Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes Review

Genre: TPS (Third-Person Shooter), Open world exploration, Espionage

Released for/Reviewed on: Released on Playstation & X-Box (both gens), reviewed on PS4

Publisher/Developer: Konami/Hideo Kojima

Notable Voice Actors or Writers: Kiefer Sutherland (24) as Big Boss, Troy Baker (Delsin Rowe in inFamous: Second Son)

Alluring Element: True Next-Gen visuals combined with genre leading stealth and action gameplay

Check it out if you liked: MGS series, Splinter Cell series, having two thumbs connected to a brain

Rated: M

 

SCORECARD (each category ranked on a 10-point scale):

Storyline – 8

Gameplay – 10

Animation – 10

Replay Value – 9

Entertainment Value – 10

Captivity – 10

Variety – 7

Originality/Creativity – 8

Soundtrack – 9

Overall awesomeness – 10

Hideo Kojima is one of the most important video game directors of our time and his Kojima productions is one of the last Japanese companies to consistently create major selling and highly rated AAA titles. Ground Zeroes is the prologue to the highly anticipated sequel, Phantom Pain. This was done as a way to give players a taste of the new stealth and gameplay mechanics due to the long wait for Phantom Pain. This game also showcases the new style of storytelling that Kojima would like to utilize in the next installment.

 

The game picks up where Peace Walker left off. If you haven’t played that it isn’t surprising seeing as how it was a canon sequel on the PSP platform; however, it has been given the HD treatment and added to the PS3’s HD Collection and the Metal Gear Legacy collection, both of which are under 40 bones. The story is pretty simple: infiltrate the prison and recover two people. While the main story is pretty short, you can beat it in two hours even while playing in a slow pace, the game opens up a handful of side missions once it is complete. These main missions take place during the day and are used to showcase the daytime graphics of the Fox Engine being used.

 

I played on PS4 and most of the reviews tend to say it has the best graphics as well. That being said, this is one of the most gorgeous games I have ever seen. I don’t really know what else to say; the rain looks absolutely stunning, with the way it interacts with everything from the buildings to the mud, it’s just beautiful. The gameplay has changed quite a bit, with Big Boss seeing many improvements to his repertoire. The movement is more fluid this time around with his transition to different stances being flawless. He is given a few new moves and some have been added from Peace Walker, the multi-CQC takedown being one of them. He is also given a diving button that allows him to dive behind cover and remain prone if he is close to getting spotted.

The stealth mechanics overall have been changed; there are no more cones of vision or even a radar, for that matter. He now has an iDroid that displays the map, proving that Apple was ubiquitous even in the 1970’s. If for some reason you are actually spotted,  Big Boss now has the ability to enter “Reflex Mode,” which slows down time, allowing him to silence a guard before he is able to call for help or alert anyone. This is meant to be used as a crutch and can be turned off in the menu option at any time but is definitely fun to use when just running around exploring the island.

You, sir, are screwed.

My only real complaint with this game is it is too short. I am a major Metal Gear fan, so much so that both of my gamer tags involve Solid Snake in some facet and right when I was getting in my groove and enjoying things, it was all over. The ever-present need to know what is going to happen next wasn’t satiated in any way whatsoever. This only served to whet the appetite and since the next installment won’t be released until next year, at the earliest, I am left feeling hungrier than when I began playing. There are still side missions to play but they really only serve as a way to add more to an already minimalistic package. They are plenty of fun, but I would have preferred just extending the story instead. All that being said, I still feel that this is worth the price of admission at 30 dollars. No true Metal Gear fan should miss this game.

All media credited to Konami and Kojima Productions

So Far this Week… March 19, 2014

With the expansion of Hush Comics, we have decided to give bi-weekly news updates.  Anything we find news-worthy will be posted here bi-weekly.  Have anything to add?  Post it in the comments!

Green Hornet, Red Sonja, The Shadow and Black Bat may be joining the DC Universe as DC Comics is set to buy Dynamite Entertainment.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is finally here! We can’t wait to sit down and play. We should be getting a review out to you all soon!

Studies are showing that fewer people are finishing video-games and developers are saying that plots are overrated. Which side of the fence do you find yourself on? Do you like big plot games like MGS or just find yourself leaning towards more casual games?

How do you feel about Pixar classics being re-released in 3D? Well, 3D versions of The Incredibles and Ratatouille are in the works.

J. August Richards’ (Angel) Deathlok suit has been revealed for Agents of Shield. He looks like one bad mamma-jamma! It will be interesting to see him play the villain, after such a brilliant performance in Arrow.

Street Fighter fans gear up; the final new character for Ultra Street Fighter 4 has been announced as Decapre, a clone of Cammy

Star Wars: Episode VII will be set 30 years after the original trilogy. What a coincidence, since Return of the Jedi was originally released just over thirty years ago.

With Amazing Spider-Man 2 coming out in a month and a half, the last trailer has been released. Drool.

Word has it that Pikachu will be the official mascot of Japan at the World Cup.  Pika-Pika!

Aaron McGruder is producing a new show on Adult Swim, “Black Jesus”.

Tom Hardy will be starring in a Splinter Cell movie.  Women might finally find out what Splinter Cell is.

The second issue of Ms. Marvel dropped today. Learn more about how writer G. Willow Wilson blends humor, Islam and super-powers in one fell swoop.

The Suicide Squad made its debut on Arrow tonight!  Find out how it came to be here.

PS4 debuted a Virtual Reality Headset.  When you wear it, you look super cool.

The Giver officially has a trailer.  Every kid should have read this book.  If you haven’t, go do that right now.  Eek!

Street Fighter is getting its own TV Series called Assassin’s Fist.  Hope you get the channel it airs on.

Assassin’s Creed Unity this fall.  Oui Oui!

written by Sherif Elkhatib and Adrian Puryear

Weekend Wrap-Up…March 16, 2014

This week is a little thin on big nerd news this weekend, so we’ll lay it out for ya:

DC Comics is releasing variants based on the pin-up style Bombshell line in June. I can’t guarantee Catwoman will get any more bearable in writing, but the cover will look awesome.

Rocksteady has released new screenshots of their next-gen finale to the Arkham series, Arkham Knight. Prepare to ogle.

Johnny Blaze has been replaced, as Robbie Reyes will be taking up the mantle of Ghost Rider in All-New Ghost Rider, debuting this Wednesday.

All you Moonies can jump for joy; in July, an all new adaptation of Sailor Moon will make its way to the Niconico, the online streaming service.

Action figure models of the Michael Bay Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have surfaced. What do you guys think? I think they have quite a Jim Lee vibe.

JK Simmons, also known as the Farmers Insurance guy and Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man  flicks a decade ago, will be playing a “weary and alcoholic detective who has followed a bizarre case involving Sarah Connor and robots for more than three decades” in Terminator: Genesis.

Be sure to grab Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (out Tuesday) and inFamous: Second Son (out Friday). It will be very hard to get anything done through the next couple weeks with these amazing games coming out.

Madness? No, THIS IS… SPARTA!!! Be sure to put in a March Madness bracket with Quicken Loans. It’s free, and if you fill yours out perfectly, you’ll be looking at $1 Billion in winnings.

So Far this Week… February 26, 2014

With the expansion of Hush Comics, we have decided to give bi-weekly news updates.  Anything we find news-worthy will be posted here bi-weekly.  Have anything to add?  Post it in the comments!

Arrow and Survivor come back tonight. About damn time! This week, we say hello to the Clock King.

Breaking Bad is finally completely available to stream on Netflix, in all it’s tragic glory. We laughed, we cried, we dressed up as meth cooks; it was the best. Open up our reviews or “Breaking Bad Week” articles while you enjoy the end of the decades’ best show.

Also in BrBa news, The Heisenberg himself, Bryan Cranston, is moving on to become a serial killer in the upcoming movie Holland, Michigan, acting along-side Naomi Watts. I’m instantly sold with anything this man does, so it will great seeing him back on the big screen.

The makers of Batman: Arkham Origins might not care about your glitchy game, but they do want you to enjoy the new “Cold, Cold Heart” DLC, released April 22nd and centered around a battle with Mr. Freeze.

Hideo Kojima has just collectively shoved everybody off the fence when it comes to buying Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. When the game is released on March 18th, next-gen gamers will be able to purchase Ground Zeroes for $10 less.

A gentleman and an entertainer, original Ghostbuster Harold Ramis has passed away, after complications from an auto-immune disease he had been with for years.

I’ve given it five episodes before I spread the good word, but FX’s Chozen is the real deal. Give it ten minutes, and I swear he will be your favorite white, gay rapper ever.

The upcoming Joseph Gordon-Levitt led Sandman movie has found a writer in Jack Thorne, who has written several British shows – including Skins and Shameless.

Adam Driver has been cast as a villain in Star Wars: Episode VII. Yup, the guy from HBO’s Girls. I hold judgment, though, and take it as a sign that we are one step closer to an Episode VII release.

Jason Momoa, who Thronies (men who love Game of Thrones) might know better as Khal Drogo, actually turned down the part given the role of Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy to avoid being type-casted as the big, brooding alien – similar to his role in Stargate: Atlantis. His loss.

The track listing for the soundtrack to the movie Divergent has been released. If you like Ellie Goulding, sprinkled in with some alternative and Hip-Hop, then you should love it. It’s still not on par with the Hunger Games movies’ soundtrack.

Written by Sherif Elkhatib and Adrian Puryear

October Comics and Collectibles Preview

At Hush Comics, we will be starting a new monthly piece reflecting on Diamond Comics Distributors’ monthly PREVIEWS issue. For those not in the know, PREVIEWS is a monthly magazine (almanac-sized each month) that shows you all the ways that you could lose your money through comics, collectibles and games. With the thousands of items to throw money at, we figure we’d make it a little simpler and suggest five comics and five collectibles that will definitely be on our shelves when they are released.

Comics & Books

1.) Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett is one of the coolest piece of Star Wars memorabilia I’ve seen in a while. At only $60 and releasing October 29th, Bounty Hunter Code is part collectible, part book, but all awesome. To unlock the goodies inside, you actually have to insert your bounty hunter data card into the slot, ensuing some sweet lighting and sound effects – I wish more books that I read gave me this level of presentation when I opened them. There are plenty of removable documents loaded with easter eggs and fun facts. Each book encased in the Files holds some significance to something in the Star Wars universe; for example, the Death Watch booklet inside, given to Boba by his father, features hand-written notes from Jango himself. I tell ya, when Star Wars does a specialty book like this, they never half-ass it, and I’m sure we can expect the same quality of thoroughness with Bounty Hunter Code.

The case includes:

• The Bounty Hunter Code
• The 48-page memoirs of Cradossk, former head of the Bounty Hunters Guild, with an inscription from the author to Boba Fett
• A Kamino saberdart
• Boba Fett’s captain’s license
• Boba Fett’s arms permit
• Slave I’s official operating license
• An Imperial wanted poster for Han Solo
• An inventory slip from the Rebel Alliance forces who discovered and seized Boba’s property

2.) Batgirl #26 written by Gail Simone and drawn by Fernando Parasin and Johnathan Glapion is going to be a fun one. Although comics, DC specifically, have been trending towards a lot of crazy covers that don’t exactly depict what happens inside of them, Simone’s Batgirl has been a cut above the rest and I’m sure it will be epic either way. After recent events have led Commissioner Gordon vowing to personally take down Batgirl for committing murder (Yeah, you need to read that story, Batgirl #20), Barbara Gordon has retired as Batgirl, but she keeps finding a way to don the cowl when her dad is in trouble. Is this the moment we’ve been waiting for? Does Babs finally reveal herself as the Batgirl to her dad? I may have to wait until December 11, but I’m psyched to find out.

3.) The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Kevin Eastman Cover Gallery collects some amazing work from the legendary TMNT creator, Kevin Eastman. In a single-issue priced book, you can ogle at the turtles in all their glory. This is a no brainer for any fan of the TMNT and, at only $3.99, you don’t need to be a baller to get it. You can find all Kevin Eastman’s cover art for the new series here. Hopefully this will suffice for you until the December 4th release date.

4.) Wolverine: Origin II #1, written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Andy Kubert, looks to pick up right where the original Origin left off, which I’m not going to tell you about because it’s an amazing book (and now a Marvel Knights DVD). It visits more of Wolverine’s primal back-story, and teases to even highlight another character’s secret origin. The main bad guy in the story seems to be Sinister as of now. I hate that asshole, but he makes for some interesting stories. I’m a sucker for Kubert art, and this looks to be visually striking, regardless of storyline. Look for Origin II #1 to be in stores this Christmas Eve.

5.) Justice League 3000 could be something special. Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMattels , with art by Howard Porter, Justice League 3000 looks to be a pretty sweet futuristic look at the Justice League. With no connection to the Legion of Super-Heroes, a series that takes place in the time period, nor any connections to the current Justice Leaguers, it’s difficult to say what to expect with book. DC Comics has made a habit of putting out new series and themes for more of a cash grab than substance (ala “Villains Month” this month or even the new Batman “Zero Year set to drop next month). For now though, we can revel in the awesomeness that is Green Lantern and Flash’s character design. Expect mixed responses when 3000 hits stores on December 4, 2013.

Collectibles

1.) Revoltech Yamaguchi Metal Gear Solid Snake and Raiden action figures

You may think you’re too old to play with action figures, but that is a bold-faced lie! At $55 a pop though, these beauties are not for children. They are some pretty nice collectibles, if you can allow yourself to keep it in the box. Unlike the norm for this kind of figure, this Reevoltech Yamaguchi figure is completely poseable, making for some really cool shots like the one below. It’s nice to know that sometimes you don’t need to keep everything in the box to get value out of it. With both Snake and Raiden having a release date of 11/15, this will make some nerd very happy come this holiday season.

2.) Square Enix DC Comics  Variant Batman Statue – Red costume

On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with admiring a well-sculpted statue still in the box. The Square Enix DC Variant line, the first pieces of which just recently released, are a sort of exaggerated Japanese superhero twist on the Justice League characters. While, of the original releases, Green Lantern was my favorite, the new red costume variant of Batman takes the cake. He has some weird kinda gun thing, he has this weird flowing cape with harpoons at the end… it’s like Flashpoint Batman had a love-child with Megazord. This bad boy won’t be out til February 2014, but its a pretty cool exclusive to add to the closet of other things you never take out of the box… Hard sell lol.

3.) Batman Arkham Origins Firefly action figure

The Batman villain Firefly has been very seldom used  throughout video games, television and movies, despite having been created over sixty years ago. That all changed when Firefly made an appearance on the live-action Arrow series earlier this year. The character was now a demented pyromaniac with a revenge plan, instead of some guy with a flamethrower. In the new Batman videogame, Batman: Arkham Origins, the Dark Knight is set to take on Firefly head-to-head. Although Firefly is a more obscure villain, I have no doubt that comic book rookies will know his name after battling him in the game. He looks like he belongs in Killzone or Mass Effect, a testament to just how bad-ass this figure looks.  Unfortunately, you won’t be able to get your hands on it until next March, when the game is but a distant memory as a PS3/360 swan song.

4.) The Walking Dead socks

Don’t judge me! Socks are awesome. A lot of women don’t understand what socks mean to a man. Socks are to men what lingerie is to women. You don’t wear cool socks with the intention of showing it off, but you need to be prepared for that moment that somebody special might get a glance at your feet. “Why yes,” you’ll croon. “These are  officially licensed socks from AMC’s The Walking Dead.  Yes, I suppose I can let you touch them.” Anyway, my imagination got away from me.  Releasing near the start of the mid-season premiere in January 2014 and at $8 per pair, which is pretty decent compared to any other pop-culture branded socks (yes, I’m an expert in that field), you won’t have to break the bank for some of the coolest designs they could choose from in both men’s and women’s sizes. You can find the other designs here. Just a bit of advice to everybody: don’t let your feet smell as bad as the dead things on them.

5.) Firefly Captain Malcolm pistol replica

Bang, Bang!  Ok… It’s been out for a while, but who doesn’t want one of these?!  For one its cool.  For two, its Captain Mal’s freaking gun!  If the world goes the way that Joss envisions it in Firefly and Serenity then don’t you want to be prepared for that?  You won’t get very far without this beauty.  It should go on you coffee table.  It is the perfect art piece to discuss.  This does mean however, that I will need to get a coffee table to match my new pistol.

written by Sherif Elkhatib and Adrian Puryear