Metal Gear Solid Game

To most metal gear solid fans this game will come as a watered down version of what they usually know to be a very unforgiving and hard-core game. Metal Gear Solid rises to rid itself of the many boss battles and cut scenes that were seen in the Metal Gears of old. This has now been replaced with a more “user friendly” play style. As many may have heard this game just about fits into that category because of the very small length campaign mode which has left many sceptical. Although this may be true a lot of the games fun and excitement comes in being able to replay the game and all of the content that comes into play in the open world. In general this game brings MGS to the next gen platforms with a quick and fun experience.

This game comes after the very good Peace Walker game that came out only on PlayStation Portable and it serves as a quick prologue to reintroduce snake before the upcoming game Metal Gear Solid 5. The storyline hasn’t changed much since our last encounter with Metal Gear; the storyline is still knee deep in politics and full of deception and counter intelligence undertones.

So its normal business you say, not exactly as the game has become much rougher around the edges with a darker subtly that we haven’t seen in previous games.

The game seems to be taking this to a new level as the amount of volatility in the story comes to the surface in the ending of the game. While not totally outrageous It felt like it was not necessary and only an exclamation mark on Kojima’s part.

The story as mentioned before is quite short but although this is true there is still much to do in it. You can have a quick play through in less than two hours. If you do you will have missed out on many things including they many ways to play the game. This is where the game really thrives and having to does the same mission three or four times is totally doable.

One of the major differences in the game in comparison to its older kin is the way in which you approach the game. It has moved away from a game in which you are herded into one room after the other. Now the game is more of a sandbox game where you can freely move around a certain area, in this case a Prison which is only known as Omega Base.

The graphics in Ground Zeros do not let it down at all it is very impressive on whatever console you decide to run it on but the PlayStation 4 version is slightly better. The graphics nowadays are getting so good infact that game looks very different in different weather systems and has a direct impact to how you play. The rain and night cycles really make the game feel gritty and secret agent-ish whilst the daylight sun rays really hit you and make you want to squint as you look on.

The tension

One thing you can definitely feel in this game is the tension that is in certain areas of the game, usually in stealth mode. Making Snake pick locks in broad daylight means that you feel even more vulnerable all the while knowing the enemies are near. As games get smarter and feel closer to reality the tension really gets to a point of borderline intense. With enemies that change their patrolling behaviour and bosses that adapt to you and your style of play.

Although you have some special abilities and equipment to help you combat the ever-changing game, they are not overpowering enough to give you a major advantage. Everything seems very well balanced from using you binoculars to tag enemies to using scopes and the cover system (that now has the dreaded box removed).

Like most new/next gen games that are coming out of late allow you to not only go into the battle with your silencer on but they also allow you to go in with a hail of bullets. This means that you can play the game in different styles which is good for the diverse gamers we have today. However the hard-core Metal Gear fans might be a little disappointed.

Although the hard-core gamers might be disappointed, they still get some retribution when it comes to getting the best score. Metal Gear Solid still rewards you for playing with the ways of old and if you decide to play loud you will receive penalties at the end of the level. This results in fewer items unlocked and a lower score which in fairness is a good compromise for going Rambo on Covert OP.

Now if you love Metal Gear then you probably love hiding in boxes and carrying bodies. I cannot say much for the first one but when it comes to carrying bodies I can let you know that you will definitely being doing this a lot. Although the game still has some of these signature actions that the game has kept there are still some missions that encourage you to shoot first and subdue later. Most of these instances are side missions which is good because you can opt to not do them. Be warned however that if you do not play the side missions you are potentially leaving out a lot of playing hours.

Metal Gear Solid 5 Ground Zeroes is a fitting entry into the Phantom which is setting up to be one of the all-time great games to come out. Although it is true the game can be finished in a couple hours this has more to it than meets the eye. For the price of the game and the quality of Kojima this is one to definitely try out and one for the hard-core MGS fans as well as the casual gamer.