Why is portable ops rated m

Portable Ops takes place in , 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 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 sneaking missions. Outstanding visuals and a captivating story will entice you to press through this game's challenging campaign.

When it comes down to controlling the action--doing things like shooting, sneaking, and fighting hand-to-hand--Portable Ops borrows heavily from MGS3 and MGS2 before it. Fans of the series can expect much of the same type of behavior from the enemy artificial intelligence, as well as many of the moves and abilities they've already seen before. You can still flatten your back against walls and peek around corners, execute a powerful forward dive, fire a bunch of authentic firearms either from a third-person or first-person viewpoint, and crawl through narrow passageways to escape enemy patrols.

However, some gameplay tweaks are in here to help make this game more playable using the PSP's controls. Of particular note, Portable Ops uses the third-person camera perspective introduced in this year's MGS3: Subsistence, so you can move the camera angle around your character using the D pad, or quickly reset the perspective by tapping the left shoulder button.

Also, there's a nice, new radar system that tracks nearby enemies based on how much sound they're making; it lets you know when foes are near without giving away their location. Thankfully, the "survival" gameplay elements of MGS3, which forced you to spend a bunch of time in menu screens rather than in action while curing deep wounds and eating weird food, have been cut from this game.

The typical mission in Portable Ops is a short, instant-action affair. Though the underlying gameplay is familiar, the overarching structure of this game is very different from what's been done before in Metal Gear Solid.

Early on, Snake and Campbell establish a mobile base, and at this point you're introduced to the game's strategic layer.

You see a tactical map containing all of the known regions of the South American base, and from here, you're able to deploy to any of these regions in any order at any time. Meanwhile, a key new gameplay component has you recruiting more and more soldiers to your cause, whom you can then assign to spy on particular territories, serve in the medical ward to help heal your injured troops, or join your technical team that creates new items for you from time to time.

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 new strategic layer dividing up all of the different missions takes some getting used to, but introduces a lot of interesting gameplay elements. 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.

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. The two escape and Snake makes his way to a communications base, where he attempts to contact his old CO, Major Zero. Instead, he is greeted by his old FOX comrades Para-Medic and Sigint , who reveal that Snake and Zero are being accused of instigating the revolt and that the only way for Snake to clear their name is to find and apprehend the leader of the rebellion, Gene.

To complicate matters, Gene has also convinced most of the Russian soldiers stationed on the base to join their side by simply taking over the chain of command of a former Red Army unit, that was secretly stationed inside the Colombian territory.

In order to complete his mission, Snake must persuade enemy soldiers to join his ranks. Unlike the previous games on the PSP, Metal Gear Acid and Metal Gear Acid 2 , which were turn-based tactical games with stealth elements, Portable Ops retains the action-based gameplay of the console iterations, drawing heavily from Metal Gear Solid 3 and utilizing the camera system from Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.

The main addition of Portable Ops is the Comrade System. The squad is then sent into battle. During gameplay, the player controls only one squad member at a time. Characters who are killed in combat are eliminated from the player's squad permanently unless they are unique characters such as Snake.

A variety of methods can be employed to expand one's squad. Another new feature is the surround indicator added to the game's HUD. The game also contains a Wi-Fi-enabled multiplayer mode, which is an expansion of the Metal Gear Online mode from Subsistence.

Instead, they are presented using an animated comic style consisting of hand drawn artwork by artist Ashley Wood. In late August, Konami released more details about the game.

As the player progressed through the game, Big Boss could recruit other characters to assist him. Each character would have attributes that set them apart from others, such as one excelling in a variety of combat skills.

Artist Ashley Wood would be illustrating the game's cutscenes. Quotes Naked Snake : The meaning of justice can change from one day to the next. User reviews 1 Review. Top review. MGS: Portable Ops is a great addition to any gamer's library. There's a lot of cutting edge games on various platforms but very few of them have the depth and experience that MGS series provides. I think the dynamics and how they affect the overall storyline is simply incredible. The story keeps you on the edge and you never know what's gonna happen next.

Fans of the series would find a lot to appreciate about this entry onto the hand-held market and I'm sure Kojima and co would unleash another of Snake's tales on Sony's marvelous hand-held. You can't go wrong because MGS: Portable Ops is one of the best games out there with oodles of goodies for hardcore fans and newcomers.

Great story, characters, and action on one small disc; don't pass it up. FAQ What year does this game take place? What returning characters are in the game? What is the main story about? Details Edit. Release date December 5, United States. Konami Japan.

Kojima Productions Konami Digital Entertainment. Technical specs Edit. Color Color.