Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops - updated hands-on

We also had another crack at the game's multiplayer deathmatches, which we first tried during E3. The grimy-looking level was the same, although there were a few more vents, tunnels and high vantage points than we remembered (and this time, we got to play as Major Zero). But the interface looks a lot flashier, and the formerly static four-way weapon-changing menu now pops up with a cool animation. (Note to the developers, though - "cool" doesn't necessarily mean "useful when you're being shot at.")

Otherwise, the third-person action is still more or less identical to the Metal Gear Online pack-in from Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, right down to the ribbiting Keroton that floats above your head and gives your position away when you're in the lead. You can even aim in first-person, although we were able to rapidly slaughter our opponents when we figured out we could lock onto them with the PSP's left shoulder button and still run around. We did, however, have some trouble chucking grenades around with any sort of accuracy; hopefully, that'll be addressed in the final version.

Overall, though, the game looks sweet so far, and we're really looking forward to being able to deploy our own squads in the single-player mode. Some of the details are still sketchy, but we fully expect this to be one of this winter's hottest titles.