Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Playstation 4 Version

The greatest soldier of all time, Big Boss, returns once again in Hideo Kojima’s highly acclaimed Metal Gear Solid franchise. As a prequel to Metal Gear Solid 4, and a sequel to Peace Walker, Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes opens up a new chapter in the Metal Gear saga while laying the ground work for its soon to be successor, The Phantom Pain. One of the first differences series veterans may notice is that David Hayter, who’s voiced Big Boss and Solid Snake in every Metal Gear Solid game to date, has spontaneously disappeared and is replaced by mega hit TV show 24’s Kiefer Sutherland. Listening to Sutherland in the role of Big Boss certainly takes some getting used to, but being the great actor that he is may offer even the most resistant fans something fresh to look forward to in Ground Zeroes, as well as the upcoming (full edition of the game) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Ground Zeroes picks up after the events of Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, with Big Boss and Kaz having established an army, as well as their own Metal Gear, housed back at their headquarters called “Mother Base”. They’ve gotten word that two of their former associates, Paz and Chico, have been kidnapped and are being held captive at an off the record military base unrestricted by United States constitutional law. With Kaz supporting him by radio, Big Boss is tasked with infiltrating this heavily guarded facility to rescue his former comrades and obtain any information they may have.

During the opening scene, players will find themselves intrigued by the spectacular musical composition and high definition graphics alone, but also questioning who the games violent looking new villain is. With scars covering his face, and a Freddy Krueger style cowboy hat, this enemy commander is only known as “Skull Face”. Although Skull Face looks suspiciously familiar to previous villains in the Metal Gear Solid time line, his true identity is currently unknown, which means that it’s best to assume that he’s a brand new character in the series.

Having to infiltrate a heavily guarded torture camp and rescue hostages is troubling enough for Big Boss… But to make matters even worse, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has suspicion of Big Boss’ nuclear weapons capabilities, prompting them to arrange a nuclear inspection at Mother Base. While Boss is out on mission rescuing Paz and Chico, one of his associates back at Mother Base, named Huey, arranges the meeting with the IAEA while simultaneously making an effort to conceal the fact that Mother Base has a nuke.

At its core, Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes functions as the prologue to the full version of the game, to be released later in 2015, but it’s more like an extended demo than anything else. The story of Ground Zeroes is powerful, but also short, so I will cease further discussion of the story to leave any surprises for future players.

Specifically from a gameplay standpoint, Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes is a technical masterpiece, far outshining every prior Metal Gear Solid game. Big Boss is offered all sort of options from walking, slowly walking, crouch-walking, lying in a prone position, and even rolling. Never before has crouch-walking felt smoother, although the feature should have been included in previous games.

In addition to Big Boss’ enhanced maneuverability, he also has additional close quarter combat (CQC) options. Virtually all of the classic Metal Gear Solid features and CQC options make an appearance in Metal Gear Solid V, with some of them feeling more fluid than ever. But there’s also a brand new addition this time around, giving Big Boss the ability to disarm (and then hold up) his opponent. Close range combat evolution with each consecutive Metal Gear Solid game is promising; but I’d like to see it expanded far beyond its current point, making Big Boss, Solid Snake, or Raiden an even more dangerous bare knuckle combatant.

Perhaps even more interesting than Ground Zeroes’ subtle additions is the fact that Big Boss now has the ability to hijack vehicles. Granted, this new feature feels out of place for a Metal Gear Solid game, but in order to keep things consistent with the overall stealth atmosphere, it is required of players to meet certain conditions while driving a vehicle around a hostile military base. Running someone over or going too fast will only trigger an alarm from suspicious bystanders. If Grand Theft Auto style vehicle hijacking doesn’t satisfy gamer’s desires enough, it’s also worth noting that Big Boss has his own personal helicopter on standby, which he can call upon at any time to either extract himself, or a rescued hostage.

One of the most fundamental aspects of Metal Gear Solid title, since the original PlayStation game, has been the ability to sneak around and use stealth. As the series evolved, there’s been no shortage of new sneaking mechanics. However, games like Peacewalker didn’t feel as fluid as Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2. In Metal Gear Solid V, however, sneaking feels better than ever. Everything from Big Boss’ walking to his run ability feel spectacular, but this is something players may need to experience for themselves. Strangely enough, however, one of the most basic Metal Gear Solid features: getting into cover and peeking around a corner, is more flawed than ever.

With Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes functioning as the prologue to the full game, players might expect to come out of the experience short changed on content. The reality is that if the game were compared to a demo, Ground zeroes would have the content of about ten standard demos combined, and that’s not bad for a thirty dollar price tag. In addition to Ground Zeroes’ spectacular main mission, the game also features four additional missions, each with their own objectives and change in environment. In addition to these five missions, the game also features two secret missions that are unlockable. The Metal Gear Rising version of Raiden is playable in one of these missions, and the second secret mission is a reiteration of events from the original Metal Gear Solid. Although the latter mission doesn’t live up to the hype, these seven missions (in total) are more than enough to keep players occupied.

Worthy of a full paragraph would be a discussion of Ground Zeroes’ spectacular music and sound. Director of Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima, isn’t a stranger to having an excellent musical score, since he’s been closely partnered with composer Harry Gregson Williams since the original Metal Gear Solid. Williams, once again, delivers nothing short of an incredible musical score for Ground Zeroes, and all hype aside, this guy knows how to make some of the best music in gaming, hands down. Equally as impressive is the change in Big Boss’ voice actor, with developers making the change to 24’s Kiefer Sutherland, and he sounds better than ever… Legendary Metal Gear Solid voice actor David Hayter is iconic in the gaming industry, but if anyone could replace David Hayter successfully, it’s Sutherland.

Earlier entries like Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2 were spectacular in their original era, but one of the knocks against the series itself was that the games were more similar to an interactive movie more anything else, partially because of limited gameplay options. Since Metal Gear Solid 2, however, mastermind of the series Hideo Kojima has slowly been evolving the gameplay department of the saga. With enhanced gameplay options and fluidity, Ground Zeroes could turn out to be the pinnacle of Metal Gear Solid gameplay, offering the best of the series to date. Spectacular and highly evolved gameplay, combined with an intriguing storyline, could very well make the full version of Metal Gear Solid V be the best Metal Gear Solid experience ever made, regardless of the fact that Mr. Kojima says it will be his last as director.

OVERALL RATING

8.5/10