My poor PSP …. it is truly the image of neglect. Especially now that Monster Hunter is on Wii! Although there have been titles that have pulled me back for a stint (Fat Princess, Little Big Planet, Gran Turismo) but they haven’t stood the test of time. So when I played the demo of METAL GEAR SOLID: PEACE WALKER, I thought this would be another one-night-stand on my dust covered PSP. The operative word being THOUGHT….
MGS:PW is set at the end of the 70’s, although with some of the high-tech weapons flying around in the game, you wouldn’t know it. You play as Big Boss who is the DNA predessesor of the ultra famous Solid Snake. So why Konami and game maker Hideo Kojima opted to call this instalment Metal Gear Solid is beyond me. But really, all this is just nit-pickin’.
Peace Walker is a third person stealth shooter with a bit of “micro-management” between missions which are dished out episodically. The breaking up of the missions lets you re-assess what armaments you take to battle and tweek your own army to open up more weapons and gadgets.
The control scheme does work quite well with 3 different variations to cater to your hands. One control setup is basically exactly the same as the last Metal Gear Portable Ops with camera controls set to the digital pad and actions set to the buttons with R button aiming which really didn’t suit me last time either. The second is described by the game as “Monster Hunter style controls” so that was where I started. Truthfully, it’s a copy of the controls from Metal Gear Solid 4 on PS3 which can work…. with a second thumb nub. Which the PSP doesn’t have. So, is third time a charm? Well… close enough. The third set feels the best with the camera controls set to the face buttons and actions set to the d-pad.
So, why mull over the controls so much? It’s simple and it brings me back to the sentiment I made earlier : that I THOUGHT MGS:PW was going to be a short stint. This game is addictive. Very addictive. The graphics are gorgeous, the frame rate is smooth and everything has a great feeling to it. The story cutscenes are highly detailed graphic novel art with perfect voice acting (including long-time favourite David Hayter) and even a bit of simple interaction to make sure you’re still paying attention. Even the game’s difficulty is where it needs to be for a stealth game (frontal assaults against 5 or 6 enemies at once are met with your choice of coffin). And the awesomeness does not end there.
During missions, you can capture unconscious or near-dead enemy soldiers and have them air lifted and whisked off to your base to be indoctrinated to your cause. All captors have different attributes and, between the missions, you can assign them to a job in your base where their attributes count towards an overall level for that department. With higher levels come new or better abilities. Later in the game, you can even make a small party of grunts and or vehicles to go off and fight their own little skirmishes while Big Boss does his thing in the main game. After messing around with all these options for approximately 10 hours, I had a bit of a gaming epiphany…..
This game is very similar in design to one of my all-time favourites. Syndicate.
All missions are replayable. There’s a technology tree which is advanced through research. Capturing enemies to use on your side. A cool, somewhat cyber-punk storyline. Time only passes while your are on a mission. I’m up to playing for over 20 hours and I’ve spent most of that time in the between stages sections with no end to the main missions in sight and a feeling of overall confusion for the story ….was BULLFROG involved in making this project?
So, really, this is not a typical Metal Gear game, but really, what IS lately and who cares? It’s a third person stealth shooter with strategy management elements fuzed into the mix. It’s a fantastically well made game that is definately worthy of dusting off the old PSP. I’d dare say, good enough to borrow your friends PSP because you have hocked yours for a DS or iPhone by now.
