Jimmy Donnellan reviews the highly-anticipated Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Metal Gear Solid has changed.
The gravelly tones of David Hayter that could light a fire from a thousand miles are no more. The same charmingly clunky combat mechanics we’ve grown to begrudgingly love over the years have been replaced by a sleek and precise system. However, most importantly, there is not a cardboard box in sight.
Ground Zeroes, the prequel to the upcoming fully-fledged The Phantom Pain, is a completely different beast to the Metal Gear Solid that we all know as there are few similarities left between this newest release and Guns of the Patriots.
And it pays off in a big way.
The linear nature of previous instalments has been given a quick CQC jab to the throat as the playground of Camp Omega is completely open to you, meaning you can approach the game in any way you want with streamlined controls and simply stunning graphics capturing your attention from the second you start playing.
It’s going to be hard to review Ground Zeroes without mentioning the major shake-up in voice talent as Hayter was given the boot as Big Boss/Solid Snake in favour of Kiefer Sutherland. I’ll admit, it jarred with me a lot when it was first announced but as soon I saw Snake ascend a cliff, clamber over the precipice before cannily breaking the fourth wall with: “kept you waiting, huh?”, I was completely won over.
Naysayers of MGS have always derided the length of the cutscenes which do admittedly take you out of the action a lot in previous entries. Well, it looks like Hideo Kojima actually went to film school this time round as the cutscenes are much shorter with the opening sequence being sumptuous and one of the best seen in gaming since the Normandy landing in Medal of Honor: Frontline.
The gameplay is satisfying if a little buggy to come to terms with if you’re a long time player of MGS but after about 5 minutes of struggling to climb a ladder, you’ll soon love it. Possibly the best change for Ground Zeroes is that the long drivel spouted over codec is a thing of the past, meaning you don’t have to deal with 10 minutes of unwelcome philosophy spiel.
Now, the game is far from perfect namely in that you can finish it in under two hours. I clocked in 100 minutes before the credits rolled which for the price, does not warrant value for money. If it had been the same price as the cost of a DLC (which, let’s be honest, it pretty much is just a glorified version of) then it would be a bargain.
If, like 99% of gamers, you didn’t bother to pick up any of the Metal Gear instalments on the PSP, the story is going to completely befuddle you. Sure, you have the option to swot up on the back story but who wants to read when you can shoot someone in the neck?
It’s hard to deliver an overall verdict on Ground Zeroes as it offers much in the way of fantastic gameplay but little in the way of time to appreciate it in. You’d probably be best served to pick it up a few months down the line when it is sold at a more representative price but if you’re a diehard MGS fan, you should definitely pick it up as soon as you can.
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