Via IGN

Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops instantly jumped to the top of portable gamers' most wanted lists, but there's another MGS in the works for the PSP. The latest issue of Famitsu has the full scoop on Konami's previously announced PSP digital comic, fully titled Metal Gear Solid Bande Dessinee.

Directed and produced by Hideo Kojima himself, and featuring graphics by Ashley Wood, Bande Dessinee uses the North American Metal Gear Solid comic as a base and adds visual and aural effects to make a multimedia experience. All 12 chapters of the comic are included in the PSP adaptation.

The title makes the comic viewing experience interactive, even beyond convenient navigation features. Wood's artwork has been converted into 3D models for two modes of play designed to give further insight into the world of the comics. As you view the comic, you can press the square button to enter a "memory search" mode. In this mode, you can freely search for people and items by navigating the screen in three dimensions . Anything you find is added to a database whose contents can be traded with friends via WiFi.

Also included is a mission mode of sorts. Info that you've collected from the digital comic is added to a library that can be viewed by pressing the triangle button. In this mode, you're assigned missions requiring that you properly connect together the information that you've gathered. We're not sure if there's much in the way of gameplay here, although the magazine suggests that the missions have a puzzle-like feel to them.

Based on the images in the magazine, Metal Gear Solid Bande Dessinee is completely in English, right down to the mission briefings. Perhaps Metal Gear Solid fans will be able to look forward to a release outside of Japan.