While it'd story doesn't have the same impact as the likes of MGS4, it's still a hell of a lot of fun.
The game takes us back in time to 1974, when Naked Snake, now known as Big Boss, has fled the U.S. and started an "army without a nation", a group of mercenary-types called Soldiers Without Borders. Let by Big Boss, these soldiers take missions from people asking for their help. So when Boss is asked to help liberate a nation from a nuclear armed organization believed to be the CIA, he reluctantly accepts. And so our game begins.
The game will be familiar to anyone who played Portable Ops. All the mainstays of the series are here: the stealth, the combat, CQC, etc. With the exception of a few gameplay tweaks, the main gameplay is pretty much the same. But there are also a number of additions here. You play the game in segments, some of them story missions, some side missions. Each story mission generally contains several different areas to go to and the missions are generally fairly lengthy. Side missions are standalone missions meant to help you train in marksmanship, sneaking, and other skills necessary for the game. These can earn you some goodies and improve your chances, so taking them up between story missions is a good idea.
Like Portable Ops, Peace Walker lets you capture unconcious soldiers and prisoners. However, it is even easier this time. Instead of having to carry them to a truck, you are now equipped with balloons which you clip to the captured and away they fly. They are placed in a waiting room and you can organize them into five different groups: combat, R and D, medical, mess hall, and intel. I'll get to combat shortly, but R and D is one of the best sections to fill up. This is where your equipment is designed and produced and where that equipment can be advanced to a better state. Medical occupies the sick bay and is where injured and sick staff go. The better your level of medical, the quicker your staff heals. The mess hall is where food is developed. The higher your mess hall level, the more pleased your staff will be, giving better performance in the field and staying loyal to you. Intel is where certain pieces of equipment are designed, which will help survey the land and scout out enemies before engaging.
Combat is a whole nother thing altogether. After a certain point in the game, you will be able to engage other combat forces in other nations. You will be able to assign your combat troops to these missions. If they succeed, they will bring back revenue and goodies, This is a very fun portion of the game and is probably one of the most unique things that has ever happened in the series. It's a lot of fun sending soldiers out to these battles and then seeing what rewards they bring back.
It's too bad then that the story isn't as interesting as the series is normally known for. That may be personal opinion, but it's hard to stack up to MGS4, which was like a blockbuster film and a game combined. Here, we get comic book panels serving as story elements, complete with all the dialogue that MGS is so famous for. But, we know where this story is going. We are already well aware of what Big Boss becomes and what he does, so there are no surprises. Unlike the other stories in the MGS games, this is one we already know the ending of. Still, it's not all that bad. It is nice to see familiar faces, and even some which resemble others we're used to.
But what makes Peace Walker so great is that it's simply a lot of fun. It has some great production values and the gameplay is some of the best of the entire series, some parts becoming so addicting you won't want to put it down. Any fan of MGS should definately add this to the collection, and anyone who just wants a good PSP game should think about picking this up.