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With the lowered difficulty, Arena mode, new plot, and gussied up graphics- does Acid2 fare as well as the original?

User Rating: 9.3 | Metal Gear Acid 2 PSP

By Banczak | Review Date: March 21, 2006

Upon first glance, veterans of the Metal Gear series will notice a key difference between past entries: graphics. While Metal Gear Solid has always boasted a dark, gray style of shading, Acid2 seems to go 180 degrees, wielding probably the most colorful graphics to grace the PSP yet, full of yellows throughout hallways; milky pinks and crimsons throughout character designs - it sure doesn’t look like Metal Gear. And yet, we have our infamous Solid Snakes, wielding a FAMAS in one hand .. and Gray Fox in another. I’m not talking about plush toys. As you should know, Metal Gear Acid is a parallel version of the MGS series, featuring the almighty card-based strategy tactical battle system. Despite first thoughts you should have, this is actually well-accomplished, thought exceptionally more easy than Acid. The one problem the original had, that Acid2 excels in, is a reason to keep playing. Whilst bland environments and dark corridors gave Metal Gear Solid an ominous feel, in Acid, a game in-which the majority of your time spent is looking throughout the level and strategizing, it just felt unwelcoming. In this one, though, you want to keep pushing yourself through, you want to see what else there is to offer. The characters, enemies, hallways, everything! It all looks welcoming, and most importantly, entertaining. Whilst some wouldn’t go as far to say that Solid Snake looks adorable in his new cel-shaded look, he certainly is a lot easier to look at this time around. Not to mention that everywhere you go, the environments seem to bear a striking resemblance to past games, despite the new anime-esque feel.

Now, aside from the new graphics, there is of course a new plot. I don’t want to go into extreme detail, as it is quite interesting, but I can say it involves one of our giant, nuclear powered buddies. And Venus, a girl with big breasts (Snake, as always, is quite happy about that fact. Particularly about the perky bouncing physics) Sadly, the plot isn’t as intense as past MGS/A games have had- but it is an improvement over Acid’s rather boring one. Also, as I implied above, the difficulty is lowered quite a bit, and is made more tolerable. This time around, levels are somewhat bigger than in Acid, but there are more breaks in-between and new exploration- rather than just backtracking to the entrance, which proved to be quite un-fun. There are also more options with deck-building, which is also a lot easier and more interesting, and status affects that you actually care about (and hate, such as this certain one can do. It pretty much covers up your cards a bit, making it hard to make out options.) Plus, Acid2 also features an all-new, extremely brutal Arena mode, where you put your deck to the test and challenge some famous characters from Metal Gear Solid (such as Liquid Snake, The Boss, and Revolver Ocelot. Vamp too, but he cheats! I swear, that dude has cards in his sleeves.)

Sadly, there are a few problems too. The lack of spoken dialogue, again, makes some dry scenes a little unbearable, and the Solid Eye attachment is quite a useless device in every way, and a few boss battles (*coughGobalcough*) are pure trial and error. Still, the only real actual problems are the camera, sometimes, and the fact that one or two bad guys are a bit too freaky to be likeable. Overall, the good points make up for the bad, and I highly, HIGHLY, recommend this game to anybody somewhat interested in Metal Gear Solid’s absolutely wonderful spin-off. Buy it, or discard all cards from your hand.

Metal Gear Acid 2

With the lowered difficulty, Arena mode, new plot, and gussied up graphics- does Acid2 fare as well as the original?

One of the best games ever for the Metal Gear series.

Like the original? You'll love the sequel.