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If you've never played Metal Gear Solid or its sequels, Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater, stop reading this review! Go to a store and buy these games. Cherish the incredible plotlines, the fabulous boss battles, the over the top and insanely long cut scenes, and most importantly, enjoy Solid Snake for being one of the greatest heroes ever to grace a console (John Wayne's got nothing on this guy).
When you've wasted at least a month of your life playing these, it might become difficult to go back to other games. You'll want to live and breathe Metal Gear and play anything with Metal Gear in the title. But that's the rub, once the games hook you in, you'll say to yourself, "hey, the PSP has two Metal Gear games, GREAT!" Unfortunately, from my month long experience with Metal Gear Acid 2 (I didn't play the allegedly inferior predecessor), I realize that the Metal Gear name doesn't always mean its right for me.
 As most fans know, the Metal Gear Acid franchise moves away from the action genre that the Solid series occupies and instead, offers a turn-based strategy game. What does this mean? Well it basically means that you take turns with the enemies in the games making strategic moves. In each turn you have, you select how many spaces you want to move or choose a card from group of cards given to you from your card deck. These cards can increase your defense, serve as a weapon for against your enemies, serve as a ration., etc. Basically, the cards are similar to what you might select from the item and weapon menus from a Metal Gear Solid game, but now everything plays out like an RPG game. Similar to spells, armor and weapons in found in an RPG title, cards are upgradeable and more powerful as you trudge through the game. There are even "call spells," by way of special decks, which are based on attacks seen in previous Metal Gear Solid games. For instance, if you use the Cyborg Ninja card, you're treated to vintage footage of his massacre in the original Metal Gear Solid game, and then rewarded by taking off extra energy on opponents.
If you're looking for an RPG-type game on the PSP, these gameplay elements could be appealing to you. The gameplay is sophisticated, but rewarding for those looking who immerse themselves in it. Personally, I found the learning curve for Acid 2 to be pretty intense and bit frustrating. In a portable title, I am looking for something less complicated and with more of a punch for quick gaming on the go.
I might have found Acid 2 more compelling if the game's story matched the drama of the Solid series. With its comic book presentation, I think the game lost a bit of its charm. Don't get me wrong, the graphics are beautiful -- Acid 2 has a vibrant, colorful look that takes advantage of the PSP's brilliant screen. While this is nice, the comic styled progression of the story didn't do it for me. Story elements were boring and without voices, long dialogue sequences seemed tedious. Even though I would see that Solid Snake doing what he does best, he somehow doesn't feel like the real Snake in this game. If you ask me, not having David Hayter voiceovers is like going to a see silent Clint Eastwood film.
Probably the most interesting parts of Acid 2 for me didn't even deal with core gameplay. I was most fascinated with the concept of the Solid Eye peripheral for the game, though disappointed somewhat with the final result. When I first read about Acid 2, I saw images of what looked like a fancy device you put on top of your PSP to make the game 3D. Well, the game does offer fantastic 3D visuals with the Snake Eye, but the Cracker Jack-esque peripheral forces the screen to look about half the size and can be agonizing to use for more than a few minutes at a time. In the end, the feature is more of a gimmick, but it does offer cool bonuses, like the ability to watch the first MGS 4 trailer in 3D. Beyond the Snake Eye feature, I also found a boss mode where I could play "card battles" against classic MGS bosses like Revolver Ocelot. But while it was a cool concept, it's basically the same stuff I'd rather not play in the single player mode.
It doesn't sound like there's a lot that I liked about this game, but it's just not the kind of portable experience I want to have. If I had more time and maybe if the game was on a home console, I'd probably be able to become more immersed in the gameplay. As it stands, I think I'd rather put my gaming hours into something else and wait for the next "solid" Metal Gear game. |
