Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

At the end of World War II, the world was split into two, east and west. Hideo Kojima's first official Metal Gear Solid for the PSP throws players back into the middle of the schism and challenges its players to prevent a nuclear holocaust from occurring.

The game brings back memories of subterfuge and a time when the nuclear threat was a mere button press away. Fans of the Metal Gear Solid (MGS) series might be a little skeptical about how a series that is famous for its lengthy cut scenes could manage to transfer to a hand-held system, but those skeptics may be surprised with how well the game plays.

The MGS series has always been about stealth and espionage, and this game is no different. Some aspects have been improved on, such as the camouflage system, which is simplified yet still complex enough for those who care about it.

There are three basic outfits of camo which include stealth, combat, and naked. Each provides general needs which depend on what the player is currently doing, but there are also specific camos that can be worn in certain areas for additional bonuses. There are also several different types of weapons available to the player, and, depending on what the player uses, Big Boss will become more adept with said weapons. For example, if the player uses nothing but a tranquilizer pistol, Big Boss will develop steadier aim with his tranquilizer pistol. Little elements such as these add a lot of playability to Peace Walker.

The famous thirty minute cut scenes have been done away with, and replaced with short and sweet comic book ones that occasionally offer some interactivity with the player.

Where PW manages to really differ from its predecessors is in the management of the army that the main character controls. The player slowly recruits members over the course of the game, and has to put the recruits in different teams depending on what said recruit is good at. Medics work well in the sickbay, and engineers work well in their respective team. If the player manages to recruit enough workers, the teams will produce better weapons and medicines. Again, this minor aspect of the game adds a lot and keeps the game from growing stale at times.

Game play handles nicely, and only manages to choke here and there. There are multiple control schemes ranging from classic MGS to schemes similar to the game Monster Hunter. Even with all of these control schemes, players will likely find Big Boss a bit hard to maneuver sometimes.

In previous installations, time has frozen while the player looked through their inventory. Players do not have that luxury in this game which proves to be quite frustrating at times and leads to deaths that would not have happened with a better developed system. 

Anyone who tries to play PW without previous knowledge of the series is going to be left bewildered about half of the things that take place throughout the game. Fans of the series will likely be pleased, on the other hand, because PW manages to tie up several loose ends that stem from previous games.

The rest of the plot really fails to live up to the epic stories told in previous entries in the series such as MGS 3: Snake Eater. Several characters that are introduced are simple plot tools that provide very little to the game and disappear as soon as they cannot help the plot anymore. The prime example is Cécile, who shows up around the middle of the game to help Big Boss identify a bird call, and then vanishes afterward.

Major plot-holes such as this contrast the epic level storytelling that the game is trying for. But other than a few minor hiccups, Peace Walker provides its player with a decent experience and an interesting comic book take on a gaming series giant. Fans will be pleased, and newcomers will be intrigued.

4 out of 5 stars.