There’s been a lot of grumbling from Metal Gear fans on whether Ground Zeroes should have been released separate from the Phantom Pain. They may have an argument. The initial main mission of MGSV:GZ lasts a whopping 30 minutes (and probably quicker if I could have gone through it with a bit more balls). You do get some really gorgeous cutscenes in the game that tell you of better things to come in the not so far off future (less than two years), but it’s tough for folks to wrap their heads around how the $29.99 asking price is justified. I can completely understand this, but at the same time Konami and Kojima Productions doesn’t stop with that one single mission, so the grumbling you’ve been hearing may not be justified. Let’s get into it.
After you beat the initial first mission of the game, you unlock new missions and new ‘items’ that are preparing you for the real deal with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The missions, which are very inventive to say the least, last about 15-30 minutes a piece and come in a variety. One mission you have to infiltrate the same base and eliminate two targets. Another mission, one that was shown at the Tokyo Game Show this year, has you meeting a mole inside the black site in Cuba and obtaining a cassette tape with vital information on it. Yet another has you creating cover from a helicopter to protect a valuable asset (Kojima himself) from getting wiped out. You have to eventually rescue him, and honestly this might quite possibly be the more relaxed mission of the bunch. There are a variety of missions to go on and there are also sorts of different ways to do them. You’re looking at maybe an additional 5-7 hours of gameplay, depending on your gaming curiosity when it comes to exploring or completing.
In addition to the missions (and there are more than those mentioned above), you also get to unlock items and clues that help you piece together a path that leads back to who our antagonist Skull Face might be and who is behind a lot of the story in the upcoming big release of The Phantom Pain. It’s like you’re putting together a larger story with each mission completion. The story of Metal Gear series has always been intriguing and a driving point with the game, so piecing these things together makes it worth your while.
You can also unlock modes in the game and go back and explore the black site military base for items that you might have missed (there are certain mysterious – random items in that helicopter mission, so keep your eyes open). You can also unlock new difficulty modes, which will most certainly produce some sort of valuable extra — or at least one can hope so, I’m still playing the hell out of this game.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes also introduces you to not only the very tightened control scheme, but it also gets you pumped for the type of environment that Big Boss will most certainly be spending a lot of time in. Before we talk the environment, let’s get into the controls, as that’s always been sort of a sore spot with the series.
One of the worst parts of the Metal Gear universe, sans the early NES titles, is how difficult the controls and camera angles were to use. I’m not sure how the hell I survived the controls in the first three Metal Gears (I know the third was updated with a bit more flexibility and freedom, but I sorta count that as 3.5), but I’m positive my brain is repressing those pretty well. The controls were tough, the shooting was atrocious, but thankfully we didn’t know any better, so there wasn’t much to complain about. When the third Metal Gear came out again with a rotating camera that was free-floating for the user, it changed a lot of things. You still had a few more issues with how Naked Snake oriented himself on the screen, but at least you could see around corners. When the fourth Metal Gear Solid came out, things had improved, but it wasn’t a tremendous improvement. There were still issues with the camera once in a while and some issues with orienting Solid in particular situations. In other words, it still felt a bit stiff, but it did feel like it was heading in the right direction.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes gives me a lot of hope that things have been improved.
Big Boss feels less like a stiff bloke trying to not hurt his knees and more like a soldier who needs to get from point A to point B without much hassle. This control scheme and gameplay feels like a third-person action game should feel like. It’s smooth when it comes to transitions with body orientation such as going from sneaking to prone. It’s easy to control when you’ve got Big Boss in full running mode and it just feels like they’ve found the right combination for camera control and body control. In short, it feels very tight and refined, not necessarily overhauled. You will find occasion where the camera is bit jumpy, but not as much as you have felt in the past with the series. I’m very curious on whether that ‘jumpy camera’ will rear its head in The Phantom Pain, I would bet it won’t.
The control layout in the game has been improved immensely. The R1/R2 garbage of selecting weapons and items has been replaced with the direction pad. You can have multiple primary and secondary weapons, with the options to choose between them using the directional pad and the R stick. For example, if you want to choose between a gun and a rocket launcher then you push up on the directional pad, then you see both weapons and choose which one you want with the right thumb stick. It’s really quick and easy, and just what the doctor ordered in the hectic environment presented in the short game.
Things you will have to get used to in this new title are in short supply. First, the thing you can’t control — camo! I know we all have gotten used to seeing Solid Snake from the fourth Metal Gear lie on the ground and have his suit change to match the environment, but that’s gone (duh, it’s a different time frame). Using your environment, less light areas / more dark areas, to hide in is the name of the game. Without the gimmicky (yet cool) suit to act as a crutch, MGSV:GZ forces you to become aware of your surroundings and positions of the enemy. Big Boss is old school like that and because of that it certainly makes the game more challenging and makes you appreciate what Kojima Productions has put together for you.
(UPDATED Section)
Well, originally I had written a gripe about the lack of pausing, but thanks to a reader down below in the comment field (Stephen) they have pointed out that the left side of the touchpad does in fact pause the game. That would explain why I was getting a hit/miss with my pauses — I thought it was the particular missions I was on in MGSV:GZ. As it has always been with Digitalchumps, we own up to our mistakes and will certainly own up to this one. Cool use for the touchpad, though I think I would have loved to see a mission with no pausing in it. It kind of makes for an intense situation. Anyway, thanks again Stephen.
Something that isn’t new to the Metal Gear franchise as it’s continued through the years is how gorgeous this game looks. I’m predicting that we haven’t seen the real-deal yet with how this looks on the PlayStation 4. I think this is what they did with the hardware at their disposal at the time when development started (and that honestly couldn’t have been too long ago), but I’m certain (and this is just a guess) that things for The Phantom Pain have improved immensely when it comes to visuals. With that said, this game is (bleeping) gorgeous to look at in action. The textures in the game are absolutely detailed and stunning, as I didn’t see one sign of rendering — thank God. The lighting is phenomenal, as is the contrast between dark sky – spotlights and how the lighting affects the ground/surfaces. You also have no pop-ups in the game’s environments, so you will see endless amounts of land with varying levels of construction. All of this looks like it was done with ease.
Also, the details in the models of the characters is beyond the last generation of consoles with tons of details and real personalities coming through facial features and body motion. No stiff hands, no more legs that look like the character has ridden a horse — none of that garbage. This is what the current generation has in store for us folks and it’s scary to think how much better it’s going to look by the end of it.
On top of the eye candy, you’ll also find some great voice over work, especially from Kiefer Sutherland. Sutherland’s acting talents really shine and it is (sorry fanboys) an upgrade from David Hayter. Hayter does a great job in the series, but Sutherland really brings out the emotions and conveys what Big Boss thinks and feels. It’s a world apart and I fully understand why Kojima wanted to go this route. I can’t wait to see Sutherland in action in The Phantom Pain.
Presentation aside, other added value includes competing against other players in regards to timing and completion of missions. I always liked trying to out perform other gamers in games without the multiplayer component intact. Less anger from snarky online folks and more drive to do better. Anyway, it’s not a major component, but it does add some value to the game in the replay department.
Overall, I would pay $29.99 for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. The extra missions, the additional backstory and information that prepares you for the eventual release of The Phantom Pain makes it worth your while.
