Ok, so they ported Metal Gear Solid 2 over to Xbox. With all this fuss going on about how Xbox is the more powerful console or whatever, I’m surprised that this version is really plagued with slowdown at certain points. Perhaps Konami didn’t take enough time to convert all the programming so that it ran well on the Xbox hardware, who knows. Anyway, if you don’t own a PS2 and haven’t already checked out MGS2, this is a must-have title. Not only do you get the full game that was released on PS2 last year, but you also get upwards of 400 (!) Virtual Reality missions, Alternative missions and these things known as Snake Tales. Yeah, Snake Tales. Bear with me for a second, I’ll explain.
Ok...the first MGS was released for PS1, you get to play as this guy Solid Snake. Everyone loves him, he’s a real bad ass, etc etc. So, MGS2 is released, you play as Snake for maybe 45 minutes, then all of a sudden your character is some wuss anime looking pussy named Raiden. Snake’s in the game, but he’s just another character that you see and talk to. Yeah, it kinda sucked even though it was creator Hideo Kojima’s attempt to take the series in a different direction. So fast forward to present day. Everyone and their mother bitches about not being able to play as Snake, so they give you Snake Tales, which are a few text driven side stories solely about Solid Snake. Don’t get fooled though, they take place on the same levels as MGS2, just don’t follow the MGS2 storyline.
Another thing everyone bitched about last year was the fact that you watched more of the game than you played. MGS2 had one of the best gameplay engines around, so to shut everyone up some more, they give you the 400 VR/alternative missions I just mentioned. If you haven’t played the PS2 version, you just have to play this game. Even if you DID play the PS2 version, this game sports enough extras (even some that weren’t on the original US release of MGS2) that veterans of the PS2 version will at least want to rent this.
