TGS: Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer and demo impressions

[10.14.01] » Game of the Show ... again.

   At the Fall 2001 Tokyo Game Show, the most impressive game was one we've already seen on several occasions: Metal Gear Solid 2. A new trailer consisting of almost entirely new footage was on continual loop in the center of Konami's booth and drawing crowds throughout the day. A slightly expanded version of the Z.O.E demo was also playable, but it was the new trailer that constantly impressed.

   The trailer begins with the first few lines of Rika Nakamura's haunting song, "Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday." Some of the lyrics have been modified slightly from previous trailers:

   I stare at the stars / And the sky up above / And think, what am I made of? / Am I full of sorrow? / Am I hurt and pain? / Or am I filled with love? / I walk by myself / On the streets below / And ask every child I know / Do you think tomorrow / Will bring sun or rain? / Which one of these will show?

   The song is sung over a quiet, slow montage of footage. First, the camera pans down over a structure that looks significantly like an off-shore oilrig. Next, we see Otacon in a bloodied trenchcoat, kneeling, his head against a laboratory door, while a solid green parrot hovers in the air behind him. A close up of the bird hovering in midair is mildly unnerving--it flies in place with a nearly unnatural (but clearly intended) precision. Some more shots of the rig are followed by a shot of the bird in its cage. Next, a series of shots from onboard on the "oil rig" follow the slow rising of the sun. As the sun rises, water pooled on the deck sparkles and shines with an impressive early-morning sheen. A final, distant shot of the rig's deck shows two silhouetted characters stepping out onto a raised balcony on the right. Though the characters' identities were impossible to discern, both look non-military, and one appears to be female. The game's logo fades in just as Nakamura's song finishes, and then everything fades to black.

   Next, a fantastic, driving techno remix of Metal Gear Solid theme plays while the camera pans around the prow of the Discovery as it cuts through stormy seas; right afterward, there's a shot of Metal Gear Ray moving quickly underwater from left to right. The next shot is of two SH-60 LAMPS III helicopters flying menacingly towards the camera. Snake appears for a brief moment to duck behind a crate. Next, the camera looks up an elevator shaft as the elevator moves down. We see the mercenary Fortune's legs step off of the elevator and into a room with a bug-filled floor. As Fortune walks, the bugs scatter around her, repelled by a strong intrinsic electric field--whether this emanates from her railgun or from Fortune herself is unclear, but the effect was still ominous. This brief scene is intercut with even briefer glimpses of an unknown woman in full camouflage gear standing motionless in a hallway. Next, we see Ocelot remove his full-length duster and toss it into the air, presumably as cover between himself and an unseen adversary. The next shot is from the other side of the jacket--the perspective of the foe. Three bullet holes rip through Ocelot's jacket, and his smiling, triumphant face is visible through holes in the now-torn fabric.

   Next, we see Metal Gear Ray open its back and shoot six flaring missles (three from each side) into the air, arcing outward into the sky and trailing smoke. The animalistic Ray appears to be "coughing" as it expels these missiles from its back. The next shot shows the vampire character sitting lotus-style in the middle of a reflecting pool of water. He stands and begins to perform a kata (martial arts demonstration) on the surface of the water. A close up reveals a bloody bullethole or puncture wound in the middle of his forehead, as well as a scar along his left cheek. These injuries are absent from other closeups. Though the character's name was given as "Vamp" in promotional materials, it's unlikely that this will be his true name in the final product.

   Next, we see one of the most exciting new characters in the trailer: what appears to be Big Boss. Speculation on other sites holds that this character is Solidus, but this has not been confirmed. The character, however, looks very much like Big Boss: his countenance exactly matches that of the artwork in the Metal Gear Solid manual and art book, and he sports a defining eyepatch over his left eye. Big Boss is outfitted in aquatic battle armor (a large, metallic, armored suit with a tail and several streamlined "tentacles" out the back, clearly designed for nimble movement in water) and carries two swords. Someone fires rapidly upon Big Boss, but he deftly deflects the bullets with blazingly fast swipes of his swords.

   Cut to Otacon stepping up from a broken computer terminal and holding out his arm. As the hovering parrot flies down and roosts on his arm, he uses his other hand to replace his glasses. In a different room, several soldiers in black and wielding swords jump down and surround Snake. Next, the camera pans over a warehouse full of boxes as a voice talks about the importance of passing one's memories and culture onto the next generation. As it pans up onto Metal Gear Ray, the voice finishes triumphantly: "This is why we live!" Ocelot, clad in a suit and tie in lieu of his ordinary duster, is giving a speech to rally the troops. Suddenly, the Ninja jumps in from offscreen and swipes at his arm, missing by a thread. "You're supposed to be dead!" shouts Ocelot, angrily. The soldiers fire on the Ninja, as if to reinforce Ocelot's words, but the Ninja cooly deflects the bullets with mechanical movements of its sword.

   Next, we see an unknown man, bald and with a thick mustache, mutters something difficult to understand. Only his head is visible, and he appears to be slumping against a doorframe--could he be injured? Next, we see the vampire step in front of Fortune and say something difficult to understand, but related to "meeting me" and "knowing fear." Fortune points her electric gun at Snake and proclaims, "At last we meet, Solid Snake!" "I wasn't the one who killed your father," protests Snake.

   Another new character in the trailer, Emma, makes her appearance at this point. Shown indoors, she looks at the ground while speaking softly. Though it was difficult to understand her dialogue due to the muttering, she seemed to be talking about "a more important person." More important than who or what, we can't say.

   A thin character, clad in a black wetsuit and a Psycho-Mantis style rebreather, swims underwater with flippers toward the bottom of the rig. This mysterious character resurfaces, and a sinister close up makes his (or her) intent seem antagonistic at best. Could this be the introduction of Solidus?

   After this, the vampire drops from the ceiling into a hallway, behind a guard. He stands slowly and menacingly unsheaths a serrated knife. The vampire slams the soldier up against the wall. With one motion, he turns to stab the guard and press him up against the wall. With a hiss, he opens his mouth and reveals his fangs, his breath steaming. We see Metal Gear Ray inside the ship activate and start to smash its surroundings and to attack soldiers.

   In what many consider to be the trailer's finest moment, Metal Gear Ray crouches and jumps off the side of the ship into the water. As the war machine crouches and leaps, Snake runs up behind it and dives off the ship after it, yelling all the while. This futile gesture is framed and executed so expertly that it is nevertheless inspiring.

   After another short sequence of Ray rampaging and water flooding the Discovery's hallways, the trailer ends with a tense confrontation between Fortune and Big Boss in his armor. Big Boss points a Fabrique Nationale P90 gun at Fortune, spinning it carefully around his fingers in a gesture extremely reminiscent of Revolver Ocelot. Fortune cocks her electric railgun decisively. The final shot is directly at Big Boss as the gun continues spinning, finally coming to a stop with a decisive "click," pointed directly at the camera. As the credits come up, a voice says. "One of you is enough. One Big Boss is plenty!" In the now-traditional post-credit splashes, we see Ocelot point his revolver at and speak to someone offscreen: "At this point, you might as well retire." He drops his revolver. The final splash sequence is of Big Boss in his armor, standing in flames and facing the camera. A visor slams shut in front of the bottom half of his face, and the trailer ends.

   The playable demo featured only one room not in the original demo: the engine room, which has been previously seen in movies. Still, this multileveled environment was a great place to practice Snake's shimmying, jumps, and drop down attacks. Night vision goggles let you see guards in this low-light environment, and a digital camera was great for snapping pictures to remember your infiltration mission by. Overwhelmingly, however, it was the new trailer that grabbed showgoer's attention.

   With Metal Gear Solid's release only a month away, this is likely the last gamers will see before the game itself hits store shelves. Even so, this brief sequence of new footage was more than enough to dominate showgoers' attentions, and to make the game--if such a thing is possible--even more hotly anticipated.