Raiden really was the Jar Jar Binks of the series for a while, haha. I remember getting the game on its original release for PS2 and being absolutely bewildered by the switch in main character. It’s difficult to imagine these days, but literally no one had any idea Raiden was the main character of the game until the game was released.
This game is the reason I bought a Xbox back in late 2002. I was saving up for a Gamecube, but MGS 1 and 2 were my favorite games at the time so when I saw the commercial for Substance and saw it was on Xbox, I saved for the Xbox and game instead
i remember back then i asked my grandma to buy me a console never would i’ve expect she bought me an xbox instead of an PS2 coz xbox first gen was popular back then in daly city san francisco where my grandma lived. best days of my life one of my first batch of xbox 1st gen games MGS2 aside from sega GT & jet set radio future.
i played mgs1 last year for the first time, then went right to this one. the graphical leap blew my mind. even in 2024 😂. fantastic game other than the stupid diffusing bomb part i got stuck on
I remember renting this game from Blockbuster back then, such a great weekend lol. Also for what it’s worth I recently finished playing the game on the ps3 HD Anthology collection and it had frame drops during the harrier and the metal gear boss fights. Not sure if maybe the original ps2 was spared and then substance, subsistence and anthology are the ones with the bugs but it is what it is
I remember MG fans hating this when it came out because of the bait and switch from Snake to Raiden lol. That said, it's even more hilarious that Kojima was able make all those same people that hated Raiden love him by reintroducing him in MGS4 as a super bad ass cyber ninja. And then they gave him his own game with MG Rising lol. Also is the skate boarding mode in the Xbox version? I know the PS2 version had it but I don't remember if the Xbox version did. Great video, great game, the ending of this game is downright prophetic. If you ever want a deep video game story rabbit hole to go down then look up videos on the MGS 2 ending lol crazy stuff.
Yup. Still the MGS 2 version we all know and loved. I always why the OG Xbox version of MGS 2 had some frame rate issues. Maybe Konami were rushing to optimize their products to increase sales during that time? Either way, still a great game with a thematic theme about information in the digital age that has never become more relevant than ever before.
I know I've said this before but I'll reiterate again: This is such an underrated channel. Xbox may be in a bad spot right now but historically they have secured their place as innovators in this industry. Xbox Live, hard drives, party chat, the rise of casual multiplayer gaming, all of this comes from their ingenuity. The attention to detail regarding the early days of Xbox and the many ports and oddities the system had are so underrepresented. Thank you for shining a light on this and remembering the history and sharing it with others. In terms of gaming preservation, and actual commentary and thoughts and criticisms regarding this topic, I find you and this channel to be important work. Keep it up.
Xbox is in a perfectly fine spot right now, in fact, they're more of a juggernaut in the gaming industry than ever before based solely off all the first-party studios they now own. I'd argue they're still innovating to this day, what with Game Pass, cloud gaming, and even multiplatform releases lol. Microsoft makes a lot of baffling and sometimes terrible decisions but those decisions often end up being reflective of the future of the gaming industry. Problem is Xbox is typically 10 years too early and they try to push gamers into the "future," so they get most of the flack. Xbox's innovation and drastically different approach to PS and Nintendo is what makes them interesting to talk about IMO.
Not counting MGS for GBC (which I didn't understand as a kid and would run around the same screens getting no where), this was my first MG game. However, I got it as the same time as Splinter Cell, and even though I enjoyed and beat MGS2, as far as stealth action went, Splinter Cell was way better game to me. I kept with Splinter Cell and didn't play another MG game until Twin Snakes, and I actually haven't played an MG game since. I do have the HD collection for Vita, so, one day.
I bought an Xbox ahead and for Halo 2, but along with Halo Combat Evolved (who didn't?), but I picked this up a week later as I wanted more than jus Halo! I've still got it, don't have a manuel, like, but then again, I don't have a manuel for Halo Combat Evolved, either, so... Mind you, I was clever when I picked up Sons of Liberty on PS2, I actually chose a slightly cheaper copy, still got everything I should with it, though! That, I don't have any more, but I did pick up Substance for PS2 a few years back!
definitely not the ideal way to play the game, a decent amount of visual and performance compromises on the original xbox version (same with silent hill 2) but obviously MGS2 is one of the greatest video games of all time and there are a myriad of better options to play the game at this point (original ps2 version of substance still the best in my opinion, followed by the HD or legacy collections, and i think ive heard the pc port might have gotten fixed by fans ill have to look into that)
I love MGS2 since 2001 honestly couldn’t see myself playing any mgs game not on a PS controller. Wouldn’t personally recommend this version but if for some reason its the only one you got you’ll still have a great time
