster Magazine]
95
Electronic Gaming Monthly
It’s infinitely more polished, more playable, more replayable, better-looking, and just plain fun to run around and play than most anything else out there. [Jan 2002, p.212]
95
Gaming Maxx
Enjoyable, captivating, and thrilling.
Read Full Review
95
Voodoo Extreme
A great game not only because it surpasses MGS1 in terms of graphics, sound, and control, but because it offers new and innovative gameplay.
Read Full Review
95
Cheat Code Central
Some reviews are superfluous and this is one of them. If have played the first one, you'll play the sequel because you know it's going to be a quality product. Who cares what other people think anyway?
94
Absolute Playstation
Almost perfect - storyline notwithstanding.
Read Full Review
94
Inside Gamer Online
It’s almost as fun to watch as it is to play.
Read Full Review
92
Game Chronicles
Aside from the over-abundance of movies and com-link chatter, there is a really great game hidden on this DVD. The freedom to explore and ultimately play this game as you see fit within the confines of the parameters of the script is a great feature that offers excellent replay potential.
Read Full Review
91
Gaming Age
A great game from a gameplay standpoint but fails pretty badly when it comes to the story. As a result, even though I've given it an A-, it turns out to be one of my biggest disappointments of the year.
Read Full Review
91
Game Over Online
A testosterone soaked soap opera. With a storyline that will keep you deciding who to trust and what really is going on right up until the end, it’s a great bit of entertainment.
Read Full Review
90
GMR Magazine
This highly anticipated sequel throws a real curveball early on in the game. It was probably the least confusing part of the story. [Feb 2003, p.92]
90
GameCritics
In a very Hitchcockian gesture Kojima structures the entire game around a plot twist no one will see coming and many might not even like. This kind of audience-foiling gutsiness is always a delight in my book.
Read Full Review
90
EuroGamer
As stunning and enjoyable as ever. You may feel foolish gripping the controller throughout a 40-minute cut scene, but MGS2 is something which must be experienced.
Read Full Review
90
Gamestyle
Truly astounding. Not tarnished at all by all the hype, and truly worth the wait.
Read Full Review
82
Action Trip
The gameplay factor is much lower for MGS2.
Read Full Review
80
Yahoo! Games
As good as this game is, as amazing as the graphics are, as fantastic as the audio is, as fun as it is to play, and as much as everyone loves Solid Snake, the obscene storyline virtually ruins everything.
Read Full Review
80
G4 TV
MGS2 suffers in its story. I can't spoil it for you, but I can at least warn you to be prepared for a plot that frequently reaches levels of sheer absurdity.
Read Full Review
77
TotalGames.net
SOL's storyline (and this is being generous) is woefully inept, consisting of such high-calibre nonsense that there's absolutely no point following it.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 212 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chris Z. gave it a10:
This is no doubt the most smartest and interesting plot any game has ever had.Fun and challenging. 10/10 and no doubt the greatest PS2 game yet.

Cameron C. gave it a10:
This game is crazy. The story keeps changing. Just when you think you have it sussed they throw you back into the deep end. Nice graphics too.

David K. gave it a10:
This is an amazing game. Raiden does not make this game worse. He makes it better.

John B. gave it a9:
This game was GREAT but some of the story line just sucks.

Aaron P. gave it a0:
This game sucks. It sucks because it has lousy gameplay and it has a plot that would make a little kid cry. This game is the pimple on the franchises a**. Trust me save your hard earned money.

Jory G. gave it a10:
Metal Gear Solid had an exceptional story and revolutionary gameplay. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater makes some bold steps in terms of dramatic and depressing storytelling. But MGS2: Sons of Liberty is, I think, the most successful of the three because, exactly as Kojima and his pals intended, it screws with the player to the extent that most gamers hate it. I agree that Raiden and Rose weren't exactly the most interesting bunch to listen to, but in the end of the game this terrible weakness becomes a shocking strength: Rose's inane, melodramatic banter has all been a petty construction- or has it? This, I think, is the most effective element of MGS2: By the time the game is over, the savvy player will be able to take a moment to just stop and think, and unravel the story and its themes. Yes, by the end Rose is apparently carring Raiden's child and Snake appears in the street before Raiden, but he doesn't clarify a freaking thing! More and more sheets just get pulled over the player's head as the game's theme becomes the game itself. It hasn't been done again since.

Andrew C. gave it a10:
I had doubts as to how good this game would really be. Then I played it. And played it. And played it. The story is intense and deep (don't think that everything is as it seems...) and the gameplay is immersive and wonderful. MGS2 is also the least violent of all MGS games, as there is only one excessively bloody scene that comes to mind (the first scene with Vamp early on) and minimal gore, if any. Do yourself a big favor: if you own a PS2, get this game. It'll only run you $5 or so.

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