Sound: 10
Gameplay: 10
Value: 10
Reviewer's Tilt: 10
Overall: 9.4
Reviewed by Chris Currey
First off, Substance is the most game you can get for your buck for the Xbox. There is a lot to do and a lot of modes to unlock, so this is not one of those games you're going to completely finish over the weekend. You have 300+ VR missions for both Raiden and Solid Snake, and over 150 alternative missions. The alternative missions include holding people up and watching them disintegrate, and some include difusing bombs. You get extras like Snake Tales in which Snake is used in some of Raiden's missions. These have their own plot and are really fun. Let's not forget the fact that there are plenty of extra playable characters including the Ninja! Meryl is back this time as well. Then you get some other stuff that was only available in the European version of MGS2: Casting Theater and Boss Survival.
The gameplay is like no other title. Stealth plays a very important role, and the enviroment can be used to your advantage (shooting a fire extinguisher to blind an enemy), and sometimes it can be a disadvantage (enemies discovering your wet footprints). Many people will compare this to Splinter Cell, but you can't compare the two. One of them was released a year ago, the other one is a brand new game. I am glad that Xbox got a chance to play arguably the best PS2 game ever.
The graphics, surprisingly, have not changed, and are identical to the PS2 version of the game. No added texture bump mapping or increased resolution to be seen. Too bad, because I think that a little bit of texture bump mapping would have done some good. However, the PS2 version already looked superb, and even one whole year later, this title looks excellent. A little bit of extra finishing touches couldn't have hurted anything but the framerate, which is already pretty disturbing at times.
The game runs at 60 frames per second, most of the time anyway. Whenever you're shooting a lot of things, the framerate tends to crawl. Or the outside part of the Tanker goes so slow that it feels like you are in slow motion. It severely breaks up the action. That's strange, the PS2 version never slowed down. Why is slowing down on the Xbox when the graphics are PS2? Xbox handles a lot better looking games than this. The answer: Poor programming. But it's hard to port a PS2 game to an Xbox title, I realize that.
The story can't be beat. It literally keeps you in suspense with each twist and turn, until the whole thing ends and the ending leads to unnecessary twists and turns that do more harm to the story then good. Overall, the story is excellent, but sometimes there is way too much going on, and things get a little disappointing. But add in some really Oscar-worthy scenes and add that charging score from Henry-Gregson Williams, and the story can't be beat.
Overall, MGS2 is a must-own for any fan of the series. If you didn't catch it on the PS2, you might want to check this out. This isn't one of the best games of all time for no reason! Now buy!
Graphics: 8 God-like graphics on the PS2 don't translate well to the Xbox, with some severe slowdown and lack of bump-mapping.
Sound: 10 Highly professional voice acting co-exist with an excellent music score. The sound effects are some of the best ever.
Gameplay: 10 Even if it were just a simple port without the extras, it still would have been fun. But you get a lot more than that.
Value: 10 This is a 12 hour game, yet you could spend an additional 12 hours with the VR Missions. Collect all of those dog-tags in the story mode!
Reviewer's Tilt: 10 Metal Gear Solid 2 happens to be my favorite game. Yes, this is MGS at its finest.
Overall: 9.4/10