Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes to Feature Full Co-op?

Looking at some of the ideas coming out of the brief (and so far very secret) Metal Gear footage, it seems clear to us that Ground Zeroes is going to be something pretty different to previous titles in the series. Talk of an open world setting is a long way from what’s gone before, and the vast expanse of a military base – and the use of jeeps and helicopters to get around – does lean more towards a less strict and structured set of missions.

That said, there’s still the traditional sneaking around that makes MGS games what they are, although with the main character seemingly being much younger and more agile than the ageing Solid Snake the movements will probably go back to earlier games in the series.

Or will they? Those who have played Peace Walker might have enjoyed the co-op options that were available, letting multiple players play through missions as a small team instead of taking things on by themselves. It seems odd that the developers would take the time to not only get that working on the PSP, but then also convert the system to work in the PS3’s HD conversion. So the technology is already there, and worked pretty well.

So let me put something to you. Imagine playing through Ground Zeroes with a friend. One of you controlling Snake without the acrobatic movements but more savvy in terms of sneaking and using fancy tech, and the other using this (still not confirmed) younger, more agile but potentially less experienced guy. Combining different skills would give a far more complex and interesting approach to many typical Metal Gear scenarios, and with so many games turning to co-op as a way to involve a wider audience it certainly seems like a natural next step for the MGS series.

It’s worth pointing out that we’re putting 2 and 2 together here, and the odds are we’re coming up with 7.4 but there’s definitely a case for the argument. With Kojima seemingly keen to do something new, and with the technology already being there from Peace Walker, I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point in the near future we learnt about plans for a full co-op campaign option.

What do you reckon? Is this likely to take hold and actually happen, or are we just clutching at straws in a vain hope of being able to play through Ground Zeroes with some company?

9 Comments

  1. Can you please point out your own speculation when you are making speculations.

    The new Metal Gear is using a brand new engine (Fox Engine) with a more open world. There is NO MENTION of CoOp, and considering the game engine is moving to an open world sandbox it is likely there will not be the resources available to have a 2nd player around.

    This is very wishful thinking on your part due to a lack of understanding about the technology. Please point that out, you shouldn’t be giving people the impression that since a PSP Metal Gear game has CoOP than all Metal Gear games in the future will.

    I certainly hope it will have CoOp, but considering they didn’t tease that at all I am not going to hold out much hope for that feature.

    • I think it’s fairly clear that the idea of co-op is one we’ve come up with, at no point have we suggested we know any special secret, nor are we assuming that what we’ve written is going to happen. Just that it’s been done before, so might happen again. Whether or not we understand the technology doesn’t come into it.

      And yes, it is definitely wishful thinking – the last couple of paragraphs pretty much spell that out.

    • Actually.. Being open world, wouldn’t that make it a slightly larger chance of having coop? Most open world games now a days have drop in drop out coop.. And with the helicopters, if someone joined in, they could just be dropped from a helicopter.

      I’d love it so freaking much if there were, peace walker is really awesome in that regard, and because they say you’ll have the weapon creation system like peace walker it makes me wonder if it’ll have Mother Base as a primary point still.. And if that happens, we might even be able to have the rookies join us like in Peace Walker.. Hence Co Op.. That’d be the coolest. Ever. But, this is wishful thinking and even if there isn’t.. This game is still going to be completely amazing.

  2. I want nothing to do with Co Op in an MGS game. The tension in the games of staying stealthy etc are part of what i want, i don’t want to be half way though a mission and hit an alert phase or fail the mission because of a second party. Seems like a quick way to lose a friend or two. lol

  3. There’s always that smart guy wanting to rain on your parade. If he actually considered the gaming market right now, and how almost every game currently released copies Call of Duty, it’s safe to assume that Ground Zeroes will have some form of online play. Good article.

  4. I’ll jizz in my pants if it does have full co-op. I love mgs and peace walker was so much more enjoyable playing with a friend. Tactical coordination and teamwork made it feel far more like part a big picture. GZ will score 11 out of 10 if it has co-op

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