Game Review: Metal Gear Solid V – Ground Zeroes (Playstation 4)
The Story:
We catch up with Big Boss sometime after the events of Peace Walker. He’s on a mission to extract Paz and Chico from Camp Omega which is run by XOF Commander Skull Face.
The main plot and purpose of the game is pretty straightforward but Hideo Kojima manages to make it so compelling and engulfing. The cutscene in the start of the game is an essential part of the story and really sets the stage for what’s to come. The tone of story feels a lot darker than before with a underlining (but very apparent) commentary on the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. This part of the story makes every feel a lot more “real” than other games and has a topic that will draw you in. By the end you’re basically left with your mouth wide open and a deep feeling of anticipation for The Phantom Pain.
The Graphics:
We’ve been waiting a good while to see the Fox Engine in action and now we finally got a chance to get our hands on it. It’s not an exaggeration by far when I say that the Fox Engine like the pretty new girl in school that everyone wants to get to know. It’s responsible for some of the most beautiful environments that I’ve ever seen in a video game. There’s so much texture to every inch of Camp Omega and you can see it as clear as day. You can see the crevices and indentions on every rock and the lights of the camp glistening on the moist mud. Gone are the days of smooth, pixelated, non-descriptive faces and now when you see Big Boss himself up close you are able to see the face of a man that is weathered and experienced. You can see his pores and facial hair that look so real it looks like a flesh and blood human being. I mean you can even see the mans’ mullet wave in the wind. Now that’s impressive.
The Gameplay:
The controls haven’t changed too much from the previous entries in the series but there are a few things that have. There isn’t any item selection menus on the left or right as usual. Instead you choose through your weapons from a HUD that is accessed by the D-Pad in mid gameplay. You also have a new item called an iDroid which gives you access to your map, mission objectives and other things like calling for helicopter extraction. Big Boss’ movements seem to be the same as usual but one thing that I do like was the fact that they added button hints for some of the newer features to get players used to it. The CQC has been improved with an interrogation feature. When interrogating a solider it gives you three options: Make him talk, knock him out or just straight out kill him.
Kojima has given us a bit of what’s to come in The Phantom Pain and it has me really excited. The only thing that bummed me out was that the game was essentially one mission that took me 85 minutes to complete (but I’m sure it would be a lot faster if I play it again). Even though the main story mission was short, the good thing is that there are various missions that will keep you busy for an extended amount of time including the PS3/PS4 Exclusive Deja Vu Mission and if that still isn’t enough to keep you busy then you can go on a search for the easter eggs within the game including the appearance of a REALLY familiar face. This is a MAJOR must buy!
