Much like the original Metal Gear Solid on PlayStation, one of the first things one will notice about the MGS2 demo for PlayStation 2 is that right off the bat it has you in its grip. As soon as the game\'s realtime demo begins, you just know this is going to be awesome, the feeling is there, the action is there, the dialogue is there, and so is Kojima\'s master touch.
These are important things since the game, in terms of play mechanics and structure, will be very similar to the past games in the series. I was initially worried that it would feel a bit too similar to Metal Gear Solid and thus not quite as refreshingly new and exciting. Wrong, completely wrong. As soon as you watch Snake and Otacon discussing via the CODEC (the faces are full 3D models) you know this will offer the same sense of wonder and awe as the first 32-bit MGS. The demo had Japanese dialogue with English subtitles, and the voice acting was top notch.
Before the action starts up it\'s possible to view the past events of the Metal Gear Mythology and select from five different difficulty levels. The menu design is very similar to the previous MGS and Konami\'s upcoming PS2 title, Z.O.E. (Zone of the Enders). Clearly, this is a KCEJ West and Kojima production.
For those who have followed the development of MGS2, you\'ll likely remember the amazing ECTS trailer of the game, which saw Snake run on a bridge and bungee jumps down onto a tanker. Well, this is how the demo starts.
Snake is walking on the bridge and, of course, smoking. The camera work here is impressive and the cars rushing past meld into a single light source as rain pours down on Snake who is wearing a trench coat. After a short walk, Snake throws down his coat, starts running and soon the camouflage gear kicks in (Predator style) and Snake bungee jumps down onto the boat. After landing, discussions follow with Otacon. The dialogue is witty (Mei-Ling is mentioned briefly). As Snake checks out the boat in a similar fashion he checked out the fortress in MGS2, a chopper roars in and soldiers drop down and quickly kill the crew onboard and head towards the bridge. Snake hides and after witnessing the soldiers executing the crew of the boat, decides to find out who these soldiers are and just where and more importantly to whom, is Metal Gear Rex headed.
The introductory cut-scene is spectacular in so many ways. It sets the tone perfectly and it\'s gripping, which is something so many cut-scenes aren\'t today. Oh, and the visuals are simply staggering, as is the Hollywood-esque editing.
One constant is the rain. There are a few shots of the tanker during the cut-scenes where it fills up the frame from far. In these shots the damn thing looks amazingly realistic as the screen is blurred (something the PS2 seems to really well) by the constant rain and waves splashing against the hull.
Konami\'s rendering-system is brilliant. There\'s no jaggedness and the game runs in a very high resolution without dropping a frame. Utilizing particles, the rain is amazingly well done. It\'s definitely not a gimmick effect, as it helps to create a really moody atmosphere better than I\'ve ever seen previously in a videogame. Puddles form on the deck and when you move around indoors, Snake will leave footprints that will quickly dissolve.
There\'s some really effective coding in place here. It\'s simply a case of doing some smart routines that save a lot of clock-cycles for doing other stuff like shadow-casting and proper lighting. Certainly, Konami\'s programmers are using the PS2 hardware to an effect that other developers haven\'t been able to achieve. It\'s refreshing to see a developer using the PS2 hardware in a way it was supposed to be used and not approaching it as your usual 3D hardware. The framerate didn\'t drop once in the demo and the to-be-improved loading times were bearable. Textures are used sparingly and effectively, Konami\'s using lights and shading to create a very realistic feeling environment.
Character animation is also great, especially on Snake who is extremely well modeled right up to facial details like a superbly realistic beard. Enemy soldiers are also well realized and things like ammo clips and other gear dangle realistically from their combat belts.
You can go into first-person perspective at will and the use of this mode is definitely necessary when you take out the soldiers with carefully aimed shots from your gun. At first Snake only has his stun gun, but you\'ll pick up more weapons along the way. Shoot enemies to the head and they drop down like flies, but hit them in the arm and they\'ll try and escape. You can grab stunned enemies (great animation!) and drag them into closets or drop the bastards overboard. Shake them and items will fall out. Prop them against the wall and their legs bend accordingly. Feeling a little sadistic? Well, you can grab the stunned soldiers and use them as human shields or just bust a headshot while they are sprawled on the floor.
Even in the demo, it\'s clear that the AI of the enemy soldiers have been heavily upgraded. Soldiers will notice Snake\'s shadows and when you put a few shots into an enemy and he lives, he\'ll take cover and yell for back-up, or just run away to fight another day. Stunned soldiers will get a swift kick in the ribs from their comrades and for a short while the soldiers are more alert as to what might have caused this sudden case of napping on the job.
After a while soldiers started coming around equipped with those glass shields demonstrated in the trailers. When somebody is shot, blood spatters realistically and sticks, even to the aforementioned shields. The violence is far more realistic than it has been before, which is of course very much due to the power of the hardware, but the violence is portrayed realistically. As Kojima has pointed out many times, killing is not necessary. It\'s possible to simply stun the guards instead of spraying them with bullets. A really cool feature is the ability to surprise soldiers and hold them at gunpoint, which shows their true cowardly nature as they begin shaking when Snake aims at the groin.
There are also plenty of interactions with the background environments going on. Plants can be shot, causing leaves to drop, glass panels take more than a single shot to crack and in the end blow up. Bottles can be shot to pieces, frying pans flail during gunfire and fire extinguishers can be shot so they\'ll spray all over the place, which can be used to confuse enemy soldiers in certain situations. The attention to detail is tremendous. Soldiers drop their empty clips and slam in a full cartridge in a correct manner while shells are left rolling on the floor. Humor is evident too, as there\'s this on particular scene where upon trying to open a door, Snake is surprised as the handle breaks into his hands. Posters of sexy females can also be found in lockers, where it\'s possible to hide or store stunned enemy soldiers.
The cold storage room showed in the MGS2 trailers is present. Having taken refuge in the room, enemy soldiers were hot in pursuit, broke in and started firing which resulted in melons and stuff being blown to bits. A new feature presented itself upon entering the room and going into hiding. A small camera view appears in the top right of the screen. The familiar cardboard box could also be found in this room and used.
The camera is much closer to Snake than previously and there\'s a bit more instances of different camera angles being put to good effect. Controls are much the same, MGS veterans will definitely feel right at home. However, there are a lot of new moves that actually make excellent use of the pressure-sensitive buttons on the Dual Shock 2 controller. Snake can snap necks, stun soldiers, drop kick them, punch them and so on. The analog control feels really good, which is key in a title such as MGS2 that requires sharp and very responsive controls. While hugging the walls, you can pan the camera with the right analogue stick to give you a better idea of the surroundings. When hiding under a table for example, a small window opens up on the top-right corner and shows the entrance to the room, so you can see if soldiers are coming in to inspect the premises.
The demo clocks in at around an hour but if you know your way around, completing the demo will take around 15 minutes. After surveying the tanker on the deck, Snake moves indoors where most of the action takes place. Pretty much all the stuff you\'ve seen in the original MGS makes an appearance in the demo, such as surveillance cameras and tripwires. Clearly, Konami gives only a very small inkling of what\'s in store, as you get to see familiar stuff and something new but not anything close to what you\'ll likely get in the finished game.
The demo in short, is brilliant. It really makes you hungry for the finished game and by all accounts, and the final product should be nothing short of spectacular. Show this demo to all the PS2 non-believers and they will be converted. As if there was any doubt, Metal Gear Solid 2 is well on its way to becoming one of the greatest gaming experiences of all time.
I can\'t wait for this game
I love this game!
Topic: Hands-on: The Metal Gear Solid 2 Demo!!! (Read 689 times)