GAME DEVELOPMENT AND SERIES PLACEMENT "Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops" (abbreviated as MPO) was originally meant to be a stand-alone title, completely unrelated to the main games. However, past Metal Gear ventures onto portable systems were not successful being non-cannon, prompting Konami to involve Hideo Kojima for a cannon installment. At the time Kojima was in full production of "Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots" so Masahiro Yamamoto directed the game production with Kojima writing the story and being in supervisory control of the project. While the cutscene artwork was done by Ashley Wood, Yoji Shinkawa is credited for Design Direction and Character Design. MPO takes place between the events of "Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater" and "Metal Gear" and is the first cannon portable Metal Gear game. In order to speed-up production time the game engine was taken directly out of MGS3. As such, the graphics, character models and their movements are identical to "Snake Eater". While this made MPO feel more like an extension of MGS3 instead of an original title it did allow for a 1-year production turnaround. Neither of the Metal Gear SAGA DVD documentaries discuss this game and focus only on the "six groundbreaking" Kojima titles as the true series. The U.S. version discusses the history of the series and labels anything but the six main games as a spin-off. It was released the same year as MPO. The Japanese version focuses on the plot and the events of MPO are omitted completely. It was released 7 months after MPO. This makes "Portable Ops" fall along the lines of Expanded Universe as it does offer a cannon plot but is not regarded on par with the main installments. The musical score was composed by Norihiko Hibino, Takahiro Izutani, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Kazuma Hinnouchi, Nobuko Toda and Akihiro Honda. The ending theme "Calling ToThe Night" was composed by Akihiro Honda and arranged by Norihiko Hibino and Akihiro Honda, with vocals by Natasha Farrow and lyrics by Nobuko Toda. Many music tracks are very similar to the ones in MGS3; some are clearly taken and remixed. DIFFERENT PRESENTATION The layout of the game is somewhat different than the main Metal Gear installments. While you are engaged in an overall campaign, you do so in a series of smaller missions. Each mission brings you to the area in which you must accomplish a certain goal. Most missions are fairly short, based around retreating an item or finding and interrogating a certain individual. Such style plays well a handheld system. There is also an option to restart or quit each individual mission. The game takes place over a course of the several months, which is very unique for the series. Each mission takes place either at day or night time. Only 2 missions can be done per one in-game day. The player can fast-forward the time ½ a day in order to get a needed Spy Report or allow characters to heal without wasting supplies. While the game does feature full voice acting, the cutscene style is rather different. Instead of the traditional 3D cinemas, the story sequences are delivered in a comic book fashion of the "MGS Digital Novel", done by Ashley Wood. Again, while this style does deviate from the traditional approach, it is well suited for a handheld system. The voice acting is exclusive to the cutscenes only and is not present in any other parts of the game. Plain text messages are used in its place instead. The only real system setback of MPO was the control design that was hindered by the layout of the PSP. The free (3D) camera that was introduced in "Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence" is implemented but is hard to use since the analog stick and the directional buttons are on the same side. This can hinder visibility of surroundings while moving. The move set and the controls are entirely based on MGS3 (which were originally designed for the PlayStation 2 controller), as such they were too sensitive and complex for the PSP to handle comfortably. NEW GAMEPLAY Perhaps the biggest change that MPO makes is the recruitment of enemies into your unit. In past games the idea was always to take down the enemies or sneak by them without being seen. In this game you can actually recruit all the characters you come across over to your side, potentially making everyone in the game playable. Soldiers, Doctors, Engineers, Scientists, and anyone else you come across can be knocked out and dragged back to your truck, where after some interrogation they join your unit. Even boss characters are not safe from that. While they differ in how you can actually unlock them, every single boss can eventually end up in your unit, bringing their own special skills with them. Thus you have the option of playing as just about ANY character in the game. It should be noted, however, that regardless of who you are controlling, their moves are the same as Snake. However each character has unique skills, attributes, and abilities that make them suitable for different tasks. 100 people in total can be recruited. Going over 100 will prompt you to dismiss someone. If the character you are controlling gets killed you lose him permanently out of your unit. (Snake is an exception to that rule) Managing your unit is vital to how successful you will be in the game. There are 4 units to fill, the Sneaking Unit (with 4 squads, 4 people each), the Spy Unit (4 spies for each area you unlock), Technical Unit (8 people total), and the Medical Unit (8 people total). The more people you recruit the more you can fill each unit. Each character in the game has attributes. Some are good in medicine while some are gear-heads. Some are good at shooting a handgun while others are better at CQC. Here is the rating system: > The rating in each field (Med, Tech, CQC, Shooting, etc) is graded as "S", "A", "B", and "C". "S" is the highest while "C" is the lowest. When staffing your Med or Tech units make sure to look for the "S" rated characters in those fields as they will benefit you more in terms of item production and soldier healing time. Same goes for your Technical unit. The characters with a high engineering rating would be most useful. > Some characters also have special skills, which mechanics-wise is looked at after the "S, A, B, C" rating. Character with a Doctor or Nutritionist skill would be most beneficial to your Med Unit while someone with an Engineering or Weapons Development skill would boost up the Tech unit. Two very vital skills of a Deliveryman (that can send items back to your truck while others can only max out at 4) and a Rescuer (who can drag people faster than others) would come in most handy for your Sneaking Unit. A Surveyor character is good to place in the Sneaking Unit as they will provide a more detailed map, full of item placements, of the area. Try to put one in each of the areas you unlock. > SENSE is an interesting rating that is most useful in determining your Spy Unit. Guys that are in the lower 30's are somewhat useless. Try to stock each area with competent spies that have a 40 to 50+ rating as they will gather more information in less time. > Completing the game and starting a new one from the SAVE file will allow you to keep everything you've obtained and unlocked; all the weapons, items, and recruited members. The larger and more skilled your Spy, Med, and Tech units are, the less time you'll need to spend hunting down ammo, rations, and other replenishments; though you do have to find the actual weapons and items. There are a variety of ways to unlock hidden characters, from using Pass Codes to completing Side Missions. Many extra characters like Taliko and Venus from the "Metal Gear Acid" series, EVA, Major Zero, and Ocelot from MGS3 are unlockable in this fashion. If you build up your Tech unit to a 99 rating they will build a Stealth Cammo. The camouflage system that was introduced in MGS3 Snake Eater does come back, but is used in a completely different way. Instead of changing uniforms you basically change characters. A character in a Doctor uniform can walk among Doctors undetected but will be spotted immediately by a character with a different outfit. The more different types of characters you capture, the more places you can infiltrate with ease. Some areas will have several types of characters patrolling forcing you out of the comfort zone in choosing the 4-man infiltration team with careful planning. This is the exact opposite of what was used in MGS3 where a scientist disguise got your past the guards but awoke suspicion among other scientists. That made more sense as they would be more likely not to recognize an unfamiliar colleague as opposed to a patrolling soldier. This can be seen as a development and/or concept flaw for MPO. In a rushed pursuit of creating a new gaming system the development team did not think it through with common sense. WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT Any given character can only carry and use 4 items at a time. This ties in directly to using the entire squad since members can pass items to each other. Being able to take up to 4 members on a mission gives the player up to 16 items (weapons and equipment) to use. It's best to use Snake for a boss fight as he can not be lost from the unit if the player looses the fight. However, only being able to carry 4 items, Snake would be equipped only with the tools to beat the boss fight. In order to get him to the boss fight you must use other unit members to clear a path, keeping Snake fresh for the main battle. The weapons you find along the way vary greatly, some return from previous games while others are brand new. However, the extensive collection of guns and explosives that can be accumulated proves to be of low use. Most are not effective tools for a sneaking mission and the boss fights tend to be most effective with a few specific weapons. Just as MGS3 made use of the Sonar to compensate for the missing Radar system (being set in 1964), MPO does the same by utilizing a Sound Radar. It shows the level of noise made by the controlled character as well as the enemies in a close proximity. The radio works the same way, but it's not used nearly as much as in the main games. It should be noted that there is no voice acting in the radio sequences or the briefings between missions. ONLINE GAMEPLAY There is online play and recruitment available via WiFi. You can take your unit and battle it out online. However, while you can recruit characters from other people playing you can also end up losing yours if they get killed. The characters you get from online play can be used in the single player campaign. RECEPTION AND VERSIONS "Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops" was a big success. It debuted at #1 in North America and in Japan in all PSP video game sales. The title ranked high in preorder numbers in Japan, and sold 178,370 copies in Japan in the first three days. This is highly notable for a game on the PSP as most games have a recorded peak of 30,000 initial sales in the first week. Due to its delayed release after it was revealed that the required BBFC rating was missing, the European version of the game received extras in the form of new area maps, Boss Rush Mode, Extreme difficulty, and new side missions. EXPANDED EDITION "Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Plus" was in many ways similar to "Metal Gear Solid VR Missions" as in it added extra content without featuring the original game. The Japanese version of the game included the original MPO as a double-pack but the U.S. version did not. Having an MPO save file will allow the player to use everything that was unlocked (characters & items) from the original game. "Plus" centered mainly around the Online gameplay of MPO, with new area maps, new characters, tutorials for beginners, and new game modes. There is a new Infinity Mission campaign (offline gameplay) that forces the player to run through various maps of MPO and build a new unit. This time you can recruit up to 200 soldiers, which includes many different types such as the MGS1 Genome soldiers, MGS2 Gurlukovich (various outfits) soldiers, as well as various MGS3 Russian patrols. As in the original game, all the characters can be used in the Online play. The Infinity Mission has 4 modes, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Extreme. Completing each one will unlock various features, including Boss Rush Mode and Hidden Characters. Some of the Genome soldiers can be customized by finding hidden items that will enable the player to change the outfit color and give them "posing" abilities. This was in clear reference to the "Power Rangers" Characters Big Boss After Operation Snake Eater he retired from FOX, hunted by the guilt over The Boss' death. He refuses to accept the title of Big Boss that was awarded to him and still struggles to understand The Boss' "loyalty to the mission" philosophy. After the FOX revolt Snake and Major Zero were charged with treason. (Voiced by Akio tsuka in Japanese and by David Hayter in English) Roy Campbell The last survivor of the Green Berets Unit that was sent to investigate the hijacked weapon and stop the revolted FOX Unit at the San Hieronmymo base. (Voiced by Toshio Furukawa in Japanese and by David Agranov in English) Jonathan - A member of the Red Army, he is the first to join Snake's squad. He helps Snake during the mission after being convinced that Gene would threaten the Motherland. (Voiced by Robin Atkin Downes in English) ParaMedic She created the first paramedic system in Seattle in 1970. Still working with Major Zero and the FOX unit at the time of the revolt she kept the emergency frequency open that allowed Snake to contact her. She eventually goes to join Snake's Unit. (No voice work in the game) Mr. Sigint - In 1965, he joined ARPA and took part in the development of ARPANET. Just as ParaMedic he helps Snake briefly via radio and then goes out to join his unit. (No voice work in the game) Nikolai Stephanovich Sokolov Rescued by Gene from the Russian prison camp and brought to U.S. after Operation Snake Eater. He developed the Metal Gear tank based on the work of Granin. However, Sokolov could not bare to have the weapon be used against Russia and decided to help Snake under the name "Ghost". (Voiced by Naoki Tatsuta in Japanese and by Brian Cummings in English) Colonel Skowronski - A loyal colonel of the Red Army and a former fighter pilot. He is the commander of the San Hieronymo base. After Gene starts his rebellion, Skowronski's men turn on him. (Voiced by Tetsu Inada in Japanese and by Nick Jameson in English) Gene The leader of the FOX rebellion with the codename "Viper". He is the product of the Successor Project aimed to create the "ultimate battlefield commander" modeled after The Boss. Gene has super-fast reflexes that enable him to dodge bullets and a hypnotic voice. His goal to create a nation for soldiers, Army's Heaven. (Voiced by Norio Wakamoto in Japanese and by Steve Blum in English) Lt. Cunningham FOX Unit interrogator with a former codename "Boa". He lost his leg in battle and now wears a prosthetic. Though siding with Gene, he is double agent working for the Pentagon in search of the second half of the Philosopher's Legacy. (Voiced by Daisuke Gouri in Japanese and by Noah Nelson in English) Elisa/Ursula Survivor of a nuclear accident in the Ural Mountains that killed her parents and, gave her ESP abilities, and split her personality in two. Elisa retained all the human emotions with some ESP while Ursula lost her personality but gained massive psychic powers. She (they) was rescued by Gene from a lab in East Germany and joining his unit. (Voiced by Saori Goto in Japanese and by Tara Strong in English) Null A teenage soldier who was the sole survivor of the "Perfect Soldier" program. His memory is wiped clean after every mission in a sensory deprivation water tank, keeping his senses and reflex razor sharp. Big Boss stopped him in 1966 at Mozambique when he was a child soldier going by the name Frank Jaeger (Hunter) and took him to rehab facility. (Voiced by Jun Fukuyama in Japanese and by Larc Spies in English) Python Fought along with Snake in the Vietnam War before getting severely injured on a secret mission and his body losing the ability to regulate temperature. He now wears a suit filled with liquid nitrogen to keep his body from overheating. Python is kept alive by the CIA as a weapon to take down Big Boss. (Voiced by Yusaka Yara in Japanese and by Dwight Schultz in English) Ocelot - He is Gene's telephone contact who was feeding him information. It is revealed that Ocelot is working for someone with the same codename as Null. (Voiced by Takumi Yamazaki in Japanese and by Joshua Keaton in English) ??? The mastermind behind Volgin's nuclear strike and The Boss' final mission. His codename is said to be the same as Null. He and Ocelot would go on to start the Les Enfants Terribles Project and the formation of the Patriots. (Does not appear in the game) UNLOCKABLES The following characters can be unlocked either by completing certain missions or using a password. Cannon Unlockables These characters can become part of Snake's Unit in accordance to the plot of the game. Their recruitment does not contradict the plot of the game. ParaMedic Contact her on the radio at the Comm. Bld. before going to the Rail Bridge. She will later need to be rescued in the hospital stage. Place spies in the Hospital. Password: PM-EMS Sigint After Snake is captured and rescued you can contact him on the radio at the Comm. Bld. stage. He will later need to be rescued in the Town. Password: DARPA-1 Sokolov Use the spy unit reports to find the Saturn V blueprints and give them to Sokolov. Password: SATURNV Python Stamina kill him and he joins the unit immediately. Password: LQ.N2 Null Beat the game once. Password: Hunter-n Elisa/Ursula - Have a Medic level of over 80. If the second number as an odd number you get Ursuala, if it is an even number you get Elisa. Password: THE-L for Elisa and PK +ESP for Ursula. Non-cannon Unlockables These characters are bonus extras that would not be able to be part of Snake's unit according to the plot. Some are also cameos from other Metal Gear games. MGS3 Major Ocelot Unlock EVA and Sokolov, then go to the Ravine and follow Campbell's directions. Ocelot will be unlocked for the second playthrough. Password: R.R.R. MGS3 EVA Use the spy unit reports to go on side missions to find her. Password: E.APPLE MGS3 Major Zero Have a "MGS Digital Graphic Novel" game save on the PSP memory stick. (Second playthrough only) Password: 1+2-3 MGS3 Major Raikov - Place spies in Western Wilderness before clearing the Guest House mission. Afterwards you should get a report of a handsome prisoner being held there. Password: IVN =RV MGA Teliko Have spies at the Guest House and on December 16th 1971 you get a report about her. Knock her out and drag her back to the truck. The other option is to have a "Metal Gear Acid" game save on your PSP memory stick. (Second playthrough only) Password: T.F-ACID MGA 2 Venus Have spies at the Power Station and on December 8th 1971 you get a report about her. Knock her out and drag her back to the truck. The other option is to have a "Metal Gear Acid 2" game save on your PSP memory stick. (Second playthrough only) Password: MGA2VE Gene Recruit 200 soldiers and stamina kill Gene all in one playthrough. In the European version you get him by completing the Boss Rush Mode. Password: ERBE Cunningham Beat Cunningham on any difficulty by stamina kill and beat the game before January 1st 1971 in game. You get him after you start a new game. Password: JUNKER Gako Soldier - Password: !TRAUMER Portable Ops Plus Unlockalbe Characters MGS4 Old Snake Beat Normal mode in infinity mission. MGS2 Raiden Beat Hard mode in infinity mission. Roy Campbell Beat Extreme mode in infinity mission. Johnny (MGS1-3) Find as a random prisoner during the infinity mission. |
