Metal Gear Acid 2

Title: Metal Gear Acid 2
Platform Played On: PSP
Release Date: March 21, 2006
Date Played: 2008
Time Played: 15 hours
Completed (Y/N): Yes
Score: 4/5





Opinion:
I enjoyed the time I spent with Metal Gear Acid 1. And so the moment I finished it I jumped into this sequel.

MGA 2 uses the same engine and basically the same mechanics as its predecessor. It does look a bit different since Kojima Productions (developer) decided to go with a cell shaded look for this game. The original has more of Metal Gear Solid 1 art style, while this game is surprisingly colorful for the franchise. In a nutshell the developers basically took the first game, sooped it up a bit and gave it a new story. Acid 2 has more cards, enemies and better designed fights than its predecessor. Kojima Productions had less than a year to churn this sequel out, and they did not disappoint.

In Metal Gear Acid 2 you are given the opportunity to play as two characters, this throws more strategy into the mix since now you have the ability to flank and corner the enemies. Having two characters also gives you double the cards to play with in the battlefield. Overall having more characters is a good thing. I do wish however that the second character was a bit more likable. The tone is a huge part of what makes the Metal Gear games so good, and having a big boobed barbie in pink running around is rather immersion breaking and annoying. It is for this reason that I prefer the story and characters in the first game (save for boss fights, MGA2 has better boss fights).

Basically when it comes down to it, I feel that Kojima Productions vastly improved the actual level to level gameplay with adding new mechanics, cards and characters, but they took a dive on the overall story. I found myself caring more about the battles than any of the story (although I still read and followed it).

By the end of it all I was getting a little bit fatigued by MGA. Admitedly this was largely because of playing the two MGA games back to back. But nevertheless I enjoyed the time I spent with the series.

I would definitely recommend both Metal Gear Acid 2 and its predecessor. Fun turn-based battles, exciting deck collecting and the awesome universe.. whats not to like? This offshoot of the Metal Gear franchise has got to be one of the best action puzzlers ever made, at least for the PSP. If you are into turn based action games and/or card games this is a must have if you own a PSP.