And the assembly of that team is left to you: potential allies are found in the field by abducting them during sneaking missions.
We all sneak togetherįor Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops the action has shifted from solo espionage to building teams of operatives the plot is as much about revealing how super-spy Snake eventually amassed a squad of faithful followers as it is about tracking down nuke-launching robots. The story is the standard sci-fi/military conspiracy nonsense, but answers enough MGS fans' questions to justify a roster of odd genetic mutant villains and outlandish set-piece battles. Here you play Solid Snake's clone-father from the '60s, a rogue super spy tracking down nuclear warheads and growing a team of loyal comrades.
Of course, it wouldn't be Metal Gear without one of the series' notorious narrative twists. None of these are to the game's detriment, though – more a fine-tuning for portable use.
True, those already familiar with the series will recognise some changes to the controls, with a free-moving camera added to the mix and some of Snake's moveset pared down a little. The game engine from PlayStation 2 sibling MGS3: Snake Eater has been brilliantly reworked for the handheld – it looks and sounds great, an almost identical experience to that available on consoles. Imagine our salty gushings, then, at the realisation the authentic Metal Gear Solid has finally infiltrated the PSP in the guise of the claustrophobic hands-on stealth action of Portable Ops (previous Ac!d games were MGS titles by name, not spirit).įrom the off, Portable Ops does a great job of squeezing all the creeping-up-behind-men-and-throttling-them content down to the smaller screen.
Just witness the global delight in Daniel Craig's turn as Bond – the best since Connery, fictional espionage fans say, whilst presumably weeping with joy.