Overview:
Solid Snake is back to infiltrate Zanzibar Land to rescue Dr. Kio Marv, a scientist working on a new form of energy. This is a sneaking missions so the typical mechanics are still the same: stay out of sight from guards, make no noise, and, above all, don’t get caught! As with all Metal Gears, you will meet strange characters and murderous bosses who want nothing than to be the one who kills you. Where will this mission take you? Who is the main baddie behind the kidnapping? What is Zanzibar Land? Why is Solid Snake the only one who can rescue Kio Marv? How will this play out?!
Visuals:
A slight improvement over how Metal Gear looked like, Metal Gear 2 changed how the UI looks by adding a map to your main HUD. This helps Snake being able to get his bearings while also being able to locate enemies on screens. Unfortunately you’ll barely be able to see the map since you’re constantly going to be setting off alerts. The environments are extremely well done by giving you separate biomes and complexes which all look different. Snake and the gang all got a small upgrade in their sprites with the main thing being that Snake can now crawl all over the place.
Audio:
Like the first, this game adds upon the innovations of the first. The alert sound is burned into my head just how much I set them off. Enemies will now follow you from screen to screen constantly spotting you. Squeaky and metal tiles will also be the bane of existence since they’ll too alert everyone constantly. I wish I could talk more about the music but I only had the one track going since I couldn’t help but be spotted every fucking moment.
Completion:
I FINISHED THIS GAME! I went on a Metal Gear kick after beating the first one and made it my mission to beat this one. The enemies are super cool and seems to have been where Kojima got his stride on making dumb bosses with gimmicks trying to put an end to Snake. You’ll also fight the titular Metal Gear D but that’s a boss fight kind of in the late middle portion. The main stars were the fight with Gray Fox in a minefield [room] and then the ultimate fight between Big Boss [!] by setting the motherfucker on fire with hairspray and a lighter.
The game was fun and it does set up the world of the latter Metal Gear Solid games. I just HATE that I was always fucking spotted. These assholes guards were on their A game in Zanzibar Land.
