Metal Gear Online

by Drew James - 2008/05/09 12:42am

Next month the Playstation universe will begin the epic and final chapter of Solid Snake. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, is sure to be nothing but breath taking. But, with this game also comes Metal Gear Online. A multiplayer mode of Metal Gear that may be considered an afterthought given MGS4's epic single player experience. Trust us on this one, Metal Gear Online is far from a tack on.

If you were able to see through the brutal, crash frequent, ID Konami site, then you were granted access to what may very well be, one of the biggest multiplayer games of 2008. You start off the game by creating your character's facial features, voice, and battle gear. After that you'll be introduced to the many skills that MGS offers. These skills vary from: Mastery of a certain type of weapon (Mastery Shotgun, Pistol, Rifle, Knife, etc), Enemy Exposure skill, SOP hacking (very valuable), as well as other things like faster running, CQC skills, and more.

Like the previous MGO titles the game really revolves around team work. This factor is heavily influenced in many modes such as: Team Deathmatch(Where your team shares a certain amount of tickets or lives), Capture (A CTF type mode with two flags. Forcing you to attack and defend targets at the same time), Base(Classic "Zones" type game where you're objective is to secure certain parts of the map), and Sneaking (Team Deathmatch with a twist. This time there's a Snake. You're main objective is to capture Snake and secure dog tags from him. While you eliminate the enemy forces... Unless you're Snake, in which case, it's you against the world)



Player's have a nice array of weaponry to choose from in MGO. Three Sub Machine Guns,three Assault rifles, multiple Pistols, Sniper rifles, Shotguns, Riot shields, and more. And each gun comes with a different feel from the others in its class. The Ak is a lower end Assault Rifle whereas the MK-17 is the higher end power rifle of choice. If the diverse guns weren't enough, it seems the Kojima team has picked up a system of perks similiar to Call of Duty 4. Add on a sniper scope, red dot laser, grenade launcher, silencer, etc. These perks can make all the difference depending on the battle situation.

The maps in MGO are very diverse. Ranging from environments that call for short range type combat, to maps where the rooftops will be littered with snipers. Cutting corners could mean a bullet in the head or a prelude to a CQC chokehold. Every map is detailed and gives an ambient feeling of war.

The SOP system can be a big aid in battle. At the start of each match, you and everyone on your team has the chance to link up. What this does is provide you with constant status on your linked allies. When one of your allies gets shot, you'll know where he was and if you can see the enemy, you'll know to take your shot, or duck for cover. The game supports mics, keyboards, and quick response messages. So one way or another, there'll be a way to get your point across, Communication is key, so it's glad to see that MGO is offering more than one way to interact with your allies.

Visually the game is looking great. Very impressive clothing textures and responsive lighting. From an audio side of things the gun fire and explosive sound effects are wonderful. It's easy to tell that precise detail was put into the sound. For example you hear the bullet eject and ricochet off the ground as you begin to reload.



Metal Gear Online is certainly adding more fuel to MGS4's vibrant fire and will give new players and old time fans, endless hours of entertainment. MGS4 may be the end for Snake but, the war between soldiers will always be fought. Look out for our full review next month.