Games By Matthew Humphries Feb. 5, 2014 10:28 am
As you’d expect, Konami and Kojima Productions is working on a new Metal Gear Solid title for current and next-gen platforms. That game is called Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. But the problem is, it won’t be ready for a while, so Kojima has decided to release a prologue game in the form of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.
Ground Zeroes was originally just a tech demo for the FOX game engine, but has since been turned into a commercial release set as a prequel to the Metal Gear series and taking place after Peace Walker.
As a Metal Gear fan, you’ll be pleased to hear that Ground Zeroes is set to arrive on March 18. But what you won’t appreciate is how short the game actually is. Game Informer had the privilege of playing through a near final build of the game recently and found they could complete it in under two hours.
Now, if you consider this is a stop gap release and a teaser for the full game, you may forgive such a short play time. If you remember how cutscene-heavy Metal Gear games can be, it’s probably going to be much shorter than a couple of hours in terms of gameplay. What can’t be forgiven, though, is the price.
Konami is set to offer Ground Zeroes both as a download and on disc for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One. The download copy will cost $20, while the disc version is $30. That’s PS3 and Xbox 360 pricing. For the PS4 and Xbox One it’s a $30 download and $40 disc. I find that to be ridiculous for such a short experience and sees you paying way too much for what is essentially a demo of the full game.
As this is a game carrying the Metal Gear Solid name, I expect it will initially fly off the shelves on release. But soon after you’ll see an influx of copies traded in and appearing in the used games section. My suggestion would be to wait. The price of the new game will likely drop quickly, and those used copies will be discounted heavily. And by waiting you’re also telling Konami that they can’t get away with charging up to $40 for a 2 hour experience.
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Ground Zeroes was originally just a tech demo for the FOX game engine, but has since been turned into a commercial release set as a prequel to the Metal Gear series and taking place after Peace Walker.
As a Metal Gear fan, you’ll be pleased to hear that Ground Zeroes is set to arrive on March 18. But what you won’t appreciate is how short the game actually is. Game Informer had the privilege of playing through a near final build of the game recently and found they could complete it in under two hours.
Now, if you consider this is a stop gap release and a teaser for the full game, you may forgive such a short play time. If you remember how cutscene-heavy Metal Gear games can be, it’s probably going to be much shorter than a couple of hours in terms of gameplay. What can’t be forgiven, though, is the price.
Konami is set to offer Ground Zeroes both as a download and on disc for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One. The download copy will cost $20, while the disc version is $30. That’s PS3 and Xbox 360 pricing. For the PS4 and Xbox One it’s a $30 download and $40 disc. I find that to be ridiculous for such a short experience and sees you paying way too much for what is essentially a demo of the full game.
As this is a game carrying the Metal Gear Solid name, I expect it will initially fly off the shelves on release. But soon after you’ll see an influx of copies traded in and appearing in the used games section. My suggestion would be to wait. The price of the new game will likely drop quickly, and those used copies will be discounted heavily. And by waiting you’re also telling Konami that they can’t get away with charging up to $40 for a 2 hour experience.
More...
