Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes 2 Hours Complete

A few years ago, Metal Gear fans had no idea what the future for their beloved franchise held, as series creator Hideo Kojima threw talk of abandoning his franchise out into the ether. As it turns out, however, Kojima is not only still very much invested in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, he actually has two titles slated for release in the foreseeable future.

The first of those two games is Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, which will serve a prologue of sorts to the next numbered MGS title, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. However, while gamers had heard that Ground Zeroes would be a prologue, it apparently will be more like an appetizer. Allow us to explain.

According to Game Informer, who went hands-on with Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes for their March cover story, the title only takes about 2 hours to complete. That's without factoring in side quests, collectibles, or other ancillary tasks, mind you, but as far as mainlining the campaign that won't take very long at all.

This may come as somewhat of a surprise to gamers, who assumed that Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain were two separate "full length" experiences. Kojima did say that Ground Zeroes would be "hundreds of times shorter" than Phantom Pain, we just didn't expect it would be that short.

Luckily, Konami has priced Ground Zeroes accordingly - $30 for current-gen and $40 for next-gen ($10 off for digital versions). Still, that's quite a price tag for what some might consider a very bare experience. Games like Metal Gear Solid, which feature top notch graphics and film caliber voice acting, obviously don't come cheap as far as developer costs are concerned, but the value proposition is always on gamers' minds.

Since we haven't gone hands-on with Ground Zeroes ourselves we can't say whether the 2-hour completion time feels like a good value or if it feels like a slight. There are plenty of "short" games that we would gladly pay full price for, but we only come to that conclusion after completion.

Nevertheless, this is a franchise with a rabid fan base of gamers who will likely pick up the title without a second thought, especially if they plan on picking up Phantom Pain. And maybe Konami announces some sort of package deal with Metal Gear Solid 5 for those gamers who do hold off. We will have to wait and see. For now, the price tag is set and the length is out there.

Are you disappointed to learn Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is so short? Will that affect your picking up the game?

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes releases March 18, 2014 for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 36, and Xbox One.

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Source: Game Informer