Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops

[Brian Reed]

My first words to Rich were "I don't like Metal Gear games. Why do I keep playing them?"

This is why. Streamlined gameplay down to the bare bones of what makes Metal Gear, Metal Gear. Then they add on this strange Pokemon-level of collecting soldiers to help you in your cause and suddenly, you're obsessed. Every guy you encounter isn't just a target to be taken down, he's a potential recruit. You start using whole units of guys, switching between them to better capture new recruits (who you amusingly keep in prison for a few days before they decide working with you might be a better idea than sitting in a hole).

I'm not super deep into it yet, but aside from some just godawful dialog and a goofy plot that sometimes seems more like a random assemblage of words than an actual story, its been fun.

I just discovered that scanning real world wifi ports gives you new soldiers. I guess the wifi names generate seed numbers for random soldiers neat.

[Brian Reed]

further explanation of the Pokemon Effect from Gamefaqs:


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II-C. RECRUITING SOLDIERS MGSPO-S2C
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You not only play as Snake, but 99-200 different characters throughout
the game. Some are crap, and others prove useful in some way. The MK22 is
the best weapon to go recruit soldiers. Find someone with good handgun
skills and go nuts.

To recruit an enemy soldier, find a way to make the guard go unconscious
or put him to sleep, then drag him back to the truck. Another way would
be to drag him next to a friendly cardboard box and call the frequency
143.15 using your radio. (WARNING: Do NOT kill the enemy soldier or else
you won't be able to recruit him/her!)

Recruiting soldiers will help you form squads, add soldiers to help you
bring medical supplies, technicals, and extra missions where you can find
special items.

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II-D. TECHNICAL/MEDICAL UNITS MGSPO-S2D
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Technical Units(or Tech Unit for short) will help you make ammunition for
your weapons and special items to help you in your mission. Finding good
technicians/engineers with high skill ranking will increase your Tech
Level. The ranking can be found at the "helmet" symbol to the left of the
"medical cross" symbol. A good place to find good engineers would be the
Plant mission.

Medical Units(or Med Unit for short) will help you bring recovery supplies
to keep you alive on your mission. A good place to find doctors or other
medical staff would be the Hospital mission. The Medical ranking may be
found on the far right of the rankings, at the Manage screen.

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II-E. SNEAKING/SPY UNITS MGSPO-S2E
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Sneaking Units are what you need to complete your missions. You can make
up to FOUR squads of 4 members per squad. Whoever is the first person of
that squad is who'll you'll be using when you start a mission.

Spy Units help you go on with the story missions, give you extra missions
and provide you with valuable information. Try to get at least one spy in
every location.