Seeing the news of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection arriving soon on PS3 and 360, I've fallen in love all over again with the Metal Gear series, recently working my way through the infallible Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and more recently, a game that I hadn't played since arriving back from a holiday in Paris in August last year, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Before launching into anything about the game's mechanics or story, I'll say from the outset that this is the reason to own a PSP. I generally enjoy gaming on PSP while travelling or commuting, but aside from 10 or less standout titles, for reasons of piracy or whatever, it isn't a system that enjoyed a boon of great games.
It's surprising then that towards the end of it's lifecycle, it has been gifted with not only the best game the system has to offer, but surely one of the best games you will play. Yes, forgive the fact the game is on a handheld, and you'll find a true gem that should be played by everyone that calls themselves a 'hardcore' gamer.
Peace Walker is set in 1974 in Costa Rica at the height of the cold war, and acts as a bridge of sorts to explain how Big Boss (Snake) comes to be the leader of the army that would eventually form Outer Heaven. For those of you not familiar with Metal Gear lore in all its biblical proportions, Outer Heaven is a rogue state formed in the 1980's by Big Boss, a military superhero and 'traitor' to America, who is a playable character/hero/arch-villain of the series (depending on which game you play and character you are).
Anyway, trouble is-a-brewin' in Costa Rica, a country without an army by virtue of it's 'Peace Constitution', as an unknown military group has set up shop on its shores and has devious plans. You don't need to get long into the game too long to find out exactly why it's all going on, but I won't spoil it suffice to say there's CIA, KGB and the threat of nuclear war all tied in for the ride.
It may sound cliche, but being Metal Gear, it's anything but, and it's told brilliantly, and will definitely keep you motivated all the way through. You don't need to have played the other games to know whats going on, but backstory knowledge to the franchise will definitely help you enjoy it more. Cutscenes are presented mostly in comic-strip style with some beautiful artwork, and the result is actually extremely engaging as at various points through cutscenes you'll find yourself actively interacting, by doing things such as dodging missiles or looking at a 16 year old girl in her underwear...wait what? Yes that happens.
The characters are great and memorable, and again like other Metal Gear games, and you'll find yourself actually caring at points of cheesy dialogue. Cynics will find some elements of the story too weird to follow, but if understand and appreciate what Metal Gear is about, you'll love this one. Much of the story alludes to socialist Che Guevara, who's directly referenced throughout, and you'll find yourself fighting alongside communist rebels- something I found interesting for a video-game. There's hours of audio-tapes from the games characters to listen to that provide hints, tips and backstory to the game and even history for you to listen to in between missions, that add to the character's development and richness. Everything about the story and it's cast is top-notch, and it's all just pure, genuine and interesting entertainment. There's also a questionable yet welcome feature to view character models of the games females, beautifully rendered and complete with boob-physics (if your into that kind of thing).
The core of the gameplay is classic Metal Gear, and for a handheld the control, once mastered, is amazingly tight. The emphasis is on stealth and 'non-lethal' actions. I say non-lethal, because there's reward for knocking out and kidnapping your enemies. Through the use of the 'Fulton-Recovery System', you can swoop unconscious enemies away with a weather balloon type contraption and put them to work at your home base. You will have combat troops that you send on mercenary missions, an R&D team that develops and upgrades your combat kit, a mess hall team responsible for feeding what becomes an army of kidnapped troops, a medical team and an intel team. Each kidnapped player has their own stats and its up to you to place them accordingly by viewing their stats at the end of a mission. In the beginning most of the troops you 'steal' are low grade, but as the game progresses, so too does the value of the troops your able to knock out and put to work for you.
The reward for all this? Well the most notable will be R&D. The sooner you get talented researchers the better, because you can immediately put them to work in developing and upgrading weapons and kit that can improve firepower, sneaking abilities, and everything in between. Intel for example is self explanatory and provides useful pre-mission intel, and so it goes. In short, it gives you a whole other 'game away from the game', where you'll have to essentially manage the growth and use of your army.
Another notable feature is the option to build your own Metal Gear. By defeating and re-beating the game's main bosses you can salvage parts from the defeated machines to create your own. You then mobilise this in the games side-combat missions. You don't actually play these or see them, but they serve as a means of upgrading your troop's stats, which you then use to get greater rewards on the battlefield, but more on that later.
That raises another point- replayability. The game is clearly designed to be replayable. At the end of each mission your given a ranking, the goal being to achieve an S ranking. The faster, sneakier, and generally more efficiently you complete a mission, the better your ranking. Also, items you find by replaying missions stay with you, so it's a good way to keep building on your arsenal and army. There's also a mammoth part of the game left after completing the story mode, but more on that below.
Back to the core gameplay, and level design and mission variety are great considering the game is made for handheld. There's some back tracking here and there, but its to be expected. Overwhelmingly however, you feel like your in a state of constant, rewarding progression. As your team grows around you, and you gain better kit selections and equipment, situations become easier to handle.
Or I should say, somewhat easier. The game, particularly boss fights, can be very hard. One part of the game I can't really comment on are the ad-hoc co-op modes, as I don't know anyone else with a PSP and this game (it's local multiplayer, not internet based). But the reason I mention it is it seems like many segments in the game are designed with a specific 'co-op' focus. Bosses can take a long time, and many deaths, to beat. It's hard without a partner, you'll definitely run completely out of ammo many times before your near finishing off a boss (which is also why you can call in ammo drops), which makes it a challenge but not impossible. If your put off by this, don't be, because the game is still infinitely enjoyable as a solo-only affair, and once you've figured out how to beat a boss, you just have to put in the time and stick to the strategy. There's also the fact that on a handheld for some reason, time seems to go slower, so while a boss fight might take a while, in reality it'll be probably 7-10 minutes.
Another thing I should mention at this point are the graphics. It's definitely the best looking PSP game ever. It squeezes all the juice out of the system and then some. Environments are stunning, character models are great, and the game is just all around AAA. The presentation also screams big budget and care, and you'll soon forget you're playing on a 4-5 inch screen.
That said, it still is a handheld game. That means the missions are relatively short in comparison to console games, and a typical mission goes for anywhere between 5-10 minutes, give or take. So will this translate well to TV in the HD Collection? I don't think so. It's made for PSP and I think that's where it will best be enjoyed. Blowing it up to a 32 inch or bigger screen won't do it favours in my purist book.
I should also mention, if you haven't picked it up already, how deep the game is. It's so packed with content I can't mention it all here. After the main story is done, which took me a bit over 20 hours of play, there's still hours and hours more left (my current save has nearly 40). If your a person who simply finishes a game's story and is done, Peace Walker may just convert you. The game offers up new, post-story 'challenge' missions, which involve numerous objectives such as taking out a whole squad with a single bullet (you'll see how its done when you get there), finding escaped prisoners, and even one mission where you need to hold up all the guards with a banana. When the story stops, the fun doesn't, and it's probably here you'll notice, more than ever if you didn't already, how much character this game has. Metal Gear games to me always had a certain "je ne sais quoi', that quirky Japanese-ness that was a strange mix of hyper-techno melodrama and comedy that made them so memorable, and Peace Walker has it in spades.
So to sum it all up, play this game, and play as much of it as you can. It's hard to believe that a PSP game has made it into my top 5 of all time, but it has, and it's hovering in the top 3. Peace Walker is a brilliant achievement, worthy of all the praise I can give it, and I feel like I barely scratched the surface. So whether you get the PSP or HD Collection version, have a blast with it.
Now, I'm going to get back to completing my third run through.
The must play PSP Games every gamer will enjoy.
It feels like the PlayStation Portable doesn't get the love that it deserves, so here are the best PSP games if you're picking one up for the first time.
some really good games on that list. some of my favorites (not on the list) are Metal Slug XX, ultimate Ghosts & Goblins, Gradius Collection, Motorstorm Arctic Edge and Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters.
I get that The Warriors is technically a PS2 game ported over, but damn it's amazing on the PSP
I never tried that one. Once the PS3 was out, I was done with PSP… I would love to see a new one
Few of my favs Off the top. Midnight club 3,GTA Stories liberty/Vice,god of war and locoRoco
VGChartz's Issa Maki: "Even to fans, the thought that a T-rated game could rank as the greatest is virtually unthinkable; how could the best Metal Gear possibly be a handheld title on a system less powerful than a PlayStation 2? Because it had to be – necessity is the mother of invention. Not only is this a full-fledged Metal Gear, the fresh spin on the gameplay draws from several sources outside of its wheelhouse. Peace Walker somehow manages to be less like its predecessor, Portable Ops, and more akin to Metal Gear Solid V. What boggles the mind is that it would be over five years before The Phantom Pain would release, an entire generation later."
PW is a great game. there is a ton of content that was pack on a small UMD disc.
i rank PW as my third favorite MGS game. it was my 2010 game of the year!
This game is my favorite psp game hands down. I can not wait to plat this in the MGS HD collection.
Second favorite MGS game after MGS3. I'm a HUGE fan of the Big Boss story as opposed to the Solid Snake story (like it but not as much).
In terms of game play, I'd be willing to say I liked it much better than MGS4. MGS4 I just crawled past everything and the shooting (when I had to do it) was not satisfying to me. In PW everything fit together perfectly. I just wish Gene from Portable Ops could have been an antagonist in this game instead of PO. Gene is hugely underrated and would have served well as the human villain in this.
Top 3 this gen: Peace Walker, Mass Effect 2, Uncharted 2
Can't wait for the hd remake on ps3. Never got a chance to play this as I don't own a psp.