How a portable game took me away from my PS3 and PC for weeks!
Portable Ops feels like other installments in the MGS series, but it is a completely different game. The core gameplay remains the same with sneaking missions and uncovering deep political conspiracies but this time the action is divided in small sessions, very suitable for mobile gaming while the whole game is more of a tactical management of a guerrilla squad.
The story of the game is original and it takes place after the events in Snake Eater and explains how the legendary hero Big Boss goes rebel and leads to the events in the first ever Metal Gear game from 1987 so this title is simply a must for fans. The game is so thick with MGS lore that anyone who has been following Snake's story will get their rocks on on pretty much every cutscene. You will hear Gene (the main antagonist in Portable Ops) talk about the creation of "Army's Heaven" and you will hear then Snake replying that a soldier's place is "outside this heaven". Anyone remembering Outer Heaven, the state created by Big Boss? Or the logo of FOXHOUND on the menu screen when FOXHOUND is something that will be created much later in terms of story continuation. Even the first character that will greet you in Portable Ops is a young green beret named... Roy Campbell. There are also references to Ocelot, The Boss, the whole affair with the Virtuous Mission and whatnot!
Besides the MGS lore, the story of Portable Ops is its strongest point as in all MGS games. Kojima will have your head spinning once again with new revelations about the universe of MGS and movie-like stage production. The latter suffer a bit from the technical limitations of the PSP, and engine-made cutscenes from previous games are replaced with comic book-like story sequences but they, although very modest and sketchy, are extremely professional and stylish as everything by Kojima Productions.
Graphics have suffered, too because of the PSP hardware but at least the camera has been improved a lot. It is not the most friendly camera you will see in a game, but it is a huge leap from Snake Eater.
On the other hand sound is brutal as ever! Voice acting is done by the same magnificent actors who did the previous MGS games. Their voices are sound, eloquent and thick of feeling and the music is so good, it will make your skin crawl! Sound effects are minimalistic but very authentic. You should hear an AK-47 bursts and you will feel like holding one!
The main gameplay evolves around the abovementioned short sneaking missions but this time Snake is not alone. The first soldier that will cooperate with you is Roy Campbell and together with him you will recruit a whole squad of guerrilla fighters which will help you overthrow Gene. The recruitment process is done ingame among your enemies and it is important and engaging part of the gameplay. You can have up to 100 recruits, including Snake, but you can take only 4 to a mission. This is highly advisable, because item slots have been reduced to 4 and stamina depletes very fast in this game so one soldier would not be able to carry all the equipment necessary and cannot take on a whole base of enemies. Apart from the sneaking units, you will have med teams producing medicine, technicians inventing weapons and spies who will give you recon on the missions.
When not on a mission, the game is played like a turned base strategy where you will move to different locations, where missions will take place, distribute items, check your soldiers' stats and manage your team in general.
Much typical for Hideo, Portable Ops has some gameplay mechanics which are entirely new and purely original, never seen in any other game before. For Portable Ops that would be the recruitment options for new soldiers. Apart from the convenient method in the game, you can "find" recruits through access points, GPS and more. For example, whenever your PSP picks up a wireless signal, you can engage in a very simple button-mashing mini game and if you succeed, you will be rewarded with a new recruit. The fact that most of the strongest soldiers I have found in Portable Ops were through access scan, made me walk around with my PSP in hand and scan for wireless connections on gas stations and restaurants. It is so cool!
All in all, Portable Ops is a brilliant title. The only few problems it has originate from the fact that being a portable game it cannot possibly be a full Metal Gear title in all aspects. However, in terms of story it is just as good a Metal Gear game as any other, it has solid gameplay and it is simply a must for fans. I can't wait to play MGS4 on my PS3 now!