Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel review

Even if you're the most die-hard fan of the Metal Gear Solid series, you're bound to think the plot gets pretty damn screwy at times. It says a lot that the first game - with its cybernetic ninja, mind-reading psychic and walking nuclear tank - may have the most concise and understandable tale of them all. And if you just can't get enough of playing the game, the Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel recreates every single detail of the plot in an animated comic book bursting with information.

You basically just sit there, PSP in hand, and watch the comic panels go by, with their wispy, ethereal artwork and classic word bubbles. But by pressing the square button, you can dive into that panel, roving target reticule at the ready, and examine the image's many layers in elaborate detail. If the reticule starts spinning, that means there's a memory nearby that you can tag, and as the story goes on, you'll learn more about Metal Gear than you probably ever wanted to.

It's like poring over old photographs and seeing, say, a book on the counter in the background. You remember that book, what it was about and how it came to be in your picture. As you find more memories, you can enter the Memory Building mode and link them all together, unlocking flashbacks and yes, even more secret details that no one knew existed. The matrix-like interface to build this nexus of memories is a little hard to navigate, but the level of info is simply staggering.