Strengths:Perfect translation (gameplay, graphics, sound) to a portable format; innovative use of WiFi that does not involve infrastructure or online leaderboards
Weaknesses:Wacky story takes even more esoteric twists
Posted Aug 20, 2007 - Handheld gaming has always been historically limited by power, as the imaginative game world of the consoles usually are trimmed and pruned to not overwhelmed the technical limitations of portable gaming. When the PSP arrived, all that conventional thinking went outside the box--whereas a severe re-emphasis on graphics isn't a mutually exclusive option with gameplay.
Konami has always treated its Metal Gear Franchise on Sony platforms as an "accidental" showcase title. Usually appearing as benchmark titles on Yr2 for the hardware, it allows fellow third parties a rare glimpse on using the potential power of Sony prowess. Portable ops is true to this studio creed. Graphics here are very nicely drawn to its 16:9, 720x480 screen. Because of the size of the screen, it creates an illusion of even greater detail--some sort of "pop" from the 3D depth fields makes it very sharp. Snake moves well mapped to the PSP controls. You lose an analog but you gain a tigher sense of control. No button feels wasted as like a reference guide, but rather, mapped to a confluence of ergonomics and intuition. Lastly, sound is slendid. The VME in the PSP just simply outproduces any portable platform and rivals dedeicated audio chips. It's certainly beneficial for the PSP to have the Sony audio genes and it sparkles here in this title. Meticulously placed symphonic pieces paces the action while taking a backseat in moments of big boss final battles. Neither intrusive or distracting, the melodic ditties ferment action.
While all the praise for the Metal Gear is valid, flaws of the Metal Gear family also gets translated. The story is just baffling--some sort of coherent story would make the characters better but instead, we rely on the attachment for Snake because of its mythology. A random person playing this game can remain as indifferent and cold as the code running behind the UMD.
You'll have fun playing this Metal Gear game whether on sand or airplane just because of the technical prowess. The minor flaws can be concealed by the foundation of fun. If anything, it makes a must have collection in the PSP library.
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Rated 
An army of one.
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