Day 204, Game 204 - Metal Gear 2

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Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is described as being one the best 8-bit video games ever. Let's just get those insanely high expectations out and on the table now before we continue any further. Did I complete the game and give it enough time to determine whether or not this declaration of awesomeness is true or even remotely accurate? Well, no I did not, but you should know that by now if you have read this blog before. 

I'm not here to proclaim excellence of any game, give reviews or argue wide-spread beliefs about the validity or credibility of any video game (even though I occasionally do), but instead share some insight, opinions and most importantly personal experiences, past or present, with the games I am playing. And with that being said...

I suck at stealth games. 

I can't remember if I have ever talked about this issue of mine in any other blog posts (I am up to 204 now!), but if I haven't, I want this fact to be perfectly clear. I suck at stealth games. Plain and simple. Not even a little bit, like I struggle with extreme stealth combat, but rather, I just flat out suck at being stealthy. I don't know if it is an ADHD thing, or a simple lack of patience type of issue, but whatever it is, I just can't seem to properly play in a stealthy way. 

This, I'm afraid, will pose a problem going forward with this week of Metal Gear Solid. Let's just call a spade a spade now and save some time later on. Hopefully, by the end of the week, I will have maybe gotten a little better at being stealthy in a digital world, or at least figure out why I'm so horrible at them to begin with. In all honesty, my inability to play stealthy has made finishing The Last of Us quite the chore, as it is made very clear from the beginning that stealth is the only way to survive that game. While I haven't wrote about The Last of Us yet, I just thought I would share my reasons why. Once I finish it though, prepare for an amazing post. But for now, let's change gears back to the game of the night. 

Right off the bat, you are forced into being stealthy, as you walk right into the second screen of the game into a guard, who of course spots you if you are sprinting through the middle of the screen, and chaos ensues, of course. After a few tries (and yes, this was set on easy, thank you), I finally got past that part, only to be treated to stealth combat, some more stealth combat, and then to shake it up a bit, even more stealthiness. I couldn't take it anymore, and eventually had to call it quits.

I will say this, though. The game itself is quite the step up from the original Metal Gear. The guards are far  more aware, as they look around and don't see in just straight lines of sight. The countdown clock is nice, letting you know how much time you have before you are cleared of the alert level, and the addition of being able to kneel down and crawl to avoid detection and not make noise worked really well. Also, you can crawl through holes in fences and there is a certain depth to the game, that while it is still 8-bit, makes it feel like less of a top-down shooter game than it's predecessor. 

Look, I can see why people really like this game. The storyline is engaging especially if you take the time to follow it. I already know that you defeat Grey Wolf and Big Boss at the end of the game (SPOILER ALERT!), and the major plot is the destruction of the Metal Gear D. I know in the crazy timeline of the franchise, it sits pretty much in the middle of it all, which is already making my head spin. 


I just can't wait to start playing some Metal Gear Solid games, in all reality. Despite the fact that my patience will be severely tested when it comes to being stealthy. 

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