Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops - updated hands-on

Each character comes with a unique skill set, and while the majority will be soldiers, there are more specialized types to capture, including medics, engineers and even politicians. So far, we've seen recruited troops being used in online multiplayer deathmatches, but thanks to Portable Ops ' less-linear approach to stealth and infiltration, you'll be able to use them in the story mode as well.

Apparently, Portable Ops' levels will be much larger and more open than Metal Gear fans are used to, and you'll be able to take advantage of this by deploying up to three of your recruits at certain points in each stage. You can then switch over to them, enabling you to do cool things like clearing out a nest of enemies as a sniper before switching back to Snake and approaching the area.

You'll be able to keep up to 100 comrades at the ready, although we're told that there'll be an "infinite" number to draw from. See, the developers really want to take advantage of the PSP's Wi-Fi capabilities, and so they'll be setting up secret hotspots throughout major cities where you can download unique characters, or even randomly generated characters based on your PSP's serial number. There'll also be a "Passerby" mode, which enables you to leave your PSP on and automatically detects nearby people who you can trade characters with.

But beware: if a character dies during online play, he or she is gone for good - even if it's a major character like Ocelot or Eva.