"A stand alone expansion to one of the greatest PSP games has come, but it is worthy enough?"
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Plus delivers the same presentation MGSPO did with a few changes, sound is great, both soundtrack and sound effects help to deliver the same immersive gameplay experience, and the game features no character voices as for the codec once again. This expansion of Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops is like the Metal Gear Solid VR Missions which hit PSX a few years ago, since it is just a mission based game, with no story elements at all which is a little dissapointing.
Design
Character models look as sharp as Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops, with the same graphics, animations still runs as smothly as the original Portable Ops; items and weapons from Portable Ops appears along with some brand new from Portable Ops Plus. There are not blood effects but maybe they did not make it to this installment to keep the classic MPO design. New soldiers have been included to the game like Raiden (MGS2), Shadow Moses Soldiers (MGS1), Tanker Soldiers (MGS2), Arsenal Gear soldiers (MGS2), and making an special appearance Old Snake from MGS4! There are new stages as well to compete during online matches, like Rex hangar (MGS1) and some brand new.
Story
After the Peninsula events that saw Big Boss (Naked Snake) and his rebellion beat Gene in the original Portable Ops, a new set of missions have become available, as a matter of fact there is no story whatsoever, there are new missions that you and your soldiers must complete to level up their abilities. The fact that there is no plot available here is a little letdown, but this expansion is not about plot, its about leveling up your team and prepare for online battles, that are the main feature of this MGS game.
Gameplay
The gameplay is the same old school from the original Portable Ops with a little twists around the way. Character control haven't changed, but team set up did, you now have one unit of spies, not like a spy unit for each area as it was on MGSPO, along with the med and tech units, and sneak teams have been increased. You get now a limit of 200 soldiers for your crew but it is not something that you really need unless you play a lot of real combats in online mode.
Infiltration has gotten an overhaul this time by getting a little easier and a little difficult at the same time, because on one hand you have the same radar system which reacts to sound but now displays dots to represent enemy soldiers indicating whether they are above, below or in the same floor as you are. In the other hand you have the fact that each mission goal is no longer displayed on the map, unless you get secret documents from soldiers patrolling the area; instead the goal plays as a soldier reacting to the sound on your radar. Capturing soldiers features the same mechanic but this time the cargo truck displays how many soldiers you have trapped during stages; between key stages you are able to equip your team with weapons and items that you have got from the whole mission, you can't equip them with weapons you have gotten before. Every time you complete a mission your whole group of soldiers get an upgrade in some abilities, and an upper triangle on every stat indicates you that a soldier can't increase his/her stats further from there, which is pretty handy. With these features Infinity Mission keeps you busy for a while even though it is not quite what I was expecting, and the fact that you can't save between missions doesn't make it difficult for me but really frustrating since I have to play a whole mission whenever I want to play so the achievements get saved.
The single player campaign may be not as good as the original portable ops but MPO+'s main feature is online gaming, because its main goal is to allow people to upgrade their teams and go online with other players, you have the same adhoc and infraestructure options, with the adhoc supporting game sharing again and infraestructure expanding areas and game modes. You get six player matches like Capture Kerotan, Team Capture Kerotan, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, the all new Shooting Range and a Chat Room. Recruit feature via wifi or gps scan is also here but with a few changes, recruited soldiers don't go to your team directly, you must fullfill their demands in order for them to join your ranks, which means your complete crew must be in a good shape. Cyber Survival is also here but with no major changes.
Final Comments
If you play a lot of online matches or you are a hardcore MGS fan this is a must have, you have a lot of new features that expand online functionality. As for the single player campaign it is not excellent but it comes in handy when you want to recruit new soldiers or want to get ready for an online battle.