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 Portable Ops is a monumental achievement in story telling. February 20, 2007
Edward Burton
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
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.
Big Boss is Portable!!! December 11, 2006
B. Dawson
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I didn't see that many reviews up yet for this game, so I will just give you a quick run down about what I have seen so far.
Single Player.
This is true Metal Gear sneaking action. Just think of the previous Metal Gears and you have it. Hiding under the beds, trucks, boxes, (Yes the cardboard boxes are here!) Knocking on walls to get soilders to come investagate. Choke holds... The whole nine yards. This game does it well. The only grip is the camera. I still have a hard time getting use to only having one analog stick, but its getting better. Its the basic PSP *hit the left shoulder button to straighten camera*. But you learn to use it. (There were countless times where I would walk around a corner right into an enemy) You just have to learn to be more patient and look around before you move.
The way you can capture people and have them join your force is a really neat consept. If you need a medical person, go to the hospital, grab one and drag them back to your truck. You get to micro-manage your little army which I personally enjoy. You set what weapons you can have, items, rations, etc.
Besides the "little army" you can amass, the only difference between this edition and the normal console metal gears is that the environments are much smaller. You move to areas on the map and there is a small environment with soliders and buildings that you work through.(Unlike the console metal gears that have vast open levels that you move through) I believe they worked the game like this so people could pick at the game in small pieces if they wanted to. So if you have a short break at work, you can pick it up and play a few levels and then shut her down.
Online -
Finally a PSP game that uses the internet instead of just the ad-hoc mode (which I still have never used!) I haven't played to much of online play, but what I have has been great. Good game types, and no LAG at all. The cool thing about online play is that you use your small army from your single player. So what your guy uses in the single player, you use in the multi-player. Thats a really cool decision in my book, because it rewards the people that actually play the single player, and it make people play the single player so they understand it, before they jump online.
Overall a great game that is worth the price of admission. I know that some PSP games have let you down in the past, but if you are looking for a SOLID title, do yourself and your PSP a favor, and pick this little bad boy up!
All in all...It's a Metal Gear game... they haven't let us down yet!
 A Metal Gear, but Solid? December 12, 2006
J. Powell
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
i would like to just start by saying this is a breathtaking psp title and i would recommend it to fans of the series as well as psp owners despite the missing aspects from classic MGS games.
No this is not an "Acid' game like the previous metal gears for psp but is it really quite so much a classic metal gear game? To be perfectly honest, its a mix of a metal gear acid and metal gear solid game. Although the transition of graphics and sound from the ps2 is absolutely amazing, (the graphics pushing the limit of the psp system to the max) it is missing key elements that veteran MGS fans like myself will be be dissapointed not to have.
First off, the only true MGS element in the game is the gameplay. For the most part, all the classic moves from MGS on the playstation consoles is there (do i even need to go over all of them?) with a different control scheme. (controls refitted for the psp) For this, the game is worth getting for the gameplay is fun, at least the classic MGS elements are. As far as classic MGS gameplay, the thing that takes away from that is the enemy AI. you can literally run 10-15ft in front of them and they will not see you unlike other MGS games where they will see and hear you from 50ft away. The un-fun part for me is the new recruiting system. This is where Konami dissapoints me. Konami for some reason feels that they have to change the classic MG style just because its on the psp instead of a console system, hence the new recruiting system. Now instead of Snake having a good ol' mission to stop terrorists with the elements we have all come to love, you have to play through some of the same mission areas, (yes, the game is divided up into mission levels like the acid series instead of classic MGS games where you just naturally transition through areas) you play through some of the same areas over and over again to recruit soldiers that have specific traits. (Which can be difficult to find sometimes and just ends up feeling like busy work to make the game longer) This can be very frustrating boring and by the time you get enough soldiers with that specific trait, you just want to turn off the psp and play a real MGS game. You can send these soldiers, depending on their traits to do different tasks such as spying and making equipment which is enjoyable at times but overall is not necessary for the already great MGS gameplay and overall takes away more than it gives.
The biggest thing to me thats missing in this game is the classic MGS cutscenes that the console versions are known for. Instead of full motion graphic cinematics, you get comic book drawing scenes that dont get close to bringing that same level of enjoyment and excitement that you get from the iconic MGS cutscenes. Although there are all new voiceovers for these comic book sequences, its just not enough to give them life. Now maybe there isnt enough room on the psp disk to fit the iconic cutscenes (in which case im happy to get what i can), but there are still no in-game cutscenes which takes a chunk away from the advancing story and character development.
Now to the story. The story isn't too bad. (much, much better than the acid stories) it ties into the MGS timeline (with a MGS3 feel) which does give it more depth but while playing through the game, i couldnt shake the feeling that it was more forced into the series just for the sake of making a psp title instead of an actual MGS game that has true meaning and place in the series. While the story does have familiar traits such as bosses with weird abilities and help from other characters using nanomachines,(by the way, none of the conversations using nano are voiced which takes away from it as well, for that can be alot of words to read) you do get a feel of a MGS game somewhat and it is for the most part enjoyable. Another thing that does add to the story is the strong musical score.
Alot of people are automatically giving this game great reviews bacause they're so impressed with the transition from the ps2,(Which, again does look incredible, nearly flawless in terms of graphics/ framerate) and are so happy to have MGS gameplay on a psp that they are blinded by what the game is missing.
Overall, i think this is a good game a an impressive PSP title. Any fan of the series will enjoy it, just dont expect the whole package you'd get from the console version. Can we please just have a regular ol' classic Metal Gear Solid title on the psp??
Essential Entry in the MGS Catalogue January 12, 2007
somethingSQUISHY (Chicago, IL)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I wouldn't call myself a Metal Gear Solid fanatic, but I enjoyed MGS2 and really really enjoyed MGS3 for the PS2. MGS3 just had all the elements of a great tactical sneaking game with its addition of a camoflauge system, which made up for the lack of radar. MGS: Portable Ops takes place just after MGS3 (1970) so you've still got no radar (sound sensor instead), but you also don't have the camo aspect, which is mildly disappointing. The camera is more tricky to control here, so I've occasionally run right into enemies I didn't even know were there until it was too late. However, with practice, you'll get used to tapping the left trigger to auto-center the camera over your shoulder. That tends to work pretty well, and after a few hours with this game, the camera ceases to be a noticable issue. As a somewhat unfortunate result of the graphical standards set by MGS:PO's console brethren, you may not realize that the graphics on this UMD are phenomenal. The textures aren't as sharp, there are more 'jaggies,' and the environments are quite a great deal smaller. But, this is a PSP game we're talking about. The truth is, Portable Ops manages to look as good as many PS2 games of the same ilk, and I have yet to experience noticable frame rate issues. That, people, is an achievement.
The recruitment aspect of the game may seem tedious and somewhat contrived at first. However, it quickly becomes one of the most addicting aspects of the entire game. You can recruit soldiers in-game by dragging their unconscious behinds to your truck, sure. But every unique wireless access point you find will yield you a new soldier as well, whether it be your router, your neighbor's router, the wireless signal at Starbucks or Borders, etc. Just select 'AP Scan' and stroll around the mall, hit the downtown streets, hell, sit on a freaking bus and just watch your new soldiers roll in! Not only do you use new recruits in your single player sneaking missions, but they can be placed in various specific groups in your 'army,' which will in turn yield other benefits, such as weapon/item development, intelligence reports, etc. In short, MGS:PO adds a new strategic layer to the series, and feels like a natural progression in the context of the epic Metal Gear saga, which already spans about half a century.
Although the single player campaign is very well done, and very engaging, the real meat and treat of this game is its online multiplayer suite. THE MULTIPLAYER PORTION OF THIS GAME WAS MADE FOR THE PSP. That's all there is to it. Yeah, so maybe you've still got a frustrating camera, but wifi battles have never been this lag free, or this intense. The catch is, to unlock the match play, you have to beat the first couple of missions in single player. But you will really want to complete the game at least once before trying to seriously compete in the cutthroat online environment. You'll have unlocked more powerful characters, increased the life/stamina of the ones you used the most, and picked up the more powerful weapons/items, which are all essential to survive against the many headshot assassins you will encounter. But encounter them you must, if you are to glean the full potential from this monumental handheld achievement. It is undeniably the finest multiplayer experience to be had on the PSP, and arguably the finest all-around PSP game to date.
May your headshots be abundant, and your deaths less so.
Happy sneaking.
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Review January 16, 2007
Jeannie Farahnak
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
This was a gift for my husband. He's played all the Metal Gear games and loves this one. Shipping took a while, but it was worth it.
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