Set in 1970, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops follows directly on from the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, with the player assuming the role of series hero Snake (aka Big Boss), as he puts together the elite FOXHOUND unit made famous in earlier Metal Gear titles, and is instigating a bloody revolt with his treacherous FOX unit. Heralding the return of many notable characters from the Metal Gear series, Portable Ops acts as the climax to a major portion of the ongoing Metal Gear timeline, as players participate in the events that directly lead into later games in the series, including the great tragedy that determines Big Boss’ future path.

Featuring a full-fledged story mode, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops introduces a new team-building mechanic that brings additional depth and gameplay. Players can now capture and recruit characters they encounter and assign them to different units that will perform different functions, such as healing teammates, gathering intelligence and creating new items. Players can also recruit rare and unique non-playable characters with special abilities throughout the game. Each character is rated on a series of more than ten attributes, giving players incredible variety in building the ideal squad and creating different teams that are best suited to different types of combat situations.

European users will enjoy 12 more characters than existing Japanese and US users, while the careers of the available characters have been expanded to highlight their key attributes – athleticism or physical strength, for instance.

The recruiting element is unique to Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, with various possibilities to increase your number of team-mates. Making superb use of the wireless functionality of the PSP®, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops lets players scan access points (AP) by using the game’s AP SCAN function. Depending on the unique MAC address provided by the access point, players can access a specific wireless AP character and recruit them as a new team-mate. Certain rare and unique characters will be available only via access point scanning, giving users further incentives to play in different locations and add new members to their squads.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops also features support for massive online battles in ten areas specifically designed for multiplayer encounters – two more than the US and Japanese version of the game – letting up to six players take their custom squads online and battle in stealthy encounters across several different modes of play. Using a unique White Flag mechanic, players can choose to surrender and fight again or risk permanently losing one of their valuable comrades. Players can also wirelessly trade characters with others, building a squadron that is best suited to dominate the online competition.

With the Metal Gear series famed for its incredible aesthetics, Portable Ops continues the trend with cinematic interludes and fully-voiced cut scenes. The PSP® game also features the original artwork of acclaimed graphic artist Ashley Wood, with the many animations, sound effects, and cut scenes merging with the comic book elements to create an entirely original form of storytelling. The voice cast of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops features veterans from previous Metal Gear Solid titles, including David Hayter and others.

In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Kojima Productions has produced a stunning addition to the Metal Gear story, and European users are set to enjoy a game with a number of major additions over the US and Japanese versions. In addition to the new elements, characters and online facets, the game also includes a new ‘Boss Battle’ mode wherein players are rewarded with new recruitable characters on offing one of the game’s larger adversaries…

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