"Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker" traces the further adventures of Naked Snake/Big Boss in the Cold War. Two players can team up to take on missions, with some areas and routes unreachable without a partner.
Set in 1974, "Peace Walker" takes place in Central America, where a professor and KGB agent has retained Snake's freelance fighters to counter a CIA plan to install nuclear missiles in Costa Rica.
The game is talky, but the story scenes are rendered in a partly animated style, like a motion comic, using the expressively sketchy illustrations of longtime series artist Yoji Shinkawa.
The game's controls are a marked improvement over "Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops." Some elements from the previous game have been streamlined: Instead of dragging disabled enemy troops to a truck for recruitment, players can simply tie balloons to them, allowing a helicopter to snatch them out of the air -- a method that's expedient and amusing. Close-quarters combat and shooting control also have been improved.
SACRAMENTO BEE
