Title: Metal Gear Survive
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PC
Cost: $39.99
Rating: Rated Mature for blood, language and violence
Score: 6.5/10
Metal Gear Survive launched with little fanfare and some grumbling over its story, microtransactions and the fact that it was made without Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima; but there's still quite a lot of heart and fun inside this bargain-priced spinoff.
Survive takes place between the events of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and it uses the gameplay engine, locations and art assets from those titles. There's a much heavier emphasis on the Survive aspect rather than the Metal Gear, so take that as a warning for fans of the franchise.
I'm not entirely sure if the game is supposed to be canon or not. The whole game pretty much takes place in an alternate universe that arises after a massive wormhole appears and swallows a military base.
On the other side of the wormhole is a hellish desert landscape known as Dite. Some helpful robots guide you through setting up a base camp and taking your first steps toward unraveling this new world's mysteries -- and figuring out how to get home.
The beginning hours are filled with quite a few cut-scenes, and it takes a while to get into the meat and potatoes of the game. Speaking of food, you'll have to constantly manage your depleting meters that track hunger and thirst. The meters link directly to your maximum health and stamina. You'll have to spend time between every mission, at least in the early stages, hunting down small animals and drinking contaminated water. I hope you like roast gerbil.
In typical Metal Gear style, the story is convoluted, with a fair number of twists and turns. Mechanically, the game is pretty complex and combat is really enjoyable.
The main enemy is a limitless number of dead soldiers, re-animated through some glowing crystal or some -- OK, they're zombies. They act like zombies and die like zombies, so I'm going to call them zombies.
So yeah. You run around, kill zombies, scavenge for resources, complete side quests and missions that advance the main story, and slowly upgrade your base of operations. As you do, you'll level up your character, unlock new abilities, more health, etc., and learn recipes to craft stronger weapons and traps, including machine gun turrets that can be used to protect the base.
Major combat missions typically involve waves of zombies, and you can use gadgets to put up temporary walls to delay and re-route the zombies while you kill them from the other side.
As the game progresses, you'll acquire allies, make gardens to grow your own food, set up teleportation devices and harvest some weird energy that's used for levelling up and crafting.
Beating the game isn't the end, though -- in fact that's when the game expands, unlocking new character subclasses and stronger enemies. There are also online co-op missions for up to four players at a time, and online live events to take part in.
Speaking of online, that's one of the big criticisms -- Metal Gear Survive requires a constant online connection to play, even in single player mode. Also, pausing the game doesn't actually pause the game -- my character died twice from starvation while paused before I figured that out.
There are also microtransactions, and I'm just not a big fan of those when the game itself costs $40. It screams cash grab and pay-to-win. However, there is a lot of value for that $40 -- there are at least 100 hours worth of gameplay to be had, and playing multiplayer games with friends is always fun.
There's no built-in voice chat, but there are workarounds to communicate on the various platforms. You might not get to talk with strangers in random co-op sessions (and that might be a good thing), but you'll be able to form a party with friends and talk.
Longtime fans of the Metal Gear series, which took place over three decades, might feel Metal Gear Survive is a bit sacrilegious, but I like to think of it more like a favorite game getting an interesting crossover adaptation -- like when Scooby Doo and the gang meet up with members of the Justice League or Harlem Globetrotters.
Enjoy it for what it is, and, like your character in the harsh world of Dite, make the best of what you've got.
Metal Gear Survive was reviewed on the PlayStation 4
ActiveStyle on 03/19/2018