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“Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops”

Konami Corporation

PSP

When your name’s Snake and you wear an eyepatch, megalomaniacal foes are never in short supply.

After two forays into strategy card games and a “digital graphic novel,” “Metal Gear Solid” has returned to its roots on the PSP with “Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.” However, it sports some key differences from previous Metal Gear Solid games.

Set in 1970, six years after the events of the wildly successful “Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater,” protagonist Snake finds himself framed, accused of treason, and forced to prevent a nuclear catastrophe and clear his name. The unfolding story is as engaging as any previously seen in the series.

With the exception of some difficulty in controlling the camera, it’s as fun as ever to infiltrate enemy compounds and take on overwhelming odds with little more than your wits and a rifle.

Rather than wandering about in an open-ended environment, “Portable Ops” has players choosing single missions from a main menu.

By choking enemies unconscious and dragging them back to a truck for some “persuasion,” gamers can strengthen their armies. Strategically assigning these recruits as medics, technicians and spies, players uncover weapons, medical supplies and new missions.

More importantly, though, it’s possible to accomplish objectives more swiftly by utilizing the game’s new Chameleon system.

By playing as an average soldier converted to the side of good in lieu of the grizzled, eyepatch-touting (and more conspicuous) Snake, players can easily wander with impunity – provided they don’t act conspicuously (say, by discharging a firearm wildly in public).

The advent of the Chameleon gameplay mechanic, in addition to organizing one’s army, adds a solid layer of strategy that rewards thoughtful gameplay beyond the sneaking and shooting for which Metal Gear is known.

Furthermore, “Portable Ops” takes advantage of the PSP’s portability with the ability to recruit even more soldiers via Wi-Fi or the currently unreleased GPS accessory.

Once players finish the single-player campaign, there’s still a fully featured multiplayer mode to be enjoyed, in which you can even gamble your hard-earned recruits in life-or-death battles.

“Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops” is by far the best reason so far to get a PSP. Aside from some nagging camera control issues, it embraces the full potential of a mobile platform while delivering a full- fledged experience to rival that of its home console brethren.