I just wish they would give us a release date for MGSV already!!
Well, speculation is a 9/8/2014 release date, based on the E3 2014 trailer saying "COMING 1984". Though obviously that might just be a cheeky joke based on the year that TPP takes place in. Seems unlikely, too soon.
Anyway, I've been playing a lot of Ground Zeroes (I didn't expect to!) so I think I should do it some justice and write a semi-review for it...
So,
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS3). This is a fantastic game, to be honest. It's the most fun Metal Gear has ever been to play, in my opinion, since it's a fantastic blend of old-school MGS elements combined with some more modern gameplay elements. Big Boss is a beast to play as this time around and many actions such as dragging bodies feel so much more fast this time around that I actually found myself doing it a lot, unlike in previous games in which I didn't bother much. Similarly, nearly useless things like binoculars and directional microphones are now much more useful. Particularly, binoculars now include a directional mic and they allow you to mark enemies, which allows you to see them through walls (there's an icon over their head but you can also see their outline while you're stationary). Other actions like the new dive are fantastic. You can drive vehicles, turn off the power, lure guards with magazines, etc, etc. There's a lot of options for stealth and combat.
The graphics are also fantastic. While the PS3 version is not as great as its PS4 cousin, it still looks beautiful. I am actually amazed at how great the game looks, particularly due to some great dramatic lighting. The weather effects shown in Ground Zeroes fantastic, especially the rain shown during the main mission (called Ground Zeroes, yes). All of the ops are set in the same area sadly but I think this gave them a great chance to show just how much a single area can vary due to weather and time of the day. Weather and time will definitely affect how players take on operations in The Phantom Pain, since it varies a lot.
All that said, Ground Zeroes just doesn't have much content. While I do admit I've played a lot (around 10 hours already!?), this is mostly because I find the fantastic gameplay to be a lot of fun to mess with so it's the first time I find myself actually bothering trying to get S Ranks in the missions. But there really isn't much content if you plan to just do them once. There's the main Ground Zeroes mission, which offers a few story tidbits to set the events of The Phantom Pain in motion. Despite not having much story content, there are still some great moments.
Other than Ground Zeroes, there's about 5 side ops and 2 extra ops (the Deja Vu and Jamais Vu missions). All of these side and extra ops take place in the same area as Ground Zeroes, Camp Omega. They have a lot differences in enemy placement and they show off different weather and time effects, but it's still the same layout. This also means that these side ops are most likely not canon or partially canon at most (as in, the missions might be real but were not set in Camp Omega), with the obvious exception of Deja Vu and Jamais Vu which are non-canon silly missions referencing MGS1 (Deja Vu) and Metal Gear Rising (Jamais Vu). It ultimately feels like just a demo for The Phantom Pain, which is what I was expecting.
There's some unlockables, but it's mostly stuff for the companion app for Android and iOS (which has a Mother Base simulation, it's pretty decent) and some music you can listen to or set for the helicopter to play when it's called. Apparently GZ saves will carry over into The Phantom Pain, but we don't know what will carry over, so it kind of makes trying for higher ranks and trials to feel slightly pointless at times...
I didn't expect to write a long review like I did, but whatever. My verdict is
8.5/10 and my hype for MGSV: TPP is now at dangerous levels.
TL;DR: Gameplay is excellent. Story content is good. Graphics are great. But not enough actual content makes it feel like a demo for The Phantom Pain.
8.5/10
