Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes ((メタルギアソリッドV グラウンドゼロズ) is an upcoming canonical installment in the Metal Gear series. Being developed by Kojima Productions, Ground Zeroes is the first game running on the Fox Engine and will be published by Konami. Hideo Kojima is writing, directing, producing and designing the game. Ground Zeroes was officially announced on August 30, 2012. The game was privately revealed at the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary Event and made its public debut at PAX Prime 2012. Ground Zeroes is set to be released in North America on March 18, 2014 and in Japan and Europe on March 20, 2014 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The Xbox One version will not be released in Japan. Job listings for the game suggested that it would be developed for the PC as well, though there hasn't been any official confirmation on the matter.

Taking place soon after the events of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Ground Zeroes serves as a prequel to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, with Big Boss returning as the game's protagonist. Several characters and gameplay mechanics from Peace Walker are set to return. While previous games were linear in nature, Ground Zeroes is the first to feature a more open gameplay structure, although such a structure was planned since Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Characters

 * Big Boss
 * Kazuhira Miller
 * Chico
 * Paz Ortega Andrade
 * Huey Emmerich
 * Skull Face
 * Brian
 * Solid Snake (Deja Vu Mission; as "Classic Snake")
 * Donald Anderson/Decoy Octopus (Deja Vu Mission)
 * Psycho Mantis (Deja Vu Mission)
 * Raiden (Jamais Vu Mission)

Groups and organizations

 * Militaires Sans Frontières
 * XOF
 * Cipher
 * United States Marine Corps
 * CIA
 * FOXHOUND (Deja Vu Mission)
 * Next-Generation Special Forces (Deja Vu Mission)
 * Body-Snatchers (Jamais Vu Mission)

Plot
Some time after the Peace Walker Incident, Paz had survived the fall from top of the Mother Base after losing a fierce battle to Big Boss. Eventually she was rescued by a Belizean fisherman who found her drifting in the Caribbean. After being informed by Kaz of her survival, Big Boss suggested her assassination due to her being a Cipher agent who had important information about the Militaires Sans Frontières. Disagreeing with him, Kaz mentioned another plan. He stated that MSF's "friends" at Cipher suspect Paz could be a double agent. Kaz also informed Big Boss that Paz is being held for interrogation at Camp Omega, a maximum security prison facility on the southern tip of Cuba (a Communist soil out of U.S. legal jurisdiction). Meanwhile, there was an upcoming UN nuclear inspection of Mother Base, the "perfect" timing of which made Kaz doubt Paz leaked information about the nature of MSF. At last, Big Boss and Kaz both agreed that the wisest action is to save Paz who was their only link to Cipher, along with Chico, who was held as prisoner somewhere close to Paz's location after taking upon a rescue mission himself (due to him having feelings for Paz).

Big Boss took on the mission solely (due to the political sensitivities) and infiltrated Camp Omega from its southern cliff. In the beginning of the mission, Kaz told him that MSF would send a chopper from across the Cuban border for extraction so he could be at Mother Base tomorrow at noon. Kaz also told him that there will be some "guests" at MSF that Big Boss will be missing. MSF's contact with Chico was lost for forty hours at that point. Minutes before Big Boss's arrival at the camp, Skull Face, the commander of XOF, (the military group controlling the camp) met a lethargic Chico being kept in a cage (having a cyberistic implant on his chest wired to earphones) and told him that Paz has revealed "everything" under the torture, but "she didn't suffer long" as he promised Chico. He dropped Chico a cassette player, asking him "how's it feel to play the traitor" and warned him that there's "no more war games" and "you're a real man, now, soldier." "Give my regards to your boss, when you get home" were his last words. Chico connected the earphones to the cassette player and started listening to "Here's to You." Then, Skull Face and a group of soldiers went to the heliport for taking on a mission. Just before commencing the mission, Skull Face referred to the operation with "Trojan Horse" and "pirate crackdown" phrases. They sat in the choppers and left the base to head for south with the XOF logo removed from their choppers and clothes.

Gameplay
Like the previous Metal Gear Solid titles, Ground Zeroes is a stealth action game. Ground Zeroes is the first game in the series to feature an open world gameplay structure, albeit on a small scale. All missions take place in and around Camp Omega. The exact method of infiltrating Camp Omega up to players, with many different entry points and gameplay styles available. When multiple objectives are present, the player can do them in the order they want. At the end however, the player will receive the message as the director originally designed and intended it, without change.

The use of an on screen mini-map has been removed, and replaced with the new iDroid device. The game continues when the iDroid is used, meaning enemies continue patrolling and searching for the player. While the iDroid's map usually takes up the screen when activated, it can instead be used in conjunction with Android and iOS mobile devices. The map can constantly be run on these devices, and waypoints can be set without interrupting the game. The secondscreen functionality can also be used to listen to audio files and check mission information. The PlayStation version of the game can be used with the PS Vita's remote play function, allowing the game to be streamed from the home console to the Vita. It is not yet known if this is available on the PS4 version, PS3 version, or both.

The player can use a flare to call in a helicopter at any time, either for extraction or air support. The helicopter can play music of the players choosing ("Ride of the Valkyries" was used as an example to show this). Louder music will draw more attention to the player's location and gives enemy the chance to take down the chopper. Enemy vehicles can be stolen and used as transportation, and in some missions, a means to escape the base. Available vehicles in Camp Omega include trucks, jeeps and tanks. Crashing a vehicle in enemy territory will immediately alert nearby sentries.

Crawling makes a return after being absent in Peace Walker, but the slow “Cautious advance” available in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will not return. Laying in grass works when hiding from enemies, but they will see Snake if they get too close. The enemy's line of sight means that, when far away, they may not notice Snake crawling slowly across flat areas, but will see him if he breaks into a sprint. When an enemy becomes suspicious, an indicator will appear, pointing the direction they are located, and filling with color as their suspicion increases. If a body or unconscious enemy is discovered by another enemy soldier or vehicle, the alert mode is triggered. When guards are alert and looking for Snake, there is no longer an onscreen meter or gauge to indicate how much longer they will stay in that state. Instead players must listen to radio chatter, and watch the guards movements to figure out when they have calmed down. When spotted, the game will slow down, allowing the player to lock on to the guard and shoot or run at the enemy. This feature can be deactivated. Guards will always head for Snake's last known position.

As with Metal Gear Solid 4, the game features a third-person aiming view with the option of switching to first-person. Low-caliber weapons feature a bullet drop mechanic which causes projectiles to fall over longer distances. Distance notches have been added to the targeting reticule, allowing players to better judge their shots when outside optimal firing range. Weapons are now selected through the d-pad. Quickly pressing the buttons will quick select weapons, while holding them down will open a larger selection, with the weapon's class being tied to a specific direction. Unlike previous titles, weapons can now be stolen from enemies and used freely, as can any weapon found in the field.

The CQC in Metal Gear Solid V is more realistic than in Peace Walker. It was describes as being "manga like" in Peace Walker in order to appeal to a younger audience. A button prompt will appear when approaching an enemy, that will allow Snake to take them into a chokehold and drag them out of sight from other guards. Three icons appear, allowing players to interrogate, knock out, or kill the guard. Interrogation causes Snake to pull his knife, which can result in the soldier giving information such ammo and secret passage locations which are then marked on the map. Enemy ammunition is automatically acquired when taking hold of enemy soldiers. When behind low cover, enemies can be pulled into a chokehold. When near a group of enemies, CQC takedowns can be chained together like in Peace Walker. Enemy weapons are automatically taken when grabbed from the front, and can instantly be used against them.

Binoculars can be used to mark enemies, a feature which allows players to track enemy movements on the map and see them through walls. The feature is active by default, but can be turned off by users. The enemy AI has been described as advanced and "unpredictable", and their paths cover wider areas.

The game features five side missions. Known side missions include: a daytime mission, a VIP rescue mission, and the "Déjà Vu" and "Jamais Vu" missions. The story mission features the XOF patches dropped by Skull Face as collectibles. Collecting all the patches unlocks either the "Déjà Vu" mission on PS3 and PS4 or the "Jamais Vu" mission on Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

The "Déjà Vu" mission is pays tribute to the original Metal Gear Solid. The mode features models from the original game, as well as music and lighting changes. Miller impersonated moments from the original game over the radio. The player is tasked with arranging a handful of scenes reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid, like Shadow Moses’ heliport and hanger. Beating the mission unlocks a "Classic Snake" skin.

The Xbox exclusive "Jamais Vu" mission puts players in control of Raiden. Raiden's mission is to eliminate Body-Snatchers disguised as enemy soldiers, similar to the enemies from Kojima's other title Snatcher. Raiden does not use his trademark sword, instead using the weapons available in Ground Zeroes. He features increased speed and the mission itself it more action-focused than the rest of the game.

Pre-announcement
Ground Zeroes is the first game in the Metal Gear series to be developed using the Fox Engine. Metal Gear Solid V was teased under the name Project Ogre. Prior to its announcement, Kojima stated that his next game would support Transfarring, be multiplatform and be designed with a global audience in mind. The game was described as being set in an open world in which the players would find content even after 100 hours. At some point in development the game featured an "80's" style visual to fit with the setting of The Phantom Pain. The filter was removed as it was too taxing on the hardware.

Kojima had wanted to release Ground Zeroes immediately after Peace Walker, on either the PSP or PS3, but they encountered development issues and faced delays with Metal Gear Rising. When they learnt of the impending next generation of consoles, they decided to create the game as a cross generational title.

On February 21, 2012, a Kojima Productions owned site named Development Without Borders was created to announce their presence at the Game Developers Conference, where they would be recruiting staff for a new Metal Gear Solid game. Recruitment took place at the Game Developers Conference pavilion between March 6 and March 9. Job descriptions included "Project engineers for the latest Metal Gear Solid targeted for high-end consoles and PC", "Engineers to help develop next-gen engine technology for use with the FOX Engine" and "Kojima Productions Brand Manager."

On March 17, speaking at a Q&A to mark the inclusion of Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2 in the Smithsonian's "Art of Video Games" exhibit, Kojima stated that “This year, next year, I am working on something that I think will become the shining moment” for his career and the Metal Gear series. Kojima stated that the game would deal with delicate issues, considered taboo, and that he was unsure as to whether they would make the final cut. He stated that he wanted to continue bringing real issues to the forefront, but he has to ensure the game is still enjoyable to play. He said that as a creator who constantly sees the flaws in his own work after it's finished, he always feels that what he is creating at any point in time is, in his mind, the best, but declined to elaborate. He visited a military base in San Diego to test a shooting simulator, but could not go into detail.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
The first trailer of Ground Zeroes was shown at the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary Event on August 30, 2012, and PAX Prime 2012 two days later, where it was used to demonstrate the Fox Engine. The trailer consisted of the game's opening cutscene, and a few minutes of gameplay, and used the Japanese audio. The demo ran on a PC using an Xbox 360 controller. Kojima stated while the game and engine were designed with both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in mind, the engine would cater to the next-gen consoles. While Snake's hair appeared gray in the trailer, it was actually brown. The gray coloration was caused by backlighting. Kojima called Ground Zeroes "a beginning" rather than an end for the series, and referred to it as a "prologue" to the then unannounced, Metal Gear Solid V. He stated that the open world nature of this game had taken a toll on the visuals, but the lighting had not been impacted.

Speaking at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Kojima discussed the advantages of open world gameplay. He highlighted the freedom for players choose both when, and how to complete a given mission as key to his vision of an open world Metal Gear title. The new approach means that, instead of all having the same experience as they did in previous games, each player will now have unique experiences. Kojima later discussed his desire to work on original properties, but said that if it were not for Metal Gear, they would not have been able to spend the time and money required to create the Fox Engine. He stated that concepts present in the new Metal Gear Solid were originally intended for new intellectual properties. He went on to suggest that Grand Theft Auto III, an open world title that was released the same year as Metal Gear Solid 2 had influenced him. During a trip to Dubai in early 2013, Kojima voiced his belief that storytelling through cinematics has become a bit outdated, and therefore he used a new method of storytelling for Ground Zeroes.

On February 18, 2013, a job listing was posted by Kojima Productions to look for new recruits at the GDC Career Pavilion from March 25-27 for the new Metal Gear Solid title. Several days later, Kojima told Videogamer that the video game medium had not matured over the years, and that although he had tried introduce mature themes in previous Metal Gear games, there is still a long way to go, and as such, he wants to target many taboos and mature themes in Ground Zeroes. He expressed his concern that he may not be able to release the game, or that it would sell poorly due to these themes. Kojima said that his creative side meant that he was not prioritizing sales.

Metal Gear Solid V
After the official announcement of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, it was widely believed that Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain had been combined into one game. However, it was later revealed that contrary to popular belief, they were still two separate games. However, on June 12, a Special E3 KP Alert podcast stated that Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain were part of the same game. On June 13, Kojima revealed that Ground Zeroes will serve as the prologue for The Phantom Pain. He said that unlike The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes will have a much smaller, and more a closed open world. He also said that unlike The Phantom Pain, the weather and time would be static. They had set Ground Zeroes up this way so that players would have a more comfortable transition to the new gameplay. He also revealed that he was still unsure if Ground Zeroes would be released as a standalone game or as a component of The Phantom Pain.

Kojima told GameTrailers TV that David Hayter would not be reprising his role as Big Boss. During the 2013 pre-E3 showcase it was officially announced that Kiefer Sutherland would be providing the voice, and facial performance of Big Boss through motion capture.

On the day Kojima Productions Los Angeles had its grand opening, a new demo of Ground Zeroes was revealed to the public, with Yuji Korekado playing it via a laptop. The opening was similar to the PAX Prime 2012 demo, although the patches that were disposed of by XOF now included a FOX patch, and English was used as the primary language. Snake's gear in the demo contained the iDroid and binoculars. They showed new gameplay features such as marking enemy soldiers in order to track their movements. When taking hold of an enemy, Korekado was given the options of killing, knocking out, and interrogating the guard. Korekado chose the interrogation option, which had the soldier explain the location of the FOX patch from the opening cutscene. Snake used the iDroid to mark the location of the truck on his map. The demo was supposed to have ended with Snake taking a Jeep and calling for an extraction via helicopter, but Korekado ended up getting himself spotted by the enemy late into the demo, resulting in a run-and-gun escape which also ended up revealing that the player can use bullet time mechanics against soldiers, as well as having a heightened regeneration capacity. Although Korekado managed to get Snake out alive, Kojima ribbed Korekado for the performance.

A demo of the game was shown at the 2013 Tokyo Game Show. It was similar to the original PAX Prime 2012 demo but contained an introduction by Miller referencing the event and welcoming everyone to it. Chico was replaced with an S-Rank cardboard box specialist. Another demo was shown shortly thereafter, this one taking place during the daytime. The demo had the player infiltrate Camp Omega in the back of a truck, with Miller instructing Big Boss to locate Brian, a mole that MSF had placed among the base's personnel, and retrieve a cassette tape. After Big Boss disembarked underneath a bridge and scouted the enemies, he then stealthily navigated throughout the complex before locating Brian. In order to maintain Brian's cover as well as his own, he ambushed Brian and placed him into an interrogation hold. Upon Brian realizing who Big Boss was, Brian told him, after the latter loosened the chokehold, that he didn't have the tape on him as there was too much risk of being discovered, but informed him that it was safe near a guard tower. He also mentioned that a person at the base was not a CIA agent, but decided against revealing any more and told him to be careful, as well as to knock him out to maintain cover. Upon knocking Brian out, Big Boss then marked the location of the guard tower on his iDroid map and proceeded to it, knocking out several guards in the process. He then retrieved the tape and had the Hind pick him up. However, was discovered, and his escape ride was shot down. He hijacked a jeep to escape and destroyed an enemy APC via a C4-laiden trap near the cliffside.



On November 4, 2013, Konami announced that Ground Zeroes will be released in Spring 2014 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, confirming that Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain would be released seperately. Kojima believed that it would have been ideal to release both parts of Metal Gear Solid V together, but fan demand had swayed them to release a game sooner, and as The Phantom Pain was still in development, they decided to release the prologue early.

On Friday, November 14, Kojima appeared on Spike's All Access Weekly, and showed a new trailer for Ground Zeroes. The trailer revealed that the PlayStation versions of the game will feature an exclusive mission titled "Deja Vu", that features Classic Snake as the main character. This confirmed an earlier report that the PlayStation versions would indeed receive exclusive content. On November 22, it was revealed that the Xbox versions of the game would also receive exclusive content. The trailer for the Xbox exclusive mission was released on December 9. The mission, titled "Jamais Vu" allows the player to play as Raiden from Metal Gear Rising, and features Body-Snatchers as enemies. Just as "Deja Vu" was made to celebrate the anniversary of the original Metal Gear Solid, "Jamais Vu" celebrates the 25th anniversary of another Kojima game, Snatcher. The trailer also announced a release date of March 18, 2014. The Japanese "Jamais Vu" trailer released the next day announced that Ground Zeroes would be released in Japan on March 20, 2014.

The announcement of console exclusive missions was met with a mixed reaction. Likewise, the announcement of the "Deja Vu" mission itself was mixed. Konami representative ToraShiro explained in a post on NeoGAF that the reaction was the result of Kojima creating too much hype for a single mission, causing fans to think it would be much bigger." ToraShiro stated that the reason for missions exclusive to different consoles was because Konami is "a console mercenary."

In December 2013, the cover arts for Ground Zeroes were made public, and the European release date was revealed to be the same day as the Japanese release. Kojima stated that Ground Zeroes is both a prologue for Metal Gear Solid V and a tutorial for the new gameplay style. Ground Zeroes is "hundreds" of times smaller than The Phantom Pain, and lacks the real-time passage of time featured in the main game. Individual missions, however, will take place at different times, and offer different styles of gameplay.

The full achievement list of the Xbox 360/Xbox One versions of the game was leaked by the site, exophase. The list revealed that both the "Ground Zeroes" mission and three of the five side ops missions allowed for the rescue of prisoners (one being mandatory, the other two being optional). A trailer comparing all four versions of Ground Zeroes is set to be released.

In February 2014, Game Informer released their March issue featuring Metal Gear Solid V as their cover story. The magazine covered both Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain and featured a artwork by Yoji Shinkawa on the cover. Two members of Game Informer 's staff were given four hours to play the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Ground Zeroes, a first for non-Kojima Productions staff. They, like Kojima himself, noted that the PlayStation 4 version of the game looked slightly better than the Xbox One version. They compared the game to "a paid, standalone version of the Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty demo that was included with Zone of the Enders on the PlayStation 2." The Game Informer staff completed the main game in just under two hours, and were told that internal testers could speed run the mission in five minutes.

Game Informer 's comments regarding the game's length caused some controversy. Many other media outlets reported on their comments, with some getting some of the facts wrong. Game Informer clarified the situation, stating that they played through the main game first, completing it in the aforementioned two hours, before playing some of the side missions. They stated that they did not play all five side missions, but revealed that they played "a mission set during the daytime that Konami has previously shown, a side mission where Snake rescues a VIP, and the console-exclusive Déjà Vu and Jamais Vu modes." In the four hours they had with the game, they each played through the story a second time, skipping cutscenes and heading straight for the targets.

Music
Harry Gregson-Williams is returning to compose the game's music, along with Ludvig Forssell.

Releases
The Japanese packaging will feature Big Boss as well as Kazuhira Miller, while the cover for the overseas versions will only feature Big Boss. According to Kojima, the reason for this difference is because he figured Western audiences would be unfamiliar with who Miller is, due to Peace Walker 's financial failure in the West. He had previously considered having Skull Face and Big Boss on the overseas key art, but decided against it when it became apparent that the cover was going to be horrifying as a result, and also because it reminded him too much of the film Enemy Mine. Kojima himself designed the Japanese cover, as he desired to do everything, including the trailers, entirely by himself. However, he let the overseas branches of Konami handle the key artwork for the overseas versions, and he was informed that Miller would have been a little known character due to Peace Walker being a PSP game. When it became apparent that people noticed that Miller was missing from the cover and inquired about his status, Kojima had been very surprised to learn that Miller had actually been well-received by the audience.

Pre-order bonuses
Despite receiving both physical and digital releases, only the former is said to be receiving pre-order bonuses. Konami has announced four pre-order bonuses for Japan: a Konamistyle exclusive smartphone display stand and note pad in likeness of a cassette tape, a DLC code to unlock a "special weapon" for The Phantom Pain, a GEO exclusive DLC code used to unlock a special Mother Base recruit, and a reverseable sleeve featuring artwork drawn by Yoji Shinkawa.

There is also a GameTsutaya exclusive DLC code for an additional bonus soldier, and an Amazon Japan exclusive DLC code for a special cardboard box, both unlocked in The Phantom Pain. Other retailers such as Joshin and Eisin offer downloadable voice clips featuring Snake and other characters for mobile devices.

Limited Editions
* Sorted by lottery.

Reception
GameInfomer had early access to Ground Zeroes in February, 2014. They praised the game's secondscreen functionality, enemy marking mechanic, inventory and revamped alert systems, and visuals, particularly the line of sight. They also praised the new "bullet-time" system that activates when seen by enemies, stating that "this last-ditch effort feels more like a nice bonus when it works rather than an easy crutch". They also gave praise to Kiefer Sutherland's performance of Big Boss, saying that he "does a wonderful job conveying MGS V’s hero." GameInfomer's writers believed that Sutherland’s added "a layer of emotion" absent in David Hayter's voice. They compared the change to adjusting to a new James Bond actor.

GameInfomer voiced their scepticism of the game's price tag, stating that while the game is enjoyable, it will be "a tough sell for Konami", mainly due to the main game's length, and due to every mission taking place in the same location. Despite their scepticism, GameInformer ultimately concluded that "fans have a lot to look forward to." Jesse Divnich, from EEDAR: Video Game Research and Consulting, praised Konami and Kojima's decision to split the game, believing it to their answer to common DLC practices, while retaining the series identity.