The announcement of Peace Walker was a surprise to say the least (well, apart from it being leaked a day early). Following Kojima Productions cryptic teasers leading up to the E3 announcement, few were expecting to see the return of Naked Snake (Big Boss) or even a sequel in vein of the truly unforgettable Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Some hands-on time with the Tokyo Game Show demo has left a striking first impression. I can say, without hesitance, that not only is Peace Walker shaping up to be Snake’s greatest portable adventure, but easily one that can rival its PS2 brethren.

Lengthy and sometimes perplexing cut-scenes have been a staple of the Metal Gear series for so long now, they’re almost a necessity. Peace Walker doesn’t disappoint here. It is in every way as cinematic as its console counterparts but lengthy conversations now take the approach of a graphic novel shifting to a comic book style of storytelling.  Employing the creative mind of Ashley Wood, the comic book artist behind the previous Metal Gear hand held titles, has clearly paid off here. With look half influenced by the series iconic art style and the comic book art seen in the Digital Graphic Novel, it really brings even the most mundane of conversations to life unlike anything the series has attempted to do before.

Finally getting into the boots of Snake, Peace Walker feels more like a middle ground blending the best of what console games and Portable Ops had to offer. Instead of a fluid story-telling experience, Peace Walker is broken up into mission segments much like Portable Ops, making it easier to pick up and play. These are fairly short affairs all tied together where you’ll progress from one area to another using stealth to execute or sneak past guards and, like Portable Ops, you’ll be graded on your performance.

The environments have a lot in common with the jungle setting of Snake Eater. You can duck behind foliage and tip toe through marshy waters. I didn’t spot any effective use of the surrounds as seen in MGS3, but I’m sure that Snake will be able to exploit the environment a little more in the finished game.

The games HUD is fairly well presented and not too intrusive. Your radar allows you to see how much sound you are making with your footsteps and also pick up on sounds around to identify the position of other guards. Holding Left or Right on the D-pad will bring up your inventories which are navigated using the square and circle buttons. These all have to be accessed in real-time, which doesn’t help when you have numerous guards pumping you full of lead. Codec conversations appear to be absent, or at least they’ve been worked into the HUD so to not break up the mission structure further. A nice addition there.

Many elements of the console versions have made the transition to Peace Walker, including MGS4’s flexible gameplay that gives you the option to play the game with an ‘all guns blazing’ approach, if you so wish. Snake can now aim over the shoulder to give you a better idea of where your shots will be most effective and an auto lock targeting system allowed me to run and gun with ease. Choosing to implement Metal Gear Solid 4’s action orientated gameplay has taken its toll on the control scheme. Shoehorning all the bells and whistles onto PSP can’t have been the easiest of tasks. This probably won’t help during longer play sessions. Primary actions are now mapped to the R trigger allowing Snake to execute his CQC moves. Now Snake has the ability to slam enemies to the ground or into each other which can prove incredibly useful when surrounded by guards.  Kojima has already expressed concern over the control schemes so we wouldn’t be surprised if  the controls were adapted for the final release.

After a handful of short missions, I was left suitably impressed with how Peace Walker had shaped up so quickly. But my time with Peace Walker wasn’t up just yet.  Co-operative play, now dubbed ‘Co-Ops’, made its grand appearance in the Peace Walker demo allowing you to bring a buddy along. Players can pick from a number of differently equipped Snake’s, such as ‘Battle Dress’ (a guy geared up to the teeth at the sacrifice of camouflage and agility), or ‘Naked Snake’ (less armor in favor of stealth and speed). Each Snake will encourage different methods of play, and mixing and matching can make for some killer combinations.

In sneaking missions, you’re free to roam around individually but you’re encouraged to move as a team. Snake Formation is a team based skill which allows players to synchronize and team up within the space of an orange circle. Stay in it and you’ll share a single health bar with regeneration and have access to eachother’s inventories. You can also link with your team mate allowing you to act like a turret whilst your partner moves around for you which felt a little more gimmicky that I expected but still a notable addition to the gameplay.

Peace Walker’s lasting impression was the hard as nails boss battle against a tank. As well as packing a series of soldiers to keep me distracted and the tank blowing me apart my cover,  I was regularly drawn to the Game Over screen,after many failed attempts to bring down the sluggish juggernaut. Up to four players can participate in Boss battles. Something that’s certainly an interesting prospect.

It seems like it’ll be a while  before we see Peace Walker strut gloriously onto our PSP’s but if this demo was anything to go by, then the wait will be more than worth it. Just a small taster of what Peace Walker can do has opened up the idea that a true Metal Gear Solid title can be successfully done on a hand held system and if that isn’t enough of a reason to be excited about this game then I doubt you’ll find one anywhere else.

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