Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP)

[danny12]

(Might not be as good as other reviews, i ain't wrote any in a while my apologies)

PSP Review: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP)



My review is split into these sections.

Story
Gameplay
Graphics
Replayability
Faults
Final Score

Story: This game is set before the original Metal Gear on the NES but after Snake Eater. Portable Ops is set at the beginning of November 1970, a full six years after the events of Operation Snake Eater. Naked Snake, who's received the title of Big Boss, has walked away fromFOX, an elite special forces unit. At the start of the game, Snake has been kidnapped, drugged and thrown into a South American jail cell. After a torture session by a former CIA agent and FOX member, Snake is left alone to try to recall the location of a vital secret that's gone missing: The Philosopher's Legacy from Snake Eater is now highly sought after, and Snake is the last known person to have any information about it. However as the story begins to develop, we learn of things such as a new Metal Gear threat, secrets from past Metal Gear characters and even hinting at whats to come in Hideo Kojimas upcoming "Metal Gear Solid 4".

Gameplay: With the game bearing the name of its successful brothers on a Current and Next Gen console, MPO had a lot to live up to and it did not dissapoint. Quite possible this game pushes the PSP to it's very limits, with the game world being so varied and different that your left wondering how it can handle such pressure. The gameplay remains true to Snake Eater and most of the moves from Snake Eater and past Metal Gears has made it to the final cut. New moves and weapons have been added from the original games but all the original weapons return, including the favoured MK22. The game takes a more tactical approach than the previous games, with Hideo Kojima taking a more linear approach with the game, preferring to have the game work in seperate areas and missions rather than one world. Whilst some people will miss the large gaming experience of past titles, this does help gamers achieve the "pick up and play" status which so many PSP games have yet to implement successfully. Snake is without support from his superiors or friends, his only help is a man from the jail, Campell. Once you escape from jail. Snake and Campell reclaim a truck,and with this truck Snake can start to "recurit" soliders. This means that once Snake has successful knocked out a solider, technician, doctor, or other people, Snake can either drag them back to the truck, or call a member of his team by codec to collect them for him. Once the member is captured, Snake can continute with his mission. After the mission is complete, you are taken back to a mission select screen. This screen allows for selecting your mission area, weaponry, tools and saving options. However the new and more interesting option is the Squad Selction. For the first time in the series history, Snake isn't the only character you can control. The soliders recuited, after heavy persusasion, join your cause to fight against their former leader, Gene. More will be explained about him as you progress in the game. There are many different squads which comprise of 4 soliders each. Each solider will have areas which they excel in, in which they are lacking and even special abilites such as Ironman, which gives them higher Stamina and so on. There is also a Tech Unit, which is comprised of 10 soliders and technicans whose job it is to make new equipment and provide ammo for the cew. The medical unit works the same to make new medical equipment. And the Spy unit, is used for spying on locations which Snake has visited. This is vital for progression in the story, as the reports tell the player where to go next, to get important equipment and so on. With certain areas requiring specific skills, different soliders are needed, one solider for example may be able to walk freely past soliders and not be detected whilst others may be able to access areas that Snake cannot. However you must take care of your group as unlike the previous games, once a solider dies, they are gone for good. Only Snake and unique characters are protected from this. This adds a level of detail to the game that wasn't seen in previous games in the series. This level of detail in a PSP game is amazing and easily the most impressive feature of the Kojima PSP effort.

Graphics: The engine from the Metal Gear Subsistence game is used in this game and it looks excellent. Each character and object looks as detailed as its PS2 counterpart. Now, while the translation of the Subsistence engine to the PSP is an impressive feat, there are still some visual issues that crop up every now and then. For one, you'll notice a lot of textural tearing that will pop up during some pans of the camera or transitional elements, which are extremely noticeable on the PSP's small screen. For another, you'll pick up on slowdown that will crop up here and there during furious battle sequences or massive explosions. It's not enough to cripple the game, but it's a tangible drop in game speed. Fortunately, the game has the visually striking cutscenes by Ashley Wood, who helped create the Digital Graphic Novel, to balance out any flaws from the Subsistence engine. Even all the orginal voice actors from the games are here with David Hayer leading Snake as usual, which is impressive considering the technical limiatatiions of the UMD disc.

Replayability: Even the replayability is impressive, with two new game modes, new characters and new solider abilites unlocked after one playthrough. It will take the average player at least 3 playthroughs to unlock all the soliders the game has to offer, This dosn't include the online mode which is unlocked from the start. It handles just like Subsitence Online. The mode pits you against a set number of other people from around the world in different modes such as Deathmatchm Team Deathmatch and so on.

Faults: With the lack of a second analogue stick, the camera is now mapped onto the L button, which is frustrating at times. The AI in the game isn't particularly smart, and nothing is more annoying than picking a solider which looks exactly the same as every other solider in the area but yet, if you tip toe, roll or even crouch, alarm bells start ringing.


Final Score: It's been a long time coming, but this is what Metal Gear Solid fans, and indeed PSP fans have been waiting for: a title that demonstrates what the technology of the PSP can actually do, with a solid action title to boot, the online and single player modes are deep, and there are plenty of things to do by tracking down and recruiting new soldiers from various places. This is one of the games to add to your collection if you have the PSP.


FINAL SCORE: 9.0/10

[sydislam]

Solid review. It is a damn shame that Portable Ops Plus is a disaster when compared to the original.

[danny12]

How come? I was hearing good reports about it

[beelzemon_1]

yeah, mgs:po plus,its a little better than the original ,just for the fact that a new multiplayer maps were added and new soldiers too.

[sydislam]

It is a game that feels like an expansion pack.