metal-gear-solid-peace-walker

metal-gear-solid-peace-walker

PREVIEW – METAL GEAR SOLID: PEACE WALKER

by David Pilcher

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is the PSP sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Released November 2004 for the PS2 – 9.2 out of 10 based on 91 reviews – obviously an incredible game). This sequel features the return of Big Boss as the main character and the fantastic story line from the Metal Gear Solid series. I found out that demos of this game were given out in the Tokyo Game Show in 2009. I’m going to have to ask my boss if I can attend next year. . . you know, for the sake of research! Come on, Michael!

Attendees that received the demo have been raving about it. Kojima Productions at Komori always produce a superior game experience that is not only fun to control but tells a well-crafted story. And if you’ve got a friend with the game, you are both in luck – Co-op play! One Snake sneaks while the other Snake (your buddy) covers. It’s much more than just running in, guns blazing, with your friend.

What does Metal Gear have in store for us this time? I’m glad you asked. We follow Big Boss and his newly formed band of mercenaries, the Militaires Sans Frontieres (which means Soldiers without Borders), into battle in Costa Rica. You’ll be working through the main campaign to help a young teenage girl named Paz who’s been tortured by a local but powerful military group. While you’re taking down the enemy, you’ll also need to keep on eye on your Mother-base. You’ll assign different recruits to different parts of the base (or auto-assign them), but remember to keep enough recruits in the mess hall – your team has to eat to be happy. Seriously, they won’t perform as well and could even leave your team. Research and development is also critical for some nice weapon upgrades. But all these options at Mother-base cost money. You’ll have the option to send parties into battles you’ll never see, and they’ll come back with money and maybe a few new recruits. One of the really cool things you can do is trade staff members with friends. . . let’s see, “I’ll trade you my Alligator and Bluegill for your Killifish and Amanda. Yes, I said Amanda!! You want to trade or not? No, I don’t want Chico – you can keep Chico!”

The controls alternate between shooter and action which allow for great gunplay control and close quarters maneuvers. There are three control schemes to choose from – those set up like Metal Gear Solid 4, a control set like Monster Hunter, or you can have the same control set as Metal Gear Portable Ops. You choose when you set up your game. Try out each control set at the very beginning to see what you like.

Did you get that reference to the co-op aspects of this game? If you just play this great game by yourself you’ll have a fantastic time. But playing this game in co-op mode with one other person makes it even better – up to two players during all missions and up to four (yes four!) to help you take down those nasty bosses. Boss fights are brutal, but with a partner, it’s much easier (and with four, forget about it). If one member dies, your buddy can help by simply (or by zig-zagging through gun fire) pressing the D pad to resuscitate his fallen friend. If you’re running low on health – no problem! You can share hit points!

This game is a must have for any PSP owner who enjoys a good action game. If you aren’t familiar with the Metal Gear Solid series, then I suggest you get out from under that rock and pick this one up. You’ll be glad you did.

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