Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes

Before I continue this review, I must emphasise that I am a huge fan of Metal Gear but I must review this as a product for the casual gamer and not the hardcore gamer. Ground Zeroes was released about a year before the Phantom Pain and was billed as a prologue to the game.

You play the legendary soldier Snake also known as 'Big Boss,' a title given to him by the CIA for stopping a coup in Russia and assasinating the legendary World War 2 hero, 'The Boss," who had defected to the Soviet Union.

This is a short game and in all has 4 missions which all take place on U.S base in Cuba. Your objective is to use Snake's skills and infiltrate the base undetected to rescue two soldiers who work for Snake in his mercenary organization, MSF.

The game is very difficult and for those not used to stealth games, this is not one where you can run all guns blazing and expect to survive. Although, the combat system is well rounded, and if you have no choice, you can tactically use cover to take out oncoming troops.

The game uses a third person perspective, allowing you to monitor your environment and make choices about where you want to move next. Snake has a number of stances, he can run, crouch and sneak and crawl through the environment.

Expect to utilise all of these as you progress through this American military base. The visuals are awesome, if feels like you're getting a privilege, look of what goes on inside a military base which can be quite dark in this instance.

The game is set in the 70s and there's a very Cold War feel to it, Snake's attitude, his handler Kaz's attitude and general conversations you hear throughout the military base. Other side objectives allow you to save prisoners of war at the base, Snake carries them on his back but still has to evade the watch of the guard. If Snake is spotted, the patrol gangs up on him with military efficiency. If you get the better of them, they will call for backup, they even have an APC on base.

What the player must do is break the line of sight of the soldiers and hide to the patrol returns to normal. This can be tedious at times and if you do try to advance while troops are still looking for you and they spot you again, the aggressive pursuit will continue. The shooting mechanics are very advanced to previous Metal Gear games, if Snake is knocked down he can then shoot his weapon from his back. He can also utilise this mechanic if he is already in the crawl position.

Another good addition is the ability to dive on the floor. If you're about to be spotted and can see cover, you can dive into the cover to avoid the enemy. The game is also a lot more forgiving than it predecessor, if you're spotted, time will slow down giving you a chance to take out the enemy, if you miss alert will proceed. If a guard sees something suspicious he won't immediately raise the alarm, he'll investigate first giving you time to sneak away.

Melee combat is simple but fun, in a hand to hand situation Snake can disarm and knockout by a few clicks of the trigger. From a sneaking perspective, he can flank his enemy and apply a choke hold. From here he can interrogate, put his enemy to sleep or finish him with his blade. Interrogating him may reveal the location of some ammo or a gaming 'easter egg' which is equally fun.

Snake this time around is voiced by the talented Kiefer Sutherland, who adds a very espionage feel to the whole thing. The character is awesome and fans of the previous game will see a real gritty side to 'Big Boss' this time.

When this game was first released, it was £40 which really was a rip-off as it has about 10 hours of gameplay, depending on how long someone is motivated to do the additional objectives. Now you should be able to get it for about £10 or less, which is more reasonable. On that basis, I am going to give this one a 3 out of 5.