Completely finished the story mode finally. Total clear time is about 27 hours. Time to post some detailed thoughts on the game.
Peace Walker is definitely a major evolution in the MGS series. It is clear that in making Peace Walker, Kojima has reflected on what each major entry in the MGS series brought to the table - including Portable Ops. It's very interesting to see what he kept and what he removed from the MGS formula for this title, but ultimately many of the decisions were clearly the right ones. The game is leaner, yet more replayable, and just as entertaining and engaging as previous titles.
I'll get one thing out of the way: story-wise 90% of the cutscenes are comic style like in MPO. But this time they have much better direction and animation. The art is also vastly improved, with obvious contributions by Shinkawa himself in either the actual artwork, or in setting the art direction tone for all the scenes. There are also many interactive elements of the cutscenes, either in the form of allowing the player to move the camera and zoom on elements, or full blown action QTEs. The presentation is top notch, and everyone who enjoyed the cutscenes in MPO will be blown away by the PW ones. Those who didn't enjoy them at all though, well, I doubt it will change your opinion.
The graphics and sound in PW rank among the very best in PSP games. The models are detailed, the environments are well planned and extremely well lit, and there are really good effects and detail in the game. The effects in particular for smoke and explosions are very impressive in the game. The scale in many of the boss encounters are really impressive even by MGS standards.
The audio complements the visuals extremely well, and it really creates a very complete experience for a portable game. The realtime codec is fully voiced if you install the game, and all the sound fx and voices a top rate as expected of a Kojima game. The music is pretty awesome too, and do a really good job of creating the mood for stealth or all out action depending on the mission. The cutscenes also have great tracks and an amazing use of sound to stir emotions and create atmosphere.
Gameplay-wise, PW fits with the pattern expected of MGS5. To me, MGS, MGS3 and PW are entries where Kojima goes back to the basics of a gameplay driven MGS while exploring new ideas and trying to bring completely new perspectives to the core gameplay. MGS2 and MGS4 were more like reactions to the MGS fanbase. For MGS2 there was a deliberate attempt to deceive and misdirect fans of the first game to keep the experience "fresh" and suspenseful. For MGS4, it was clearly an answer to fans demanding answers to the loose ends in the series and for definitive conclusions to dangling mysteries.
Being a portable game, PW takes full advantage of the nature of the system. The game structure is broken into shorter missions, yet retaining the feel of being a true MGS game. The main story missions are pretty much what one would expect from a real MGS game, without much compromise or watering down. In most missions you can sneak or run and gun, but the game rewards you much more for non-violence because of the recruitment aspect. Luckily, you can replay any mission at any time while trying out different play styles or weapons depending on your mood.
The optional missions are definitely an evolution of VR Training missions. Instead of being a simulated VR setting with no bearing on the rest of the game, the extra ops here take place in the real world. They are either training sessions or specialized missions requiring a certain play style (rescue POWs with fulton, escape from an area undetected, recover all items from an area, etc), so basically they're expanded versions of VR Missions in terms of gameplay, but being considered part of the on-going game set in the actual real world, they take on a new form because they feel like you're actually doing missions as a mercenary outfit and expanding your army, base and resources as a result.
I don't really want to go on and on about the various systems in the game and what not, because most of that can be seen in the trailers or in most online previews of the game. But I'll conclude and say that it's really amazing to see how much content they managed to pack into a PSP game. In terms of actual data size, the game isn't any larger than MPO, yet the amount of unique areas, the overall level design, the amount of missions, secrets, unlockables, etc which exists to keep the player occupied during the story and even after beating it... is pretty extensive.
You're missing the final chapter I think.
