Metal Gear Acid

[Hunter¥]

Metal Gear AC!D

by Hunter¥

 

 

Japanese Cover

 

General Information

 

Genre : Turn-Based Strategy

Developer : Konami JPN

Publisher : Konami

Players : 1-2

General Price : $39.99 (US) $49.99 (CAN)

Origin : Japan

Learning Curve : 2 hours

ESRB Rating : Mature

Platforms : PSP

Release Dates :

 

US: March 22, 2005

Japan: December 16, 2004

 

Offical Site

Images

Videos

 

Introduction

 

Well they've finally lost it. They've made Metal Gear into a card game. A pretty bitchin' card game at that. Now I'm a huge fan of the MGS series so, please, if anyone thinks I'm being too nice, say so, but only if you've played the game. Also note that I haven't been able to use the Link Battle feature so I will not be reviewing that.

 

 

"The year 2016 -- the United States of America.

 

Jumbo jet flight number 326 flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet gets hijacked by those

unknown.

They have used the muscle relaxant Vecuronium Bromide -- a chemical that could be lethal if

inhaled excessively.

Among the 517 passengers who are taken hostage in the cabin filled with Vecuronium

Bromide is Senator Hach -- a man rumored to become the next United States President.

 

In the meantime on Lobito Island of the Moloni Republic in southern Africa... Inside the Lobito

Physics and Chemistry Laboratory compound guarded by a mysterious armed force is a man

standing.

 

His name is Solid Snake.

 

 

The hijackers of flight 326 are making only one request -- the handing over of "Pythagoras".

The United States work on identifying the hijackers and determining what the mysterious

"Pythagoras" is and soon finds out that it is the name of a project on which research is

conducted on Lobito Island.

 

The Moloni government is reluctant to cooperate, saying that it does not want any interference

in its domestic affairs. Losing its patience, the US government sends in its special forces

operation HRT, but the force gets attacked by the armed force there. All communications are

lost.

With all of what is going on, contents of the classified research at the Lobito Physics and

Chemistry Laboratory are about to be revealed.

 

With things in a deadlock, the US government decides to make use of its last resort -- the

already retired legendary mercenary Solid Snake. There is not much time left till the time limit.

Solid Snake's new battle begins at the secret lab on the mysterious and enchanting island."

 

Graphics

The graphics of Metal Gear Acid are the best I've seen for a card game, on any platform. But though out the game on several occasions I could see "holes" on objects, on the ground, and in the sky. Like a small glitches where edges meet. The many action effects, that happen when you use a card, is a nice touch. The lighting was great. I remember using a flame thrower at one point and the surrounding area having red shade as a result. The graphics are fabulous for this handheld. 8.5/10

 

Sound

It sounds like any Metal Gear Solid game should. The music sets the mood perfectly. In other words, the more aggressive the music, the more sh*t you're in. The weapons all sound like what they would sound like. The only thing that slightly disappointed me was there weren't voiceovers, but then again, the PSP (in all it's glory) can only do so much. The sacrifice of voiceovers for UMD space was well worth it. Great. 10/10

 

Gameplay

MGA has one hell of a learning curve, and the game doesn't get to into all the necessary think that are crucial, and can some times do a bad job of explaining things. For example: To use an EQUIP weapon card the game says you have to use the same caliber of ammo on the card once it's equipped to use it. What you really have to do is use the same weapon on the equipped weapon. That took me a while to figure out. You can develop some great tactics for getting your self out of trouble. There are two playable characters, Snake and Teliko. Teliko is Snakes female companion that you need to play this game. You will devise strategies with her to get past the ruff parts.

 

The cards in the game are based on past MGS games and characters. Even the really old MG games. The cards you play with are in a fully customizable deck.

 

Once you get basics down, the game can be very fun, and it can be extremely frustrating. Frustrating because some of the scenarios just seems impossible, and very fun because you'll always find a way to get the job done, even in the most hopeless of situations. Sometimes things can seem very unfair. It seems like all of you're foes can all have 10 goes, filling you full of lead before even get to do anything. But it's turn based. That always happens. 8/10

 

Lasting Appeal

The only reason I'm playing through the game again is because there is an unlockable difficulty setting and I haven't collected all the cards yet (which will take a while). I just beat the game today and I've played for 30 hours and I haven't even played the Link Battle feature, which is where the 2 player part of the game comes in. Link Battle is unlocked early in the campaign mode. Since this game is turn based it's a great pick-up n' play game that will keep you busy when traveling. 9/10

 

Final Comments

Wow, I can't believe you actually took the time to read this far into the review. Btw, first PSP review, bitches. Anyhoo, this is probably the most fun I've ever had with a card game (other than my beloved Pokemon). It's got the same kind of bizarre story as the previous titles, and that can be either good or bad depending if you enjoy that sort of thing. I still can't believe they made a card game and it didn't suck.

 

Final Rating : 8.9/10

[RearEndCollision]

Good job Hunter, I'll add it to the review list here soon.

[Hobbes27]

Very nice review hunter. I will consider getting this.

[Hunter¥]

Very good tip: Don't choose Extreme difficulty.