Oh look, you all sigh, it’s another news post about Metal Gear Solid 4, and the second one from silly ole Yamster. I’m going to be frank with you on my reasoning though; in my opinion, my review of MGS4 was a little bit wishy-washy. Since the story was such a huge part of the game, I ended up writing more about that than I did about the actual gameplay, and described more of what happens when the controller’s sitting on your lap than I did when the controller’s in your hands. Thankfully though, I’ve got a rescue plan, in the form of this review of Metal Gear Online, the multiplayer aspect of MGS4 which I genuinely consider an entirely seperate game in itself. And I’ve taken my own screenshots!
This time, I’ll get the balance right. On we go!
Metal Gear Online simply does what it says on the tin: it’s Metal Gear, but it’s online. Simple as that. Take the gameplay of Metal Gear Solid 4, throw in some customizable soldiers and maps based on areas from the MGS universe and let players run amok. That’s about it in a nutshell. Well, kind of.
To leave it at that would be an insult, as MGO‘s gameplay runs far deeper than that. Far from being your typical online run-and-gun kickabout, there is as much strategy in designing your character as there is in working in a team to take down the opposition, or even Snake himself.
Unfortunately, before you can do any of this you need to register a KONAMI ID. Without it, PSN account or not, you can’t play MGO, period. Despite ruining the idea of a PSN account acting as the all-encompassing account for all of your online games, Konami have gone and thrown their own system into the mix. This is presumably so they can make more money from online transactions than they would if they sold expansions through the PlayStation Store, as they avoid a service charge from Sony this way. As well as acting as proof that capitalism is a bad idea, it’s ultimately frustrating and those signing up for the MGO beta will recall hours and hours of trying to access the KONAMI ID system.
Thankfully, once that’s done and over with you can create a character (and by this I mean literally one, if you want any more characters you need to pay up for extra ‘character slots’). Rather than give you a choice of your favorite MGS characters, or even the MGS3: Subsistence option of joining a specific faction, you’re given free reign over your character’s appearance. Tops, equipment packs, weapon holsters, helmets and even sunglasses are available for you to equip and colour to your desire, although none of your physical equipment will affect your performance online. After all, nobody wants a Bad Company-style scenario where you can pay extra to get better body armor.
Aside from physical appearance, your MGO character has 4 ‘skill points’ at their disposal which can be filled with a variety of different special abilities. These can be anything from advanced weapons handling (where you will suffer less recoil and can reload faster), improved running speed, close quarters combat upgrades (chokeholds, etc) or even the ability to see landmines where others can’t.
The strategy lies in picking skills to fit your gameplay style: if you’re an all-out gung-ho fighter, give yourself some agility and an assault rifle skill, or if you fancy hanging back equip yourself with some sniper rifle expertise and a good throwing arm for some long-distance grenade barrages. Either way, the scope for adjusting your attacking style is pretty large, and these skills can be changed at anytime if you want to change how you play.
Once that’s all done though, it’s time to get into the game. That starts on page two!
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