Highlights
- Fans recently discovered a new way to take out guards in Metal Gear Solid 2.
- Shooting down a seagull flying over a guard’s head will cause the bird to fall and knock out the enemy.
- While the tactic is tricky, it has been replicated by a number of players.
Over 20 years after its initial release, fans have discovered a new way to take out guards in the PlayStation 2 classic Metal Gear Solid2: Sons of Liberty, which involves enlisting an unlikely accomplice. Certain sections of Metal Gear Solid 2 take the player outdoors as they explore the facility that serves as the game’s setting, providing an opportunity for one of the game’s most amusing and unknown mechanics.
Despite its focus on deeply complex government conspiracies and tactical espionage, the Metal Gear Solid franchise is known for its humorous Easter eggs and hidden mechanics, some of which can work in the player’s favor. Metal Gear Solid 2 is no exception, as sprinkled throughout its fairly serious storyline are a variety of subtle jokes and lighthearted references.
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One mechanic seemingly flew over players’ heads for over two decades, with a new video posted to Twitter showing a player shooting down a seagull flying over a guard’s head, causing it to fall and hit him on the head, knocking him out. Fans were shocked at the revelation, citing their amusement at the fact that a series as old as Metal Gear Solid still has things that might go undiscovered.
According to the original poster, however, getting a bird to fly directly above a guard to set up the mechanic is tricky and time-consuming, as they claim that they had to study the seagulls’ movements for a while before they could pull it off. Still, the player mentions that doing so might be useful for those looking to beat Metal Gear Solid 2 without killing any enemies but somehow don’t have the PSG-1 sniper rifle, which comes with a non-lethal alternative.
Shooting a seagull to take out a guard is a fairly obscure method to attempt, and while it isn’t clear whether the mechanic was intentional, the series’ reputation for bizarre additions makes it easy to believe that it was. In fact, some players even managed to recreate the mechanic in the original PS2 release of the game, proving that it has always been around and was not a hidden feature added in the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection.
While players continue to discover new things in Konami’s iconic stealth series, the company is gearing up for the release of a highly-anticipated remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Rumors of a remaster for Metal Gear Solid 4 as part of the Master Collection‘s second volume have also popped up, though Konami has yet to reveal any official plans for the game.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was developed by Konami, directed by Hideo Kojima, and was first released in 2001.
The game builds upon the esteemed stealth gameplay of its predecessor and is one of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time, with a Metascore 96.
- Released
- November 13, 2001
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Animated Blood, Animated Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 13 Hours