PSP Game METAL GEAR SOLID PORTABLE OPS by KONAMI Near Mint Condition LOW START PRICE**NO RESERVE**

The story alone makes Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops required playing material for fans of Kojima Productions' long-running, memorable stealth action series. This isn't called Metal Gear Solid 4, but this PlayStation Portable game is a direct continuation of the moving, thought-provoking storyline presented in 2004's MGS3: Snake Eater, and in turn, it sheds new light on some of the mysteries of the previous games in the series. That's the good news; the better news is that Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops also takes the series in some interesting, new directions from a gameplay standpoint. This game has it all, featuring not only a great, open-ended solo campaign, but also some extensive multiplayer options and plenty of other surprises. Complicated controls and a storyline that doesn't waste much time on exposition mean Portable Ops will take a while for inexperienced players to get into, and even though it's amazing how much of the visual detail the series is known for got crammed into this game, fans will note that this isn't as lavish of a production as the games in the series proper. But this is still an all-around outstanding experience, especially since you can play it on the go.

mself a lot of new friendPortable Ops takes place in 1970, some years after the profound events of Metal Gear Solid 3, and it chronicles another important chapter in the life of the legendary soldier called Snake, also known as Big Boss. A soldier through and through, Snake's latest assignment takes him to a secret Soviet base in South America, and at the beginning of the game, he's captured and detained there...by members of his own former FOX unit. He escapes with the help of a young Green Beret named Roy Campbell, and they decide to work together to put a stop to what's shaping up to be a very bad situation between American forces and rogue Soviet militants. Snake and Campbell soon agree that they can't succeed in this situation on their own, and they begin recruiting some of the enemy soldiers to their cause. As the story unravels, Snake will meet up with some faces from his blood-soaked past and discover the true nature of what's happening in that South American base. Snake is an already likable, complex character and winds up all the more so at the end of this game.

Much like the story in MGS3, the story in Portable Ops sometimes grows dense with double-crossing and second-guessing and breaks into some philosophical discourse on the meaning of loyalty. It's heady stuff, but at the same time, it's presented in an over-the-top way that makes it exciting rather than ponderous. Of further note, the main villains of this story are much more compelling than those of MGS3; they're intriguing, memorable characters, some of the best bad guys this series has ever seen. Unlike previous games in the series, though, the major story sequences in Portable Ops are presented with animated comic book panels, rather than in full 3D. These cutscenes don't have quite the same cinematic flair as those of MGS3, and the mostly black-and-white ink artwork is stylistically much different from the way the rest of the game looks. However, this format really works, and it helps make the key story sequences of Portable Ops about as dramatic as those of MGS3 before it. There are plenty of major plot sequences in the game, but overall, there's a much better balance between gameplay and storyline here as compared with previous games in the series. It takes roughly 15 hours to finish the story the first time through, and while you'll be left with plenty of plot to think about, you'll have spent most of that time undertaking various sneak

Of course, you could also assign them to your sneaking team. Another big change in Portable Ops is that you can now play as many other characters besides Snake. Each character is rated differently using different weapons and skills, and some have unique special abilities. In practice, though, everybody pretty much plays alike, so it's a bit of a shame that you don't get to use a whole bunch of different moves depending on the character. This is still an interesting addition to the gameplay, though, as it lets you bring multiple characters into each mission, whom you then control one at a time--the others lie in wait in inconspicuous cardboard boxes (what else?). Also, certain uniformed soldiers can blend right in with their former friends, letting you mosey right into enemy territory.

 The first time you capture an enemy soldier, the process is convincingly detailed in a cutscene, in which Snake, a famous and charismatic soldier, earns the loyalty and respect of the enemy combatant. From that point, what happens to your enemies to make them join you after capture is implied, but to capture enemies in the first place, you must knock them unconscious and dump them in the back of your truck. Simple! It's an oddly unsettling, surprisingly fun collection minigame of sorts, and it'll compel you to use nonlethal force most of the time, since you'll ideally need literally dozens of soldiers to join you. Your ranks will mostly consist of former enemy grunts, but it's possible to get stronger, special characters to join you through various means. Since the squads you amass during the single-player game are the very same characters you'll take online for multiplayer, there's plenty of good reason to go into different mission areas just to kidnap and convert some of the locals.