Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker (Sony PSP)

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker is a fine addition to the franchise. It tells the untold story of the creation of Outer Heaven as well as the back story of Naked Snake (Big Boss). This is the direct sequel to MGS3: Snake Eater and MGS: Portable Ops and it completes it rather well. Hideo Kojima both directed and produced this game so I was very excited to see what he could do with it. This game combines all the elements of previous MGS games such as the camoflauge system from MGS3, the gameplay mechanics of MGS4, and the system of Portable Ops. But what Peace Walker accomplishes is not gameplay alone, but storytelling. The trilogy of Metal Gear Solid 1,2 & 4 goes through the philosophies of modern warfare and human instrumantality. But the trilogy of Big Boss's story is a more emotional and personal philosophy of how a man goes through war and can overcome himself. The story of Peace Walker revolves around Big Boss as he encounters a tape which contains his dead mentor's (The Boss) voice on it, but she is still alive. As well as encountering that mysterious tape, Big Boss also must stop a nuclear warhead from launching, which is a typical story for Metal Gear.

The story itself is good. The sound is what makes this game very special. For a PSP game, this is really an unbelievable milestone. The musical score is great but I feel that they could've done a bit better. The voice acting is up to standard with previous Metal Gear games with the returning voices of David Hayter with his signature Snake voice, as well as Christopher Randolph as Huey (no spoilers). Sometimes I feel that the voice acting was a bit rushed but the quality of it can make a nit-picker like me to look pass it. For a PSP game, this is probably the best sounding PSP game of all time.

The gameplay in this game is the least to say, very very difficult. I found myself having to repeat various missions because of little mistakes I made. I'm not saying the game requires the player to be perfect but, it does require a lot of stratgy and planning. Since there is only one difficulty setting you don't come to expect this game to be very easy. Although the game doesn't emphasize running and gunning, you can do that it you will but I suggest stealth. This game requires a lot of patience and if you don't have that, than you will be punished throughout the game. The game emphasizes Co-Op, and believe me you will need it because the boss battles are crucial. Although I havent done co-op yet, I am starting to need it. I am about half done with the game and its only getting harder. Among main missions, there are extra ops which are similar to VR Missions which can help level up weapons as well as pass the time when you don't feel like going straight into the story. The game has a very deep operations system which is basically controlling Outer Heaven, you get to capture people like Pokemon and sort them out to what their specialties are. You can also deploy teams to do missions that destory enemies, capture more troops and recieve items as well as parts to building your own METAL GEAR, haha yea I said it, you get to build Metal Gear ZEKE which will be seen in the original Metal Gear game if you know the chronological story. I highly recommend this game to the PSP owners who have been craving for a good game, and Metal Gear fans NEED this game in their collection. Just be aware of the difficulty of this game, its a game thats worth playing and worth your time.

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There's not much to say about Peace Walker that hasn't already been said... if you like MGS, this is a required play! It combines the best elements of the last few MGS games into a perfect package. The control scheme is based on MGS4, which really plays a lot smoother with a walking crouch and a third-person shooting stance. Gone are the days of having to switch to first-person mode every time you want to take out an enemy...

Also, the meta-game of capturing enemy soldiers is vastly improved from Portable Ops. Instead of having to drag soldiers back to your truck, you hook a balloon to them and your helicopter automatically picks them up. Also, you can send your army out on operations while Snake does the missions, allowing them to acquire extra items for you. You can also research new weapons and items... the selection compared to the bland offerings from Portable Ops is astounding. There are so many guns and upgrades, you'll never see them all in a single go. This game demands multiple playthroughs.

The only weak point (to me) is the story. It's a bit better than Portable Ops, but as with all MGS games some convoluted schemes will leave you scratching your head. I don't want to spoil anything though. Peace Walker takes the best elements of MGS3, MGS4, and Portable Ops and slams them all together in a way that works. Not only is Peace Walker a great MGS game, it's the finest PSP game to date. This is what you bought your PSPs for, ladies and gentlemen.

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I won't say anything to ruin the game for anyone until two weeks goes by. After two weeks I'll get right into it, but all I can say is If you like the Naked Snake/Big Boss side of the saga better, the game is TOP of the heap, easy. Single player is awesome, but CO-OP cannot be matched. If anyone plays Metal Gear Online and knows what it's like to team up with friends and work out a strategy, imagine playing an epic game and being able to share guns and ammo, revive each other and the "Snake Formation" feature is an unrealized dream come true. The only thing I saw that no one is agreeing with me on, is the graphics. The graphics are really detailed, but seems a little rough. It's like smearing an edge to smooth it out. And I didn't really like how when you go over the shoulder the camera falls like steps taken. I liked the look and feel of Portable OPS and thought they would just carry this game over with that engine. They made a new one that is as close to Metal Gear Solid 4 as they could get on a PSP. If you are reading this looking for advice on buying it or not, I'll try to forget how much I love Metal Gear and help out. If you like "Snake Eater/Subsistence" and "Portable OPS" because of the storyline, then you'll like this. If you like all Metal Gear games, then you are not reading this and you already bought it. If you like "Guns of the Patriots/Metal Gear Online" because the game play is your thing and you enjoy a shooter with some lore, then go for it. If you are picky about the Metal Gear series and like certain ones, but not everything about them, then I'm not sure what to tell you. You can take a chance and you'd at least be able to re sell the game easily if you end up NOT liking it. I hope this helped you decide, see you in 2 weeks.

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