We’re going to ignore the opening tutorial and cut-scene, as they would have eaten up most of the opening 20 minutes. Safe to say, you know damn well this is an MGS game from the get-go. Ridiculously wordy pop-philosophy that we can’t help but love: go!
Time: 5.23

Within the first minute of actual play we, naturally, decided to shoot some coconuts. While seemingly frivolous on the outside, this short section acts as a fine on-the-job tutorial in a small, safe, fenced-off area. Though you can blow yourself up with grenades.
Time: 6.01

Our first enemy encounter and a fine opportunity to test out Peace Walker’s two control schemes. We opted for the first choice, with face buttons operating as camera and aiming controls. It must work pretty well, as we managed to bullseye this dolt with a tranquiliser dart.
Time: 8.36

An uneventful couple of minutes pass before we encounter this chap, soon after running out of battery for our radar. The exclamation mark above his head immediately gave us warm fuzzy feelings: this is indeed Metal Gear Solid. And he is indeed alerted to our presence.
Time: 10.02

Oops. It would appear that sudden death syndrome can come about as a side-effect of being shot a lot. We think the downfall began when that bloke in the last picture saw us, and we were stupid enough to let him sound the alarm.
Time: 11.57

Retry, this time with more calmness to our movements and definitely more of what Snake is good at – hiding behind stacks of wood, peeking out at oblivious guards. The controls are initially fiddly, but soon enough become second nature. Extended sessions may result in PSP-claw though.
Time: 13.01

Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey. We edge our way around, picking off this selection of guards one by one, making sure the alarm is never raised. It feels so good to be back with Snake – he’s still just as fun to beat people up with as ever.
Time: 15.35

With the first real section of the game completed, it’s time to admire our handiwork: barring the alarm/death scenario we haven’t been seen once, nor have we had to kill any poor guards. The game rewards us with a special screenshot to use as our PSP background.
Time: 18.46

But the demo isn’t over and there’s a lot more to do – just as before in the Japanese version. A few missions are available and can be replayed to your hearts content. Multiplayer is also available for those who know people with other PSPs.
Time 19.23

While we were impressed with Peace Walker before, we’re even happier now we’ve been able to play it in English – hearing David Hayter reprise the role of Snake is always A Good Thing, after all. The game itself does take have a short acclimatisation period, but once that’s passed it’s all about some classic Metal Gear action.