April 29 marks the 15th anniversary ofMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. First released on the PSP, it is the successor toPortable Ops, also available on the same platform. However, it was written and directed by Hideo Kojima this time. As such, it’s a mainlineMetal Gear Solidinstallment, and it’s a great title, but also the entry that the fewest people have played.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eateris arriving in August, andPeace Walkerserves as the direct follow-up to that game. Not only that, but it’s a must-play title before jumping intoMetal Gear Solid 5, and the game itself is a lot of fun, content-rich, and has great multiplayer. Don’t disregardPeace Walkerbecause it was made for a portable system,as it’s an essential part of theMetal Gearsaga.
Peace Walker’s Story Starts Low, But Ends High
A Great Ending
A big reason whyPeace Walkeris often forgottenamong the Metal Gear Solidgames is its story. The second mainline title is set ten years afterSnake Eater, and it once again follows Big Boss,a fan-favorite playable character. Much of the plot revolves around the outcome ofSnake Eater’sevents, withLori Alan and Jodi Benson returning to voice The Boss and Eva, respectively. Tying up Big Boss’s relationship with his mentor receives fair criticism, as it was already nicely wrapped inSnake Eater, butPeace Walkeroffers something else.
The second part of this title, following the Peace Walker boss fight, has some pretty drastic twists and turns you won’t see coming, and the ending is great. It sets up the events ofMetal Gear Solid 5 perfectly, to the point where jumping straight into that game andskippingPeace Walkeris a big mistake. Building up Mother Base inPeace Walkerand then seeing it get destroyed inMGS5hits so much harder, and you’ll be motivated to make the new Mother Base bigger and better.
Portable Metal Gear At Its Finest
A Phenomenal Gameplay Loop And Tons Of Content
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walkerwas the first game in the series to have the"Tactical Espionage Operations"tagline, and for good reason. As the game was made for a portable device, all the missions are relatively short, and they’re a blast to play one after another. There are 33 main missions and 128 extra ops. The variety is immense, more so thanMGS5. There are stealth missions, armored enemy fights, vehicle battles, dates, and ghost missions, with The End featured as a cameo. However, one mission type stands apart.
Finally, making those top-tier gear items like the Carl Gustav Fulton launcher is incredibly satisfying after building up your team for so long.
Inan excellent crossover,Metal GearmeetsMonster Hunter, as Rathalos, Tigrex, and a brand-new monster must be taken down in hunting quests.These boss fights were incredible, giving thatMonster Hunterfeel, even to the loot rewards by breaking off body parts. Gear Rex proves to be a stiff challenge, but mastering that fight and learning how to evade all the attacks feels great. Boss fights have always been a bigMetal Gearstrong suit, andPeace Walkercontinues the tradition.
The controls were problematic when the game was first released, as the PSP didn’t have a second analog stick, forcing one to move the camera with the face buttons.All of that is fixed, though, with theHD Collectionversionon Xbox 360 and PS3.Peace Walkerhas the same progression system asMGS,5with building up Mother Base. Finally, making those top-tier gear items like the Carl Gustav Fulton launcher is incredibly satisfying after building up your team for so long. One can also make co-op-specific items, which is another great feature ofPeace Walker.
Peace Walker’s Co-Op Was A Blast
Even Achievement Hunting Is Fun Here
Still, to this day, the only mainlineMetal Geargame whereyou can play cooperatively in the story mode isMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Some missions are solo only, but most can be done with at least two players, with the vehicle and AI boss fights up to four. It was a great time, and Kojima Productions leaned hard toward the cooperative aspect, as there are many items to build exclusively for co-op. Look at the Railgun and Dynamo combo, for example.
One player charges up the Railgun using the Dynamo while the other fires the weapon. During the platinum journey for this game, my boosting partner and I struggled to get the 20,000 Camaraderie achievement, as the best tactics required four players, and we only had two. We made our own effective tactics, and it was magical. During extra op 91, firing a fully charged Railgun at the perfect spot onthe attack chopper will break it and make the pilot immediately available to tranquilize.
It’s tricky to do, but it’s incredible to pull off, and this was one of the rare times achievement-boosting was actually fun. Kojima gave us many tools to play with, and figuring out something on our own was satisfying. That’s what makes the co-op so fun and enjoyable. It’s unfortunate that many haven’t playedPeace Walkerbecause it’s a must-playMetal Geartitle. The servers are still up and running on Xbox and PlayStation, allowing for phenomenal cooperative play, andMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walkeris backward compatible on Xbox Series X|S available for purchase.
