Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

[Ajay1986]

My first impressions from around 4 hours gameplay are pretty good on the whole.

I'll start off with the not so good which you probably guessed are the controls. There are a number of control schemes available but no matter what you pick using face buttons to control the camera is still very annoying and still pisses me off if things get hectic in game.

The story thus far has been good and not as convoluted as other games in the series. Whilst the story does tie into the previous games overall it seems to be more focused and generally less clumsy, but I am only 4 hours in so Kojima still has plenty of time.

Gameplay is all mission based with missions being selected from the main base. There are the main story missions and lots of extra missions which don't tie into the story. Being mission based suits the game being on a handheld meaning you can pick up and play knowing you'll get regular opportunities to save and quit.

Actual gameplay is pretty similar to Snake Eater with quite a lot of emphasis so far being on using CQC, although you won't be short on firepower if you want to go guns blazing for some reason.

So far it seems like there will be a hell of a lot of content for people to try and unlock within the weapons and item development system. This ties into the team system where members of your Soldiers without Borders organisation are assigned to specific teams based on their skills. To unlock and research more weapons and items you have to assign soldiers with the right skill to the R&D team. The more soldiers you have the higher your team level will be which unlocks more items to develop.

Recruiting more team members is simple as well, simply start a mission and knock out a soldier then use the Fulton recovery system to take him back to your base. The Fulton system is great because if I remember correctly in Portable Ops you had to drag soldiers back to a truck which was a massive pain. Once you finish the mission you can return to the base to assign the soldiers to the team you want.

It's seeming like this might just be one of the PSPs finest moments, I'm gonna go play some more and hopefully return with some more opinions.

[dvdmike]

Got it today and just finished installing, I love the cut scene art (bar the odd nudie zooming lol).
Its such a good looking game too, people wrongly write off the PSP at every chance

May have to dig out the DGN again soon

[Ajay1986]

I've played a few more levels and now I've really got to grips with the controls I'm loving it. There is loads and loads of stuff to discover and tons of extra missions some of which are insanely difficult.

I must say some of the bosses and extra missions seem so difficult that they must of have designed for co-op and uber gamers much better than myself. If like me you don't have anyone to co-op with I suspect the difficulty is gonna be a real pain later on, its a shame it doesn't seem to scale if your going solo.

[dvdmike]

Im only playing solo also, I was worried about that.
Im not very far in is the single player a real stoy based MGS?

[Dogg Thang]

In terms of play, where does it sit alongside other Metal Gears? I loved Metal Gear Solid (and still do - replayed it recently) but liked them less as I went on, finding MGS4 to be barely a game. And yet I vaguely enjoyed Portable Ops, though not enough to finish it. I'm tempted by this but probably only being drawn in as it's a big release. I'm not convinced I really want it.

What do you think? While I have no doubt it's a must for Metal Gear fans, what about for someone who hasn't been all that enamoured by recent outings?

[dvdmike]

From what I have played its a lot like Snake Eater

[jimtendo]

I've never played Portable Ops, but Peace Walkers micro man management of your staff (integral members in the storyline and soldiers/ POWs escorted out of the mission zone via the Fulton recovery balloon) is pretty much integral to the game in terms of mission progression.
So in terms of home console Metal Gears, it's new. Though in some ways the Drebin system was a lot more streamlined.

Now for tactical espionage action...
From Reading previews and looking at the R&D menus for gadgets/ weaponary, it looks every bit as extensive as Guns of the Patriots. Whether you'll end up using 3/4ths of them is another matter.

As mentioned before, the game is broken down via missions which last around 10-15 minutes the first time you tackle them. Then subsequently you can whittle that time down for speedrunning, should you so wish.
The camo index makes a return from Snake Eater as well as different patterned camo fatigues, which are unlocked via missions and collectables within missions.
If you're looking for which Metal Gear it plays similar to, well many would mention Snake Eater because of the jungle locales and a more simplified CQC carried over from Snake Eater/ Guns of the Patriots.

The bitesize mission structure definitely suits the platform, as I've found myself dipping in and out of the campaign missions to try the Extra Ops and then back again.

[J0e Musashi]

Tell me English readers. What is the differece between installs? I gathered that the larger one gives live talk. Is that right?

[dvdmike]

I did the big one (800mb) the menu said it installs the voice to allow faster loading

[J0e Musashi]

Aha, that makes sense. Cheers ears.

[dvdmike]

Small package is 300mb and is just the audio.
Large package is the same thing except with faster load times.

[saturn-gamer]

You could best describe this as Snake Eater with MGS4 gameplay added on top of it.

In terms of content it might be the deepest MGS yet. In terms of gameplay its slightly dumbed down here, but made even better there. CQC throwing has never been so awesome in MGS, yet you can't move when you lie down and there is no FPS mode.

If you hated MGS4 because of the lack of actual gameplay and overkill of movies, you'll love PW as its the other way around.

I'm about 4 hours in and right now i'd say this is the best and most fun MGS out there. Biggest letdown is the boss battles, they are obviously designed with co-op in mind and not as fun as the ones in older entries.

[dvdmike]

First game in the series I can pull off the CQC moves

[Dogg Thang]

I took a punt on it based on what you guys said. Haven't started the actual game yet. What's the control scheme to go for? Shooter?

[dvdmike]

I am playing shooter, the only thing I miss from the controls is a slight zoom in when aiming like in most tps's.

I must admit after doing this:



I did say chillaxe in an arnie style voice