[Deliveries]
Regardless of what way you intend to play with or against friends, you can prep special care packages with items (in weapons and recovery flavors) from one PSP to another (via cardboard box, naturally). These are received only after a Vs. or Co-Ops mission finishes, and boxes marked "Free" will go to a random user, though if you get one anonymously, you can add a Friend's Friend to your list. If you choose to give it to someone in particular, you can set an expiration date/time or even set a delivery time for something in the future. The whole package system underscores the linked nature of what Peace Walker is trying to do, and while quirky, it seems so far to work rather well.

[Recruit]
There's one last little area we got to play around with before our time was up, and for fans of the last couple PSP MGS outings, it's good news indeed. Portable Ops' Access Point recruiting is back! Woo hoo! This time, though, you have to fight potentials that are randomly generated from Wi-Fi hotspots to prove you're worthy of recruiting them. This is done, naturally, by throwing the whole group into the sand on that very beach you'll start out on when you first fire up the game. Unlocking the Recruit Menu also opens up the ability to trade troops with other players, so it's not limited to just multiplayer Deliveries.

Perhaps now you can see where that whole taffy comparison is starting to fall into place. Taken separately, each of these modes would be an interesting mini-game distraction in their own right, but combined and tucked between the meat of the game, the Missions, they become a sprawling, horrendously addictive experience that keeps expanding hours after the start of the experience.

Bear in mind that while we were constantly researching things in R&D, scouting for intel, sending our Combat Units out in Outer Ops and, of course, exploring missions and delving deeper into a story that seems bent on re-writing at least part of the gap between Metal Gear Solid 3 and the first Metal Gear (for good or ill), there was always something happening. One of the biggest reasons why we never really dug into the cooperative experience despite it being such a central part of the game was because we were grinding new recruits or leveling up weapons or troops. We'll say that again: we were grinding a MGS game.

And yet, despite all these crazy additions to a formula that was previously about stealth first and foremost, it still felt like a Metal Gear Solid game. In truth, it felt like a console MGS game, and that's really saying something. There were a few things that helped that feeling -- stuff like being able to install data to the Memory Stick (which adds sound to in-game CODEC conversations, plus obviously cuts down on load times) certainly helped with that, but from what we played so far, Peace Walker seemed like such a labor of love that we were all but ready to hail it as the best game on PSP this year, and quite possibly the best game to ever hit the PSP.

Powerful words -- especially when there are still a few surprises in store at E3 in just a few weeks, but Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is undeniably one of those benchmark titles that helps to define a platform. In the same way that the first Metal Gear Solid sold PlayStations and MGS2 convinced the world that, yes, the PS2 was indeed as powerful as Sony said, Peace Walker seems poised to be the definitive game on the PSP, working around (though not entirely skirting) some of the control quirks and design limitations of Sony's hardware to make something that feels both at home on the portable and at the same time like no corners were cut. This could be a console game. Instead, PSP owners appear to be very, very lucky that it's not.

We'll have the full review soon, but rest assured that if we happen to get more info on things (yes, even more than this), we'll make sure that it's passed on to you lickety-split.