MGS: Peace Walker Demo Impressions

The next big Metal Gear game came as a surprise to many as that it will be released on the Playstation Portable as opposed to the PS3. However, Kojima himself promises that Peace Walker will be just as big as Guns of the Patriots, if not even bigger. After all, it's being developed by the very same team. Here are our impressions of the demo.

Continuing the story of Naked Snake, aka Big Boss, the demo kicks off with him arriving at a coastline, on a motorbike much like Eva's, with men practicing the series' much beloved CQC. It's very obvious from the get-go that Peace Walker looks visually stunning. The graphics are simply gorgeous, with details previously unseen on the PSP. After Snake is greeted by one of his men, the demo immediately shifts control to the player, setting the stage for the tutorial.

While most Metal Gear games are pretty standard when it comes to controls, Peace Walker's scheme is slightly different and the tutorial definitely helps out with getting the player used to it as well as introducing some changes to the game (Think Resistance Retribution meets Portable Ops). Once the instructor is done yelling out what's supposed to be done, like moving the camera around, action rolling, CQC-ing and other such actions, he then calls on Snake to demonstrate and this is where the player gets to try out some of his new moves which includes throwing one of your men into another or chaining together some CQC takedowns, which seem to have been ramped up in the pain department and they were pretty damn satisfying to pull off.

After finishing the tutorial, the demo shifted into one of Ashley Wood's instantly-recognizable animated cutscenes. That's right, the much beloved stylized cutscenes are back in Peace Walker. Not to mention that there will be some form of interactivity as well, much like MGS4 and the MGS Digital Graphic Novel. The cutscene introduces a university professor named Galvez and a young hooded girl by the name of Paz. Both of whom pleaded with Snake to overthrow an armed military organization that had occupied their home country of Costa Rica. It seemed that Snake wasn't so thrilled at the idea. Eventually, he takes on Galvez's request, after being addressed as Big Boss.

With the basic premise of the story established, the player takes control of Snake. It�s here that players are introduced to the new codec system, one that�s actually not disruptive like in the earlier MGS games. Instead, it allows Snake to do as he likes � a feature which has partially been implemented in the past. There is also no pausing in Peace Walker, hitting the start button only brings up the game's menus with all the action carrying on in real time. The first stage was relatively simple with Snake making his way through the beach and jungle. Left and Right on the D-pad brings up the items and weapons menu and once Snake was equipped with his trusty Mk22, taking down enemies from midrange was as simple as it always has been in any MGS game since Sons of Liberty with the L button for aiming and the R for shooting. However, the real fun was sneaking up and taking them down from behind with the improved CQC system. There are some changes that are somewhat concerning though. Snake can no longer sneak along a wall nor can he move while prone. Both actions require that the up button on the D-pad is pushed and held down. Although he can at least move around while crouched, it makes sneaking around a lot more difficult.

The last stage in the demo pits Snake against a squad of troops and a tank. This really helps to emphasize the importance of the different load outs that Snake has. Jungle Fatigues and Sneaking Suit are pretty much balanced load outs. They contain both mid and long range weapons and a decent camouflage percentage. Battle Dress and Naked are the extreme ends of the spectrum with the former equipped with heavy body armour and the latter, well, naked. These load outs also affect Snake's movement. Equip Snake with Battle Dress and he'll move like a snail, equip him with Naked and he's pretty damn fast. Going up against the tank was rather exciting, the developers have incorporated a subtle camera shake which is surprisingly effective in raising the excitement and the music only adds to the intensity of the fight.

There has been no opportunity to check out the co-op mode due to the lack of local portable partners, which is unfortunate since Kojima has placed a ton of emphasis on this mode, but from the demonstrations seen it looks to be a very exciting experience.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker may not be released anytime soon, especially in the West, but it's already shaping up to be an incredible experience, for both the single player and co-op modes. The graphics are incredible, the gameplay feels tight and the story of how Naked Snake becomes Big Boss will no doubt have fans of the series grabbing tightly at the edge of their seats in anticipation.