Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus PSP Review
The original Portable Ops was welcome in the way that it was a proper Metal Gear game, well it was in comparison to the more outlandish Metal Gear Acid series anyway. Obviously those who enjoyed the original will be pleased with the release of this mere and sensibly priced expansion.
You don’t need the original to play this new expansion, although if you have already created a squad by knocking out enemies and showing them the way to the light side with some not very gentle persuasion during the original game, then Portable Ops Plus will kindly allow you to transfer them over, allowing you to bring them out of virtual retirement and into virtual action.
If you are expecting a brand new story then please allow me to apologise for popping your enthusiasm like a balloon, as quite simply there isn’t one. I do have to say that you expect too much though, particularly if you already understand that the game is retailing for a mere £14.99. A new Infinity Mission single player mode is present, although without a story to drive me on it does feel a little lacking in some areas.
Like the original you can still forcibly drag knocked out enemies back to your truck or to waiting allies inside cardboard boxes. You can still play around with the tactical elements of your squad, whilst recruits still have individual skills based on their type. What’s new then? There’s new enemy classes and familiar Metal Gear characters (Old Snake, Raiden and Campbell) to recruit, and you can now have up to 200 soldiers in your squad, amongst other small things.
The focal point this time around is definitely the multiplayer though, which is gifted with new maps and modes. You can play against others who own this very game or those who own the original via ad hoc or infrastructure. New modes, joining Deathmatch, Cyber Survival and Capture Mission, include the Shooting Range which has you aiming to shoot more targets than the opposing team, as well as a chat room for when you want to put your feet up and replace the shooting with some chatting.
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus isn’t the sequel that many are waiting for, although it should satisfy the appetite of those who really enjoyed the multiplayer in the original game. Those who prefer single player should approach Plus with caution, but the reasonable price point in no way suggests that the game is going to be loaded with content.
7/10
Did you like this article?
