“Meeeeetaall Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaeaar!”
Metal Gear has been a Sony ace-in-the-hole over the last decade, but PSP owners have yet to feel the full force of Konami’s blockbuster Tactical Espionage Action franchise. Metal Gear Ac!d and its sequel have brought Solid Snake to the smaller screen, but in a card-based battler, while MGS: Digital Graphic Novel merely presented a still-image, non-interactive retelling of the PlayStation’s defining first MGS.
Thankfully, PSP owners are about to get what they’ve waited for; a genuine, ‘proper’ Metal Gear, in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.
Following on from the PS2’s MGS3: Snake Eater and Subsistence, Portable Ops thrusts players back into the military combat boots of everyone’s favourite anti-hero Naked Snake; otherwise known as Big Boss.
Action-packed MGS sneaking mission
We won’t go into the ins and outs of MGS plot history, but sufficed to say that Portable Ops will present yet another gripping action-packed MGS sneaking mission with narrative twists aplenty; whilst unveiling more backstory on why Big Boss – the greatest soldier of the 20th Century, in MGS canon – went all Darth Vader later in the series’ events and tried to conquer the world.
Set in 1970, Portable Ops sees Snake escaping a secret South American Soviet military base with the help of a Green Beret by the name of Roy Campbell – a name familiar to MGS fans. Intriguingly, it’s the first MGS which, rather than seeing the main character go solo, will adopt a squad aspect, with capturing, recruiting and utilising the unique skills of enemy soldiers being the order of the day throughout its 12-15 hour duration.
Thankfully, this won’t mean Portable Ops shies away from the typically tense MGS stealth gameplay we all love. Indeed, the strategic squad edge looks to be well implemented into it; some soldiers you’ll be able to designate to spy in enemy territory, while others can be set to help in the medical ward or technical development team in your Mobile Base.
Another gripping action-packed MGS sneaking mission with narrative twists aplenty.
Better still, you’ll be able to take your own squad into battle with your Sneaking team, who will add new gameplay options aplenty; such as using a soldier to walk carefree through groups of enemies wearing the same outfit. That said, you’ll still only be able to control one character at a time; the rest will be hidden in ‘inconspicuous’ cardboard boxes. Gota love that Metal Gear humour.
Of course, being a more traditional MGS title, Portable Ops will control in much the same way as on home consoles – or as close as possible on PSP, anyway. The camera system is taken straight from Subsistence, and though the handheld lacks a second analogue, should still be usable by way of the left collar button centring the view.
Other than that, compromises from the PS2 would seem to centre on the game’s structure. Instead of a linear sneaking mission, in Portable Ops you’ll be using your Mobile Base to plan soirees into different areas at your own behest, tackling all-but the most story-specific objectives in your own order. Moreover, each environment is notably smaller than those in a typical home-system MGS, making Portable Ops the perfect example of tailoring a PS2 franchise for portable play.
Standard-setting
Production values are likewise promising. While not quite the same level as MGS3, Portable Ops still boasts standard-setting visuals for PSP, while the musical score, though not actually composed by series’ favourite Harry Gregson Williams, gets close enough that you’d think it was. Cutscenes, meanwhile, are presented in short, snappy Digital Graphic Novel style stills, and so downplay the criticism oft-levelled at MGS about boasting too many long, laborious non-interactive sections.
A Wi-Fi multiplayer option, and the opportunity to recruit original, powered-up soldiers by scanning for Wi-Fi connections when you’re out and about, round off the package, and on paper make Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops an immensely attractive proposition. Indeed, if it delivers as expected, it should be the handheld Metal Gear PSP gamers have longed for.
Preview by: Mark Scott
Preview Published: 20.04.07