A decent stealth/action game.
Storywise, Portable Ops tells the story of the original Snake which is Big Boss. And being a fan it's good to know Big Boss' roots but I do find the plot and the cutscenes lacking. Having a confusing and sometimes vague storyline is standard MGS but it lacks the intensity that Peacewalker has to offer. It's no excuse that this game came out first before Peacewalker.
And as for the gameplay, it was fun and engaging. Although the story is straightforward you have just a little bit of freedom roaming around. You can choose which location you'll go. The purpose of this is so you can get or hoard items, kidnap enemy units so that you can convince them to join your side or just plain sneaking/killing around. Recruitment is an essential part of this game. And you really need to have a team to advance the storyline. You can even use them in the battlefield. Aside from that each character has his/her own stats/skills which are useful in certain situations and that's not just it. Let's say your in a location heavily guarded by commandos and there's no other way that you can't be spotted, the solution would be is to play as a commando that you've recruited and he can easily blend in. Same character types won't cause an alarm if they see you as long as you don't act strangely or get near them. It really adds the depth of the gameplay further. The downside of recruiting is you got to drag them all the way back to the location's starting point and even if the game gives you another easy way out it's still tiring. And in missions you really don't know when you'll run into a boss fight. I had my scientist run around only to encounter a boss and there's no way I can switch characters but to leave the battlefield. And start all over again.
As for the controls, it gets a little while to use to. Analog for movement and d-pad for aim/camera view. You also have the options to go first-person or auto-aim. First-person aiming is good if enemies haven't spotted you(headshots are essential using the tranq gun) but you'll be good auto-aiming at most times as it let's you move while shooting. With the exception of handguns and other weapons w/ laser sights there is no crosshair or iron sights if you use weapons in first person mode. But I guess this game is design primarily for stealth rather than a shoot-it-all-out game but still...
As I've said in my review deck, this is a decent stealth/action game. This game will keep you entertain for a while, once in a while, or depending how much your really into it. If you like stealth games then get this. Its got a healthy dose of action in here too .Otherwise, there still the other MGS title you might want to see.