Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (2014) - Tom Parkin

Before I proceed to discussing this release, let me establish this: I can't class this as a full review as Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is a prologue to The Phantom Pain, and not technically a full game. Unfortunately due to not yet possessing a Playstation 4 I had to resort to pre-ordering the Xbox 360 release at a price of £22. Whether the value of Ground Zeroes is worth it or not is indeed open to debate.

After several years without a Metal Gear Solid video game (excepting the hack 'n' slash Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance), Hideo Kojima presents us with a preview of what is to come in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. This preview, also acts as a prologue (and arguably a demo) - set after the events of Peace Walker - which may I add - for those who didn't finish the final act, I recommend a good read of the synopsis provided in Ground Zeroes for any exposition, as it remains relatively bare in the game itself. Kojima decided to reform from his conventional cutscenes (which on occasion lasted for over an hour) in order to concentrate on open world-based gameplay, adding a fresh offering of tactical espionage.
Kiefer Sutherland controversially stars as our beloved badass Big Boss/Snake, who is deployed to Camp Omega, there he must extract two P.O.Ws - whom some may note as familiar faces from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Additionally we are introduced to the ambiguous XOF commander Skull Face, who no doubt will be a significant boss in The Phantom Pain. After this ninety minute sneaking mission, Big Boss returns to a Mother Base under attack from the U.S. Government, only to escape in time with his brother-in-arms Kazuhira Miller. After which, we are blown away with another explosive ending - the obvious cause of Big Boss' coma at the start of The Phantom Pain.

The little bit of story which is presented in Ground Zeroes isn't its strong point, mainly due to the significantly shortened cutscenes - as that itself acts as an exposition for the next installation of the series. The main highlight I'm wanting to point out is how utterly brilliant the new FOX engine is, after watching trailers and gameplay footage of The Phantom Pain, I just needed something to keep me going on such a long wait, craved - if you will; Ground Zeroes acts as a light starter for this appetising three course meal. The FOX engine, as aforementioned, offered new open world-based gaming, as well as refined controls - offering the player the choice of a silent approach to the mission, or an infernal guns blazing run through. The map is a relatively decent size for this sort of mission, and vehicles are distributed for the player to commandeer at will.
Illustrating my first point, previous Metal Gear games have failed to utilise the ability to move in both the prone or crouched stances; I'm relieved to say that Kojima has now allowed this, you would think as a tactical stealth game, Metal Gear Solid would already have this mechanic - but thankfully I am at peace with this. Most importantly, the CQC (Close Quarter Combat) - the special essence of the Metal Gear gameplay, is more attuned than it ever has been. Being extremely convenient to use, the silent approach that bit more enjoyable; Snake can either interrogate an NPC for information, put him to sleep or kill him. I personally prefer interrogation, followed by a slamming into the ground.
Adding onto the open world gameplay itself, is the feature to request for a helicopter to arrive at a landing zone for the purpose of extracting P.O.Ws; the player has a range of LZs to choose from, varying from low danger to high - again, offering more flexible, choice based gameplay.

As for the pricing itself, £22 for a two hour mission is a cheeky move from Kojima, but the silver lining is the amount of replay value granted. Several side missions are included, as well as collectibles which provide additional exposition: such as tapes containing voice recordings, as well as XOF badges to collect in order to unlock a console-exclusive side mission. At this point I haven't unlocked the so called 'Jamais Vu' bonus mission (basically, cyborg Raiden must eliminate a group of 'body snatchers' infiltrating the U.S. Government), however it does appear to be a great deal of fun.
I wouldn't recommend this title for newcomers to the series, as the small snippets of story provided in GZ aren't introductory, and characters seem to be thrown in there as if we should already know who they are - it's acting as a direct epilogue to Peace Walker in that sense. Apart from this, Metal Gear fanatics would either love or hate the direction the series has been taken in. Sure, it has evolved dramatically - less of a Japanese feel has been implemented, but I can deal with that.

Driver: San Francisco (2011) Review - Tom Parkin

I've been hit with a great deal of relief to be able to discuss a franchise which is no longer knocking off Grand Theft Auto, the Driver series has been renowned for doing this for quite a while. After the first release of Driver on the Sony Playstation, limiting players to a car – developers decided this simply wasn't enough, and a series of bad games would ensue. The principle reasons these games were bad was due to the meaninglessly forced gun combat; luckily, I can remember how utterly downright charming the 1999 Driver game was. Sitting behind the wheel of a muscle car, Detective Tanner poses as an undercover driver; getting to point B in the most adrenaline-pumped way possible, that was all it was supposed to be. It is not a third person shooter. Anyway, I'm pleased to say that 2011's Driver: San Francisco nailed it, and added more potential to the franchise.

Beginning the game, cutscenes reveal the antagonist – Charles Jericho, a recurring villain in Driver who was previously captured by the law. Jericho breaks free of the prison van holding him, ensuing in a car chase with John Tanner behind the wheel. After an accident during the chase, Tanner is comatose for virtually the entire game whilst living in a Life on Mars-esque dream world still attempting to apprehend Jericho. Not long into the game, Tanner discovers his ability to shift out of his body and into other vehicles. Given that he is in a coma in the first place, the game developers can actually get away with this innovating gimmick without spoiling the realist, yet cheesy premise of the series.

That said, this “gimmick” was probably one of the best features in the game; it gives the player the opportunity to leave their vehicle – without utilising the knock-off GTA formula. The perks of being able to do this are plentiful; the player can access a bird's eye view of San Francisco; the ability to involve other vehicles during a race or pursuit make the driving itself that bit more thrilling; not forgetting to mention the passenger conversations as Tanner shifts into random vehicles – some of which are hilarious.

On top of this, drifting around corners during a high speed pursuit proved the driving mechanics to be very slick and smooth, which – as a result - bring the game back to its roots. But other factors also fulfil this: in fact – I find Driver: San Francisco a true Driver game as you can't physically run anybody over – it's brilliant, in a cheesy way of course. Visually speaking, Driver offered a crisp, golden tone along with a decent soundtrack ranging from indie rock to electro, but dominated by funk and soul tracks.

I was sucked into Driver: San Francisco for a great deal of hours, without even feeling the obligation to complete the main campaign; the side missions can offer a great deal of entertainment. As a matter of fact, my favourites were probably the racing based side missions - probably due to the small sub plot behind it, as I'm not usually a fan of racing games. Another side mission opportunity is in fact a Back to the Future easter egg; unlocking the DMC Delorean (which raised a huge smile on my face) provides the player the ability to unlock a challenge mission titled “Back in Time” (which is in fact, a mission from the original Driver game) whilst accelerating over 88mph.

Overall, Driver: San Francisco is ideal for kicking back to, not for the story per se, but for the countless hours of mindless fun it has to offer; seeing that I have turned at least a third of the population into kamikaze drivers, it has additionally struck me as one of the coolest games of the past five years. San Francisco offers subtle humour, and doesn't take itself entirely seriously – feeding a Starsky and Hutch vibe behind the wheel. My only quarrel with the game is the fact that it doesn't offer a day/night cycle – with it being set in an open world city and all, that would have made sense – it's not the end of the world, however a nocturnal cityscape of San Francisco would look visually stunning, just saying. 

8.5 out of 10