###################################### # Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty # PAL Menu Options v1.0 # 18th March 2002 # Written by rick - Copyright 2002 # email: rick.cross@btopenworld.com ###################################### Different Menu Options Available In The PAL Version Of MGS2 =========================================================== contents -------- 1. Introduction 2. PAL Menu Options 3. What They All Mean 4. Epilogue 5. Copyright Info 1. Intro -------- I have written this as I was caught out by these different options when I first started to play this game. I got rid of my PlayStation 1 before Metal Gear Solid was released and never got round to playing it until I got my PS2. Even then, I started the game and got about 80% of the way through but never managed to finish it. Therefore I chose option 5 from the ones listed below (wondering why I was being asked such questions) and found myself wondering why I was not playing as Snake and what had happened to the Tanker level I played in the MGS2 demo (the game dropped me into the Oil Plant level!). I looked in the instruction manual for clues as to what the significance of the options was and had no success (it's only 5 pages of cartoons anyway). I searched the web for FAQs but since they're all written by Americans and this feature is only present in the UK version (to my knowledge) I was out of luck there too. I did all manner of searches on Google and Dogpile and the only reference I found was in Astroboy's "PAL EXTRAS LIST" on this very www.gamefaqs.com site, but it was only a passing reference. I then tried phoning the Konami on the Premium rate (75p/minute) number in the intrsuction manual. I also tried the Konami UK website, but it is for Arcade games only. There is a link to www.konami-europe.com for PSOne/PS2 games but strangely, this domain name does not have a website associated it (I got a 404 error). I was going to try the Sony UK PS2 site, but it is littered with superfluous Flash animations (I hate those), so I didn't bother. So I did the only thing I could and started the game with each of the five options and noted which difficulty settings I was presented with and which chapter I started on. 2. PAL Menu Options ------------------- After selecting "Start" -> "New Game" -> "1st Time" you will hear a female voice "Please select you action level" "In this game, Metal Gear Solid will be referred to as the previous game" "The term 'cleared' means 'having seen the ending'" 1. I've cleared the previous game multiple times so bring on the action! 2. I've managed to clear the previous game but action isn't my strong point! 3. I didn't clear the previous game myself but I watched everything! 4. I didn't clear the previous game and action isn't my strong point! 5. I didn't clear the previous game but bring on the action! 3. What they all mean --------------------- It's a bit cryptic, isn't it? I just want to play the whole damn game! The effect this has on the game is which difficulty levels you will next be presented with and which chapter you will start on. That is, whether you will play the whole game or start halfway through. So you'll want to get this bit right then... Difficulty Setting | Start Level -----------------------------------+------------- 1. Normal or Hard | Tanker level 2. Very Easy, Easy or Normal | Tanker level 3. Very Easy, Easy, Normal or Hard | Tanker level 4. Very Easy, Easy or Normal | Oil Plant level 5. Normal or hard | Oil Plant level 4. Epilogue ----------- Beyond the information I have given above, I have no idea whether this affects the games in any other way and I cannot guarantee that all the first three options lead to the Oil Plant level, as I haven't got there yet. I also can't figure out whyoption 3 exists, when it seems to be simply a combination of 1 & 2. I know that the American version allows you to select both chapters together or either Chapter on its own, so maybe option 3 is just the Tanker level on its own and doesn't proceed to the Oil Plant chapter. Now all I need to complete this FAQ is to find out the name of the sadistic bastard at Konami that came up with this cryptic menu screen in the first place... 5. Copyright Info ----------------- Well, the above is definitely all my own work and I haven't seen a guide like it anywhere else on the Internet despite extensive searching. I'm only putting in a copyright notice because it's advised by the "How to write an FAQ" on www.gamefaqs.com. I'm not sure how enforcable these copyright notices are, however if my FAQ appears anywhere other than the GameFAQs site without my express prermission in writing, I'll simply hack your server or launch a denial of service attack. It's what I do day in/day out for my job anyway (and a well paid job at that) and I have literally millions of pounds worth of Sun Enterprise servers at my disposal which can easily be pointed outside the network to run Netcat or similar. Also between me and the other 4 guys on my team, we have over 60 years experience in Unix/Linux/FreeBSD, Checkpoint FW1, IP chains, Cisco Firewalls, Perl, C, Java, Apache, Netscape Server as well as IIS and Windows NT (snigger!). So your Sun Cluster E4500 servers sitting behind Big IP and Checkpoint FW1 will present very little more trouble than a Windows 2000 server sitting on a T1 connection. You have been warned.