| Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake |
Article Index for Metal Gear |
Website Links For Metal Gear |
Information AboutMetal Gear 2: Solid Snake |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT METAL GEAR 2: SOLID SNAKE | |
| stealth video games | |
| 1990 video games | |
| metal gear games | |
| mobile phone games | |
| msx games | |
is a '' along with the original '' Metal Gear '' in 2006. In the game, Solid Snake must infiltrate Zanzibar Land (not to be confused with the real-life Zanzibar that is part of Tanzania ), a heavily defended territory located between the Soviet Union , Afghanistan , Pakistan and China . Snake's mission is to rescue the kidnapped scientist Dr. Kio Marv, who has created bacteria that secrete artificial petroleum, and later, to seek out and destroy Metal Gear D . DEVELOPMENT HISTORY After the success of the NES version of '' Metal Gear '' in the Western market (especially in North America, where ''Metal Gear'' reportedly sold over a million copies), the Famicom division of Konami began developing a sequel for the NES, '' Snake's Revenge '' (made specifically with the Western market in mind), without informing the series creator Hideo Kojima. Kojima, who was not originally planning on producing a sequel to ''Metal Gear'', didn't know that ''Snake's Revenge'' was being produced until he met a member of the ''Snake's Revenge'' development staff (from Konami's Famicom division) on a train ride in Tokyo . Kojima was then informed about the development of ''Snake's Revenge'' and was told "it's not the authentic Snake, so please create a new Snake game of your own." That was when Kojima decided to create a true sequel to ''Metal Gear''. After being given the go-ahead by his bosses at Konami, he began developing ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' with the MSX division of Konami. ''Snake's Revenge'' was later removed from the series' canon, and is now considered part of a parallel universe. Western of the ROM Image authored by MSX hobbyists Takamichi Suzukawa and Maarten ter Huurne was distributed through the Internet along with a translation of the game's manual. When '' Metal Gear Solid '' was released, plot summaries of the first two MSX games were included in the form of "Previous Operations" reports for players that never played either title. Its inclusion in ''Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence'' was the first time the game was officially released in North America and Europe, albeit in a revised edition that was originally released for mobile phones. GAMEPLAY The game engine of ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' went through a number of significant changes and additions, most of which were carried over to '' Metal Gear Solid ''. As a matter of fact, many fans consider ''Metal Gear Solid'' to be almost a 3D Remake of ''Metal Gear 2'' due to the many similarities between the two. Storytelling enhancements A particularly important change introduced in this game was the bigger emphasis given to the game's storyline this time around:
Artificial intelligence Aside from the story, the biggest changes to the gameplay were made to the enemy soldiers' behavior and Artificial Intelligence :
Other improvements Other changes made to the gameplay include:
Similarities to ''Metal Gear Solid'' Some of the plot elements and set pieces in ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' that were later used again in its sequel ''Metal Gear Solid'' include:
PLOT Characters See Also: List of classic Metal Gear characters Due to its more story-driven nature, ''Metal Gear 2'' features a more extensive cast of characters than in the original ''Metal Gear''. The game features a slightly older Solid Snake , who is already retired from FOXHOUND , but is brought back to active duty. Roy Campbell is the new FOXHOUND commander and takes over as Snake's commanding officer and primary radio contact. Snake is also assisted via the radio by a FOXHOUND support crew consisting of George Kasler, a mercenary expert formerly with Zanzibar Land, and Master Miller , a survival coach, as well as Yozef Norden, a Wildlife expert. He is also assisted from the inside by Holly White, a CIA spy posing as a Journalist and Natasha Marcova, an StB agent who was assigned to be Dr. Kio Marv's bodyguard (the scientist that Snake must rescue). The Antagonist Big Boss , along with Gray Fox and Dr. Pettrovich Madnar, all characters from the previous game, return to round out the game's cast. The main characters are depicted within the game by animated face shots during ( Solid Snake ), Sean Connery ( Big Boss ), Richard Crenna ( Roy Campbell ), Dolph Lundgren ( George Kessler ) and Tom Berenger ( Grey Fox ). In later re-releases of the game, the face shots were redrawn so the characters resemble Yoji Shinkawa 's art style used in the later '' Metal Gear Solid '' games. In addition, some of the characters (including enemy bosses) were renamed as well. As in the original ''Metal Gear'', Snake must face a variety of bosses to complete his mission. This include Black Color (a ninja fitted with hi-tech equipment, later revealed to be Schneider from the previous game), Running Man (the world's fastest mercenary), Red Blaster (an expert grenade thrower), Four Horsemen (a four-man assassination squad), Jungle Evil (an expert in jungle warfare) and Night Fright (an assassin who wears Stealth Camouflage and wields a silenced pistol). Story By 1999, the Cold War had thawed, and Nuclear Disarmament by the major world powers promised a bright beginning to the 21st century. Despite this, all was not well in the world. A series of shocks to the oil market spurred the development of new high-tech energy sources, including Fusion Power . However, most vehicles still relied on oil for power. Oil reserves were at a critical low, and the world community was prepared to take drastic measures, either by drilling into sand and shale for more oil, despite the difficulty -- or moving on to renewable fuels. Such steps proved unnecessary when Czech scientist, Dr. Kio Marv, successfully bio-engineered a new species of Algae , OILIX, that could produce petroleum-grade hydrocarbons with little expense and effort. Marv presented the algae to the World Energy Conference in Prague , and was on his way to a demonstration in the United States when he was kidnapped by soldiers from Zanzibar Land . NATO discovers that Zanzibar Land's leaders plan to hold the world hostage by controlling the supply of oil, and some good old-fashioned nuclear brinksmanship, courtesy of a stockpile of nukes raided from nearby missile sites. Solid Snake is brought out of retirement by FOXHOUND 's new commander, Roy Campbell , and is sent to Zanzibar Land to rescue Dr. Marv. On the course of his mission, Snake teams up with Holly White, a CIA operative posing as a journalist, and Gustava Heffner (Natasha Marcova in the original MSX version), an StB agent and Dr. Marv's bodyguard. He is also reunited with Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, the Metal Gear inventor from Outer Heaven , who claims to had been once again kidnapped and forced to work on another Metal Gear project (named Metal Gear D) for Zanzibar Land, as well as oversee mass-production of smaller, non-nuclear-equipped Metal Gear units. Snake learns from Dr. Madnar that Big Boss , Snake's former FOXHOUND commander, has survived and is the man in charge in Zanzibar Land. Upon reaching the suspension bridge leading to the Detention Camp, Gustava is killed by a missile fired by Metal Gear and Dr. Madnar is recaptured by the enemy. The new Metal Gear's pilot is revealed to be none other than Snake's former mercenary buddy Gray Fox . Determined to finish his mission, Snake fights against Zanzibar Land's elite mercenary force and manages to reach Dr. Marv's cell. Snake arrives too late, unfortunately, as he finds the corpse of Dr. Marv, who was unable to survive the repeated torture. Dr. Madnar is also there, who explains he was unable to save him. Just before Snake could retrieve the OILIX formula left by Dr. Marv, Holly reveals via a radio message that Dr. Madnar was not captured after all, but voluntarily resumed his work on Metal Gear and was personally overseeing its development. After the truth comes out, Dr. Madnar attacks Snake, but fails in killing him. With OILIX formula in Snake's hands, Snake is confronted by Gray Fox piloting Metal Gear D. After successfully destroying Metal Gear, Snake finds himself in a Minefield . The two engage in hand-to-hand combat against each other, and Snake eventually emerges as the victor. Upon defeating Fox and retrieving the OILIX data, Snake is met by Big Boss while trying to escape. Having lost his equipment and with no weapons at his disposal, Snake is forced to improvise using the only items he can find, a Cigarette Lighter and aerosol can. Fashioning a makeshift Flamethrower , Snake defeats Big Boss for the second and final time. Snake and Holly escape and together, they deliver the OILIX formula to Campbell. ALTERNATE VERSIONS Mobile Phone version On October 1 , 2004 , Konami released a Mobile Phone version of ''Metal Gear 2'' in Japan for the I-Mode , EZweb and Vodafone services. This was the first time the game was ported to another platform since its original MSX2 release in 1990. Several changes were made in order to modernize the game:
PlayStation 2 version A PlayStation 2 version was released as a component of ''''. The PS2 version included all the changes made in the mobile phone release, along with an official English Translation for the North American and European releases. This was the first time the game was officially released outside Japan. The North American version also included a Spanish Language script. In the PlayStation 2 version, the player still has to learn Tap Code s and Campbell's second radio frequency from manual. However, because the North American version only came with a brief manual and the downloadable manual from Konami's official site did not provide in-depth content for either of the classic ''Metal Gear'' games, many players had to consult online sites or fan-translated versions of the original manual in order to find certain radio frequencies. Konami later posted an FAQ, covering all the needed solutions. {Link without Title} In the European manual, no tap-codes were given, but the frequency required to progress was printed in the manual instead. POP-CULTURE REFERENCES Although most of them were toned down or removed completely in the later versions, the MSX2 version contained various references to pop-cultures and other fictional works.
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|