Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is more than a PSP game. It's an actual Metal Gear game at the palm of your hand.
Story: Of course, the story is the reason why Metal Gear games are, well, Metal Gear games. The stories are usually immersive and impressive, and sends messages about the world we live in as well. Peace Walker, is no different when it comes to playing storyteller. It takes everything we love about Metal Gear stories, twists, quirky and awesome characters, visually impressive cutscenes, and superb voice-acting. The story in Peace Walker follows Naked Snake (Big Boss) and his army, Militaire Sans Frontieres (Soldiers Without Borders), going to Costa Rica, a country that abolished it's army after their bloody civil war, by the request of two people who are desperate for peace. They want MSF to be their deterrent because of CIA mercenaries being spotted in the relatively peaceful country, and a nation without an army is unable to deal with the situation. MSF's mission is to eliminate the threat and find out why the CIA is there. However there is more to their mission than what Snake and his unit are told, and the one thing about his past continues to haunt him. The story is very understandable, but it doesn't lose it's charm of its predecessors. It is still a impressive story, that many Metal Gear fans would like.
Graphics: This game's visual appearance blows away many PSP game graphics. The characters actually speak and you don't need the Portable Ops text boxes. The cutscenes are still hand-drawn, but there are also real-time 3D cutscenes as well. A major improvement from Portable Ops. This one of the best looking PSP games. The effort and technology that went into this will blow you away.
Gameplay: DEEP. Very deep. The slimmed down MGS4 controls are a welcome addition, the controls may get iffy, but that seldom happens. You can also change controls from the MGS4 type to the Portable Ops and Monster Hunter type. The Mother Base part of the game is very immersive. Build new weapons, get new recruits, send soldiers off to other front lines, and give your friends gifts (weapons etc.). The expansion of Mother Base determines on how many people you recruit and their abilities. Portable Ops failed at this attempt. Peace Walker made it better. The Co-Op aspect is fun and immersive as well. It pays to have a good buddy with you who has a PSP and the game.
Sound: The voice acting is still incredible, the sound effects are still phenomenal. The music may sound generic, but it still gives you the mood of your situation. This is basically a mini PS3 game in the palm of your hand. The main song is not as good as the previous ones, but it is still good.
Overall: Hideo Kojima outdone himself on this PSP game. One of the best PSP games and quite possibly one of the best, most complete Metal Gear games in the series. You will find yourself immersed in, I dunno, 65 hours of gameplay. The only cons are that there are a few retcons in the series and frustrations with the bosses of the game. By the way, there are hard bosses that feel that you may need a co-op partner, but then again, people can upgrade their weapons, so there goes that complaint. But one flaw is that it takes a lot just to get a 100% completion on. Oh well, you can't be perfect, can you?.
This is one game, that any PSP owner would be proud to have in their library. Until then my friends, see you later. "
"From now on, call me Big Boss."
"The advent of Peace Walker will bring calm to this restless world."