|
|
Videogame
Source : PlayStation |
Metal
Gear Solid: VR Missions |
| Graphics |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-- |
| Sounds |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-- |
| Replay |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-- |
| Gameplay |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-- |
| Overall |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4.0 |
|
|
Review
by JR Clone |
Fortunately, when games are worthless rehashes, they are normally
associated with perennially crappy gaming series. So when and if Army Men 8: Fake
Plastic Warfare or Tomb Raider: Lara Really Dies This Time, We Swear! are
unleashed upon the public, the more educated gamers will know to stay away. Unfortunately,
Konami has decided to taint one of the most highly acclaimed video games of all time
(Metal Gear Solid, for those of you who are little slow on the uptake) with the release of
this gimmicky, ultimately worthless game.
Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions retains all of Metal Gear Solid’s, but the
concept of VR Missions is simply a pus-filled abscess upon the face of videogames. I
believe “The VR Missions” were released in Japan along with the original MGS in
a package called Metal Gear Solid Integral. Along with Metal Gear Solid, the VR
Missions are a bonus, but by itself, there really is no point to the yawn-a-thon.
So what are these “VR Missions” that I speak of? Well, those of who played the
original Metal Gear Solid, think back to the several missions of optional VR training that
were included as a helpful introduction to the world of tactical espionage action. The VR
training took place in a neat “virtual world”, with grid frame surroundings and
backgrounds that seemed to trail off into space. The missions were normally very short and
small in scope, the objective of each being to reach a goal point, which was normally
located fairly close to your starting point. Rarely ever taking more than two minutes to
complete, each mission normally focused on a specific aspect of MGS’s gameplay (i.e.
using the sniper rifle, avoiding security cameras, etc.).
So, in short, imagine these twenty or so VR Missions have been beefed up to about three
hundred, and marketed as a videogame. Are you beginning to understand what’s wrong
here? Avoiding enemies and snapping necks was fun in Metal Gear Solid because there was a
plot to drive the action forward, and a coherent flow to the affair. MGS: VR Missions is
essentially several hundred rote tasks divided into ‘mission’ form.
Even furthering the game’s repetitive nature is how, while in the original MGS’s
training, there were only one or two missions devoted to each skill, in MGS VR Missions
there are fifteen or twenty. Do I really need (or want, more importantly) to spend that
much time planting Claymore mines? No, I don’t. The vast majority of the 300+
missions in VR Missions are totally flat. Spend twenty minutes trying to get the fastest
time on a given mission, finally obtain the time after dozens of tries, and then continue
to trudge through to the next undertaking.
To be fair, VR Missions has included some rather interesting modes to spice things up, but
they are few and far between. Perhaps the most hyped aspect of this game was that it
promised to include actual playtime as the deadly Ninja from MGS, a katana wielding cyborg
equipped with a cloaking suit. Yes, he is here, in all his throat slashing, stealth
sneaking glory, and he is a blast to play as. Unfortunately, the Ninja is only included in
a scanty three missions. Come on Konami, people don’t want dozens of missions
pertaining to the proper usage of a pistol, people don’t want a ‘puzzle
mode’ or a ‘variety mode’, they want the Ninja!
So, what exactly is the incentive of completing all these modes? The multitude of missions
might become boring, and since there isn’t a storyline there is no plot to advance,
but there has to be something extra to unlock, right? Well, get this, the greater the
percentage of the missions that are completed, the closer you get to…
take photographs of women who stand around and type on computers!!!
That’s right, folks, there are two of these luscious babes to choose from, and they
stand in the middle of a giant circular area. The more missions completed, the closer to
the center of the area Snake can progress, and the better pictures he can take. Awwww
yeah! What better way to unwind after a few hours of the mind numbing trek that is Metal
Gear Solid: VR Missions than to fill up your memory card (photos come at 3 blocks a pop)
by snapping a few pictures? Hmmm…maybe you should allot your precious memory card
slots to one of the hundred or so games on the PlayStation that will offer a more
satisfying experience than MGS: VR Missions.
The Bottom Line
With all the fun and excitement sucked out of Metal Gear Solid, VR Missions is the
hollowed out corpse of a great game that plays like a grossly overextended tech demo. You
can experience all the gameplay and more of the original MGS; it just isn’t applied
in any sort of worthwhile format. If you’re one of the people who eats, drinks, and
breathes Metal Gear Solid, this may prove worth your while, but otherwise, there
isn’t too much to uncover.
Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions is not a total loss, as it still holds up the reputation of
its predecessor, with identical gameplay, graphics, and sound, all of which are superb.
Regrettably, no matter how wonderful a game may be mechanically, it all comes to down to
execution, where Metal Gear Solid passed with flying colors, and VR Missions fails. |
|
Screenshots
are coming soon! |
|
|
|
