Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (officially abbreviated to MPO+) is an expansion of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, in the same vein as Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. It includes more multiplayer options such as new characters, new maps, new weapons, and new game modes. The only update to the single player mode is the Infinity Mission. The greatest update of the new expansion besides being a large update for multiplayer is the capacity for 200 characters in the player's squad, giving them more options to roam through the single-player story and also fighting online using their captured soldiers. In the context of the game, the Infinity Mission takes place shortly after the San Hieronymo Takeover.

In Japan, Portable Ops Plus was released on September 20, 2007 in two formats: the expansion on its own and as a deluxe package that includes the original game and the expansion. The North American version was released on November 13, 2007. The European version was released on March 28, 2008.

Features
The story mode within Portable Ops Plus has been removed, and a new single player mode has been added entitled "Infinity Mission", where the player must go through randomly chosen maps, looking for the advance point within the level, using the surround indicator to help them. This adds some extra difficulty, because the surround indicator can show an enemy, or the advance point. Within this mode, there are also Kerotan, which make a small croak sound, as well as briefly showing up on the surround indicator with every croak. Hidden items can be obtained using this.

The game makes much more of an emphasis on online gameplay, with the modes from the original being used with their + counterparts, such as "Cyber-Survival+" and "Infrastructure+." During online gameplay, rookie players will have a rookie mark, reducing the damage they get, and increasing the damage they give, making online gameplay easier for less skilled players.

Multiplayer
Since Portable Ops Plus is more of a multiplayer orientated expansion, it's focus is on adding new gameplay, new game modes, and new characters, along with new maps. New players are able to join in on the battle using a system which was built for recruits on the battlefield to help them distinguish the enemies and their teammates, along with helping the new player to help out their fellow teammates. Also in multiplayer, the chat room has changed from actually having pre-set sayings to an on the fly keyboard, giving the player the ability to type while playing.

There are four new unique characters the player is able to recruit. These characters are:


 * Solid Snake. Using the codename "Old Snake" his appearance is based on his appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4.
 * Raiden. His appearance is based on his original Metal Gear Solid 2 look, and not his Cyborg Ninja look in Metal Gear Solid 4.
 * Roy Campbell. He is as he appears in Portable Ops.
 * Johnny Sasaki. The infamous comic relief character. His appearance here is similar to his grandfather's appearance in Metal Gear Solid 3. He is distinguishable thanks to a J on his head.

In addition to some of the recruitable soldiers from Portable Ops, the player can also recruit a number of other soldiers from previous titles, such as Arsenal Tengu, Ocelot Unit, and Genome Soldiers. Players are also able to play on several new maps, including Metal Gear REX's hangar from Metal Gear Solid. Also, female Ocelot Unit members and female Soviet soldiers can be recruited along with High-tech Soldiers, Hideochan soldiers (unlocked either via password or by winning a deathmatch in 2007, along with a soldier wearing a white uniform with a medal on it), Tsuhan Soldiers, as well as soldiers representing locations (In the American release of Portable Ops, there are 51 soldiers that each represent all fifty states in America plus Washington D.C. [colored red for the westmost southwestern states/California/Hawaii, blue for the Northwestern states/Alaska, yellow for the easternmost Southwestern states/westernmost Southeastern states, orange for the Southeast states, green for the Midwest, and purple for the Northeast/New England states]. In the European version of the game, there are at least 11 soldiers, each representing locations in the European Union such as the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, and Greece). The soldiers that were from other Metal Gear games, however, reuse voice clips from characters within Portable Ops outside of various grunts (e.g., the Genome Soldiers, SEALs team, Arsenal Tengu, and Gurlukovich Mercenaries reused the FOX soldier's voice clips). In addition, three bonus soldiers can be unlocked via a special password in the Japanese version from magazine retailers: The Dengeki PlayStation soldier, the Famitsu soldier, and the Unlock Arms soldier.

Portable Ops Plus also has eight bonus soldiers representing certain store retailers in Japan. More specifically, they are representing GEO, WonderGoo, TV Panic WanPaku COMG!, Sakuraya, Softmap, Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera, and UBook. It also has soldiers representing the Togichi and Chiba branches of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone group, appropriately named Togichi soldier and Chiba soldier. Other soldiers exclusive to Japan are Mahjong Fight Club Society Soldiers, Completion Special Code soldiers, and Black Genetically-Modified Soldiers, as well as 47 NTT soldiers besides the Togichi and Chiba sections.