Konami have released a couple of updates regarding the upcoming first chapter of Metal Gear Solid V, the sandbox introduction Ground Zeroes.
The biggest announcement has to be about the price drops announced for the Xbox One and PS4 versions. The new RRP for the disc versions of Ground Zeroes is dropping to £29.99, which Konami say brings it inline with the price of both the downloadable versions for Xbox/PS4 as well as the RRP for “last-gen” disc copies.
This price drop comes after the revelation that the story portion of the game is particularly short. Konami and Hideo Kojima have defended the short story time explaining that Ground Zeroes is only meant to be a prequel to Metal Gear Solid V and that there is plenty of replayability and side missions. Whether or not it’d be good value for money depends on just how much replayability there is and how good the gameplay turns out to be.
Now onto the rest of the announcements, that come with some hints about how different MGSV will be from it’s lineage.
Any “early” adopters of Ground Zeroes will be rewarded with some exclusive content in The Phantom Pain. Anyone who buys the game in the first retail batch and for a limited time in the digital version will be able to get some extra staff for Mother Base. This sounds a little like the base in XCOM, maybe with players using it to upgrade equipment. The Mother Base idea will be revealed further in Ground Zeroes itself and it’s promised to play a “central role” in The Phantom Pain. Save data from Ground Zeroes will also be carried over into The Phantom Pain with V.I.Ps and P.O.W’s saved/captured in the former available at Mother Base in the latter.
There will also be an accompanying “iDROID” app for iOS, Android and Xbox Smart Glass systems. This app will replicate Big Boss’ map/communication device and will let players access maps, call in air support and play any of the cassettes found throughout Camp Omega.
Whilst the price drop for the Xbox One and PS4 are encouraging, it’s always nice to see a developer/publisher respond to the feelings of the buying public, it would have been nice to see a corresponding price drop for the “last-gen” consoles. The price point is the only thing that’s putting me off getting in on Ground Zeroes on release day. If this was coming in at about a tenner for a downloadable title my money would already be in Hideo’s hands.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is set for a March 21st release date on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
