Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Noriaki Okamura (Metal Gear Acid 1 and 2 Producer): We first started with the idea to put the next chapter of Metal Gear Solid on the PSP. Mr. Kojima had the idea to base the next game on the idea of recruiting comrades and integrating that with Wi-Fi play. He said that because this game is on the PSP, we should not fit a PS2-style game on the portable system, but rather create a game that is designed specifically for it. Now, of course we borrow many things from the PS2 MGS titles as well, but because of the portable nature of the PSP, we knew this was a perfect opportunity to encourage players to travel around their town (or the country) in search of unique characters. The game is called Portable Ops, meaning "portable operations," for a reason!

OPM: On that note, can you elaborate on the "recruitment via Wi-Fi" gameplay mechanic?

NO: In Portable Ops, players must first go to the recruiting mode in the game and fire up its menu. When you connect to a hot spot, you will receive a character unique to that specific hot spot. [Konami America clarified that the IP address of the hot spot is used in some crazy algorithm that generates a new character and his or her stats. --Ed.] If you want him or her, save the character to your memory stick and use them in single- or multiplayer modes! You needn't have to log on to any hot spots, by the way; simply detecting the hot spot is enough to be able to recruit a new member off that Internet hot spot.

There will be a variety of character types, from scientists, a variety of soldiers, and special characters--some you may recognize from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

OPM: OK, can you talk a bit more about the characters and their abilities?

NO: Most characters have unique abilities this time. One of your comrades may be highly skilled with handguns, or rifles, or CQC [close-quarters combat]. And they'll also have negative attributes as well. For example, one of your soldiers may have a low handgun rating, causing him to have poor accuracy when he's trying to fire one.

And we are not implementing the camo-index system; we are introducing a new system that is just as innovative. In single-player mode, you will be able to take a team of up to four people with you. Based on what uniform your enemy is wearing, you'll want to control one of your teammates who is wearing a similar type of uniform. If an enemy soldier spots your look-alike comrade, he won't shoot because he thinks that would be friendly fire.

So you'll have to be very cunning in this game. And it's not always best to control Snake this time--he's easily spotted with that suit of his, and on top of that, he's a very famous character! Everybody in the game has heard of the legendary Big Boss!

OPM: Since you just mentioned single-player, can you give us some details? Most of the press and MGS fans have only seen multiplayer gameplay so far....

NO: Including Snake, up to four friendly characters can enter the battlefield. These comrades of yours are an essential element. Only one character can be controlled at one time, and each are first stationed at various parts of the map. Each comrade has a unique ability and weapon, so it's up to you to tackle this big map using all four characters, swapping back and forth between them and familiarizing yourself with the map. Some parts in the game will be easier with a specific character, so there's a big strategy element there as well. For example, one character may have a high sniping skill, so you'll want to bring her to the area where Snake is getting sniped at by surrounding enemies.

And of course, the rest of the game will play out like Metal Gear Solid, complete with Codec banter, cool cut-scenes, great drama, voice acting, et cetera.

OPM: In the single-player story line, you use Ashley Wood illustrations (accompanied with voiceovers) instead of traditional MGS-style cut-scenes. Why?

NO: We really aimed to do something unique with this chapter of Metal Gear Solid, and Ashley Wood was a perfect fit. We really were impressed with his work on Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel, and it just seemed logical to ask him to contribute art for Portable Ops. His art really fits the MGS world, and I'm really excited about the art that he's preparing this time around. He is really knee-deep in the project and is churning out some really stunning art for the game.

OPM: So is this the same team that worked on MGA1 and 2? Can you talk about the background of the people working on this game?

NO: Yes, a lot of the MGA2 team is working on it. But since the completion of the Acid series, we've added so many new people to the team.

OPM: So, were there any specific lessons that the team learned from MGA that they've now applied to Portable Ops?

NO: MGA2 was a very good game with an excellent 3D graphics system. So with Portable Ops, we're taking that even further. I really think it's amazing how far we're pushing the PSP hardware this time. And with the Acid series, we really wanted to include an infrastructure-mode multiplayer mode, so with this game, now's our chance to really dive deep into that and offer an expansive online mode.

OPM: So in the end, how was the process of making an action-oriented MGS game work on the PSP? Were there any particular challenges/difficulties in making an action-oriented Metal Gear for the PSP?

NO: The biggest challenge was how to work around the miss ing right analog stick. So we've developed a gameplay system that works very well despite the lack of the right stick. This includes the new sound indicator, which informs players of their surroundings based on sound. Because players can't simply pan the camera around using the PSP, the sound indicator responds based on the noises nearby enemies make. It won't tell you what just made that sound around the corner, but it will tell you somebody or something is moving in that area. It's a really great take on the classic hide-and-seek formula of MGS.

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