At the Ritz Carlton located in Tokyo, Kojima Productions held its Metal Gear Solid 20th Anniversary Party. At the event, not only was the much awaited gameplay demonstration of Metal Gear Solid 4 finally shown, but the evolution of the online battle mode introduced in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence was also shown in the form of Metal Gear Online.
Unlike Subsistence, Metal Gear Online is a whole seperate game focused on delivering the stealth action experience that all fans of the series are familiar with and allowing them to team up with or take down their friends over the ‘net.
One fairly cool addition worth discussing is the ability to spot your teammates anywhere on the battlefield, as their character model will flash to a illuminated state every few seconds (allowing them to be seen through walls and whatnot).
In other online games, an icon may appear over an ally’s character model and change periodically indicating whether or not they’re taking fire or returning it, but actually seeing what type of grave situation they’re in (such as being held at knife point or being mesmerized by the girly magazine strategically placed on the ground by the enemy as bullets are whizzing by their head) by viewing their combat stances seems incredibly useful.
If that doesn’t sound like an innovation that other developers will inevitably implement in their own titles in the shooter genre, I don’t know what does.
Another addition being included in MGO is the ability to aim at foes from an over-the-shoulder view. While that doesn’t seem especially groundbreaking, it was noticeably absent feature in Subsistence that would’ve greatly benefited those who played it in a major way. In any case, it’s a welcome addition that’ll definitely satisfy those who enjoy firing at their foes accurately, which was previously only possible through the first person perspective in Subsistence (which will still be possible with the added capability of moving about the environment from only that perspective).
Unfortunately, a closed beta taking place strictly in Japan is the only way gamers can get their hands on Metal Gear Online and Kojima Productions has yet to announce any other opportunities for players outside of the country to participate in the experience. However, when (and if) they do, GamerNode will provide our readers with the necessary information to do so.
