metal gear solid 2: sons of liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a 2001 stealth action video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami. Released on November 13, originally for the PlayStation 2 it is the fourth Metal Gear game written and directed by Kojima Hideo. It is the seventh overall game in the series and is a direct sequel to the original Metal Gear Solid, having Solid Snake as a protagonist.
An expanded edition, titled Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, was released the following year for Xbox and Microsoft Windows in addition to the PlayStation 2. A remastered version of the game was later included in the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox 360.
The story revolves around the Big Shell, a massive offshore clean-up facility seized by a group of terrorists who call themselves the titular "Sons of Liberty". They demand an enormous ransom in exchange for the life of the President of the United States and threaten to destroy the facility and create a cataclysmic environmental disaster if their demands are not met. The motives and identities of many of the antagonists and allies change throughout the course of the game, as the protagonists discover a world-shaking conspiracy constructed by a powerful organization known as the Patriots.
Metal Gear Solid 2 received acclaim for its gameplay, graphics, and attention to detail. However, critics were initially divided on the protagonist and the philosophical nature and execution of the game's storyline, which explores themes such as the Information Age, memetics, social engineering, political conspiracies, censorship, artificial intelligence, existentialism, postmodernism, virtual reality, and the internal struggle of political liberty and freedom of thought.
The game was a commercial success, selling seven million copies by 2004. It has since been considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time, as well as a leading example of artistic expression in video games. The game is often considered ahead of its time for dealing with real life themes and concepts, such as post-truth politics, fake news, alternative facts, and echo chambers, that became culturally relevant in the 2010s.
A direct sequel called Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was released in 2008.