Metal Gear Acid

"MGA: A PSP masterpiece"

Metal Gear Acid. My first PSP/Metal Gear game. I was troubled at getting my PSP, it was the only game on the shelf left, and people said it wasn't worthy of the Metal Gear name. After a painstakingly confusing intro, it all started, a great game supported by graphics, control, gameplay, replay value, and story. This game is of course, Metal Gear Acid.

Story (9/10)
With terrorists wanting a program called Pythagoras, you, as the legendary Solid Snake, must find out more about this program and its functions, but ultimately, retrieve it. Not to mention a Counter Terrorist Group under the USA is trapped on this island, and you must save them, one which becomes a partner in Ac!d, Teliko. Along the path players are misled that Snake is actually a scientist who owns the Lobito Lab structure along with Flemming......

Graphics (9/10)
Because this is PSP, graphics have been made a must, and MGA delivers, with very nice detail on all characters. This portion single handedly surprised me when I first popped MGA into my PSP. Also the anime like strips which also disperse more about the story are well made.

Control (9/10)
What can I say? Circle, X, and the direction buttons all provided quick access to commands, movement, and outside input. The learning curve of this game is quite impressive also. Going from Normal into Extreme is big, with a LOT more enemies, making this game challenging for even the extreme.

Gameplay (10+/10)
Cards you say? Cards make a game Godlike? No, but gameplay through cards adds strategy, planning, and a lot of luck into play. This single handedly makes the game a lot more exciting. With over 200 cards, deckbuilding for the strategically hardcore can make one go crazy from all the choices. This brings me right into multiplayer, whence I have just discovered over Thanksgiving that it is pure strategy, planning, and mind over matter that wins the war.

Replay Value (10+/10)
Like I said 200+ cards. Extreme mode. You might say, "yeah but what else?" I'd have you give you a sound lesson in multiplayer. You against a friend in a randomly generated world with opponents (CPU). You must either collect 3 disks and rush to the checkpoints (there are only 3 in each vs.), or kill your human opponent's team twice each. Sound simple? Not quite. Getting hit makes you lose your vision, thusfor making you blind and an easy target for both human enemy and CPU enemy. Not to mention an endless combination of decks to lead you to victory. Most importantly, certain cards that eradicate your cost *the less cost you have, the faster your turn comes* have been remove so that a person won't get away with using a Metal Gear and not paying dearly for using it.

Rent or Buy?
Buy it, as it is one of the few original PSP games, and find a friend to verse with. One of my favorite game of all time personally for suberb story and vs mode. What more can you ask for?

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/01/05