Konami have finally decided what they actually want to do with Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain. As a fan it’s always fun to see what the crazy Hideo Kojima is up to but now that I’m a writer for a site, trying to make sense of whatever Kojima is up to is the biggest pain in the ass ever.
The basic idea is that Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain will be seperate titles, Ground Zeroes will act as a prologue to the The Phantom Pain.
Explaining the relationship between the two titles, Hideo Kojima – Creator of the METAL GEAR SOLID series and Head of Kojima Productions – commented: “The advanced capabilities of the FOX Engine have allowed me to tell the new story in a new way. There will be a significant difference in what METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN brings to the series, so we want to ease players into the new open world environment and its potential. As such, METAL GEAR SOLID: GROUND ZEROES has been designed to introduce key elements, allowing them to fully benefit from all that the new game will offer.”
METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES charts a rescue mission as users infiltrate a Cuban prison camp, and sets in motion a series of events that culminate in the stunning plotlines of METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN. The prelude showcases key advances to the series made possible by its use of Kojima Productions’ FOX Engine, with a large open environment, and missions where time of day and weather have a dynamic effect on the game and its missions. These elements will play a vital part in the story set up in METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES, while familiarising users with the possibilities they offer ahead of METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN.
Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes will be released in spring 2014 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. The boxed retail version The boxed PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions will retail at £29.99 whilst the digital versions will retail for £19.99. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One digital versions will retail for £29.99.
So there we have it, that’s totally not confusing for the consumer. The lack of a retail edition of the “next-gen” version is somewhat disappointing but perhaps Konami will re-consider their stance in the future.
