Highlights
- Metal Gear Solid 2's unique enemies and their behavior set it apart from other games of its time.
- The Gurlukovich Soldiers play significant roles in the Tanker and Big Shell Chapters, each with their own loadouts.
- The Arsenal Tengu Soldiers in the later stages of the game pose a new, challenging threat with their powerful weapons and agility.
In Metal Gear Solid 2 players go up against a small army of soldiers and their equipment. The creative way gamers have to go about taking down or sneaking past these enemies with the tools given to them is what makes the franchise so special. There are not a lot of enemies in the 2001 title, but most of them feel notably unique and mark a shift in the progress Snake or Raiden make in the story.
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Thinking back to what it was like to play this game back when it first came out, it is easy to see why they did not put in a lot of enemy types when their behavior was so advanced. Few other games of the time, especially on consoles, had enemies that would react to players' actions in a way the soldiers do in Metal Gear Solid 2.
1 Gurlukovich Soldiers
Tanker Chapter
The first enemies Snake goes up against have quite an introduction. Right after Snake jumps onto the Tanker he witnesses these soldiers storm the boat and murder numerous Marines on board. They are under the command of Sergei Gurlukovich, who attacked the Tanker in collaboration with Revolver Ocelot to steal Metal Gear Ray.
They are then the main guards Snake faces off against for the rest of his chapter. Raiden will encounter them in the Shell 1 core when he disguises himself as one of them. They are equipped with an AKS-74u, a deadly enough firearm against the player. While the disguise Olga gives Raiden still has the headwear, players can walk around the Shell 1 Core with AKS-74u equipped as long as they do not start acting erratically.
2 Marines
Tanker Chapter
Players only encounter these soldiers in one particular part of the game. After venturing through the Tanker Solid Snake finally enters the hangar holding Metal Gear Ray. A huge group of Marines are standing at attention, listening to Scott Dolph give a riveting speech about the advantage Metal Gear Ray will give to the US military.
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Players cannot engage in combat with them. In fact, it is game over if they spot the player at all. This does not mean Snake cannot have a little fun with them, though. Players can still knock them out and even hold them up at gunpoint.
3 Gurlukovich Soldiers
Big Shell Chapter
After the destruction of the Tanker in 2007, Olga Gurlukovich took charge of her father's mercenary army and teamed up with Dead Cell for the attack on the Big Shell two years later. They also changed up their costumes and equipment in the meantime.
This time they wear grey camo instead of the brown color and use an AN94 instead of the AKS-74u. Interestingly enough, players never get a chance to use their firearm like they get to use the AK. All of the similar tactics Snake used against the Gurlokovich Soldiers in the Tanker chapter work with Raiden against them during his segment. If they spot the player, one still has a chance to knock them out before they radio in for backup and trigger an alert phase.
4 Attack Teams
Alert Mode
Any player skilled enough in stealth will hopefully never come into contact with the Attack Teams. These soldiers come once an alert status is triggered and aim to bring the pain to Snake and Raiden. They have riot shields, shotguns, and body armor that force the player to aim for the legs or the head.
They can also dodge attempts to put them in a chokehold. Even if players eliminate all of them in a room, more are likely to flood into the area. If the player holds them at gunpoint they can quickly spin out of the way and enact a nasty counterattack. The best thing to do here is hide and wait for the alert and caution phase to end.
5 Cypher
Big Shell Chapter
Cyphers are like portable surveillance cameras. The fact that they move makes them infinitely more threatening than the average camera. Snake encounters one during a cinematic in the Tanker right after defeating Olga, but players do not have to contend with them during th game. They only come into gameplay once Raiden becomes the protagonist. They will be found on numerous connecting bridges during the Big Shell chapter.
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The other variant of this enemy is the Cypher with a gun mounted on it. Unlike the cameras with guns, these will also trigger an alert phase in addition to shooting at the player. The annoying thing about some of the Cyphers is that another one will come to take its place quickly after destroying them.
6 Arsenal Tengu Soldiers
Arsenal Gear
After Raiden is knocked out by Solid Snake and the Cyborg Ninja, whose real identity is revealed at that point, he wakes up on Arsenal Gear. Upon being freed, he has to sneak around without any clothes on. Even more stressful is the new enemy type he now has to contend with.
The Arsenal Tengu troops are on a whole other level when compared to the Gurlukovich Mercenaries. They are equipped with P90 machine guns and sometimes even swords. In addition to this, they can jump and leap around. After Raiden meets with Snake, the two make their way through Arsenal Gear but are spotted by a Cypher. After this, the two have to battle with countless Tengu soldiers. The ones with blades can even deflect bullets.
