Konami On the PS2
Written By: Louis Yakobson

Who will take the most advantage of working with the PS2? Will it be Capcom? How about the obvious answer, EA Sports? Possibly Infogrames? Stop and think for a second. Hmm, what about Konami? Truthfully, all of these companies are great, but the ruler of the PS2 will be none other than Konami. Yeah, you know, the makers of a couple of games called Metal Gear Solid 2 and Zone Of the Enders! You should be ashamed of yourself if you didn't include Konami in this list of giant companies. After the amazing reign of the PS2 ends (hopefully no time soon) gamers will look back at how Konami changed the face of Sony's prized PS2.

Maybe you were a person who wasn't sure which way Konami was heading; therefore you didn't include them in your list of top PS2 developers/producers. If you've been idle for sometime, I should tell you one thing: Konami recently stated that 70% of all its labor will be focused on Sony's behemoth. The other 30% will be split among the Xbox, GameCube, and Gameboy Advanced. This news proves the loyalty and confidence that Konami has for the PS2. Konami has stated that a whopping 20 games are in development for next-gen consoles. That means that about 14 of those 20 games will appear on the PS2! I have all the confidence in the world that Konami will come up huge in these 14 games.

You're probably reading this and your saying to yourself, "What is this guy on drugs, Konami hasn't accomplished anything with the PS2 so far." Well, I guess you're correct if you detract Ring Of Red, Shadow Of Destiny, Z.O.E., and MGS2: Sons Of Liberty, then you have a point.

Some of the games that fellow PS2 gamers will be talking about for a long time are listed below with a brief description. (I will have reviews for the MGS2 demo disc, Z.O.E. and Shadow Of Destiny soon.)

Metal Gear Solid 2 (Demo) - The demo of MGS2 will be coming alongside a pre-order of Z.O.E. From import versions, I've heard nothing but positive reactions to it. This game will set new highs in graphics and gameplay, and will go down as one of the greatest games ever produced. With incredible AI, the level of realism in a game has never been higher. Opposing enemies will call for backup and continue to shoot bullets at you after they've been shot. To up the level of realism, you can even hide in boxes, lock up enemies in lockers, or shoot them with tranquilizer guns. If you're a fan or not, MGS2 will be the biggest game of the year.

Z.O.E. - With a great storyline, gorgeous graphics, and gameplay to die for, Zone Of the Enders is one of the most coveted games in the early life of the PS2. Z.O.E. features a story in which the main character, a boy named Leo Stenbuck sees his friends get killed in a sudden outbreak of war. After this incident, he proceeds to a war-mech named Jehuty. The cinematic approach taken by Konami will definitely make the presentation of the game worthwhile, as the graphics are already undeniably graceful. Pick this one up right now!

Shadow Of Destiny - Shadow Of Destiny is a mystery/action game, which is already out in stores. I've bought by copy and I can't say enough about it. Basically, you play as Eike, a man whose fate is to be stabbed while isolated in a road. After his death, a strange voice guides him along, telling him that with strength, he could change his destiny. To help Eike along the way, the strange voice presents Eike with a digipad, a device that lets you go back in time. As you're present in different periods of history, you really need to use your brain to solve interesting puzzles. If you don't already have this game, I'm begging you to go out and pick up a copy.

Ring Of Red - Ring Of Red, like Shadow Of Destiny, is available right now! Ring Of Red is a science fiction war game which has an interesting story to it. The game starts off at the end of World War II but in this game, Japan continues to fight after the drop of the atomic bomb. An invasion of Japan occurs as by European and US troops.

Konami continues to strive to be the best they can possibly be, and when 70% of their efforts are directly targeted at the PS2, it brings plenty of smiles to my face. I would also like to thank Konami personally for choosing Sony as the main machine they're going to work for. After many rumors, they were probably under immense pressure to go with the graphical power of the X-Box or GC. Thankfully, Konami intelligently views the situation in the correct manner, not choosing graphics over overall quality. So, in a way, I guess this is a nano-victory for Sony fans. Microsoft and Nintendo, how you like them apples!?