Metal Gear Online Preview, Continued
Four game types are currently available in the beta, with the possibility of others being added by the time Metal Gear Solid 4 hits retail. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are the most familiar and really should need no explanation. Capture Mission and Base Mission are the final two, both of which are certainly unique if not strange.
Capture Mission acts a bit like capture the flag, except with a neutral flag capture point and two "flags," which must be brought back to one of the team goal locations. What's really strange about this mode though is that instead of capturing flags, you're capturing small frog and duck statues, both of which must be recovered and held for a time at your goal in order to win the round. For a tactical shooter, one would think that recovering something like confidential paperwork or nuclear materials would make more sense than small animals. But no, you'll be fighting to defend or kill players who currently have small representations of cute animals in their possession. Yes, it's about as strange as it sounds.
The Base Mission mode is a bit less odd, and pits two teams against each other as they fight for control over a number of areas on the map. The first team to capture all of the pre-determined areas wins. To prevent never-ending rounds, the Base Mission game type also has a secondary victory condition where the team holding the most bases when time runs out wins. Either way, Base Mission mode is certainly the most intense game type, especially when you're part of a team fighting for or defending against the capture of a final base location.
Metal Gear Online has good graphics and some excellent multiplayer features, but the PS3 controllers aren't very desirable.
Gameplay itself is initially a bit odd, especially while learning the controls. I simply cannot imagine what the developers were thinking when they put together the control scheme in MGO. It is without a doubt one of the strangest schemes that I've ever seen in a shooter, and just about everything, aside from player movement, feels awkward (there are three aiming modes, for example, and they require use of the L1 and R1 buttons). Of all things I'm hoping to see change in the beta thus far, it is the controls that take the cake. Once you adjust to the control scheme, the core game begins to reveal itself.
A nice number of pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles and sniper rifles, launchers, attachments, grenades and even traps are available for purchase or use depending on the game type and server rules. In a semi-nod to Counter-Strike, Konami offers servers the ability to turn on a purchasing system that is based around "Drebin Points." Drebin Points are earned by killing or incapacitating opponents on servers with the system enabled. As points are earned, higher-end gear and accessories become affordable. Having the points to pick up an assault rifle with a grenade launcher attachment can change the gameplay significantly, but be warned, both the points and weapon are lost upon death. The Drebin Point system works well enough, and is quite easy to understand and use while in between death and spawn.
Boxes make an appearance just as they were seen in previous Metal Gear games, and to help stealthy players levels featured in the beta have random empty boxes scattered around to add a good layer of doubt as to whether a box sitting out in the open is out of place. Paranoid players will actively shoot suspicious boxes or run up against them until they break, while others will just ignore boxes at the risk of being surprised later when their guard is down. Close quarters encounters can be both fun and frustrating, depending on which end you're on and what gear you're using at the time. There is nothing like spending a whole bundle of points on a great set of gear only to lose it to someone who managed to sneak up behind you when you weren't expecting it. Even if death is not the result of such an encounter, players using close quarters combat can incapacitate you, which then leaves you susceptible to enemy fire while you struggle to get out of your dazed state.
The graphics look relatively good for a Playstation 3 game, but nowhere near as vibrant and colorful as a title like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Instead, you'll often be roaming about more bland and realistic dusty military type environments, which can provide a lot of cover to hide behind but very little eye candy. Graphics aside, the overall sound design is definitely spot on with previous Metal Gear Solid games - even down to the famous echoing death call, which actually plays out every time you perish. Bluetooth headset support is implemented in MGO, but thus far it is used very little by the community. Quick chat options are also available but rarely used. Time will tell if communication ramps up over time in the beta and into retail.
Thus far, I can say that Metal Gear Online is a fun product, but the control scheme is definitely one of the hardest things to swallow. Features like the built-in auto-aim help make MGO newbie friendly. Traps, boxes, magazines and even the "man-cannon" launcher help create a very unique environment that really only Metal Gear Solid can pull off. While I am confused by some design elements, like the decision to have small animals represent flags, it's not a big enough issue to make me dislike the beta. Instead, MGO is really fun even with the flaws considered, and I'm really hoping that the folks at Konami take advantage of the next month to polish the game up and refine the controls.
We'll revisit Metal Gear Online once it goes retail with Metal Gear Solid 4, and will report back on any changes seen. Stay tuned.
Join our discussion on this topic
