Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops

Metal Gear is a video game series that has stood the test of time better than alot of other video game franchises. Its games have gradually matured and grown into a complex world full of political drama and interesting characters. That's not to say the attributes that make it a video game have not improved as well, as its gameplay and graphics have reached cinematic levels not yet reached by many games. All these qualities apply to the latest cannonical installment in the series, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

The story picks up six years after the previous installment, Snake Eater/Subsistence, with Naked Snake (now known as Big Boss by many) being kidnapped by his ex-unit FOX in South America. Breaking free from his cell he encounters a young green beret called Roy Campbell (who many fans know will become the Colonel Campbell of later installments) and so with his help, Snake must find out what is the reason for his ex-unit's rebellion and subsequently put a stop to their plans. Of course, this description reallys sells the events of the game short so as not to spoil anything important but rest assured, if you are a fan of the series or even a rookie in the Metal Gear mythology, you will definantly enjoy the story.

The gameplay is the big deal to many about this game. It is a return to the tried and true gameplay of the the first 3 installments in the 'Solid' series (as opposed to the card based strategy AC!D games that were previously released on the psp) and so it involves plently of sneaking around enemy guards and grueling boss battles. However, a key difference in this game is the addition of the recruitment system. While on a mission, if a guard is knocked out and taken back to the base of operations, this enemy will eventually become a fully playable member of your cause and you can make this character either a member of your sneaking squad or spy or tech engineer or medic, each with varying purposes. Despite the initial learning curve that the psp controls might place upon first timers (trust me, I had some trouble initially as well), the game is very addictive once the controls have been mastered and so I don't really see them as a hinderance of any kind.

Graphics wise, this game is amazing for a psp game. Kojima Productions somehow managed to shrink the Subsistance game engine for the psp and so with it comes a 3D camera (a second for the Metal Gear series) and so angles are never a problem. Granted, while the psp may be powerful, I doubt it would be able to handle the cutscenes that previous games of the series have established as the norm and so to make up for this fault (if it could even be regarded as that) Kojima and co. hired famed comic book artist Ashley Wood to create the cinematics for this game and I must say they are increidibly meshed with the rest of the game.

In sound, this game excels. The voice acting is done by returning actors of Snake Eater and new actors and each have their great moments. David Hayter as always delivers a great performance as a man thrust into a leadership position in the global arena, fitting for the eventual events of future games and Steven Blum is execellent as Gene, the leader of the new Fox Unit. Voice acting aside, the sounds for this game are great (and might I add very loud for a psp game). The score is remarkbly good and the theme song for this game, Calling to the Night, is something I hope video game music fans will have a chance to listen to at some future vg music concert.

Overall, this game delivers everything a Metal Gear game is supposed to and even adds a gameplay quirk of its own to the series, and that's saying alot considering the platform upon which this was released. Indeed, perhaps the recruitment system of this game might even play a hand in the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. But until we get that game in our hands, rest assured that Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is an excellent game that will surely entertain on its own right.

Even though the PSP lacks the 2nd analog controller as well as the 2 trigger buttons, the game plays well. It still maintains the MGS feel and draws you into the game.

Very different from previous MGS games since you can control your team now. Overall, it's kind of fund.

This was bought as a gift for my husband and he seems to really like it!!

Some background about my past experiences with Metal Gear games are as follows, plus some other notes:

- I am ONLY INTERESTED in single-player games/features only! So this review is based upon the single-player aspect of MGS:PO.
- I returned the game prior to level 3 (after the communications tower level), because I couldn't stand the controls. So based on that...

-I absolutely LOVED METAL GEAR SOLID for the PSX. It was challenging, but not overly crazy impossible. There were so many cool, and new gaming techniques (like the controller up to the arm part) that set this game in the upper echelon of game development. The story, the different methods to get past certain areas, etc...A TRUE METAL GEAR CLASSIC!

-METAL GEAR SOLID 2 for the PS2, tried to emulate it's predecessor, and came up short, but was still a fun game (albeit one that many fans were upset about...Raiden...) Overall, not nearly as good as the PSX game.

-METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER was a pure BOREFEST. Sneaking around the jungle feeding on various vegetation and animals was tedious. Where did all THE FUN AND ACTION GO??? Very big disappointment.

So now on to PORTABLE OPS...you can see where this is going, and why I bought this game is beyond me. I will probably never buy another MGS game again.

The controls are an absolute disaster! I consider myself pretty good at gaming, but this just did not translate to the PSP very well. When I needed to make quick kills or was in a shootout...forget it! A wrong button or a wrong turn and you're spotted; and once that happens, it's over for ya! Again, the game is not very fun. Graphics are subpar, and most environments appear very empty and bare.

I did dig the cutscenes, though! They are in a comic-book style fashion, and definitely kept me interested in the game.

There is a Metal Gear digital comic available and I would recommend that one, as well as either METAL GEAR AC!D games, both of those are good, as well.

Sorry, MGS fans...this one's for the bargain bins!!