Since the bomb was dropped last year at E3 in Los Angeles, California, rabid gamers have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of arguably one of the greatest games of all time... and it hasn't even been released yet: Konami's METAL GEAR SOLID 2.

Just based on a movie (all real-time game play, mind you), the hearts of gamers everywhere were captured by the magic that Kojima Hideo and his crew displayed on screen. It was masterfully choreographed, with prime cut scenes and sequences showing off the ability to destroy pipes/lights/whatnot to enhance gameplay, or the ability to use someone as a body shield.

If even half of this stuff was true, then METAL GEAR SOLID 2 was going to be the be-all, end-all game for the gaming world. Suffice to say that after completing the playable game demo of MGS2 (included with Konami's ZONE OF THE ENDERS), there are only three words to say—it's all true.

The story is moot at this point, what you gamers want to know is how MGS2 plays, and if the movies you saw were real. Well, they are. Once again you control Solid Snake, and go on a covert infiltration operation, and Snake controls perfectly! He's been given a huge increase in moves, but they are all easily and simply executed similar to the way Miyamoto applied his genius to ZELDA 64. All the moves can be done with the same few buttons; the action changes depending on the situation. If you walk up to a large crate and press a button, it will cause Snake to traverse it. If you walk near a railing and press the action button, Snake will hop over the edge of the railing and stay there stealthily. You can then shimmy sideways, quietly, trying to sneak past a guard, or if there are guards below you, you can actually drop onto of them and knock them out instantly!

The madness continues as you can shoot out the pipes on the insides of the ship to cause it to puncture and explode with hot air, blinding anyone standing next to it (useful for throwing the guards off your tail). You can knock out an enemy, and then grab him and then drag him into a nearby locker and hide the body! Conversely, if you leave him lying on the ground, a patrolling guard will notice him and alert others!

And, just as in the movie, if you walk into a storage room, you can actually shoot up the individual bottles of wine/alcohol, and they each individually break with different physics! Same for the boxes of fruit and the individual pieces that will fall to the floor.

Now one may ask, what the hell is the point for all this extreme "detail"? Simple. It adds to the immersiveness and can really add to the gameplay of METAL GEAR SOLID 2. The oranges that fall on the floor will be detected by any patrolling guards that wander into the storage room! The ability to grab someone in a choke hold and use them as a body shield for enemy fire protects you, and takes out an enemy at the same time as others are firing at you (and hitting their comrade instead)! The ability to run up to a guard unawares, and pull out your weapon at point blank range, will cause Snake to tell the guard to "stick'em up!" and the guard will drop their weapon and raise their hands in the air, hostage to whatever your intentions may be! And the list of actions goes on and on.

Finally the "sub boss" fight included on this demo is nothing short of amazing! You take on a Russian female assassin-type, and the boss fight is classic old school flavor (meaning she has a great set of patterns that you have to learn and overcome), and nothing short of pure joy. There's basically a divider between you and her, and when the fight commences, she'll run around the area, stopping to shoot at you every once in a while, then switching places, and sometimes hiding behind a huge tarp that's tied down to the ship's deck. You can actually aim and shoot out the individual ropes that tie the tarp to the deck, and cause the tarp to flap away, destroying any "hiding spots" she may have! How's that for extreme detail?

In the end, this mere demo has put our worries at ease, and confirmed many people's impressions that METAL GEAR SOLID 2 is well on its way to becoming one of the greatest games ever made. Look forward to the final game sometime later this year (Fall/Winter 2001).

Rating: withheld for the demo