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Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
The official logo for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Developer(s)	Kojima Productions
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)	Hideo Kojima (producer, director)[1]
Artist(s)	Yoji Shinkawa
Writer(s)	Hideo Kojima[1] Shuyo Murata
Series	Metal Gear
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	JP March 18, 2010 NA May 25, 2010[2] EU May 27, 2010
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer cooperative gameplay
Media	UMD, download

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is an upcoming video game currently in development by Kojima Productions and is slated to be released for the PlayStation Portable in 2010.^[3] Peace Walker will be the first Metal Gear title for a portable platform directed by series' creator Hideo Kojima.^[1] The story will take place following the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.^[4]

Story

An unknown military force equipped with the latest weapons has established a presence in Costa Rica in late 1974. The Costa Rican government could not do anything about them because the country's constitution bans the creation of an armed force. The nation has secretly tapped Naked Snake and his Militaires Sans Frontières (Soldiers without Borders; Outer Heaven's predecessor) mercenary group to turn back the threat, which could endanger the balance of power between the East and West.^[5]

Characters

Japanese voice actor for each character are listed first, followed by their English voice actor.^[6]

• Naked Snake (also known as Big Boss) voiced by Akio Ohtsuka/David Hayter - Former member of the CIA special forces unit FOX and the founder of FOXHOUND. An expert in combat and stealth infiltration, Snake has spent the past few years in Colombia leading a mercenary group known as the Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF). He is also struggling with the guilt of killing The Boss.
• Kazuhira Miller voiced by Tomokazu Sugita/Robin Atkin Downes - Miller is involved in the management of the MSF. The child of an American officer and a Japanese woman, he was born during the US military's occupation of Japan and was given the name Kazuhira (和平 ^?, an inversion of the word heiwa, Japanese for "peace"). He serves in the Japan Self-Defense Force after graduating from college in the US, but is eventually discharged and works as a mercenary. His travels eventually lead him to meet Snake in Colombia.
• Paz Ortega Andrade voiced by Nana Mizuki/Tara Strong - A young Costa Rican girl who is an advocate of peace, per her Spanish first name. She is studying her country's Peace Constitution under Galvez at the University for Peace. They hire the "Soldiers without Borders" to eliminate the mysterious armed force and restore peace to the nation.
• Ramón Gálvez Mena voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka/Steve Blum - Paz's former instructor. A veteran professor of peace studies, Gálvez currently teaches at Costa Rica's University for Peace. He accepts Paz's request to seek help from the "Soldiers Without Borders." However, Gálvez may have some motives of his own.
• Amanda Valenciano Libre voiced by Romi Park/Grey Delisle
• Huey voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka/Christopher Randolph - A wheelchair-bound scientist who is hinted to be "exactly the person that everyone thinks he is.", in reference to the Otacon character from previous installments .^[7][8]
• Chico voiced by Kikuko Inoue/Antony Del Rio
• Strangelove voiced by Yumi Kikuchi/Vanessa Marshall
• Coldman voiced by Mugihito/H. Richard Greene
• Cécile Cosina Caminades voiced by Yū Kobayashi/Catherine Taber

Gameplay

Some changes are made to the standard Metal Gear Solid formula. Movement is done on the analog stick; actions such as crouching and co-op actions use the directional-pad; melee actions, which include multiple throws within crowds of enemies, use the R button; and weapons use the L button with the R button. Players will be unable to move while lying down, and will also have to crouch in order to pick up items dropped by soldiers. The game itself cannot be paused while displaying the menu. The PSP would have to be put in Sleep mode to pause the game.^[9]

The game will feature a heavy emphasis on co-operative gameplay, with two players in main missions and up to four players in boss missions. Players can choose one of four different Snakes with different layouts. For example, Armored Snake features heavy weapons at the expense of mobility and stealth, while Naked Snake moves faster at the cost of lower defense. There are several actions that can take place when two Snakes are next to each other. 'Snake-in' allows players to hold on to each other as one player leads the way, also allowing the Snakes to fire on the move. Other co-operative actions include holding up closing doors, performing CPR on fallen comrades, sharing items, and acting as a spotter for other players whose vision is obscured. There is an updated CQC system and a new prisoner evacuation system (based on the Fulton Skyhook) along with the ability to move while crouched and the over-the-shoulder shooting view as seen in Metal Gear Solid 4. The cardboard box used to hide from enemy soldiers now appears to have different variations, with the inclusion of a "Love Pack" (big enough for two players) and a tank design. They can also be dropped from the inventory and used as footholds to reach higher areas, useful for locating sniper positions and vantage points. Aside from the sonar system featured in Portable Ops, players will also be able to use an early version of the Soliton radar system from Metal Gear Solid. The game will feature the camouflage index system from Snake Eater, but the player will not have the ability to change camouflage uniforms as it will be entirely based on movement and position.

Music

The Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Original Soundtrack is due to be released on March 17, 2010. ^[10] The game's theme song, "Heaven's Divide", is performed by Donna Burke.

Demo Ops

A nine-minute video was shown at Gamescom, which strongly emphasized its co-operative play (the term Co-Ops was used frequently, obviously mirroring Portable Ops which utilized a solo sneaking motif for its story mode).^[11] The game made its playable debut at Tokyo Game Show 2009, and IGN released a demo version to the public. The demo is in Japanese.^[12]

On December 17, 2009, the official English demo of the game was released on the PlayStation Network, containing the levels from the 2009 Tokyo Game Show Japanese demo along with an all-new boss battle.^[13][14]A survey was made available on Konami's website for the rest of the month after December 17th. ^[15]

Awards

Peace Walker received awards during the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, Best of Show and Best PSP Game.

References

External links

• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the Metal Gear Wiki, an external wiki
• Official Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker site