Games of Summer: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

The Electronic Entertainment Expo is a number of things to people.  For developers and publishers, a chance to show off new products.  For attendees, a chance to see upcoming games, both anticipated and unexpected.  But for everyone, there are little moments throughout the event’s history that really stand out.  And one of them happens to be our Games of Summer pick for this week.

Though Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty would no doubt be eclipsed by Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater a few years forward, there’s no question it left its mark on the Electronic Entertainment Expo forever.  One year, Konami and Hideo Kojima debuted the trailer for the game to a much-awaited public, and became a big hit.  Fans everywhere adored it while game industry vets analyzed it to no end, wondering what the new features would bring and if hiding in boxes would make a return.  (To answer that second question, yes.)  The trailer became such a hit that fans ran to Konami’s booth every hour on the hour to view it repeatedly.  So, yes, Metal Gear Solid 2 dominated without even being at the show.

And with that, Konami released the game, and though there were some mildly disappointing parts, it lived up to the hype with some great stealth tactical action, memorable boss battles, and plenty of humorous moments.  Yes, we’re talking about Raiden and how he manages to run through the halls naked at one point.  And it wouldn’t be Metal Gear without a weird instance with Solid Snake.  Or two, for that matter.

But Kojima and his team really nailed down what Metal Gear was all about with Sons of Liberty.  It has divide tactical action that still holds up today (the game is included in the recently released Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3), and the missions will keep you on your toes, avoiding detection.  The graphics still look great too, as they pushed the PS2 hardware forward at the time, in spite of some odd camera angles.

It was truly Metal Gear, which is what everyone wanted, and it would be a stepping stone for even greater games to come on the PS2, PlayStation 3 and other systems.  And while we’re feverishly looking forward to the awesomeness of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, we just can’t help but devote a little time to good ol’ Snake.  SNAAAAAAAAKE!

See you next week for another Games of Summer!