Peace Circle

I have a busy weekend approaching, and it looks as though that recently downloaded copy of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will (for the most part) lay dormant on my PSPgo's hard drive. Billed as Metal Gear Solid 5, I am dying to play through the next chapter in the Solid/Naked/Liquid Snake saga.

I wasn't the the biggest fan of the previous portable installment, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops as the game relied heavily on backtracking and various other repetitive mechanics. Recruitment was probably the most baffling process, tranquilizing enemy combatants and dragging them back to your truck (suspect!). Due to the PSP's lack of a second analogue stick, combat was also very clunky. So clunky in fact that it managed to recapture the frustration of previous installments (as far back as the original), where being discovered was more often than not, equal to death (or at the very best, a reload). The Gameboy Colour installment (also titled: Metal Gear Solid) and MGS:PO are the only MGS games that I have failed to complete at least once.

Having played Peace Walker for about an hour today (and as per usual with MGS, when I say play, I mean watch), I am desperately hungry for more. Already the narrative has blown out to World War 3 proportions, with Cold War tensions at their height, and the KGB looking to set up in America's backyard. Considering how Big Boss has evolved throughout the MGS series, I'm also keenly interested to see how he is finally portrayed. From voiceless villain to self-sacrificing hero, will Peace Walker complete the circle and leave Big Boss as some smug, unsuspecting terrorist (a la MGS1) or will we finally see Outer Haven and the Militaires San Frontiers in a different light (as hinted in MGS3 and 4)?


Summarising both my play today, and my experience with the demo, you should know that using the Shooter-Type controls is a revolution. Similar to what the PSP Syphon Filter games demonstrated, shooters can work on the PSP. The soundtrack and voice-acting (especially when you consider this is a portable game) are of an incredibly high standard. Few games manage to capture the aural magic of Hollywood blockbusters as well as the MGS series, and thankfully, this assertion is also true for PW. The visuals for the gameplay itself are technically and artistically impressive, and truly live up to the standard set by previous iterations. The comic inspired cut-scenes from Portable Ops make a return for Peace Walker and are just as compelling then as they are now. If you have a PSP, you have to at the very least download the demo to see what you are missing.

In somewhat related news, I have now set up wireless internet at my house and can now take the PSP online. With this in mind, if there are any of you out there interested in playing through Peace Walker's co-operative component I would love to hear from you. With that being said though, I would love to hear from any of my readers regardless! What are you guys playing this weekend?