Portable Ops 2
Metal Gear Spin-Offs We’d Actually Want to Play
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops was an absolute blast, implementing the usual stealth gameplay of the series into a PSP title. The game would later be overshadowed by the phenomenal Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, also on the PSP. With the release of the Nintendo Switch, and Konami’s decision to branch out to consoles besides Sony’s with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, now seems like a fantastic time to make a sequel to the portable classic. The greatest issue with both Peace Walker and Portable Ops was the limited controls of the PSP, but with the dual-stick controls and mobility of the Switch, we can have controls as tight as every other Metal Gear game.
It may be easy to just ask for a portable version of Metal Gear Solid V, or rather a Peace Walker sequel, but those games focus on wide, sprawling levels. Portable Ops is much more condensed and focuses on short, but intelligently-designed levels which challenge the player in stealth. This would be much more fun on handheld because it doesn’t require as much of a time commitment from the player as a full narrative does, perfect for those daily commutes to work.
Portable Ops 2 would not need to center around Naked Snake (AKA Big Boss) as the first one did. In fact, it really shouldn’t. As seen in Metal Gear Survive, it’s very clear Konami has no problem adding tons of new characters to the games’ universe. If Konami can’t figure that out, there’s no shame in revisiting the concept behind VR Missions, which was a series of custom made levels made for the sole purpose of fun stealth gameplay instead of advancing the story.
