Much has been the controversy that has surrounded Ground Zeroes, this prologue of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, from its very announcement, when I still do not know that it would end up being sold separately or that there was something with more entity, a numbered Metal Gear Solid, on the way. Now, this installment is here and, how could it be otherwise in the case of the saga of Kojima, the media uproar continues.
And it is that the short duration of something more like an extended demo than a full game They make many users, even fans of the saga, twist our noses at another policy that, carried out previously in the Gran Turismo saga, could come to stay. Yes, we have as an excuse that The Phantom Pain still has a long time ahead but, be that as it may, Ground Zeroes is a criticizable decision. But is it up to the game playable? Let's see.
Let's be as direct and simple as it is Ground Zeroes with its main mission and let's say, of course, that it is a title that, in my opinion, only true fans of the series will enjoy. Do you have doubts as to whether it will be worth buying or not? Do not do it. Since I doubt that a mission whose objectives are to go to a point A and take the collected to an extraction point and, immediately after, go to a point B to take the collected to another extraction point, is something that satisfies the majority public .
It is true that Ground Zeroes encourages to see that we are finally facing a really agile and comfortable protagonist to use, we leave behind the orthopedic and somewhat cumbersome approach of previous deliveries. Also very positive is the updating of the menus for changing weapons and using items and, above all, the radar. Also, perhaps the most positive point in my opinion, the plot load that is glimpsed in the cinematics of the main mission aims for a more mature, more stark and raw delivery; I think with The Phantom Pain we will be closer to MGS3: Snake Eater than to MGS4: Guns of the Patriots, and I really appreciate that.
Continuing with the plot aspect, this prologue takes place shortly after the events in Peace Walker, the delivery originally launched for PSP and that later has reached Ps3 and Xbox 360 thanks to different collections of the saga. In this regard, the fact that the events that we see and will see in GZ and The Phantom Pain occur between two existing games will make Kojima's head go less than normal and we will not see extravagances or pure fan service without coming to mind. Did someone say nanomachines?
In fairness, it must be said that after the main mission is over, three additional missions will be unlocked, along with one more by collecting the nine patches scattered around the base where the game takes place. These three Unlockable missions are wildly simple and they work as a sketch of the mechanics that we can see in The Phantom Pain, but they have no transcendence in the story or the character, nor any kind of hook or charisma. They are simple procedures that provide minutes of play and allow us to enjoy something more of the remarkable technical aspect of Ground Zeroes, if we move on Ps4 or Xbox One.
And is that, technically, the game draws attention when playing the main mission, at night and with a heavy rain, which will make the reflections and lighting stand out above the rest. A separate case is, when playing the secondary missions (each one at an hour of the day), the exaggerated popping and the occasional clipping that can be noticed, elements that Konami must solve for the launch of The Phantom Pain. And continuing with the negative points, I am sure that all the staunch fans of the saga will miss, and much, less D as a Snake / Big Boss bender. Kiefer Sutherland does a good job but the charisma and immediate identification with the character of Hayter's voice is and will be unmatched.
By way of summary, I would like to make it clear that I do not support in any way this type of decision on the part of the companies and I cross my fingers that it does not set a precedent and in a few years we will have to buy the first missions of the games separately . Ground Zeroes is a first contact with what is to come within the saga and, in that aspect, I think it allows us to be optimistic with the playable and narrative aspects, pillars within MGS. But it lacks a lot of packaging as a single entity and, despite its replayability, the simplicity and shortness of the missions can disappoint more than one, considering its sale price. We could say that the good and bad of Ground Zeroes is that leave wanting more: for appearing and suggesting a qualitative leap beyond the pure incongruous fanservice that MGS4 was and for being, by all accounts, insufficient.