Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops - Sony PSP

Works well and I have no complaints about it. Thanks!

Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops for the Playstation Portable is the first PSP Metal Gear game that is actually a part of the story. In it, Big Boss must lead a unit of comrades against his former unit, the now-rogue FOX Unit. Most of the gameplay is similar to Metal Gear Solid 3 and its stealth-based gameplay, with a few new weapons added. Some things are limited by the PSPs buttons and systems, but for the most part it plays and looks like Metal Gear Solid 3. The camera is taken from Metal Gear Online, included with MGS3: Subsistence, and can be alternately helpful and annoying. A new sonar has been added, which shows the sound that both you and those near you are making, and gives a rough estimate of their position. The camouflage system is gone, now replaced with the blending system. The main concept of the title is the Comrade system, where you can acquire new allies to use in your fight against FOX. In early trailers, it seemed like Snake would be leading a squad (and thus multiple people would be active at once), but in truth, it is closer to other games of the series. Only one soldier can be active at a time (and thus player-controlled); the others wait in cardboard boxes hidden around the level. These soldiers can be switched to for the use of specific items (as each soldier has only four slots for weapons and items) or if the current soldier is hurt. Soldiers also have different sense levels, which is represented by a blue circle around their location. If an enemy moves into that circle the soldier will detect them and they will be marked on the map. Thus, scattering your soldiers around a level can create a sort of net.However, the emphasis is still on single infiltration, and is supplemented by a new form of sneaking: soldiers can blend in with other soldiers in similar costume. For example, a standard orange-suited guard could blend in amongst similarly suited guards. This does not work when approaching an enemy of a different class; the same guard would not be able to get past an officer or even a scientist. Suspicious activities (like crawling, sneaking, or pointing a gun) will also cancel blending. A new map interface is used; different areas are marked on the map similar to Metal Gear Acid. Going to a level takes one half-day, and it switches between day and night. The game starts in November of 1970, and as far as is known there is no time limit for missions. A large part of the system is acquiring and using your comrades. Snake begins alone, but can subdue and drag enemy soldiers back to his HQ (a truck, which his support on this mission drives). Between missions, Snake can manage his comrades, assigning them to different units. The Sneaking Unit accompanies Snake on his mission (or in some cases goes on the mission by themselves) and consists of four four-man teams. One team can be deployed in an area at a time. Spy Units report on events in different areas and will inform Snake of weapons and comrades that can be picked up in areas. Sometimes the spies will bring storyline-important data (the location of a hidden base or the location of a certain individual). Certain spies can also help map out an area and locate items, or reduce the health of enemies in that area. The tech unit researches new gadgets for Snake and his team, much like Q from James Bond. Scientists and mechanics are best for this role. The medical unit not only provides medicine, but they also heal units who are recovering from missions (IE at the base when another team goes on a mission). There are many different types of soldier to recruit in this game. Standard grunts, officers, female soldiers, and elite FOX Unit members. There is even a way to recruit some bosses by using a tranquilizer gun. This contrasts with other Metal Gear Solid games, where tranquilizing a boss would still end up with them dying and the story remaining the same. Soldiers also improve their maximum HP and Stamina levels as they go on missions. There are different levels of proficiency with different weapons (C, B, A, and S, from worst to best) that are ingrained with soldiers (so having a person who is bad at shotguns use a shotgun a lot will not help). A large concern is that if a character dies, they are dead forever (unless you restart a level) so taking care of your soldiers is important. The storyline has many twists and turns, some of which are important and some of which seem like they fall under George Lucas Episode II problems (fitting in characters from other parts of the series in a place where they dont really fit).There are references to other games even in the clothes the people wear; the FOX Unit soldiers wear the uniform Snake wore in Metal Gear Solid 3 (with Tiger Stripe camo) and the FOX Units leader wears the same trenchcoat that Big Boss and the rebellious members of FOXHOUND wear in MGS1. There is a great deal of online connectivity in this game. The first kind, for the more casual player, is using Wireless Connections to gain new characters. The network doesnt even need to be connected; the PSP just needs to see that there is a wireless connection there. Some characters are accessible from this process that cant be gained through the normal game, such as members of the Ocelot Unit or KGB. If these characters die, theyre gone, and a wireless connection cant be used twice. There are also ways to get soldiers through a GPS Scan (which requires a not-yet-released peripheral) and Passwords (which will be released through media outlets). There are online and local death-match modes. A team is taken from the players single-player game and put online to fight enemies with their equipped items. Some games can result in the loss of a character to an opponent or the gain of a character if you win, while others are just friendly games with no stakes. There is also a Cyber-Survival mode in which a squad is sent off onto the Internet and fights other squads automatically. This only requires connection twice: the first time to drop off the squad, and later to pick them up. Once they are input the squad is automatically in the system. Through this, as with the death-match modes, squad members can be won and lost. There is some strategy, essentially focusing on which characters are where and who has what. The graphics are based on MGS3s graphics, with some minor reductions (no bullet casings, no blood, some less-detailed textures). The cutscenes are done in a stylized comic book manner, similar to the Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel, and it switches between looking amazing and being annoying. Overall, this is a fun game to pick up for the PSP. The multitude of characters is a plus, but the squad-based gameplay seems wasted. Early videos showed a team supporting each other directly, with Snake giving commands to his two allies. In contrast, the one person sneaking and three people hiding mode doesnt seem as exciting. The storyline was also disappointing in several areas. However, if you are looking for a fun extension of Metal Gear Solid 3 and its online mode, this is a great game.

Its extremely fun, the lack of the a second analog kinda bugs me though thats expected with a psp because if youre used to using a second analog or rations or other items and that item isnt there for ones like MGS2 or 3 it kinda screws with you but its really fun nonetheless.

Came brand new. Perfect

What I dont like about this game so much is that you have to recruit soldiers before you start really playing the game. After that, get ready for some actions, and the good story. Dont get the Metal Gear Portable Plus, get this one first. With the Plus you will miss the whole story and much more. If you like this game, try Syphon Filter too (you wont have to recruit to start playing the real game).

Great game.

A blast from the near past in the real world from the 60s cold war in the game

To put it simply, Portable Ops is as good as MGS3! The graphics are almost as good as the PS2 game, which is saying a lot for the PSP system, but the game play makes up for it all ten-fold! The ability to recruit soldiers and make up your own teams (all in-game) and send one team at a time on each mission is the major characteristic behind the game. You can drag enemy soldiers back to the truck to recruit them. Over a short period of time, the soldier will be recruited and can join you by fighting in your sneaking team, spying for you in the spy team, making medical advancements in the medical team, or making technical advancements in the tech team. The bosses are as difficult to beat as in the 3rd MGS, so it does provide a good challenge. The same weapons are utilized, in addition to a few more like UZIs and wind-up distraction ducks. The same moves as in MGS3 are used- grabbing, throwing down, interrogating, crawling, and CQC. The only cons that I would give the game are the four weapon/item slots (there is no backpack, and weapons, ammo, and items will each take up one slot). Also, the camera has to always be moved with the directional pad, and cannot just follow your back. And the last thing is that when one of your recruits, who, in the eyes of the red army, is still one of them, makes the slightest noise (e.g. footsteps) and an enemy near by hears it and sees you, then they automatically know that you are an enemy unit. But, I suppose, it makes the game that much more challenging. Despite the cons, the game is one of the best in the MGS series (matching MGS3)! It is definitely worth the price! Even if you havent played any Metal Gear Solid game before, go for it! Make this game the first! Given, references are made to MGS3 throughout the entire game, it nevertheless is one great action/shooter game that will get you hooked on the MGS series and almost force you to try the others!

Metal Gear is a video game series that has stood the test of time better than alot of other video game franchises. Its games have gradually matured and grown into a complex world full of political drama and interesting characters. Thats not to say the attributes that make it a video game have not improved as well, as its gameplay and graphics have reached cinematic levels not yet reached by many games. All these qualities apply to the latest cannonical installment in the series, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. The story picks up six years after the previous installment, Snake Eater/Subsistence, with Naked Snake (now known as Big Boss by many) being kidnapped by his ex-unit FOX in South America. Breaking free from his cell he encounters a young green beret called Roy Campbell (who many fans know will become the Colonel Campbell of later installments) and so with his help, Snake must find out what is the reason for his ex-units rebellion and subsequently put a stop to their plans. Of course, this description reallys sells the events of the game short so as not to spoil anything important but rest assured, if you are a fan of the series or even a rookie in the Metal Gear mythology, you will definantly enjoy the story. The gameplay is the big deal to many about this game. It is a return to the tried and true gameplay of the the first 3 installments in the Solid series (as opposed to the card based strategy AC!D games that were previously released on the psp) and so it involves plently of sneaking around enemy guards and grueling boss battles. However, a key difference in this game is the addition of the recruitment system. While on a mission, if a guard is knocked out and taken back to the base of operations, this enemy will eventually become a fully playable member of your cause and you can make this character either a member of your sneaking squad or spy or tech engineer or medic, each with varying purposes. Despite the initial learning curve that the psp controls might place upon first timers (trust me, I had some trouble initially as well), the game is very addictive once the controls have been mastered and so I dont really see them as a hinderance of any kind. Graphics wise, this game is amazing for a psp game. Kojima Productions somehow managed to shrink the Subsistance game engine for the psp and so with it comes a 3D camera (a second for the Metal Gear series) and so angles are never a problem. Granted, while the psp may be powerful, I doubt it would be able to handle the cutscenes that previous games of the series have established as the norm and so to make up for this fault (if it could even be regarded as that) Kojima and co. hired famed comic book artist Ashley Wood to create the cinematics for this game and I must say they are increidibly meshed with the rest of the game. In sound, this game excels. The voice acting is done by returning actors of Snake Eater and new actors and each have their great moments. David Hayter as always delivers a great performance as a man thrust into a leadership position in the global arena, fitting for the eventual events of future games and Steven Blum is execellent as Gene, the leader of the new Fox Unit. Voice acting aside, the sounds for this game are great (and might I add very loud for a psp game). The score is remarkbly good and the theme song for this game, Calling to the Night, is something I hope video game music fans will have a chance to listen to at some future vg music concert. Overall, this game delivers everything a Metal Gear game is supposed to and even adds a gameplay quirk of its own to the series, and thats saying alot considering the platform upon which this was released. Indeed, perhaps the recruitment system of this game might even play a hand in the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. But until we get that game in our hands, rest assured that Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is an excellent game that will surely entertain on its own right.

The game is fairly different from recent MGS titles on the Playstation in that it involves more skill and strategy. At first its a bit woozy, but once you get the hang of it, its really quite fun.