Review: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Hideo Kojima, the auteur behind the Metal Gear Solid series, is famous for making games that are stamped with his own signature of brilliance and lunacy and this new installment, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, is no exception. It should first be pointed out that Ground Zeroes is not a whole story in itself, acting as a prologue for a future, full-priced Metal Gear game. Instead it is a sampler for everything that has changed since the release of MGS4 way back in 2008, and it quickly becomes apparent that the series has evolved in some significant ways.

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The year is 1975 and you play as Snake (aka Jack, aka Big Boss), now voiced by 24’s Kiefer Sutherland, who has been sent into a U.S. military base for reasons that are far too complicated to explain here. It quickly becomes apparent that the base is Guantanamo Bay in everything but name and the game is unflinching in its portrayal of the brutality of the world it creates, lending it a dark political tone. One scene in particular is especially stomach-churning and will doubtless prove to be divisive. While the execution of these more serious elements is awkward at times, Ground Zeroes is certainly noble in its attempts at maturity and ultimately tells a compelling tale.

The elaborate gameplay in previous Metal Gear games has always walked a line between sublime and frustrating but Ground Zeroes opts for a less-is-more approach and is better for it. The complicated stealth system based on camouflage and disguises has been stripped away, with players now forced to rely on darkness and their surroundings to conceal themselves. Combat has also been improved significantly although it’s still preferable to avoid it where possible, not least because slipping by enemies unnoticed is endlessly satisfying. Thankfully the AI is fine-tuned, making the sneaking challenging enough to be entertaining but never infuriating.

Much of the game’s pre-release buzz, focused on its short length and its brevity, is undeniable with the story lasting a mere two hours on a first playthrough. Speed runs can be completed in less than ten minutes. There are a handful of side missions using the same map but buyers expecting a full scale game will come away disappointed. However, throwing about arbitrary lengths of time doesn’t show just how intricate and deep the gameplay is. Ground Zeroes is a videogame sandbox of the highest order and experimentation is encouraged throughout. You can shoot your way through waves of enemies before escaping in a blaze of glory; you can sneak through undetected leaving only puzzled guards in your wake; you can steal vehicles, set traps, knock out enemies or just crawl through the sewers. Rushing through in 10 minutes takes planning and precision and nailing a perfect run could take dozens of hours. Approached with the right mindset, Ground Zeroes is tremendous value for money.

It also looks sensational, even on the aging current-gen machines. The weather is particularly impressive, with the lashing wind and rain making the storm-battered base incredibly atmospheric. If nothing else Ground Zeroes sets a new standard for graphical fidelity in games and it’s unlikely you’ll see anything prettier that isn’t running on next-gen consoles. It’s also a game brimming with detail, down to the rats that scurry away from you as you approach. The result of this is that Ground Zeroes is immersive in a way that few games can manage.

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Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Ground Zeroes relative to its predecessors is just how much more streamlined the story is. The game begins with a brief cutscene full of the kind of mad charisma Kojima does best before getting straight into the action; gone are the sometimes hours long cutscenes and radio conversations that lent previous Metal Gears their unique but sometimes maddening feel.  This improves the pacing of the game no end, even if it does sacrifice some of the series’ eccentric character to do so. In fact this is something of a trend throughout Ground Zeroes. It’s unquestionably the most polished and accessible Metal Gear game to date but it is also the most serious in tone. All this change takes a little getting used to but ultimately leaves the series feeling leaner, free from much of the baggage that had made it so impenetrable. At the very least Ground Zeroes is an effective appetiser for the ‘real’ MGSV, The Phantom Pain, due to be released sometime next year. However as a game in its own right Ground Zeroes can also be recommended for its superlative gameplay, unmatched atmosphere and engaging story. The experience may be short but you won’t regret a second of it.

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Let us know what you thought of Ground Zeroes by tweeting @BoarGames!