Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #421: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

PSP

Nostalgia Factor:

Every single time a series that I love (such as Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, or Kingdom Hearts) releases a title for a handheld system, I tend to write it off. Maybe I should stop doing that. I've known about Peace Walker for years and years now, but I've never had much of an urge to play it due to the fact that it is "only" a handheld game. Turns out it is a lot more than that.

Mop Up Duty rolls through 2010 with my review of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP.

Story:

I played Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes nearly eight years ago. It was my 11th video game review. In that review, I said I would play Peace Walker "soon." I am now on review number 421. So much for soon!

Back in my review for that game, I remember making a comment that its story didn't make any sense to me because I hadn't played Peace Walker. Peace Walker takes place between Metal Gear Solids 3 and 5 (but not 4 - which takes place in the future). This game bridges the gap between the end of Metal Gear Solid 3 with the death of The Boss, and the start of the new Boss's exploits in Metal Gear Solid 5.

The events of this game take place, what did they say, nine years after the events of MGS3? In those nine years Snake has broken off and formed a mercenary group. Their base of operations becomes what will later be known as Outer Heaven.

Snake is drawn into a mission to defeat the Peace Walker, a Metal Gear prototype that is programmed to basically eradicate mankind if it detects that its country of origin is being bombarded with nuclear weapons. The idea is that it is the ultimate nuclear deterrent because most humans would be reluctant to launch a counterattack that could doom all life on the planet.

This game is much more straightforward than your usual Metal Gear Solid game, with all its dozens of convoluted twists and turns. This game does do some silly things, sure, but compare this to the second half of Metal Gear Solid 2 and it is no comparison.

I wish I could say that I understood who some of the characters were, however. Paz? Chico? Kaz? Who? Maybe they are mentioned in Metal Gear Solid 3, but I don't remember any of them. This game absolutely does not do a great job of making sure you know what is going on before you start playing it. Right off the bat when I started playing this I was so freaking confused as to what the heck was happening. I became a little disjointed from the game's story, and honestly I never really recovered after that. Of all the Metal Gear games out there, this is the one where I cared about its story the least.

Gameplay:

You'll notice pretty quickly that this game doesn't have the same flow as previous Metal Gear Solid titles. Most games in the series are story driven, guiding you from one interconnected location to the next. Peace Walker is mission based. Most of these missions are short, ranging anywhere from five to ten minutes in length. When you complete the mission, you get experience points, upgrades, and you are sent to the mission menu. You can either go back to your base and use the points you've earned to upgrade it (producing new weapons and items in the process) or you can select to move on to the next mission and keep playing.

At first, this was a little jarring to me. It felt like the flow of the game was constantly being interrupted. For example, I'd complete the mission of infiltrating an enemy base. A cutscene would play where a tank would roll into the area and aim its cannon at me. I get the message "Mission complete" and I go back to the game's menu.

If I choose to keep playing, I select the next mission in line. This mission begins with Snake facing off against the tank, who acts as a boss character. So instead of infiltrating the base and doing battle with the tank all in one go, it is broken up into two separate missions. The plus side of this is that you can upgrade your character and your base before going into battle with the tank. In the menu, I can equip a rocket launcher and a machine gun instead of the tranquilizer gun and shotgun I had been carrying - neither of which would have been useful against a tank. Like I said, this was a little jarring at first. But the more I played, the more I got used to the concept. Eventually I ended up embracing it.

Missions in this game are very easy. Getting spotted isn't the death sentence it is in previous MGS games. In Peace Walker, you can usually destroy all your enemies and clear the alert status pretty easily. Enemies don't just keep coming and coming endlessly until you hide and lose them. This takes a lot of the challenge away, knowing you can just run through and mow everyone down, completing your mission in a fraction of the time it would take otherwise. On the flip side, using stealth and avoiding detection usually results in a better mission grade, which factors in when upgrading the base and earning experience points.

Upgrading the base is a time consuming yet oddly pleasant aspect of this game that I did not think I was going to enjoy. I liked assigning soldiers to different areas of the base, and sending out troops into battle to bring back money and experience points. It took me a while to figure out the whole weapon upgrade thing, resulting in a ton of grinding in the early game to get the equipment that I wanted. When I say grinding, there are "Extra Ops" optional missions that you can play over and over again to gain experience. You always want to aim to get an S rank, as these reap the highest benefits.

Extra Ops missions are even shorter than main missions. They range from disarming mines, rescuing soldiers, and wiping out all the troops in the area. One of the most fun things to do in this entire game is to knock enemies out with the tranquilizer gun and then strap a balloon on their back that takes them back to the main base - where you can then assign them to work details. Spamming Extra Ops missions repeatedly and bringing tons of enemy soldiers back to the base is a good way to level up quickly.

The main game itself is fun. As I alluded to, it is more action-oriented than past MGS games. The boss battles are big and epic. I do think the game is lacking a more personal connection that previous games in the series have been able to capture. While this game is fun, and surprisingly so, I didn't quite feel the connection to it that I did to past games in the series.

Graphics:

This game looks good, especially for a PSP game. It definitely doesn't lose any quality in the switch from the big screen to the small. Ok, maybe a little. But that's forgivable. If you're going to play this game, I'd suggest the HD version for the PS3.

One thing I enjoy is the fact that cutscenes now take place through hand-drawn sequences, resembling pages from a manga. I understand that this game probably had a smaller budget than its predecessors, hence the change. And I approve of it.

Sound:

The Metal Gear Solid series has always had great music, sound effects, and voice acting. Peace Walker definitely carries that torch proudly. This game sounds just as good as any of its console counterparts. Sadly, this may be the last time I ever get to hear David Hayter as Solid Snake. I've played and reviewed every game in the series now from 1 through 4. I know they make the switch to Keifer Sutherland for 5, and that makes me sad.

Overall:

I underestimated this game. It's lengthy, it's fun, and it's definitely more than "just" a handheld knockoff of the main series. This game kept me up late at night for weeks, completing Extra Ops missions, progressing through the main story, and upgrading my base and assigning work to its personnel. I haven't even talked about how you're supposed to build your own version of Peace Walker. I was never able to do that, as I couldn't figure out the system for doing so. Probably the one gripe I had with the game. I definitely feel like I missed out on a big part of it by not being able to figure this out.

Peace Walker is a lot different from other games in the series, but in a good way. That said, I definitely didn't care much for its snoozer of a story. I thought that this game would get me pumped and ready to dive into Metal Gear Solid V, but honestly it hasn't done so. I mean, I do plan to play that game someday (and I am referring to The Phantom Pain and not Ground Zeroes). But I'm in no rush to go out and do it now.

This is a fun and engaging game. I'd recommend it to anyone who has the means to play it. As a Metal Gear title, I am not sure where to put it. I definitely missed the zaniness of the main series in this one. The stealth is a little meh. It feels more like an action game than anything else.

But I had a good time playing this, and that's all that really matters. Good game? Yes. Good Metal Gear Solid game? You could definitely survive without playing this.

THE GRADE:

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1984:

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