Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops - single-player hands-on

Even characters from other games are recruitable; we've seen characters from Snake Eater and even the Metal Gear Acid games in the roster, and although we've been told that most of them don't actually appear in the story, we do know that SIGINT, Ocelot and Eva will play significant roles this time around. If they're not enough for you, though, you can even generate random characters using data unique to any wireless internet hotspot.

All this team-building is useful for something else as well: the fast-paced, all-or-nothing multiplayer modes. Sure, you can play it safe and go head-to-head with other players in no-consequences Virtual Combat, but if you feel like taking a risk, you can gamble your soldiers against your opponent's in Real Combat mode. The only catch is that if your troops get killed in Real Combat, you've lost them for good.

There's really a lot of ground to cover when writing about Portable Ops, as the game's structure is radically different from any other Metal Gear. Still, the relatively small levels and strategic depth seem perfectly suited to the PSP, while the action is the same addictive Metal Gear action that gamers wanted from the Acid games. Expect this one to finally hit stores, dozens of playable characters in tow, on Dec. 5.