Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is a stealth-based game developed by Konami for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC and first released in 2002. Directed by Hideo Kojima, Substance is a "special edition" reissue of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

The game's title comes from Substance 1977-1980, a compilation album by Joy Division (which is said to be Kojima's favorite band).

Plot summary

The main storyline and content of Substance is identical to that of MGS2. However, it has a variety of extra modes (including bizarre gaiden-esque "Snake Tales") similar to those found in Metal Gear Solid: Integral. For example, it is possible to complete a series of missions from an entirely first-person shooter style perspective with controls based on those in Doom or Halo. In another encounter, Solid Snake must jump between parallel universes meeting incredibly bizarre twists on series characters (the style is similar to that of a text article in MGS2 and a radio play in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel). There is even a skateboarding mode (found in the PlayStation 2 version only), which allows the player to complete challenges on the Big Shell setting as either Solid Snake or Raiden.

VR Missions

The bulk of the new content in Substance is a series of VR Missions in various modes. For example, there is a series of missions based on successful sneaking with or without weaponry (Sneaking Mode), a series of missions for each weapon (Weapon Mode), and the series of missions which use a first-person view. Various playable characters are unlocked as the player progresses, some of which have their own groups of missions (Ninja missions, for example).

Release information

The various play modes that were featured in the Japanese and European versions of MGS2 (Boss Survival, Casting Theater) are made into standard features in all regional versions of Substance. Moreover, the Japanese version of Substance features the localized English voice acting instead of the original Japanese, much like the earlier Integral.

The European PlayStation 2 release also included The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2, and therefore could be considered the definitive release of Metal Gear Solid 2.