Cinematics have been a huge part of many games in recent years, and Metal Gear Solid 2 is no exception.

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The gameplay is very well done - It has lots of variety, it ties into the story very well, and it's fun. Diffusing the different bombs, hitting the different spots on the Metal Gear, each boss battle is unique, leading Emma through the water, sniping the guards and hover jets to cover Emma, sneaking around and hiding from guards... each objective, or sub-mission if you will, seemed to play a distinct role in the story. Each one was unique.

The quality of the graphics and voice-acting is way better than anything else currently on the market. Superb job on that.

The story pulls you in better than any other video game I know of. It has many intriguing plot twists - mysterious things that happen that seem to need explaining. You, and the characters, speculate that this could be something bigger and more scandalous than it already is. Sneak around and uncover the mystery. It even has a theme at the end.

The cinematography was done better here than in any video game I have ever seen.

The military/government conspiracy, undercover spy guys with guns image thingie has been proven to work well in movies many times over, and now, just like the first metal gear, it's proven to work for video games as well. This game is sure to appeal to conspiracy buffs.

The bosses talk to you when you're fighting them, giving depth and personality to the people you kill, rather than just killing dummy enemies.

The sneak mode music and environmental sound effects are great.

Getting pictures of the Metal Gear, I overheard the secret plans at the same time, and moving around that level I spent a great deal of time moving up and down latters (so it was easier to pay attention to the conversation/speech).

You can choose Konami Japan as your nationality.

The changing camera angles don't obsure things nearly as poorly as in Resident Evil.

Moving the people around on the codec screens is fun! If they only reacted to it... and if it was part of the storyline...

The game has many hunts for survival, gadgets to play with, and posters of beautiful semi-naked women and girlfiends posted around the place. I can tell which demographic this is aimed at. It hit very close to the center of the bullseye. It's also got Harrier Jets, Hellicopters, a wide array of different weapons, technical jargon, Godzilla-like robot of distruction, explosions, and lots more good stuff.

Good help system. Just talking to the people on your codec and they'll tell you what to do. It's almost like real life; very seamless.

The player has been given a wide array of different abilities - running, shooting (many different kinds of weapons), walking along walls, crouching, crawling, tip-toeing, hanging, cart-wheeling, and so on.

Countless high-quality environmental effects - Bubbles in water, rain splashes, stuff floating around in the water, seaguls flying around, and so on.

Sometimes when you're crawling around on a very small ledge very high above the ground, it coveys a feeling of tension. Interaction and level design really can convey mood to the player.

"Hey Colonal, why do you keep saying 'My Role'?" "Well, this is a type of Role-Playing Game."

I really like what the game does after you play it for a long time. Those are the best lines in the entire game.

I like the way the characters give you instructions like "You need to turn the vibrator function ON," and "You need to hang over the ledge. Stand back against the railing and press the triangle button." The characters in the game act as if you, the player, actually are the person that you are controlling.

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The game has way too many cinematics (close to 70% of the game is cinematic). I want an interactive experience! When I look back at this game, the cutscenes come to mind, not the gameplay. This is not a DVD movie, it is a DVD game. Why can't they get it right? The gameplay was well done, but there wasn't enough of it.

The quality of the story may be good for video games, but compared to movies it's still got a ways to go. If this game were released in the theatre's it would be widely reguarded as a pile of crap, much worse than Pearl Harbor, or Battlefield Earth.

The cinematic camera angles used during gameplay don't really convey the emotion of the scene the same way they do in movies. The feeling conveyed is moreso one of annoyance and disorientation. When you are interacting with your environment, it is very important to say oriented and focused.

The controls take some getting used to. They can get confusing at times.

When the bosses are talking to you during battle, telling you deep, personal information about themselves, you just have to wonder why.

Snake are you ok? Snake!? SNAAAKE!!! That is so annoying! >:(

Metal Gear is a giant robot that looks like Mothra, and is totally impractical in its design. It would never work realistically. Maybe it would be believable to the Japanese audience, but certainly not the western.

The player spends a great amount of time staring at the radar, rather than staring at the graphic-enriched environment. If they player were getting the information he needs from the normal overhead view instead, then he would be absorbing the feel of the environment more.

The plot can get confusing at times.

First Solid Snake, then Liquid Snake, and now Solidus Snake!? What's next, Kaiser Snake? How about Liquidus Snake, or Snake Octicon.

The La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo organization?! Interesting name, although I don't think anyone would ever use it to name a secret spy/terrorist/military/intelligence organization.

Why does E.E. insist on telling me all about her happy childhood relationship with her brother? This is a conspiracy game! I don't want to hear about happy warm-hearted crap. Everytime the characters start having their touching moments it just makes you roll your eyes. It has nothing to do with the story at all.