What do you do when you have a brand new handheld console coming out? You turn to a series that is synonymous with your home console. We’re going back to late 2004 (or early 2005… or late 2005, depending on the region you’re in) to look at a turn-based strategy spin-off. We’re talking Metal Gear Acid (or Metal Gear Ac!d, however you’re meant to pronounce that).

On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we chat a little bit about importing a Japanese PSP as well as an American UMD, and a back of the box for the handheld’s launch window. We also look at how acid dissolves metal, fashionable acid jazz, and Colm does his longest “how does this game play?” bit ever.

Here are some of the things you’re gonna hear us chat about in our review: Hitman Go; doing nothing, watching the enemy, and plotting a route; trying to figure out if a gun without a silencer is just as quiet as a gun that does have a silencer; hiding quite important things like how to view the map from an aerial view and how to shoot some weapons; chasing down a guard before the call goes through after he’s spotted you; not enough places to hide and plenty of guards to kill; failure via randomisation (and just deck management, in general); mission-critical cards; Balatro; how cost changes who goes when; controlling Snake AND Teliko; stacking buffs; the power of the XM8; mystifying decisions around movement; a game of Ludo; a story that’s nutty in a slightly different way to regular Metal Gear Solid, but told in a terribly boring way; a dramatic performance; music that’s better than you expect; and the most peculiar in-game adverts. 

After all that, we take you through what some of the critics were saying about the game around the time it came out, and then we give you our final verdicts on whether Metal Gear Acid is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.

For those who would like to play along at home, we'll be discussing, reviewing and dissecting Invisible, Inc. on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.

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