The Bottom Line
Pros
- Metal Gear Acid is the most original game on the PSP
- A bold step to take the Metal Gear franchise in a new direction
- The PSP desperately need a turn-based release title
- The card based combat is deep and compelling
- Metal Gear Acid offers tons of replay
Cons
- Um, it's a card game. No really, a stealth-action card game... yeah
- Metal Gear fans may find this unholy concept burns like acid
Description
- Graphics: 3.5 Metal Gear Acid looks great, for a handheld, but it's no Wipeout Pure or Ridge Racer
- Sound: 4 The music is spot on, but some of the sound effects are a little tinny
- Concept: 5/1 It's a love or hate thing, Metal Gear Acid will have a cult following and a hate crowd
- Control: 3 It works, but the clunky camera can make it hard to get Snake where you want him
- Difficulty: 4 Easy to pick up - hard to master... Think of it as Metal Gear Chess
- Replay: 5 You can compete with other MG: Acid freaks, and you can replay levels to get more cards
- Portability: 5 Metal Gear Acid is a game you can start at home and pick up on the bus
- All scores are out of 5. The overall rating is not an average of the above scores.
- Rated: Mature - Really, Metal Gear Acid is a very mild mature game, I'd have rated it Teen.
Guide Review - Metal Gear Acid - PSP
OK, so you've figured out by now that it's a turn based card game. You hold six cards, spend them on actions and then you're enemies do the same. Instead of sneaking Snake along walls, you spend a card to move three spaces and have him hug the wall. Instead of shooting a silenced pistol, you spend a SOCOM card and snake fires at the designated target. Right now you are either drooling or grimacing. If you are wiping your chin, man have I got a Metal Gear game for you, if you are reading with disgust, then I suggest the very lovable Metal Gear Solid 3 for the PS2, it's more what you are looking for.
MGA impressed the heck out me. It was deep, compelling and rewarding. Lots of cards to collect (some even have movie clips from previous games!), an interesting story line, and some quality, though not Ridge Racer sharp, graphics. It has problems, like a wonky camera, which really gets old when there are enemies above you on a bridge you can't see, or the fact that sometimes cards you can't use are included in your deck. But honestly, this is a well polished, extremely original game. Metal Gear Acid will melt away your stereotypes of what videogames should be, and show you what they can be.
