Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

8.5 Overall Score
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8/10

Beautiful Graphics | Great Gameplay | Lots of unlocks

Extremely Short for $30

Game Info

GAME NAME: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

DEVELOPER(S): Kojima Productions

PUBLISHER(S): Konami

PLATFORM(S): PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

RELEASE DATE(S): March 18, 2014

With a main campaign that lasts about one to two hours in total and a price tag of $30, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes sounds like a pretty bad deal. The mission itself is quite simple, get behind enemy lines undetected and extract two prisoners. It’s a simple narrative to give you a taste of what’s to come in Metal Gear Solid V, The Phantom Pain. What sounds like a bum deal is actually a different situation than you imagine, a hidden quality will surprise you. While it’s true, yes that the main story line is about a couple hours of play through, the game itself has such a high replay value.

The plot itself while extremely brief carries a darker tone than normal. Some say Creative Director Hideo Kojima wants to push Metal Gear in a grittier more realistic territory.  In doing so, without spoilers, I think he achieved that with this intro.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes consist of a main campaign, which serves as an intro to Phantom Pain. Once you complete the main campaign you unlock five side missions, which are pretty decent in size and each side mission plays out in a unique way. They will most definitely keep you busy as you can unlock a variety of achievements and further missions.

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The graphics in Ground Zeroes are visually stunning, having said that I did this review on the Xbox 360. I have played it on a couple consoles as well and I will have to say it looks the best on PS4. The Omega Base was very well thought out and extremely fun to explore. The level itself looks quite different depending on the weather conditions, which adds a whole other dynamic that is purely awesome. You definitely get the Metal Gear vibe, as there are tons of nooks and crannies to explore and secret tapes to find while trying to avoid detection and death.

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Big Boss is quite agile and gameplay handles very well. They do a great job at making you feel tension as you sneak your way into this enemy base. Boss can roll, dive, jump and shoot like any other badass out there and he’ll need to because the enemies are not dumb. The enemies have a crazy eye for movement and detection so you’ll have to be on your top game. You are given some technology to help you out along the way. You’ll get a pair of binoculars that allow you to “tag” enemies to track their movement. This definitely comes in handy and you’ll find yourself using it a lot. Even though its 1975 you’ll get a device called iDroid (an apple-esque device) that will provide you with a map, mission info and also gives you the ability to choose landing zones for your chopper as well as let you listen to the collected tapes you find along the way.

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The sound of Ground Zeroes is like any other Metal Gear game, its done very well. It’s atmospheric and builds tension and there is a lot of accurate environmental sound. Whether it’s a truck driving by splashing or a flag hitting the flagpole in the wind, you’ll definitely feel immersed in the game. It also scares the hell out of you when you’re detected guiding you to take actions as you feel the pressure of impending doom.

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The Recommendation

While Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a very short game, it was enjoyable. If you go into it knowing it’s a preview and take your time playing through it you will see the awesomeness that is Metal Gear Solid and will unlock all the side missions and extra goodies. If you trade in some games the $30 doesn’t seem too bad and as a preview to Phantom Pain, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes stands on its own and is something I would recommend playing: especially if you are a Metal Gear Solid fan.

 

 

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getamikeON
Author: getamikeON View all posts by
Managing Partner/Editor-in-chief and owner of GameGravy & NintendoFever – Mike spends most of his time working with the top brands in the Game industry & Advertising. Fun Factoid: he is also a musician and song writer. Google+ Author

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