It’s the final countdown!
In an effort to wet fans appetite for MGS 5: The Phantom Pain, Konami released MGS 5: Ground Zeroes in mid 2014. It is essentially a demo for MGS 5. It also sets the stage for The Phantom Pain as the ‘shit hits the fan’ for our hero and his fellow comrades-in-arms. While extremely short, it provides us a glimpse into the future.
It’s a your own personal trip to Gitmo! The final MGS Retrospective Review – Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes for the PS4.
STORY
blah,blah…sneaking point…kept you waiting…blah,blah.
After the events of Peace Walker, Snake is sent into a U.S. prison facility in Cuba in order to retrieve Chico, an MSF solder, and Paz, a former MSF member who betrayed Snake while working for a secret organization only known as ‘Cipher’. Both are being held for interrogation. Snake must rescue them both before that spills the bean regarding MSF’s nuclear capabilities.
GAMEPLAY
The gameplay is but a brief taste of what it expected in Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain. The weapons selections are mapped to the D-pad while communications and binoculars are mapped to the L1 and R1 buttons respectively. Also available to Snake is the futuristic iDroid. The iDroid allows Snake to set way points on a virtual map, analyze intel as well as call in a helicopter for extraction.
J.J. Abrams approves!
Another new feature is the ability to enable ‘reflex time’ when spotted in order to silence the enemies before they sound the alarm. This feature can be disabled if the player so desires. Add to that a host of new controls for snake including tactical rolls, running drives and CQC interactions. There are some features however that will only be available in The Phantom Pain such as the Fulton Recovery system that is present in Peace Walker.
GRAPHICS
This is it my friends, the next generation is truly finally here and Ground Zeroes is the perfect showcase. The single-player campaign takes place at night during a rain storm as really show the power of this new breed of consoles. It is breathtakingly excellent & super fantastic!
Skull Face: You’ve got some nerve showing your face around here Snake! Snake: Look who’s talking!
I do need to point out that Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain will be available on the PS3 and Xbox 360…but…why? You’ll be doing yourself a HUGE disservice. It NEEDS to be played on the PS4, Xbox One or PC. Please, won’t someone think of the children! Les Enfants Terribles!
EXTRAS
Save Hideo!
After completing the single-player campaign, there are four Side-Ops that occur at the same U.S. black site with different objectives at different times of day. There are some Easter Eggs here and there with some cool treats in store for fans of the series as well as one exclusive mission, Déjà-Vu and Jamais-Vu for both the PlayStation and Xbox versions respectively.
FINAL VERDICT
Overall: Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is a very fun game to mess around with. The graphics are phenomenal, the gameplay is streamlined to perfection and the cliffhanger ending is a perfect set up to The Phantom Pain. Get Psyched!