I've always been a big MGS fan having annihilated 1-3. Like all good MGS, part 3 left me wanting to know what the hell the next part of the story was. It killed me that I didn't have a PSP and the next part of the story was played out in Portable Ops. I finally cracked and picked myself up a PSP. MGS: PO was my first game purchase.

Unfortunately I haven't beaten the game yet but I'm more than 3/4 done. I don't have the highest expectations because it is the handheld version of the series. Most may be used to walking through maps from one end to the other. With PO you are deployed on "missions" that have a play area roughly the size of an area that you'd play in one of the PSX/2 games. So just imagine MGS 3 except each time you load the next map you're in a new mission. Each mission has an objective but it all comes down to one thing; capture everyone and find the X on the map. It isn't horribly engrossing but for a diehard fan it's plenty entertainment.

The story is told via narrated graphic novel comic which sounds kinda lame but they actually make it really entertaining. It isn't the same as the sexier cut scenes the MGS series is famous for but given the limited capacity of the UMD they did well with what they had. If you liked any of the art that comes plastered all over the MGS guides and manuals then you'll love the cut scenes.

The major feature that is new to this game is the ability to build your own army. You capture soldiers, doctors, offices and so forth by knocking them out and dragging them back to a truck you drive into every mission. This is really cool at first, then it sucks, then it's cool again, and then it sucks one more time.

How does that happen you ask? Once you start building your army you get a variety of other characters that you can play as that have their own skill set. Then it sucks because in order to capture all these soldiers you have to drag them all the way to your truck. Then it's cool because you learn a trick to call up help and have whole herds of them returned to the truck without breaking a sweat. Finally it sucks one last time because you quickly find out that even though you capture tons of soldiers they all suck, they have horrible stats and you rarely (if ever) find one worth keeping. You won't willingly play as them and when you HAVE to it blows. They have crap for health, crap for stamina, crap for skills and so forth.

Your army also develops new weapons and items. If you've played any MGS you already know what most of those are. Some weapons are still found in the missions but the rest of them and most of the items are obtained by your army's development. You can also deploy spies to the maps and they'll procure vital info, steal ammunition and give your maps a bit more detail.

The controls took a bit to get used to without having the analog sticks to control Snake. I was doing a lot of fumbling around and getting shot at. After a day or two I settled into the PSP's analog stick and now I've got my A game back. The digital pad moves the camera which makes things awkward as you can't move while also repositioning the camera (unless you have a double jointed thumb).

Since this is a portable game it isn't half bad. If it were on a home console I don't think I'd be as fond. For most other people they may not find it as appealing. Like I said I am just a long time MGS gamer so at this point I just have to play. I haven't gotten to the end of the game but I can see where all this army building would lead into the storyline of the first Metal Gear. You're essentially taking control of Big Boss's rise to power. Here's some final thoughts that don't fit anywhere.

Graphics are good for the player models but the scenery is dull and repetitive. You're in one dilapidated base or another.

CQC is just not as intuitive as it was in MGS3.

Music is forgettable but I don't think I've ever played MGS for the music.

Boss battles are a joke. There's special ways to beat the bosses but I've never found them. I just whip out a big gun and blast them in the face.

The AI is as retarded as it was in MGS 1.