I'm going on a trip and thinking about buying peace walker for my vita before phantom pain comes out. Is it worth $20?

Kinda... sorta... For 20 bucks I'd say go for it. Just know that the ambitious design ideas of the motherbase and all the resource gathering doesn't really jell with an INCREDIBLY simplistic gameplay and mission design. Also the amount of random ass boss fights is pretty infuriating and not fun at all since they're clearly designed with CO-OP in mind. The story is pretty good though and even though the core gameplay is stripped down, it's still Metal Gear Solid, and Metal Gear Solid is really good. And it'll get you more involved in some of Phantom Pains main players, mainly Miller and Huey.

It's absolutely necessary if you want to get caught-up in full before TPP.

Just know it's a bit clunky on the Vita

Worth it for the story, not so much the game, honestly I'd say watch a cutscene compilation on youtube and save yourself the money, especially if you can only play the PSP version, those controls and that locked 20fps feels so bad.

Watching a youtube compilation is really the best option. The actual game part is repetitive and boring.

I'm watching that movie cut and enjoyed it. Good way to get caught up.

I've played a couple hours so far on the PS3. It's not bad, but coming right off of 4 it feels like a dumbed down MGS. It's definitely pretty good for a PSP game though. Not being able to crawl and aim in first person was a bummer to realize, and the numerous boss fights seem odd for a Metal Gear game.

I'd say it scratches that itch if you're looking to play some Metal Gear, or have nothing else to play, but if you only want to catch up for the story, I'd probably just watch the cutscenes.

I watched the movie cut and felt ok about it.

Played a couple hours, but the mission-based gameplay just couldn't hold me. Some people loved the base-building, which made it a good portable game. But it just worries me about what V will actually be.

Absolutely. I put like 300 hours into it across PSP and PS3. It's easily one of the best MGS games. It's a little dumbed down because of the hardware limitations, resulting in things like: not being to crawl, and A.I. being insanely fucking stupid. But it's got a ton of depth and it'll give you a heads up for what to expect in The Phantom Pain, which is Peace Walker 3.0.

Don't listen to these other hatergators, they're thinking with their heads, and not their hearts...

I think it's less about the money and more about how many hours of dull tedium you want to subject yourself to. It's not bad and it has some good ideas that seem to get fully realized in Phantom Pain, but it's too limited by being a handheld game. The text backstory and cassette tapes in Ground Zeroes are all you really need to get ready for the next game. There's probably better stuff on the Vita for $20.

If you have friends with their own copies of Peace Walker, then yes. Otherwise, it might get a bit tedious, especially where certain bosses are concerned.

Its fun if you have a friend to coop the game with, probably still pretty enjoyable solo.

Excellent game.

I'm playing through it right now to prepare for TPP. It's an alright game but it's definitely...lacking something. It just doesn't grab me the same way that the previous games did, but I'm still somewhat enjoying it, just don't go in expecting the experience to be the same as the others. Also I think the bosses are really lame.

Everything I've seen of TPP makes it look like Peace Walker ultra HD. I hope I'm wrong because I didn't love Peace Walker. It played decently enough but it didn't grab me the same way the other Metal Gears did.

Am I crazy for wanting a linear Metal Gear Experience? I sometimes think that making everything Open World can detract from a tight, awesome experience. I like Open World games, but I also sometimes like just being told a story.

The sneaking's trivial but the bosses are rough. Be aware of that.

I loved it when it came out, but trying to play it again recently and I can't stand playing it. I love the story and music, but the Monster Hunter boss fights do not worm for a Metal Gear game. MGSV looks like everything I want out of Peacewalker while also being a more traditional Metal Gear and doing it own thing all at the same time.

If anyone is looking for a LP of the game, ChipCheezem has a good one. It covers all the missions, even the optional ones including...uh...well, let's just say that episode 18-2 is something special.

MGSV is so close to release now; just watch it on youtube.

@dumptruck05: It's a fun handheld game if you're into Monster Hunter or if you don't mind games with a lot of repetition. If you prefer more classical A - to - B gameplay with heavy narrative along the way then this is very much not that.

It is okay, the stealth is decent but the boss fights are terrible in my opinion. If you're just in it for the story, you can avoid playing most of the rough boss battles, though I think the pre-mission briefing tapes and Paz's Spy log in Ground Zeroes make a decent (if abbreviated) explanation for the most important beats of Peace Walkers story, at least the parts that are important to MGSV.

I recommend just watching Peace Walker - The Movie.

While it can be fun, its kinda tedious if you don't have anyone to play with. The story is absolutely crucial for MGS V though, otherwise you wont know who Chico and Paz are, and the relationship between Miller and Big Boss.

Peace Walker was the only major MGS game I had not played. Therefore, since I heard that MGS V leans heavily on elements from the game, I decided to pick it up recently on the PS3.

I'm currently playing it and quite enjoying it, though I'm pretty sure I won't get around to finishing it before MGS V comes out next month.

It kinda appeals to the "grinding fiend" in me that doesn't tend to blast through the main story quests in games. In fact if there is an obvious direction that a game wants you to go down, you can be sure that I'm the one who is turning around and going off the beaten path looking for where the devs usually put the collectibles.

When I first heard about the Mother Base research and admin element I was initially put off, but now that I've actually played some of it I'm really into it and am now less worried about if they include it in MGS V.

Bizarrely, I have already played Ground Zeroes so I'm getting a few moments of "Oh, so THAT's who that is" as I progress.

EDIT: Oh and that theme music. Wow! I was a big fan of the MGS2 theme (it was my ringtone for ages, back when ringtones were a thing) but Peace Walker's main theme is even better.

Ehhhhh....not really.

If you enjoy MGS games for what they are (linear, plot driven, cut-scenes, gameplay variety) then no.

Peace Walker is a very different Metal Gear game than it's predecessors. It's a lot more micro-managementy, as in you're building stuff, resources, Fultoning soldiers, replaying missions, etc.

It's one of the reasons why I'm so fucking worried about MGSV, if it's just a bigger budget console version of Peace Walker I'm probably not gonna like it, at all.

Yes. 100%. Absolutely. If you want to play MGSV and understand things like character motivations, you should play Peace Walker.

I heard the ps3 version is a lot better, unless you really want to play it on the go. Locked 20 fps sounds not great (until you get used to it). I've been wanting to buy the ps3 version and I got my hopes up that it would get discounted during the summer sale, but it did not :(

Just watch a compilation or/and read a summary, Peace Walker is the worst game in the series, Kojima really took the wrong turn with that one.

Yes but only play the console version, not the psp version.

I think so.

Story is good and personally I loved the gameplay. Just great, bitesize stealth. Simpler environments with fewer guards and objects, less mechanics, but easier to sneak. It's a more pure, filtered MGS. HD version looks great too I think.

Also, and I think we'll all be able to appreciate this more come MGSV, but the ability to play as different soldiers (rather than BB) in Peace Walker is hugely liberating for some reason. Or it was for me.

I just started playing this tonight with my brother because we needed a co-op game to play, and I fucking love it so far. Granted, we've not done a proper boss fight yet (which is what everyone seems to knock this game for), so that might change, but man I like managing Mother Base so far, I like listening to the tapes, and while there's not a lot of sneaking, I really like the fact that each mission is short which lends itself to being easy to go like "hey man let's do one more real quick before you have to go." The controls on the PS3 are basically just the controls for MGS4 so I'm into that in a big way (the lack of a crawl option is fucking weird, though). It has made me even more excited for Phantom Pain--and it has given me some more Metal Gear to play while I wait for Tuesday, which seems an eternity away.

It's an amazing game if you have the patience to get the hang of the controls. It's one of my favorite games period, so just knowing that I'm a few days from a much larger version of that has got me very excited.

Vita version is a good way to go. You can use both sticks and map functions to the front touch screen corners.

I'd say yes, but maybe not the PSP version

I never finished it, but I would say yes. It was pretty fun from what I played.

When I got it as part of the HD Collection is just ignored it for a long time. Then one day I said might as well try it this weird handheld thing. It's probably going to be crap. But it's become my favourite Metal Gear game. But your milage may vary. But try it at least.

Reading a wiki will catch you up just as much as playing it would. I know some people love it, but the gameplay in peace walker, even the hd release, is pretty bad. The shooting is clunky, the areas are small, the boss fights are lame, and if that wasnt enough, Peace Walker is a modern Metal Gear that doesn't let you crawl. These things were enough for me to put it at the bottom of my list of Metal Gear games.

Peace Walker is one of my favorite MGS games, and I'd certainly support picking it up on Vita or PS3. (The HD collection version is the best version) Though, a big part of my love for the game is the tapes. If you don't get a chance to play the game(or can't get all the way through it[as most people can't. It has sooo much side stuff after the main campaign), I put together a new GB blog post that includes the tapes most work checking out from Peace Walker. :)

Peace Walker is a hot, broken mess. But I have to wonder what is the point of asking. You're a MGS fan evident by the fact you're getting MGSV. Are you really not going to get Peace Walker because someone on the internet told you not to?

It capitalizes on MGS4 gameplay, you can walk while you crouch, they also add a bunch of new stuff like the mother base and recruitment mechanics. MGSPW is quite alright in terms of story, but there's nothing you can't read on wiki. I would suggest you to play MGS5 and go back to PW if you get bored, while I feel like it is going to be a bit too much MGS for anyone if you're gonna plow through it PW before 5.

P.S. You fight a bunch of metal gears in that game.

You people recommending someone to watch a cutscene compilation are crazy. The story in PW is the worst part about it, it's the MGS with the most focus on gameplay over cutscenes. The good story and character moments are not even in the cutscenes, they are in the tapes. Watching just the cutscenes while ignoring the tapes and the gameplay is so ridiculous. If someone just wants to get caught up on the story I'd rather suggest they just read a summary. Better than ruining PW for themselves with some stupid movie cut.

And yes, PW is by far my favourite MGS game, though TPP is looking to be PW 2.0 and even better.

Well even after having played MGS 1-4 you are completly clueless of what is going on when you start up Ground Zeroes so yeh Peace Walker is the missing peace.