After word got out yesterday that Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes has an extremely short campaign, the Metal Gear Solid Facebook page has come out with a statement saying that the upcoming title will remain “… true to the METAL GEAR SOLID series.”
There was outcry when the report by Kotaku came out saying that they completed the main campaign in two hours and managed just over four when messing around and exploring. Quite the far cry from titles such as Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which can take a regular player upwards of twenty hours to complete.
The Facebook page goes on to say that “…METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES offers a number of additional achievements and unlockable platform-exclusive content for considerable replay value…”, which is somewhat reassuring, but again begs the question; why didn’t they tell everyone beforehand that the game would be a Gran Turismo 5 Prologue style release?
“…GROUND ZEROES serves as the first act that will bridge the gap between METAL GEAR SOLID PEACEWALKER, serving as the prologue to the highly anticipated METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN, the second part of the METAL GEAR SOLID V Experience.” I can deal with that, but I’m a little less excited now. But only a little.
The announcement concludes with “KONAMI expresses its confidence that METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES represents an overall excellent experience with its expansive gameplay, replay value, as well as its compelling and deep storyline.”
Well thanks for clearing that up, Konami.
[update]
Hideo Kojima himself responded to people’s concerns on twitter, saying;
“MGSV Ground Zeroes includes the main mission alongside 5 Side Ops. All missions include elements such as “Trial Records,” where players can compete against eachother online. This is not a linear game like the past. GZ offers freedom of approach & play style, which we hope players will enjoy over & over without boring. I believe people will be satisfied with the “Play Time” of GZ and will not stress the “Clear Time,” which is a standard for linear games.” [sic]
People’s responses are, of course, mixed; some are defending the slight deviation of one title in the series and others are out for blood after it was revealed that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain might take longer than expected.