Snake is back.......more gunfights........more action!!!!

Metal Gear Solid 2. The Sons of Liberty. The sequel to one of the best games that has ever been made. Has come blastin back....Now it continues!

From the material released by Konami since the game's announcement at last year's E3, it's easy to see the effort and detail put into every aspect of Sons of Liberty. Visually, the game looks to set the standard for all PlayStation 2 games. Characters are incredibly well modeled and fluidly animated. Wind gusts in the outside environments blow Snake's bandana around while water effects such as the pouring rain strike Snake and bounce off realistically. Perhaps most impressive are Snake's facial expressions, which dynamically change based on the situation -- something that's been done before, but never during gameplay. Snake sighs after he looks around a corner and sees more guards, and wears an annoyed look while hiding behind a table during a gunfight.

Equally well-done are the music and sound. The composer behind the orchestration is Harry Gregson-Williams, previously known for his work on action movies such as Enemy of the State and Armageddon. According to Hideo Kojima, in-game music will be mixed differently according to what Snake is doing at the time. In a firefight, for example, the percussion might be mixed higher, and when all is well the same track will be a little calmer.

What's known of the story so far has it set in a tanker off the shore of New York, and perhaps the city itself. At the end of Metal Gear Solid, Revolver Ocelot escaped with the optical disc containing the Metal Gear Rex test data, and this information has now spread throughout the globe. "Off-brand" Metal Gears are popping up in every nuclear nation, but now the granddaddy of them all--Metal Gear Ray--has been created specifically to fight these lesser Metal Gears. The new Metal Gear is being transported by ship to a testing location in the Bahamas when a terrorist group takes control of the tanker. Snake, having earlier snuck aboard the ship for a simple reconnaissance mission, must now find out the reason for the attack.

Guiding Snake in his mission is Otacon, the chief engineer of the Metal Gear Rex project from the previous game. After the events on Shadow Moses Island, Snake and Otacon joined an anti-Metal Gear organization known as “Philanthropy.” While it seems at first that their job is to gather information about the US military's plans, the mission is thrown into turmoil when terrorists of an unidentified nationality hijack the boat from the Marines -- who may not actually be Marines. Two familiar faces are leading the hijack operation; Revolver Ocelot (also known by his Mujahaddin name, Shalashaska) and Colonel Sergei Gurlukovich, whom fans of the first game will remember as the Russian prospective buyer of Rex. However, a voiceover during the most recent trailer reveals that the true leader of the Sons of Liberty terrorists may be none other than ... Solid Snake. Other notable figures within the Sons of Liberty are Olga, Colonel Gurlukovich's pregnant daughter; Fortune, a seemingly invulnerable dark-skinned woman with a railgun; an unknown mysterious vampiric creature; and Liquid Snake, who appears to be living within Ocelot's new artificial hand.

Fortunately in light of all the returning characters, Konami has enlisted the voice actors from the first game to reprise their roles, including David Hayter as Snake, Christopher Fritz as Otacon, and Patric Laine as Ocelot. Other characters who may or may not be returning are Grey Fox, who might be behind the mask of MGS2's new ninja character, and what looks suspiciously like the silhouette of Vulcan Raven. However, don't expect Meryl to make an appearance -- the fact that Snake begins the game with the stealth suit may indicate that it takes off from the "bad" ending of the first game.

One of the most startling new gameplay ideas is that it's now technically possible to make it through the entire game without killing a single living thing--including bosses. Though Snake will still have lethal weapons at his disposal, he'll also be able to employ a tranquilizer gun against enemies. Targeting your opponent's head or groin will result in an instant knock out, while there will be a delayed response when guards are hit elsewhere. This is to further emphasize stealth and hiding in the shadows, and to downplay the battle aspect.

Those looking for a little fighting to break up the sneaking will be glad to know that the combat structure is basically the same as it was in Metal Gear Solid. Snake once again has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, including a USP handgun and stun grenades. When taking on an enemy soldier, Snake can shoot an enemy soldier's radio, preventing him from calling for backup. Soldiers will crouch down to shoot Snake if he's hiding underneath an object and duck behind walls to avoid fire. Wounded soldiers will attempt to escape and call for help. They will also notice stray bodies lying around, so Snake must dispose of them as efficiently as possible. Two of the methods shown in the demo are hiding them in lockers and tossing them overboard.

Snake can now use his weapons in the first-person view for more precise aiming that is absolutely necessary when fighting soldiers equipped with riot shields that protect their mid-section. The view is also useful for targeting the many interactive elements of the game's environments. Firing at plate-glass windows, metal tins, pipes, and fire extinguishers can distract guards and make it easier to sneak by them. Other new gameplay elements include throwing empty magazine clips to divert guards, a rolling move to get out of a tight spot quickly, and the ability to hang over the side of railings.

What the game boils down to is Metal Gear Solid with better gameplay, music, and graphics. It would take a die-hard adventure game hater not to be a little bit excited about the game. Konami is aiming for a simultaneous release of Sons of Liberty in Japan and North America this fall. With a media blackout in place until the game's November 13th release, gamers' greatest challenge could be surviving the wait.