4/5 ★ – james_i_think's review of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD Edition.

Probably one of the most innovative and memorable game sequels I've ever played. MGS2 does everything a sequel reasonably should. The graphics are a huge step up and the cinematic presentation is even better. It significantly improves on the gameplay of the first by tightening the controls and adding great new features. It fixes the error of its ways by relying far more on the core stealth mechanics, but also includes boss battles which are more fun and fair this time around (even if the boss characters themselves are a bit less memorable). It even has a more interesting story, chock full of exciting moments and unpredictable twists and turns. What makes this game unique, however, is the way that it also totally subverts your expectations. After having fun as Snake again, he's quickly replaced by a second-rate protagonist, and the game constantly reminds you that you'd rather be playing as him. The seemingly new story subtly recreates the events of the first game, commentating on your expectation for a sequel to just be the same thing over again. A straightforward terrorist plot turns out to contain eerily accurate themes of the future of the internet and social media, government control and censorship, virtual reality and even more disturbing subject matter. Even though there's far more gameplay than the first entry, there's just as much story too. In order to have such an ambitious plot, there's lots and lots of story to sit through at a time. Of course I would've just skipped it if I wasn't invested, but sometimes I felt like the pacing of the cutscenes and gameplay could've been balanced better. And the infamous escort mission really brings the game to a painful crawl, probably trumping the tedium of anything in the first game. But thankfully it's not super long, and it ends on a good sniping sequence and a powerful story moment. Overall though, MGS2 is an almost ideal sequel to the first, that can sometimes creep you out by reminding you you're just sitting there playing Metal Gear again.