Metal Gear Acid 2

"Many improvements over the first make this an awesome turn-based strategy game"

"Many improvements over the first make this an awesome turn-based strategy game"

I never cared much for card battle games, but then Metal Gear Acid was released and I knew I would have to play it since I've been a big fan of the Metal Gear series. While other card battle games just use boring card tables as their backdrops, MGA had full 3D environments that were interacted with. It was a blend of adventure gaming with card battling, and there had never been anything like it before. Although it was a good game, it had its fair share of problems. Metal Gear Acid 2 takes the original game's formula and enhances it greatly. The results are stunning.

Story: 9/10

The first Acid game had a non-canon story that contradicted the MGS games. Acid 2 is still a far-out, "What if?" game, but technically could have happened.

You play as "Snake", a man with amnesia, who bears a strong resemblance to Solid Snake from most of the other Metal Gear games. In the games intro, we learn that he was just on some risky mission, and is a wanted man. An FBI agent promises Snake that he will get Snake's memory back if he does a mission for the FBI. Snake complies, and soon finds himself tangled up in a complex plot involving nuclear warfare. The story was pretty good and definitely held my attention. It's pretty unrealistic, but other Metal Gear games have had crazy stories too.

Also, you don't need to play the first Acid (or any other Metal Gear game) to play this one. Acid 2 is it's own story.

Graphics: 9/10

Very impressive for a handheld game. Full 3D environments, mixed with cel-shaded characters. Some people might be a little turned off by the cel-shaded look. Although I really liked the first game's realistic look, I quickly realized how much better this type of game works as a cel-shaded game.

Everything is bright and easy to see, a huge improvement over the dark environments of the first Acid. There seems to be much more variety in the color scheme. Portable games really should be bright, because when playing a handheld on the go, light tends to make the screen harder to see. Acid 2's graphics are visible no matter where you play.

The frame rate is also very smooth. The first Acid game had a lot of slowdown, but this one doesn't.

Audio: 9/10

Like everything else about Acid 2, the audio is excellent. The music is excellent, especially during action parts. The main theme is very catchy. Sounds effects sound the way they should.

The only negative thing about audio is that the game doesn't have voice acting. Well, there are some occasional little voice clips for characters and bosses when they do special attacks, but that's about it. Considering that there's a pretty large amount of dialogue in the game, it would have been nice to have voices to go with it.

Gameplay: 9/10

Like other Metal Gear games, your goal is to sneak through levels without alerting enemies. You can hide in many places, hang off of balcony edges, and use weapons and items to get around various obstacles like infrared beams and security cameras. Even the old cardboard box is here.

The key difference with the Metal Gear Acid series is that most of your moves are done by using cards. Cards are collected by picking them up in game stages, either simply lying on the ground or from defeating enemies. You can also purchase cards between stages by spending "points" which are earned by doing well in a stage. Classic weapons and items from the Metal Gear series have been converted into cards. Even some characters are converted into special cards that have helpful effects.

Between stages you choose the cards you wish to use for the next stage, and these cards will be called the "deck". At the beginning of a stage, 6 cards are randomly drawn from your deck. Cards can be expended in 2 ways: either by using the cards' effect (weapons will fire, items are used, etc.) or by using them to move. Every card has a number called "cost", and when a card is used, the cost is added to your total cost. Cost is basically time it will take before your next turn comes around. After you've made your moves and end your turn, the enemies will move until their cost becomes larger than yours, and then it will be your turn again.

It sounds complicated, but it becomes simple enough once you start playing.

New features to Acid 2 that improve over the first game are numerous. You no longer have to stop on top of an item box to pick it up. Instead, you can just run over it and keep moving. Another key improvement is that turning around no longer requires using a card for movement. You can turn to your sides or behind you as much as you want without using any extra cost. The "hanging" ability (jumping over a railing and hanging from the edge) is a normal move that can be done without using a card. Because the level designers knew that you would always have this ability now, the hanging ability has become more useful and level design is more interesting.

Other level design enhancements come in the form of environmental hazards. Exploding barrels return, but there are also oil slicks and fire extinguishers. Oil slicks make you fall when you run over them, and you get covered in oil so when you're shot you catch on fire. Fire extinguishers can be shot, and when you are near one that explodes you are afflicted with temporary blindness, and can't see what cards you are choosing. These traps can be used against enemies and bosses too though.

A new gameplay element added was chain attacks. Some cards are chain cards, which have effects that trigger under certain conditions. For example, there are cards that increase your attack power of defense when attacking with certain types of weapons or taking certain amounts of damage. Other chain cards allow you to attack multiple times, or lower your cost usage.

Replay: 9/10

There are several reasons why you'll keep this game in your PSP for a while. One is to collect all the cards in the game (there are about 500). Another is to tackle the Extreme difficulty mode that is unlocked after clearing the game once. Extreme mode is no picnic, and you'll need to be a good thinker to finish it.

There are special missions unlocked after clearing a stage once. When selecting a stage, you can go back to stages already cleared and try to complete new goals, such as killing all enemies, getting through without being seen, or doing special puzzles. Puzzle missions are very interesting, and usually difficult to figure out. You start with a predetermined deck of cards to use, and must complete certain objectives by planning out your card usage very carefully. You are assigned a letter grade upon completing any of these special missions, and playing them until you've gotten the best rank for all missions will take a while.

Overall (Final Score): 9/10

Metal Gear Acid 2 takes the groundwork that the first game laid and builds on it, improving the formula in every way. Better story, graphics, audio, level design, and gameplay. If you liked the first one, you'll love this. If you never played the first one, or any Metal Gear game, you'll still enjoy it if you like turn-based strategy games.

Metal Gear Acid 2 is simply the best handheld strategy game I've played since Advance Wars.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/09/07