Metal Gear Online

Metal Gear Online
Metal Gear Online boxart released only in Japan
Developer(s)	Kojima Productions
Publisher(s)	Konami
Series	Metal Gear
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release	June 12, 2008 Standalone
Genre(s)	Stealth-based game, Action
Mode(s)	Multiplayer online

Metal Gear Online, abbreviated MGO, is a PlayStation 3 exclusive online multiplayer spin-off of the Metal Gear video game series. Τhe Starter Pack of MGO is available worldwide bundled with regional versions of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, with a standalone release only for Japan. The name Metal Gear Online is common with earlier online components for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

As of March 31, 2009, Metal Gear Online has surpassed 1.3 million members worldwide.

Gameplay

MGO allows up to 16-players to engage in online tactical warfare. Players create a character by choosing their name, gender (only after purchasing the GENE Expansion), race and voice. Creating a new character requires the old to be deleted or an additional character slot to be purchased. A character's level, ranging from 0 to 22, and grade, ranging from Rookie to SS+, indicate battle progess. Level is affected by experience points gained or lost at the end of all Statistics enabled rounds, the amount of experience gained or lost is determined by the level of the defeated players, or the level of the other players that have defeated player one. If the player defeats players of much higher levels, their experience will increase exponentially, while defeating players near or below one's level will only give a moderate amount of experience, on the opposite side if a player is defeated by other players with higher levels, their experience will only slightly decrease, but if the player is defeated by players of a lower level their experience will decrease noticeably. Results as to how much experience was gained or lost at the end of each round and game in the form of plus (+) to minus (-) the highest one can achieve is two very bright pluses (++) and the lowest being two very bright minuses (--), minus meaning that the player has lost experience, and pluses meaning that the player has gained experience. However grade is only controlled by the results of Survival and Tournament rounds, and not by any of the other modes available such as Team Deathmatch of Freeforall. Statistics are recorded for each character, as well as a Title, Awards and Match history. Based on these weekly and long term statistics, characters receive Animal Titles that denote their in-game behavior. For instance, frequently injecting enemies with the Scanning Plug (colloquially known as 'stinging') will lead to the Bee rank, while using ENVG (Enhanced Night Vision Goggles) for a specific share of weekly play time grants the Night Owl rank. An inner rank hierarchy chooses which one of the acquired ranks will be active.

Characters can enhance their abilities by equipping skills, register skill sets and load them automatically or manually before a match's start. Skills range from the straight-forward, like Assault Rifle+ that decreases reload time and recoil, to more complex, like Mοnomania which essentially turns bullets into short-term tracking devices. Equipped skills level up when pertinent actions are performed by, or at, the character. Depending on their level, skills occupy from 1 to the maximum of 4 available skill slots.

Clans, mutually exclusive groups of up to 64 characters, are also supported, uniting members under the clan name, emblem and reputation. The clan's leader chooses its emblem, decides over the inclusion of clan applicants, and needs to be at least level 3, with over 20 hours online play.

Players can enter Training lobbies and practice the game's controls against training dolls or receive instruction from other players. Players who graduate from an instructor course and have at least 20 hours of play can gain the Instructor skill.

Starting from May 27, 2009, 12 players per region are randomly selected as Patriots for a week. Their rank emblem is replaced with an indicator of their Patriot status, and they can select (except in Stealth Deathmatch and Team Sneaking missions) the Patriot hand rifle as their primary weapon, with infinite ammo and no reloading.

Rules of play

MGO provides several gameplay rules, fitting to both team based and solitary fighting styles.

Deathmatch pits players against each other, competing for the highest score until the ever decreasing kill counter or time reach zero. The player with the highest score is visible to others through SOP.

Stealth Deathmatch also pits players against each other, geared with stealth camo. A three level alarm informs players of enemy proximity. Eventually, the game area begins to constrict, leaving all outside it to suffer damage. There is no respawning, so the battle continues until one player is left alive, or until time runs out. Players receive extra points for surviving another's death.

Team Deathmatch groups players into two teams, with each death decreasing the team's remaining tickets. The team to first deplete the other's tickets, or with more tickets when time runs out is the winner.

Capture Mission has teams racing to capture and hold within their goal area assigned targets, KEROTAN and GA-KO, for a cumulative period of 30 seconds. With both items in one team's goal area, the timer runs twice as fast, whereas if they are divided among goal areas, the timer is reset for both teams. An extra time option can be enabled, which disables winning by time.

Solo Capture Mission leaves each character to fend for themselves, while also trying to keep KEROTAN in their possession for a cumulative period of 60 seconds. The character who has hold of KEROTAN is visible to others through SOP.

Rescue Mission premises the attacking team acquire GA-KO and place it in their goal area or at least hold onto it when time reaches zero, while the other team defends. As there is no respawing in this mode, a team also wins by killing all the enemy team's members.

Base Mission is structured around capturing and defending small areas scattered across the map. A team wins by seizing all bases, or by having captured more bases than the enemy team when time runs out. Bases are captured by remaining within them for a period of time, and become spawn points for the capturing team. Contested bases can not be used as spawn points.

Bomb mission asks of the attacking team to plant a time bomb on a designated area and ensure it detonates within a time limit. A limited cache of time bombs are scattered across the map, and only one can be held at a time. The defending team wins by averting detonation, or by nullifying all bombs. A planted bomb is removed when sprayed with coolant, while a dropped bomb is destroyed if it doesn't get picked up again in a set amount of time.

Race Mission has each of two teams competing to deliver its target to a series of checkpoints. The Red Team's target is GA-KO, while the Blue Team's is KEROTAN. The target's position is reset, and the team's checkpoint changes if a target is dropped and not picked up within the allowed time limit.

Team Sneaking demands from the attacking team, equipped with stealth camo, to bring either KEROTAN or GA-KO to their goal area, while the other team defends the items. Another win condition is to kill, stun, and (only for the attacking team) hold up all enemy team members. Whenever a stealth soldier is discovered, all stealth camo is temporarily rendered non operational. Drebin Points do not apply to this type of mission.

Sneaking Mission features two opposing teams, Snake, and with at least 12 participants, Metal Gear Mk II. Snake wins by collecting, through body searches, three dogtags, with each life lost resetting the count to zero. Teams claim victory by killing Snake a set amount of times, or by having scored more opposing team kills when time runs out. Drebin Points do not apply to this type of mission.

Interval allows players to engage in battle with no repercussion to their statistics or skill leveling. A time bomb can be collected and passed around players to liven up the pace. Weapons and attachments do not cost Drebin Points.

Non standard settings, that influence the battle's dynamic, are optional within some gameplay rules. Under the eponymous setting, players gain "Drebin Points" for actions such as kills and headshots, and can redeem them for advanced weapons, attachments and ammunition at their base or at respawn. Biding by "Headshots only", kills that aren't achieved through headshots cost the player their life and a time penalty before respawn, while in "Headshots Disabled" lobbies, a headshot's damage is reduced to that of other body parts.

SOP system

The SOP system, as within MGS4, is a nanomachine based network which ensures linked members share vital information. This data consists of speech, the location (even behind walls) of characters, traps and aiming lines, changes in battle capacity (stun, sleep, death, distracted) and Snake's location when he's discovered. Characters gather information through combat, Scanning Plug injections, which hack into an enemy's SOP data pool, and SOP augmenting skills and weapons. A temporary SOP cease fire is optionally enforced upon injuring a team-mate.

Stealth

A character's presence and movement in the battlefield are accompanied by visual and aural signs. The body and equipment's visual presence, shadows, gunfire, footsteps, frozen breath and upset dust or snow from movement are the sum of these indicators. Suppressing these signs while attacking and diagnosing them while defending are equally contributing factors to success. As such, any surface that obscures the field of vision, be it a wall, car or even cardboard box, can serve as a hiding spot and set up to an ambush. Playing dead suppresses breathing and can trick careless foes, with the downside of vulnerability. As a countermeasure, wary combatants approach corners carefully, inspect unconvincing cardboard boxes and check suspicious bodies.

Stealth camouflage, available in Team Sneaking missions and Stealth Deathmatch, renders its user's body transparent, but leaves equipped gear visible. Snake's Octocamo and Facecamo, on the other hand, render him, including his equipment, invisible even to ENVG users, when fully capitalized. Neither technology prevents shadows, while both produce a distinct sound upon activation and deactivation.

CQC

CQC in-game action

Close Quarters Combat is a military technique that consists of throws and holds, and as such requires physical proximity to the target. It is used to incapacitate an enemy bare-handed, or to use weapons for a tactical, rather than lethal, advantage. Weapons that support CQC are marked as such in their item box. All characters can wield basic forms of CQC, such as the three-hit combo, the take-down throw, or the CQC push, with a two-handed gun. As CQC is strictly a one vs one technique, lone soldiers tend to avoid it when outnumbered.

CQC enhancing skills increase stamina damage (from bare hand fighting and take-downs) and the speed of CQC actions. They also enable the choke-hold, which opens tactical options. With the target immobilized, the assailant can deplete the target's stamina, resulting in a knock out, force the enemy to the ground, or even release the enemy if it is time to flee. Further actions become available by equipping weapons or skills, like planting C4 or a Sleeping Gas Satchel on the victim, throwing a grenade, using the foe as a human shield and firing at an impending threat (when armed with a handgun), slitting the enemy's throat (with Blades+3 CQC lvl 1 in use) or injecting a Scanning plug (only with it equipped). At CQC+ Lvl 3 a character can disarm the opponent through the choke-hold or the CQC push, while with the CQC EX skill players automatically counter CQC grabs (unless grabbed during a hold-up, from behind or from a player also with CQC EX).

Non-lethal Weapons

Typical effects of non-lethal weaponry include stamina depletion, target immobilization and information manipulation. Support items are the most diverse in realizing these goals. Stun grenades, for instance, deplete the stamina of nearby opponents, but also cause temporary blindness and deafness to targets up to medium distance. Other examples include proximity and trigger activated sleeping mines, e-locators that disclose the position of close-by targets, chaff grenades to both limit visibility and temporarily obscure the SOP radar, and magazines that occupy a target, rendering them immobile. Non lethal fire-arms consist of the Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle, the Ruger Mk. 2 tranquilizer pistol, the VSS sniper rifle equipped with anesthetic rounds, and any shotgun equipped with Vortex Ring ammo. Headshots from the Mosin-Nagant, VSS, and Ruger Mk. 2 tranquilize instantly, irrespective of target distance. Stunned characters can be body searched for their primary weapon and support items, killed by the enemy to grant even more Drebin Points, or woken up to return to battle. Stunning offers many advantages to simply killing the enemy. A stunned enemy will typically take significantly longer to awake then he would to respawn after being killed, and he does not gain the advantage of having his health and ammo supply regenerated as would happen upon respawning. In addition, his teammates will oftentimes divert manpower to attempt to rescue the knocked out player, giving the other team an advantage.

The most formidable non lethal weapon is the SOP destabilizer, only available in Base missions. By temporarily suppressing the nanomachines regulating enemies' behavior, the SOP destabilizer renders all alive enemy team members immobile. The attacking team can then overtake bases without competition while stunning or killing helpless foes. Its main drawbacks are that it leaves the bearer without a primary weapon, and requires a trip from his team's base to the enemy's.

Content per pack

Beyond the initial content available with the Startup pack, new features, such as characters and maps, are added through expansion packs. These can be purchased via the PSN wallet through the MGO Shop (PlayStationNetwork) menu item, or via credit card (for which further regional restrictions apply) on MGO or Konami's shop. Konami plans to release expansion packs periodically.

Some of the maps are remakes of areas in the MGS universe. MGS3 featured Groznyj Grad while MGS3: Subsistence's MGO featured City Under Siege and Brown Town, reinterpreted as Urban Ultimatum and Coppertown Conflict, respectively. MGS: Portable Ops included Silo entrance, which became Silo Sunset, and locations in MGS4 spurred Midtown Maelstrom, Virtuous Vista and Icebound Inferno. Forest Firefight and Ravaged Riverfront are also loosely based on the forest area in MGS3 and the Eastern Europe area in MGS4.

Startup Pack

The Startup Pack includes 5 maps, namely Ambush Alley, Blood Bath, Groznyj Grad, Midtown Maelstrom, and Urban Ultimatum. It also allows players to assume the role of characters from MGS4's plotline, bearing fixed skill-sets beyond the numerical limitations of ordinary soldiers'. The Startup pack offers two playable special characters, available in Sneaking missions:

Solid Snake, the Legendary Hero, is equipped with CQC EX (Which Knocks out the enemy Instantly) and a diverse armament of lethal and non-lethal weapons. Apart from his FaceCamo and OctoCamo, the Threat Ring indicates the location of nearby characters. The Solid Eye provides a visualization of the same data through the Baseline Map, identifies items and can switch to Night Vision or Binocular mode. He shouts out Liquids' name when he engages in combat with him. He is the only character in MGO with pro skills.

Metal Gear Mk. II, the Invisible Buddy, can back up Snake on the field. It is equipped with stealth camo and can display a magazine on his chest to captivate the interest of nearby characters. He can also use his lazers to electroshock enemies, collect and deliver dogtags to Snake, disarm mechanical traps and knock on walls. He will be temporarily low on batteries if his life gauge is depleted by enemy fire.

GENE Expansion

The GENE expansion pack was released on July 17, 2008. The Plus version, with an additional character slot was discontinued in Japan on November 18, 2008. Players who install the expansion can create female characters and enter the GENE specific Survival lobby. They can also compete in three new maps, Virtuous Vista, Coppertown Conflict, and Tomb of Tubes and enter battle as two special characters:

• Johnny (Akiba), a Trap Otaku, can see all traps on the field, and disarm mechanical traps into items. Three consecutive kills stir up his chronic incontinence, resulting in a comical cloud of foul smell that can preoccupy foes and allies. When injuring a teammate, he leaves himself vulnerable while making excuses. Johnny can't use any form of CQC but the 3 hit combo, and he has no SOP enabling nanomachines. His unique weapons include the XM8 Compact and the M82A2 Sniper Rifle, which kills with 1 shot from any range.

• Meryl, the Fiery Leader, allows nearby allies to recuperate stamina faster when saluting near them. She has CQC+ Level 2, accompanied by a slew of level 3 skills, including Monomania, Narc, Scanner, Quick Recovery, and Handgun+. Her special weapon is a scope-equipped Desert Eagle Long Barrel. With the Desert Eagle handgun, the ammo from the scope and non-scope desert eagle is pooled together. Meryl can fire both guns without reload. Both Meryl and Johnny cry out when their other half is killed in combat.

MEME Expansion

The MEME expansion pack was released on November 25, 2008. The GENE expansion is a prerequisite to installing MEME, and a combo pack is also available. Players who install the expansion can compete in MEME Survival lobbies and purchase MEME specific camouflage gear. They can also experience three more maps, namely Silo Sunset, Forest Firefight, and Winter Warehouse and engage in combat as two special characters:

• Mei Ling, the Remote Captain, can command the USS Missouri to cannon strike any location within visible range. Her true skills are as a recon soldier, since her Soliton Sonar radar reveals the position of close-by enemies (through SOP). Mei Ling can't use CQC, other than the 3 hit combo, but is equipped with the Scanner EX skill. Her salute entrances all soldiers in a small area.

• Liquid Ocelot, Guns of the Patriots, can use the namesake weapon to temporarily effect upon enemies an SOP safety lock, or a seizure, by disabling the nanomachines controlling their behavior. Much like Snake, he is equipped with CQC EX, while his three-hit combo can end in either a strong punch or a headbutt. He can shock his opponent with the Stun Knife during a choke hold, instantly knocking out the opponent. The Thor .45-70 handgun, his unique weapon, requires reload after every bullet fired but deals lethal damage within medium range. He shouts out his nemesis' name when he spots Snake and exclaims the phrase 'You're pretty good!' when shot in the head. If Liquid is killed and does not respawn when the time runs out in any mode that allows respawns, he resets the match's timer, which can change the outcome of the game, but can be done only once in a game.

SCENE Expansion

The SCENE expansion pack was released on March 17, 2009. The MEME expansion is a prerequisite to installing SCENE, and bundle packs with older expansions are available. After purchasing the expansion, players can compete in Tournaments, wear SCENE specific camo gear, fight in Outer Outlet, Hazard House, Ravaged Riverfront and Icebound Inferno. Old Snake can now be used in any game type that has Special Characters enabled, or the player can select from two new special characters:

• Raiden, the White-blooded Scout, can fall from any height without damage and jump on ledges that would normally require a boost, and has no nanomachines. He handles a High Frequency Blade, operable in lethal and non-lethal mode, which allows him to deflect frontal attacks. His other unique weapons are the Mk.23 pistol and the Throwing Knife. When his Visor is closed, he can see all traps in the map. Instead of the usual CQC three-hit combo, he will instead start a spin kick which will continue as long as the user keeps tapping R1. When pressing the jump back button, Raiden, will do backwards handstands instead of jumping backwards (Raiden can get shot during these back handstands). He is also equipped with CQC 2 and a throat-slitting ability, along with a running ability higher than runner 3.

• Vamp, the Undead Blade, can fall from any height without damage and jump on ledges that would normally require a boost. He is an expert at using the Combat Knife and Throwing Knives. On his normal R1 CQC Combo, his third attack is replaced to an axe kick. Pressing the side roll button will make Vamp move swiftly to the right/left (depending on which way you are making him move) which avoids all bullets. Pressing the jump back button, will make Vamp swiftly move backwards, however, this move does not avoid bullets. Upon dying, he is resurrected on the spot after a few seconds. His Throwing Knives home in on an enemies chest if locked on with Auto Aim. He is also equipped with CQC 2 and a throat-slitting ability, along with a running ability higher than runner 3.

Reward Points and Customization

Players are free to edit their character's appearance. Gaining an Animal Title grants the character its corresponding T-shirt. Additional clothing, camouflage and color customizations are available in the Reward shop via Reward points, a form of in-game currency. Armor and other clothing bought in the Reward Shop will have no affect on how your character takes damage in the game.

Survival matches grant combatants Reward points based on their win streak of matches, not individual rounds. These matches are open to all players, and players who have installed an expansion are granted entrance to the corresponding Survival lobbies.

Tournament matches, only open to players with the SCENE expansion, MEME expansion and GENE expansion, and allot reward points based on each team's final standing, while also granting the ultimate winners gear not available in the Reward shop.

Both Survival and Tournament matches are held at times predefined by Konami, and follow specific rules.

Logging a character in grants 50 reward points per day (100 on Wednesdays), while completing a round, or winning a match, in an Automatching lobby offers 20 or more reward points respectively.

Game exploitation

Multiple ways to exploit the systems game mechanics have been well known since circa 2009/2010 due to the overwhelming prevalence of home made equipment and computer software to cheat - such as lag switches - which gave players an unfair advantage over others. Konami has noted in the past that they were aware of the situation.

Other information

Metal Gear Online is region locked, meaning that players must be in the same video game publication territory to play together. Region restriction reduces lag, yet can be disadvantageous for the Region 1 & Region 3 designated American-Asian players.

Konami requires the bearer of the PSN account linked to MGO be over 18 years old. Sony Customer Services can be contacted to lift this restriction in regions where MGS4 has lower age requirements.

An online beta test was available in Japan, Europe and North America. 3,000 players were allowed into the Japanese beta test from August 20 to September 3, 2007. The beta test for North America (serial key only) and Europe (no restrictions) lasted from April 25 to May 11, 2008.

Konami organizes regional and worldwide competitions periodically. Notable examples include the MGO World Championship 2008 and the MGO Anniversary Tournament.

External links

• Metal Gear Online official website