Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops PSP - PlayStation Portable

This game follows on the heels of MGS3: Snake Eater, and adds on to that story in some ways. I never got very far in Snake Eater, but this game refers back to many of the events I do know about, namely The Boss and the introduction of Revolver Ocelot. The graphics are near what MGS2 was, and though the camera was a lil cumbersome at times, it was a minor flaw. The greatest change in this game was the ability to capture & recruit enemies to fight on your side. This is essential in the game, as it's much easier to use double agents to move around in the open in many parts rather than having to carefully sneak everywhere. There are soldiers with different abilities and a particular focus that keep the gameplay much more interesting. For example, the "Scout" skill enables a soldier to sneak at a faster rate, and the "Rescuer" can carry bodies away faster and medical items have a greater effect when used.All in all, this was an excellent game, and recieved the "Editor's Choice" award from [...]. I think it was well-deserved. A must-buy for fans of the series and the genre.

Probably the most underrated Metal Gear game....well next to Metal Gear Solid 2. IMO So much better than Peace Walker. If you enjoyed the stealth gameplay from MGS3 THEN YOU'LL LOVE THIS! Interesting characters to recruit to your cause (in game bosses, famous metal gear characters, etc) , good boss fights...well at least imo better than the ones in Peace Walker. The story is good but I admit it's not necessary to play this game to understand the series. However if you're interested in how Big Boss got the idea for Outer Heaven and how Foxhound was formed than get this game! It's a fun play!

i would like to just start by saying this is a breathtaking psp title and i would recommend it to fans of the series as well as psp owners despite the missing aspects from classic MGS games.No this is not an "Acid' game like the previous metal gears for psp but is it really quite so much a classic metal gear game? To be perfectly honest, its a mix of a metal gear acid and metal gear solid game. Although the transition of graphics and sound from the ps2 is absolutely amazing, (the graphics pushing the limit of the psp system to the max) it is missing key elements that veteran MGS fans like myself will be be dissapointed not to have.First off, the only true MGS element in the game is the gameplay. For the most part, all the classic moves from MGS on the playstation consoles is there (do i even need to go over all of them?) with a different control scheme. (controls refitted for the psp) For this, the game is worth getting for the gameplay is fun, at least the classic MGS elements are. As far as classic MGS gameplay, the thing that takes away from that is the enemy AI. you can literally run 10-15ft in front of them and they will not see you unlike other MGS games where they will see and hear you from 50ft away. The un-fun part for me is the new recruiting system. This is where Konami dissapoints me. Konami for some reason feels that they have to change the classic MG style just because its on the psp instead of a console system, hence the new recruiting system. Now instead of Snake having a good ol' mission to stop terrorists with the elements we have all come to love, you have to play through some of the same mission areas, (yes, the game is divided up into mission levels like the acid series instead of classic MGS games where you just naturally transition through areas) you play through some of the same areas over and over again to recruit soldiers that have specific traits. (Which can be difficult to find sometimes and just ends up feeling like busy work to make the game longer) This can be very frustrating boring and by the time you get enough soldiers with that specific trait, you just want to turn off the psp and play a real MGS game. You can send these soldiers, depending on their traits to do different tasks such as spying and making equipment which is enjoyable at times but overall is not necessary for the already great MGS gameplay and overall takes away more than it gives.The biggest thing to me thats missing in this game is the classic MGS cutscenes that the console versions are known for. Instead of full motion graphic cinematics, you get comic book drawing scenes that dont get close to bringing that same level of enjoyment and excitement that you get from the iconic MGS cutscenes. Although there are all new voiceovers for these comic book sequences, its just not enough to give them life. Now maybe there isnt enough room on the psp disk to fit the iconic cutscenes (in which case im happy to get what i can), but there are still no in-game cutscenes which takes a chunk away from the advancing story and character development.Now to the story. The story isn't too bad. (much, much better than the acid stories) it ties into the MGS timeline (with a MGS3 feel) which does give it more depth but while playing through the game, i couldnt shake the feeling that it was more forced into the series just for the sake of making a psp title instead of an actual MGS game that has true meaning and place in the series. While the story does have familiar traits such as bosses with weird abilities and help from other characters using nanomachines,(by the way, none of the conversations using nano are voiced which takes away from it as well, for that can be alot of words to read) you do get a feel of a MGS game somewhat and it is for the most part enjoyable. Another thing that does add to the story is the strong musical score.Alot of people are automatically giving this game great reviews bacause they're so impressed with the transition from the ps2,(Which, again does look incredible, nearly flawless in terms of graphics/ framerate) and are so happy to have MGS gameplay on a psp that they are blinded by what the game is missing.Overall, i think this is a good game a an impressive PSP title. Any fan of the series will enjoy it, just dont expect the whole package you'd get from the console version. Can we please just have a regular ol' classic Metal Gear Solid title on the psp??

This is the best Metal Gear game yet! lots of fun, the controls took a little bit to get used too but when going from the consoles to a portable game thought it was pretty easy to get down. they keep changing the control scheme with every metal gear game. have enjoyed this game over and over again, was disappointed when portable ops plus came out and it did not add anything really new the challenge mode was fun but no new story mode. Don't get confused between regular portable ops and the plus version. I can't wait to play Peace Walker now.

Paid 40$ for a port of a game on a UMD that was not the original. Did not come in a case either. Horrible purchase never again.

I do enjoy the MGS series quite a bit, and I've tried numerous occasions to enjoy this game and try to play it through, but it just doesn't do it for me as much as the other games in the series.First, I made the mistake of wasting my money on Portable Ops Plus, thinking it was updated version (Like MGS2 Substance and MGS3 Subsistence) instead it's more like VR Missions.Anyway, I finally realized my mistake and purchased this. The graphics look fairly good. The cut scenes, although not animated like the other games, are still halfway decent and watchable. The controls are much different from the other games, and after months of having it, I still can't get used to them. I'm constantly finding myself hitting the wrong buttons at critical moments.Also, the enemy spots you far too easily. It is almost impossible to be sneaky. Aiming the gun is another pain. I have to admit I haven't gotten very far in the game, and I have tried numerous times, but I just find myself wanting to play the other classic games. I would say it's not for everyone.

I thought that I had never played this game before or at least finished it. I bought it after I realized that I never beat it and never played Peace Walker and TPP was announced and I knew I had to get through these games. Hideo does another great job here. I had a lot of fun even though the game play was different than what most expected out of a MGS games. Turns out by the end, I have beaten it in the past, I had just forgotten about it. Silly me. Still I am glad to own it again.