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A very tasty appetizer that bodes well for the main course: this is how the latest effort by Hideo Kojima and his development team is presented to the world. Ground Zeroes was initially conceived as a prologue to the impressive fifth chapter of the saga, The Phantom Pain; however, development delays due to the enormous scale of the project and the need to adapt it to next-generation consoles that were meanwhile entering the market forced Konami to release this little gem separately to ease the long wait for long-time fans of the series. The plot of Ground Zeroes naturally ties back to what happened in the last chapter of the saga, Peace Walker, released in 2010. Naked Snake, a legendary soldier once in the service of the U.S. army, founds and leads an army of mercenaries, the Militaires Sans Frontiéres (MSF), which, as the name suggests, are not under any national government's control. Towards the end of 1974, Paz Ortega, a young student who was already a major protagonist, for better or worse, in Peace Walker, is captured by a mysterious military unit and imprisoned in a secret camp in Cuban territory, Camp Omega, where she is subjected to harsh interrogations. Chico, a very young volunteer in the MSF and secretly in love with the young woman, attempts to rescue her without informing his commander, but he is soon discovered and also captured. Driven by the events, Snake decides to personally infiltrate Camp Omega on a rainy night to rescue both.
According to the developers, Ground Zeroes aims to be a preview of the profound innovations introduced in The Phantom Pain compared to previous chapters: a first example of this is the different narrative method. Kojima, perhaps mindful of the criticism directed at the last chapter released on home consoles, Guns Of The Patriots, due to its massive cutscenes, relies this time on a continuous shot that skillfully shows both the main characters and the military base in which they operate. There is no division between story and gameplay: at the end of the introductory sequence, the camera positions itself behind Snake and control passes to the player: all of this, as expected, significantly increases immersion. Once the gamepad is picked up, a second, profound break from the past is evident: in previous chapters, the game world was structured as a series of small, linear areas connected to each other (consider, for example, the splendid Tselinoyarsk in Snake Eater) and, consequently, the path to complete the objective was almost always mandatory. In Ground Zeroes, the approach is radically opposite: the entire base is explorable without any loading or transition from one zone to another. Kazuhira Miller, Snake's loyal deputy commander, suggests via radio the shortest path to reach the presumed location of one of the two prisoners, but nothing prevents exploring Camp Omega in every corner instead to find hidden paths, extra ammo, longer but less guarded paths.
All of this obviously opens up a huge range of possibilities and allows the same mission to be repeated several times using different approaches. It is possible, if desired, to confront the enemy head-on with gunfire, but being alone in an enemy base, the best approach, consistent with the saga's nature, is stealth: Snake can move fluidly and silently, and unlike in the past, character animations are no longer stiff but perfectly linked, giving a great sense of realism. To stay in the shadows and not be discovered, it is crucial to make good use of the binoculars, which, after being decisively in the background in previous chapters, assume vital importance in Ground Zeroes because the player, focusing on enemy soldiers and their vehicles, can mark them: an onscreen indicator will then show their position relative to Snake. This new feature aims to reward a more thoughtful approach: rather than rushing into a new area, it is preferable to first observe everything from a privileged position, like a guard tower, to mark all the sentinels and thus control their movements. Veterans of the saga might find this feature unnecessary in a large but ultimately not enormous base like Camp Omega, especially after playing both the main mission and the five side missions more than once: however, in the vast expanses that Snake will have to cross in The Phantom Pain, this system will be of crucial importance. Both newcomers and more experienced players will always have to pay close attention to reactive sentinels equipped with pleasantly unpredictable artificial intelligence. The patrol routes change continuously and, in case of a firefight, the guards will cleverly try to surround Snake, especially when selecting the Extreme difficulty level. Another new feature, especially for those who prefer a less quiet approach, is the presence of drivable vehicles like jeeps, trucks, and even tanks. However, the map does not have many roads and paths to roam, so it will be easy to feel slightly claustrophobic after a few minutes spent behind the wheel. Once again, the enormous expansion of the maps on which the main chapter will be set will do justice to this new feature. There are five missions in addition to the main one, including the nostalgic Deja Vù, a great leap back in time that will delight those who appreciated the original Metal Gear Solid for PSOne in 1998. As for longevity, a player with average experience should be able to complete all missions, at Normal level, in about seven hours, which increases to ten if the Extreme level is attempted. Not much, but considering the game's prologue nature, its quality, and the fact that it has been sold at a reduced price since launch day, the expense remains justified. Last but not least, the graphical performance is exceptional thanks to the Fox Engine, specifically created by Kojima Productions for the occasion and also used by Konami for Pro Evolution Soccer. Ground Zeroes reaches peaks never touched by any other title on older generation consoles in terms of environmental lighting and surface rendering, at the cost of noticeable pop-up, especially when driving. On next-generation versions, the limitations due to the ten-year-old life of PS3 and Xbox 360 are removed, allowing the level of detail to be even higher. For graphics enthusiasts, however, the PC version remains, as always, the recommended choice: thanks to truly good optimization, a mid-range hardware configuration is enough to achieve a visual result equal to or better than that of PS4 and Xbox One. For more powerful machines, it is even possible to play the title at 4K resolution and come close to photorealism.
In summary, Ground Zeroes, despite its limited scope, is a concentrate of excellent innovations for the Metal Gear saga, each of which will be expanded to an enormous extent in The Phantom Pain. Recommended for everyone, unmissable for fans.
According to the developers, Ground Zeroes aims to be a preview of the profound innovations introduced in The Phantom Pain compared to previous chapters: a first example of this is the different narrative method. Kojima, perhaps mindful of the criticism directed at the last chapter released on home consoles, Guns Of The Patriots, due to its massive cutscenes, relies this time on a continuous shot that skillfully shows both the main characters and the military base in which they operate. There is no division between story and gameplay: at the end of the introductory sequence, the camera positions itself behind Snake and control passes to the player: all of this, as expected, significantly increases immersion. Once the gamepad is picked up, a second, profound break from the past is evident: in previous chapters, the game world was structured as a series of small, linear areas connected to each other (consider, for example, the splendid Tselinoyarsk in Snake Eater) and, consequently, the path to complete the objective was almost always mandatory. In Ground Zeroes, the approach is radically opposite: the entire base is explorable without any loading or transition from one zone to another. Kazuhira Miller, Snake's loyal deputy commander, suggests via radio the shortest path to reach the presumed location of one of the two prisoners, but nothing prevents exploring Camp Omega in every corner instead to find hidden paths, extra ammo, longer but less guarded paths.
All of this obviously opens up a huge range of possibilities and allows the same mission to be repeated several times using different approaches. It is possible, if desired, to confront the enemy head-on with gunfire, but being alone in an enemy base, the best approach, consistent with the saga's nature, is stealth: Snake can move fluidly and silently, and unlike in the past, character animations are no longer stiff but perfectly linked, giving a great sense of realism. To stay in the shadows and not be discovered, it is crucial to make good use of the binoculars, which, after being decisively in the background in previous chapters, assume vital importance in Ground Zeroes because the player, focusing on enemy soldiers and their vehicles, can mark them: an onscreen indicator will then show their position relative to Snake. This new feature aims to reward a more thoughtful approach: rather than rushing into a new area, it is preferable to first observe everything from a privileged position, like a guard tower, to mark all the sentinels and thus control their movements. Veterans of the saga might find this feature unnecessary in a large but ultimately not enormous base like Camp Omega, especially after playing both the main mission and the five side missions more than once: however, in the vast expanses that Snake will have to cross in The Phantom Pain, this system will be of crucial importance. Both newcomers and more experienced players will always have to pay close attention to reactive sentinels equipped with pleasantly unpredictable artificial intelligence. The patrol routes change continuously and, in case of a firefight, the guards will cleverly try to surround Snake, especially when selecting the Extreme difficulty level. Another new feature, especially for those who prefer a less quiet approach, is the presence of drivable vehicles like jeeps, trucks, and even tanks. However, the map does not have many roads and paths to roam, so it will be easy to feel slightly claustrophobic after a few minutes spent behind the wheel. Once again, the enormous expansion of the maps on which the main chapter will be set will do justice to this new feature. There are five missions in addition to the main one, including the nostalgic Deja Vù, a great leap back in time that will delight those who appreciated the original Metal Gear Solid for PSOne in 1998. As for longevity, a player with average experience should be able to complete all missions, at Normal level, in about seven hours, which increases to ten if the Extreme level is attempted. Not much, but considering the game's prologue nature, its quality, and the fact that it has been sold at a reduced price since launch day, the expense remains justified. Last but not least, the graphical performance is exceptional thanks to the Fox Engine, specifically created by Kojima Productions for the occasion and also used by Konami for Pro Evolution Soccer. Ground Zeroes reaches peaks never touched by any other title on older generation consoles in terms of environmental lighting and surface rendering, at the cost of noticeable pop-up, especially when driving. On next-generation versions, the limitations due to the ten-year-old life of PS3 and Xbox 360 are removed, allowing the level of detail to be even higher. For graphics enthusiasts, however, the PC version remains, as always, the recommended choice: thanks to truly good optimization, a mid-range hardware configuration is enough to achieve a visual result equal to or better than that of PS4 and Xbox One. For more powerful machines, it is even possible to play the title at 4K resolution and come close to photorealism.
In summary, Ground Zeroes, despite its limited scope, is a concentrate of excellent innovations for the Metal Gear saga, each of which will be expanded to an enormous extent in The Phantom Pain. Recommended for everyone, unmissable for fans.
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