A solid step forward for the online PSP genre.

User Rating: 8.5 | Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus PSP
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops + is an online action game based on the PSP game by the same name (without the "plus"). The great thing about MPO+ is that you don't have to own the original to play Plus (although you will miss out on some extra not-so-useful soldiers if you don't own it).

MPO+ has a Single player mode; Infinity Mission, a squad management mode, online mode, training mode and of course options. But one of the unique features in this game is the ability to scan for WAPs (wireless access points) in a 30 yard radius. If you manage to pick up the trace of a wireless router, you will see a small bar appear on the screen prompting you to button mash "circle". If you manage to fill the gauge in time, a strong soldier will appear on your screen making some sort of strange demand, if you meet his request he will join your ranks, which is usually a great thing since recruiting through WAP usually produces the strongest soldiers. The other way to capture yourself a small army is to play the single player mode. It comes in four difficulty versions, each ranging in types of soldiers, how strong the soldiers are, what equipment you can find and amount of missions to complete.

After you've captured and trained yourself your own teams, you can equip them with a large variety of guns and other gadgets you pick up in single player mode and lead them into the fray online with four person squads. Online mode spans many types of game modes, with both Virtual Reality and Real Combat mode. The only difference between the two is that in Virtual reality mode, if you die you will respawn with no hassles (like in most online games), but if you play on Real Combat mode if you die, you'll lose that soldier for ever and they will join your enemy's army.

Another thing that makes this game so good is how brilliant the detail on the soldiers and maps are. The models in this game are fantastic for a hand held system, especially when it has to cope with online play. The only thing that's worth mentioning in graphical flaws is how poorly rendered soldier's hands are in first person mode, it's as if they just threw it in as a late bonus feature and never got around to making the models or textures properly.

Overall this is a fantastic game, even if you don't get the bonus features for having the original Portable Ops. Sure, the sounds in this game are highly repetitive and almost everyone sounds the same (with the exception of special characters), there are a tonne of little bugs and glitches online as well as a tonne of hackers. But this game has something very charming about it, maybe it's the competitors online, or how well the psp can take on the Metal Gear Solid ambience and style, but what ever it is it sure worked out well for the PSP.