Holy smokes, the iDroid is real! OK, well it’s real in the sense that Hideo Kojima actually had a case designed to it’s exact likeness from MGSV: Ground Zeroes.
Kojima partnered up with toy company Sentinel Co Ltd in Japan to come up with this case, which as of now is made only for the iPhone. The case seems to surround the whole iPhone, which is powered by the phone itself.
The holographic light turns on, though sadly it’s not a real functioning holograph. Gimmicky, yes, but still pretty awesome. Apparently according to Hideo there will be more details tomorrow so I’ll keep you guys posted. Imagine cosplaying as Snake/Big Boss with this in your hand with the Ground Zeroes Companion App activated!
I got a Solid (pun always intended) chunk of time to play with the Playstation 4 this weekend. A good friend of mine who owns it also acquired MGSV: Ground Zeroes the same time I did. I finally really got a chance to dip into the missions through the eyes of the stellar console. And may I say, GOODNESS GRACIOUS! I’m already impressed by it’s visuals on my PS3, but to experience this game on next-gen muscle really is something else. If there are still those of you ladies and gents who haven’t yet played GZ, you’re doing yourselves a disservice. Merely watching gameplay videos aren’t enough by far. You’ll really need to PLAY to know what I mean.
As this video above illustrates, there is a distinct difference in the visual integrity of the game across all platforms. In my case I’ve played on both the Playstation variants. The game on my Slim is already a stunner but switching to the PS4 was just jaw dropping. The buttery smooth 60FPS frame rate made Snake feel that much more alive. The sharpness of everything was literally making my eyes tear up because I couldn’t stop drooling over everything.
As expected, Snake and company all looked and moved great. If there were any glaring things that stood out to be mentioned it would be the control scheme. Let me clear that up. The control scheme setup is exactly the same across both PS consoles except for the L1, L2, R1, and R2 triggers. Apparently, Kojima felt it necessary literally flip these buttons between consoles. No clue why. I got used to:
The PS4 version had:
L1 – RADIO
L2 – AIM
R1 – BINOS
R2 – SHOOT/ATTACK
These are default and also seem to be unmappable. I had to take more than a few moments to reacquaint myself with the controls, which hampered my gameplay. When I wanted to aim, Kaz would call me instead. When I’d want to perform a CQC takedown I’d zoom in on the guard instead. I suppose Kojima did this to take advantage of the new DS4 (Dualshock 4) controller and its new trigger buttons. Once I got the hang of it I started to appreciate the triggers a little more, but not before frustration set in. At times I’d get caught because I was taking too long to fudge the controls. Or, during one missions to take out a target, when I had a clear shot, I’d shoot with my BINOS instead of my damn gun, losing a perfect opportunity for a nice headshot. The same instances happened during another gameplay where I had to rescue Chico. I got busted in the prison camp so instead of “restarting from checkpoint” I decided to shoot Chico right between the eyes. If you guys thought that the Paz chopper sequence was disturbing, try what I did on purpose. Chico lets out this death scream that punctuates the look on his dead face. It was actually satisfying, more so because it wasn’t my game save I was playing off of. Tee hee.
To comment briefly on the hardware itself, while the PS4 is one powerful beast, I totally forgot that the MEDIA options weren’t there yet. I was trying to syphon through an external hard drive that I plugged in to watch some content only to be met with a few moments of confusion and the realization that, duh, there was no way to do so. Something that my PS3 had available at its first inception. But that’s for yet another article, which I may have already written about. It doesn’t matter yet since I won’t have a chance to even purchase one. Gives me time to wait for an eventual patch to add media power.
Back on topic, Ground Zeroes on the PS4 is pure excellence dipped in awesomeness. I actually enjoyed watching my buddies take turns playing as well. While I consider myself Intermediate at any MGS game, I am not by any means a professional. I still get busted and may have to kill a few enemies, which sucks for me as I always try to Stealth all missions. And GZ is a whole different animal. Getting spotted is easier and more frustrating. But that’s the challenge. My buddy who owns the PS4 is the same person who got me into the MGS franchise in the first place. So far out of all of us he’s the only one I know who scored a B RANK in one side op. My personal best is C RANK. I’ll have to try to change that soon.
[Calvin & Hobbes is one of the best comic strips to have come into existence in the latter part of the 20th century. This strip, created by the awesome Bill Watterson, ran for a decade, from November 18, 1985 to December 31, 1995. As a kid I discovered the first ever collection of strips in book form self titled Calvin & Hobbes in a local bookstore. As I glanced through the first few pages I became instantly hooked. It centers on a 6 year old boy Calvin, and his stuffed toy aka best friend come to imaginary life Hobbes, and their adventures about life. It’s a truly remarkable series that I’d like to share with you boys and girls. As that sharing goes, I’ll do my best to pepper in a strip as time goes on. Enjoy!]
[The Last Days of FOXHOUND is a fan made comic that I stumbled upon a few years ago while perusing the Internetz as an MGS fan. This strip, created by a fellow MGS fan named Chris Douchette, ran this comic from 2003-2008. I was lucky enough to run into all 500 completed pages and wanted to share them with all of you readers. I’ll try to reiterate each and every consecutive page as time goes on. Most of the humor stems from the going on throughout the MGS series, so those who aren’t too familiar may find themselves slightly lost. My solution: play the MGS games. You guys wouldn’t be here anyways if you haven’t at least played MGS1. Anywho, enjoy!]
This GECCO Statue of Raiden from MGR: Revengeance looks ridiculously awesome. It looks equally as badass as the Hot Toys 1/6 variant that was just announced a few weeks ago. What makes this statue even more badass is that Raiden is standing over a cyborg soldier that’s been CUT & TAKEN (ZANDATSU). He even holds the guts of the poor half man, half robot in hand. Cannot wait to see what the finished product will look like. Stay tuned for more things to come.
Do. My. Eyes. Deceive. Me…? According to a tweet by Hideo Kojima himself some days ago, he is actively looking for a studio to develop the original MSX games that started it all, for the FOX ENGINE! His post looks to find a team that will help bring Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake back to life for this new generation of MGS gamers. It’s rumored that both MSX games will be put together into a single game. Since each original game actually has an ending, the story will have to be retooled, as has been done with every previous MGS title. Seems legit.
I just wrote a blog 