From the Vault — originally published June 7, 2010. Some links, videos or prices may be out of date.
Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker has been called Metal gear Solid 5 by producer Hideo Kojima. In the game you play as Big Boss the original Snake. This portable installation in the Metal Gear Solid series has pretty much renewed my interest in Metal Gear Solid games. I have put about four hours into the game and I am hooked.
The missions stem from ten to twenty minutes long depending on how fast you can complete them. Some are rescue missions others you will simply have to reach a target. There is much strategy in taking out enemys covertly or moving past areas without being noticed creating a strategy to get around the soliders in your path. If you are spotted you can take out the enemys by gunning them down though killing enemys decreases your end of mission ranking.
There are many CQC (close quarters combat) options available and they are easy to execute. You can choke an enemy until unconscious flip them or hit them with a tranq round to put them to sleep. The rankings and end of mission score breakdown is a performance report and indicated that there is replayability there in trying to ace every mission with an “A” ranking by going undetected, rescuing every hostage and such.
The cut scenes are all well done with a comic book style that is animated although not fully animated but doesn’t need to be because it has good voice acting to accompany the comic scenes. At key moments there are interactive events which is a step up from the old quick time events in some game cutscenes.
You may have to aim and shoot at something or move out the way with the analog stick and its more engaging then pressing the right button. A nice touch that keeps you engaged in the story.
Outside of the main story driven missions there is plenty to do. Soldiers that you capture will join your team and you have to assign them to combat, medical, research & development and intelligence details. The R&D team for example will create and upgrade weapons for you and the inclusion of these team building elements are a nod to RPG games. I do not like RPG games for the most part but still found screating squads based on stats fun.
There are also secondary missions that do not effect the story but are fun and will give players the opportunity to hone their stealth and shooting skills. There are also target practice sessions and challenges. I have not touched the co-op elements but most missions can be played by two players simultaneously which seems huge though I do not think i will be able to do that very much sadly because rounding up a second friend for PSP multiplayer is typically hard. Completing story missions also unlocks specific co-op secondary missions. There is a ton of content in Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker to run though in addition to the replayability.
My biggest gripe with the previous PSP Metal Gear Solid Games specifically Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops and Portable Ops Plus were the dodgy controls. I was never able to feel comfortable with the control schemes in those games. In Peace Walker you have three main control options to choose from with shooter, action, and hunter control types. I elected to use the “shooter” control type because it is just like other good PSP shooter games like Resistance Retribution and Siphon Filter. The psp analog stick is used cleverly with the pressure determining whether snake sneaks or runs towards an enemy. I have had no control problems with Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker at all which is huge and was my biggest barrier of entry with the previous titles. The shooting, sneaking and stealth all feel perfect.
The menus are slick, very intuitive and are some of the best in any game. The sound effects and soundtrack music are all top notch. From the moment you begin you know then Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker is a triple “A” title. It is totally fun, the controls are good, graphics are top notch for a PSP title.
Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker is an easy recommend to any Metal Gear Solid fan. It feels more like a true Metal Gear Solid game than Metal Gear Solid 4 did and that says a lot. Buy this game.
