Graphics and Effects

Kojima has described the graphical strategy behind MGS2 as follows: "The background is done in medium polygons, and the characters as well. We're not using high polygons, but we're using the extra strength that is left to create the air, the moisture, all that, and the motion, and at the end we add a lot of effects. That's why our stuff looks different from others. Other companies' stuff is great graphics-wise, but they may lack the air, and that other feel."

That's describing the architecture of the game rather modestly, but it's clearly still the effects that make MGS2. Stand on the tanker deck in the driving rain and you are surrounded by all kinds of amazing effects: reflections in the puddles, fog and particles for splashing water and rain, lighting for the running lights and the guards' flashlights, and all of it running in high resolution with a perfectly clean framerate. Switch to first-person view and you get a special treat: perfectly realistic droplets of water warp your vision, just as if the rain is pouring in your eyes. Indoors, lighting becomes a gameplay element as well as a visual effect. Light sources in some areas cast realtime shadows around Snake and the guards, allowing them to play cat and mouse with each other around corners. You can see them coming, but if you're not careful, they'll easily spot you.

MGS2's character models are very refined, especially in terms of facial detail -- finally, the characters in a Metal Gear game have eyes (incidentally, those 3D faces now appear in the codec screen, too). They also have far more model detail adorning their bodies. Snake has all kinds of odds and ends attached to his web gear; Revolver Ocelot's gunbelts and duster coat look marvelous; Olga's baggy parachute pants provide an oddly voluminous counterpoint to her slight figure, and she has all sorts of weaponry attached to them or tucked inside.

The game's realtime cinemas (none of the cutscenes shown so far include any pre-rendered footage) provide a remarkable showcase for those characters. They are animated with amazing precision, and their direction shows an unshakably sure hand. The standoff between Snake and Olga, for example, shows excellent pacing amid some very complex bits of animation and camera direction -- it's the equal of any number of classic action films.

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