Heavy praise for Metal combat game

SOME games need the hard sell. They need careful PR, flashy advertising campaigns and, in some cases, expensive TV air time if they are to do well.

And then there are games like Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

The sequel to the most highly acclaimed game of all time is already assured of best seller status even though it actually only goes on sale today. Weeks before launch day, thousands of UK fans splashed out deposits to pre-order precious copies.

This sort of behaviour is common practise in Japan where every new RPG leads to long queues outside stores and frenzied scenes. In the UK, it's virtually unknown. Even the launch of PS2 - surely the most hyped console debut ever - was met with polite queuing in most places.

Metal Gear 2 isn't perfect. Many of the criticisms that were levelled at its predecessor still apply here, principally that it's too short. But while it lasts, this has to be a masterpiece of electronic entertainment that takes video games to new heights.

The back story, usually just an excuse to peg the action on, is both involving and thought-provoking like a good film. The characters are interesting and, most importantly, believable. Play Metal Gear 2 for the first time and you'll be desperate to reach the end just so you can find out how the adventure concludes.

Since the original Solid Snake adventure on PlayStation, there have been scores of copies, some good, some pretty awful. With games like In Cold Blood, Headhunter, and Winback, the tactical espionage genre has been done almost to death, A secret agent simulation is no longer enough to float our boat, we need something extra.

None of the clones has ever achieved the same balance of action and stealth that made the original Metal Gear Solid such fun. Most of them incorporated a bit of sneaking about but none of them ever made you feel it was a matter of life or death.

Remember the first time you triggered an alarm in Metal Gear? How your heart pounded and your eyes searched the screen for somewhere to hide before the guards arrived? The element of panic as they closed in and you realised the game was almost up? That's what I'm talking about.

And it's all here again in Metal Gear 2 - only it's even better looking, the levels are even bigger and the enemy artificial intelligence is scarily efficient.

At least Solid Snake's abilities have expanded along with the rest of the game. Analogue control gives your character greater degrees of movement that makes it easier to sneak up on bad guys or peek round corners without stumbling out into plain sight.

The guards are harder to kill this time too. You can still lead them into a trap like before (trying knocking on a wall or throw an empty clip across the floor) but now they are armed to the teeth and very, very wary. Just like real life.

And if you are unfortunate enough to stumble across the guys armed with grenade launchers, then there's only one thing to do - get outta there quick.

The sequel has also stolen a few good ideas from rival titles. Now it's possible to switch from third person to first person perspective if you want to pick the guards off one by one.

Incredibly it's actually possible to play through the game without actually killing a single bad guy (you stun them instead). That's something to tell the moral majority when they complain that games like this trivialise violence.

To be honest, though, this title is such a challenge that you'd have to be some kind of gaming god to achieve a perfect score. Frankly, it's more satisfying to rub some of the baddies out along the way.

It also looks fantastic. No wonder Sony held this title back to coincide with the launch of the Microsoft X-Box. The new kid on the block may have more power beating beneath its black plastic hood but nothing it can do looks better than Konami's masterpiece.

What's more, the cut scenes are rendered by the machine itself. That's why you can move the camera around for a better look instead of just sitting back and watching yet another piece of full motion video.

This review is coming to an end and I have barely touched the surface of Metal Gear 2. Hundreds more words wouldn't be able to do justice to the visuals, the sound, the attention to detail and the sheer audacity of such a great game.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is the game your PS2 was built to play. If you don't get this you may as well throw your console in a skip. It's that good.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is the biggest video game of the year and you can win one, thanks to The Northern Echo and HMV Darlington - the town's biggest combined music, video and gaming retailer.

The store, located in Darlington's Cornmill Centre, offers a massive selection of existing titles, plus all the latest releases and gaming accessories. It's your one stop entertainment shop.

To win one of the two copies of Metal Gear Solid 2 we have to give away, simply answer this simple question: what is the name of the lead character in Metal Gear Solid 2?

Send your answers to Joanne Huggins, Burton's Byte Metal Gear Solid Comp, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF or enter online at The Northern Echo's website at www.thisisthenortheast. co.uk.

The closing date is Friday, March 22.