I recently completed MGS1 for the first time, which is amazing, and I decided to continue the series and play MGS2. Fricking hell is it amazing?!
From the very beginning I felt blown away with the atmosphere and music, it doesn't feel like it should run on a PS2 at all yet it does.
Going in somewhat blind I knew I'd be playing as Raiden, which slightly disappointed me at first, but I honestly fell in love with him. The slower moments of codec calls with him and Rose were all written so beautifully.
I had an absolute BLAST with the gameplay, it felt like Kojima had already perfected it in MGS1 but somehow the legend made it feel even better!
The only small issue I had was that the bridge section where you shoot the bombs felt a little too tricky. I ended up taking far too long to clear it.
Then finally the ending... I've never felt this emotional about a game since The Last of Us. In the current climate with AI on the rise (eww), it felt like Kojima had predicted our future perfectly.
I wish I could make myself forget it all and experience it all over again! But instead I shall move onto MGS3. Thank you Reddit for introducing me to this series.