Well, first off, I'm proud of myself for actually downloading this thing from IGN (bless their hearts) and managing to get it onto my PSP. I'm not exactly a technical wiz over here, so as a guy who's microwave clock still blinks the eternal "12:00", I was pretty astounded when I scrolled over to saved data, pressed X and lo & behold, Big Boss' grizzled puss was staring me in the face! Hey-O!

I even managed to navigate the Japanese menus and by process of elimination, I de-inverted the face button camera controls, making the game decently playable. As a matter of fact, ironically, Kojima has finally produced smooth(ish), compelling action in an MGS game in spite of the PSP's natural limitations. Who knew it would take a platform that borderline cripples FPS and third-person action for Kojima to limber up and produce any kind of frenetic game play with an actual rythm and flow? Many of those who played MGS4 felt that instead of an honest-to-goodness stealth game, they got a stiff third person shooter with sitting-duck AI and levels so linear & short they felt like intermissions between the ponderous cutscenes. Intended or not, ACTUALLY PLAYING THE DAMNED THING was secondary to Kojima's need to stretch his directorial chops and spin the final yarn in "The Epic Tale of Solid Snake". Honestly. As I played through the bite-sized levels of #4, said to myself more than once, "This thing plays like a big, fancy PSP game!". To be blunt, I think many of the changes MGS4 brought to the series were attempts at inclusiveness and accessability that simply fell flat on their face. I bring this up because, if anything (and if one can tell from a demo), my stick time with Peace Walker feels like a natural progression and refinement on many of the new ideas introduced in MGS4... Which is strange because, quite frankly, the PSP is where military action games go to die - or at least get neutered - and where quirky, experimental titles get their chance. I have to say this is the best, most fluid, most natural auto-aim system I've encountered... ever. It goes way beyond Syphon Filter and is still several steps ahead of Resistance: Retribution. Menus and weapon selection are slick & quick, which is a good thing because, unlike older MGS titles - and this is a BIGGIE - the action DOES NOT STOP when you enter menu mode! All in all, for a series that can't really pride itself on accessability, this one is a major step forward in that department and highlights the intent in Kojima's last offering.

What can I say? I'm passionate about the series.

Graphically, it's beautiful and if anything, it's more crisp than it's visual counterpart, Subsistence. There was always a slight dreamy "haze" to Subsistence that I felt was part of the aesthetic... or a clever way to mask the PS2's limitations. It was a looker, though and this one appears to top it! The movies and screen shots simply don't do it justice.

Cutscenes are handled in the way of Portable Ops. Heavily stylized black & white illustrations are overlayed with minimal animation and the occasional red dress or the orange glow of a lit cigar punctuate and bring focus to the images. Voice acting is top-notch. Criticize Kojima any way you like - a certain long-windedness remains - but he knows him some slick production and it shows here as much as anywhere, graphical limits and all. I loved this styl e in portable ops and I love it now. While it's clear that this way of handling cutscenes speaks to the PSP's lack of horse power, it would work for any game on any platform.

And on the credit where credit is due front, bluej33 appears to have called it: The series has transitioned from stealth to action if this demo is any indication. I'd just say that Kojima has finally figured out how to handle the transitions between the two... Or he's letting his underlings take more of a role. A successful control freak willing to improve his baby after a few mid-series missteps, false starts and critical outcry? Let's call him the "Anti-George Lucas".

As a relatively objective Metal Gear fan(boy), I'm very pleased, although two weird things (it's Kojima, right?) creep in: You can't crawl (WTF? #1) and you can't slide along walls (WTF? #2). If the level of sheen on the demo is any indication of the final product and they smooth out the action just a little more, this one's going to be a dandy and will probably be the most inclusive title yet in the Metal Gear Solid Series.