Developed and published in 2006, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is the fourth title of the series for PlayStation Portable and a continuation of the storyline in the preceding title, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
The action is set in the 1970s, a few years after the complicated events in Metal Gear Solid 3, unveiling another important chapter in the life of the legendary soldier named Naked Snake, also known by the name of Big Boss. A true soldier, Snake goes to a Soviet military base in South America. At the beginning of the game, he is captured and held hostage here by the members of his former elite special forces unit, FOX, which had gone renegade. He manages to escape with the help of a young Green Beret, named Roy Campbell, and they decide to work together to put an end to what seems to be a very adverse situation between the American forces and the rebellious Soviet militants. They come to the conclusion that they cannot act on their own, so they decide to recruit enemy soldiers who are willing to join them and fight for their cause. As the story unfolds, Snake runs into some characters from his bloody past and is able to realize what is really going on in that military base. As was to be expected, you will find that Snake is a very complex character and the game holds many more surprises of the kind.
By virtue of its gameplay, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops stands out from the other titles of the franchise. In addition to the missions based on the main plot, you can also engage in secondary missions, which will help you complete the story driven exercises more easily. If you are familiar with Metal Gear Solid, it can take as little as five minutes to complete an objective, provided you plan carefully and execute the stage in a flawless manner. It goes without saying that the ability to sprint through levels is ideal for portable gaming. However, the recruiting options go to such depths, that you can spend hours on end engaging in secondary missions, recruiting soldiers and building forces.
If you are a fan of the series, you'll probably be glad to see that many of the features of the home console games also apply to Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. The depth of the characters' details and the vivid animations make for some impressive facets of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.
Game speed may sometimes be a bit slowed down, especially during explosions or battle sequences, you may have several camera issues and you may notice texture tearing from time to time, mainly on account of the size of the PSP screen. However, this downsize is very well balanced out by the game's visually astounding cutscenes.
The overall Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops experience is overwhelming and given its excellent sound and graphics, its interesting presentation and its amazing gameplay, it's safe to say that Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops will stay in our PSPs for a long time to come.
Score: 8.5/10
