Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (メタルギア２ ソリッドスネーク) is a stealth action game that was written and directed by Hideo Kojima and developed by Konami. It is the fifth game chronologically in the Metal Gear series and the second one released. It was initially released only in Japan for the MSX2 computer on July 20, 1990. The game was re-released 14 years later, as a downloadable game for mobile phones in Japan in 2004. A North American and European release of Metal Gear 2 was released in 2006 as part of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence along with the original Metal Gear.

Gameplay
Metal Gear 2 builds upon the stealth-based gameplay of its predecessor. As in the original Metal Gear, the player's objective is to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold, while avoiding detection from soldiers, cameras, infrared sensors, and other surveillance devices. The biggest change in the game was done to the enemy's behavior. Whereas the guards in the original game could see in straight lines, the guards in Metal Gear 2 can all see in a field of vision of 45 degrees. The guards can also turn their head left or right to see diagonally and move from one screen to another (instead of being stationed in one area). The enemy can also hear any noise made by the player which usually occurs when the player fires a non-silenced firearm, uses an explosive, hitting on walls or walks on certain types of terrain. If the player is discovered by the enemy, then the game will enter in Alert Mode and a counter will be displayed on the upper right side of the screen. When the enemy loses track of the player, the game enters Evasion Mode and the counter will go down. When the counter reaches zero, the game returns to normal.

The player has been given new maneuvers and tools to help them remain undetected and complete the game. For example, the player can now kneel and crawl in addition to walking, allowing to player to avoid making noise, pick up land mines, and hide in tight spaces such as under desks or inside air ducts. A radar with a 3x3 grid on the upper right hand screen shows Snake's current position in the center screen (as a red dot), with enemy soldiers as white dots, allowing the player to determine what's ahead. However, the radar is disabled when the game enters Alert Mode. The radar can also be used with the mine detector equipped to determine the locations of any placed mines or fire stinger missiles on an airbourne target. Many weapons and equipment from the first game are brought over as well as new items such as robotic mice used to distract enemies, a camouflaged mat and three different types of rations with their attributes. The player no longer needs to rescue hostages to increase their rank; instead their life energy and carrying capacity is increased each time they defeat the game's bosses.

The transceiver has been greatly revamped from the first game as well. The messages the player receives are now based on their on current situation and mission objective, rather than the room they're currently in, making them less fixed and more dymanic. The transceiver now displays Snake's face as the face of the character he's currently communicating with. The player can also talk to children living in the fortress to gain new information; the player is penalized with a loss of health if they kill a child. The game's areas are more varied than in the first game and a number of puzzles must be fulfilled to complete the game, such as luring a carrier pigeon with a ration, chasing after a female spy to the women's bathroom or deciphering secret Tap Codes to gain vital information such as a new frequency number.

Plot
By 1999, the Cold War had thawed, and it seemed nuclear proliferation would soon be a thing of the past. 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 brinkmanship, courtesy of a stockpile of nukes.

Solid Snake was brought out of retirement by FOXHOUND's new commander, Roy Campbell, and is sent to Zanzibar Land to rescue Dr. Marv.


 * For a full summary, see Zanzibar Land Uprising.

Characters

 * Solid Snake
 * Roy Campbell
 * Holly White
 * Drago Pettrovich Madnar
 * Johan Jacobsen
 * Master Miller
 * Kio Marv
 * Gustava Heffner
 * George Kasler
 * Gray Fox
 * Big Boss
 * Charlie

Zanzibar Land Mercenaries

 * Black Ninja
 * Running Man
 * Red Blaster
 * Four Horsemen
 * Jungle Evil
 * Night Fright

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:
 * The game opening with a cliff-side open environment before moving inside to a tank-storage room with an elevator.
 * Master McDonnel Miller giving advice on improving one's health and professional life.
 * The frequency 140.15 for a female accomplice of Solid Snake.
 * Saving a hostage who appears on radar. In addition, the first hostage of the game is a disguised member of the terrorist faction.
 * Meeting a disguised female contact in a women's washroom.
 * Helpful messages from an anonymous source via the radio claiming to be a fan of Snake.
 * The return of a major character from the former game decked out as a ninja.
 * A chase up a spiral staircase with soldiers in pursuit.
 * An ambush by four attackers in an elevator.
 * A fight with a soldier wearing stealth camouflage.
 * A battle with a Hind D chopper using Stinger missiles.
 * An unarmed hand-to-hand showdown between Solid Snake and Gray Fox.
 * Having to look at the back of the game package to learn an important radio frequency.
 * Having to change the temperature of an object to turn it into a key.
 * After destroying the Metal Gear of the game, then having a hand-to-hand fight with the pilot.
 * Having to heat up frozen rations before eating them.
 * The use of the line "It's not over yet, Snake" stated by Big Boss, later to be said again by Liquid Snake and Volgin when in a final battle with the protagonists.

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:


 * New game modes and items - All the new game modes (Easy Mode, Boss Survival) and items (Infinite Bandana) introduced in the mobile phone version of the original Metal Gear were included in this version as well.
 * Revamped character designs - The character face shots shown during the game's radio mode (as well as the opening intro) were redrawn by Metal Gear Solid character designer Yoji Shinkawa. While the original designs in the MSX2 version resembled actual movie actors and people, the designs in the new version are brought more in line with Shinkawa's designs from the Metal Gear series.
 * Rewritten script - The script was changed to include more kanji characters than the MSX2 version.
 * Name changes - Like the mobile phone version of Metal Gear, some characters' names were changed:
 * Natasha Markova was changed to Gustava Heffner.
 * Yozef Norden was changed to Johan Jacobsen.
 * Petrovich Madnar was given the full name of Drago Petrovich Madnar, establishing the name "Petrovich" as the character's patronymic middle name.
 * Black Color was changed to Black Ninja.
 * Ultra Box was changed to the Four Horsemen.
 * Night Sight was changed to Night Fright.
 * Modified items - Some of the items were modified (graphically and functionality) to parallel their usage in the Metal Gear Solid games.
 * The graphical icons for each of three ration types are now colored differently to tell them apart.
 * Equipping the cigarettes will now drain the player's life bar. Moreover, the graphical icon was changed to no longer resemble a package of Lucky Strikes.
 * Thermal goggles are now available to see through infrared sensors as an alternative to cigarettes.
 * In the MSX2 version, the player could only place six landmines per screen. In the mobile phone version, this was increased to sixteen.
 * The time it takes for Natasha/Gustava's brooch to change shape was shortened slightly.
 * The time for an egg to hatch was shortened as well.
 * Modified play mechanics - Certain aspects of the gameplay were changed to make the game easier for the player.
 * The tap codes were changed.
 * A mark will appear on the player's feet when making a noise while walking on certain types of terrain.
 * If a hollow wall is punched, a question mark will appear over it.
 * Frequency numbers are now saved under a memory window after dialing them the first time.
 * Campbell's second frequency (which originally could only be learned by checking the rear side of the MSX2 version's packaging) is now given to the player instead.

PlayStation 2 version
A PlayStation 2 version has been released as a component of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. The PS2 version includes all the changes made in the mobile phone release, along with an official English translation for the North American and European releases. This was first time the game was officially released outside Japan.