By BBC News Online's Darren Waters

Finally, months after it was released in Japan and the US, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (MSG2), arguably the most anticipated computer game of all time, arrives in the UK.

The original Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation One - itself a sequel to versions on 8 bit microcomputers - was perhaps the most lauded game of all time.

So it is not surprising that there has been such feverish expectation around the PlayStation 2 title.

Solid Snake must negotiate many tasks

The timing of the release, less than a week before Microsoft launches its Xbox games console in Europe, is surely no coincidence.

What better way to prick the loyalty of millions of PS2 owners in the UK than by releasing what promises to be a new dawn in console gaming?

Disappointment

The original game was exciting because it mixed high-quality video sequences with espionage action which almost, but not quite, merged seamlessly into a fantastic game narrative.

Pick up a sleepy guard and hide him in a locker

The makers of MGS2 have done little to alter this format and this is the game's greatest disappointment.

Once again, the visuals are breathtaking. Some of the video sequences are expertly directed and would not look out of place in a Hollywood movie.

You take control of a character called Solid Snake, a sort of superspy whose initial task is to infiltrate a giant cargo ship transporting a cutting edge weapon system, the Metal Gear of the title.

There is a lot of previous knowledge for first-time players to absorb, but the game cleverly allows the user to enter at different points depending on how much they know.

The game revolves around a number of set-piece tasks, with your character required to diffuse bombs and infiltrate different locations. Stealth is often rewarded over direct action or violence.

Dizzying

The game is littered with nice touches which reinforce a sense of realism - hand dryers in bathrooms that start working when you walk past, mirrors with reflections, the empty shells of bullets cascading across the floor in firefights.

The game's visuals are incredible

But what adventure there is in the game is stifled by a dizzying amount of video sequences.

At one point in the game two long video sequences are broken only when you walk your character along a corridor.

Computer games should be about interaction and not just passive viewing. If you want to watch a DVD movie on your PS2 you can simply rent one.

The game is also a little easy and the interactive elements pass by too quickly, to be replaced by yet another video sequence.

Linear

The game is also frustratingly linear as you move from one room to another with little freedom and the overhead viewpoint of much of the game creates an unnecessary feeling of confinement.

Games such as Grand Theft Auto III have shown that designers do not need to make their games linear.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is cleverly conceived, highly-detailed but disappointingly stultifying as a game.

At a time when many video games are becoming fully interactive MGS2 feels like a step in the wrong direction.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is released for the PlayStation 2 on 8 March