Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Reviews
What might have seemed like a good idea to Kojima Productions at a glance instead comes across as a slight to fans. The limited scope and depth of the title scream cash grab, and the fact that Ground Zeroes' story is so razor thin makes that even more apparent. The game is a great showpiece for the FOX engine and for MGS 5's new stealth mechanics, but we definitely expected something more substantial. Even then, the short length or the price tag are not the issue here, it's the fact that Ground Zeroes feels incomplete, like somebody pulled a single mission out of a full game. That's what makes the game hard to recommend to any one but the most die hard fans.
Despite its brevity, the prologue to the hugely anticipated Metal Gear Solid V has superb stealth mechanics and stunning attention to detail -- but its pleasures come at a distinctly worrying price.
It is surprising, and not a little depressing, that all people want to talk about with this game is the running time.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes delivers a solid package for fans of the series. While the main mission's brevity may turn off some, I compare it to when I was younger and telling myself I would pay half the price to get to play games early.
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is a short, but mechanically very sound, sandbox stealth appetiser for The Phantom Pain. Just be aware that its value is in experimentation and replaying scenarios, rather than lasting narrative.
It's a game that understands everything about itself and how it works. It's the best stealth game ever made and feels like a game-changer for the medium as a whole - through its scope, the freedom it offers its players, and its deft structure. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is the apex of the series and a fitting way for Kojima et al to bow out: as one, as best, as Big Boss.
Ground Zeroes is a great slice of stealth-action gaming, filled with heaps of content and strategic value -- even if it isn't quite the epic adventure some had hoped for.
Audacious is the word that best describes Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. It contains quality material, but it's little more than a preview of something better, and as such, simply should not be presenting itself - deceptively - as a game in its own right.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes would undoubtedly make a powerful introductory mission to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, so it seems a little insidious of Konami to hold it to ransom. That being said, we really can't fault what little we played – as far as the mechanics and design are concerned – but although the additional content does go some way towards sweetening the pot, we find it difficult to recommend this on those merits alone. Although long-time fans of the series are likely to pick it up regardless, we believe that this single mission should never have been released on its own.
Aside from some skinned knees earned by stumbles through the story, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a great starting point for this generation's big Metal Gear Solid experience. I'm more excited than I might've been otherwise for The Phantom Pain. With that in mind, it would be a lie if I didn't say that The Phantom Pain, appropriately named in this case, haunts every corner of this game. Everything feels like a taste of what is to come. Call it a demo or a prologue, it isn't a full game.
[T]he game itself is far from a fully realized one. Its main mission can be completed in an hour, tops, and the story does little more than bridge the gap between 2010's Peace Walker and the upcoming The Phantom Pain.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes shines with its nipped and tucked mechanics. It feels like a step forward, and away from the Metal Gear series that I've grown tired of, but the bloated, preposterous narrative is in desperate need of liposuction.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a perfect port of the console version. Don't expect a full-blown campaign, however. This is merely the exciting prologue to the upcoming main event.
Though its brevity's become it's biggest talking point, there's much more to Ground Zeroes than meets the eye. Beyond that it's accessible, featuring the most fluid stealth the series has shown - and delivers a promising glimpse at the future of Metal Gear Solid.
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes offers a promising taste of freedom, but there's not much meat to feast on here.
As a way to show off all these new controls and concepts, Ground Zeroes is a success. As a full game experience, Ground Zeroes doesn't quite stand up. For everything Ground Zeroes does new and exciting, it's just a glimpse into the future of the franchise, and isn't a full-fledged game. Does it have us even more excited for The Phantom Pain? Absolutely. Did Ground Zeroes warrant a full retail release across multiple platforms? That's a bit more debatable. There are just too many empty calories here, and despite all the new facets presented, Ground Zeroes left us wanting.
I think that Hideo Kojima and team have something truly special in store for us when The Phantom Pain is finally released and Ground Zeroes is just a sampling of this.
Although its overall run time is brief, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is well made, addictive and thoroughly entertaining. It may not be Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, but it does a good job of lessening our anxiety as we wait for that full-length sequel to drop.
Ground Zeroes probably won't alienate fans of the series, and in terms of giving players a taste of what to expect in the as-yet-undated Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, it delivers. But between its poor value proposition and its jarring darkness, it's not likely to make Snake and company any new friends.