So by now you probably know your way around Blood Bath and Gronznyj Grad like the back of your hand and you're starting to want more from your Metal Gear Onlineexperience. The European beta has now been updated with a third map and a new gameplay mode. The new map, Midtown Maelstrom, is a medium size level set on the street of a war-stricken town. Hence the name.
As for the new gameplay mode, we expect the Sneaking Mission to be incredibly popular for the sole reason that Snake is a playable character. One player takes on his role, complete with OctoCamo, Solid Eye and other handy items (how does he carry so much stuff while sneaking around?). The aim is to move silently around the map trying to collect dog tags by defeating other players. If more than ten people are playing then another player takes the role of Metal Gear Mk II in order to help out Snake. Meanwhile two teams battle it out as usual.
So far we're loving the beta and an entire new map and game mode just three days in makes us go all a-tingle. This content should arrive for America after the maintenance work on the servers which will be occurring later.
The Metal Gear Online beta is now fully operational. Another (thankfully, smaller) update has been released which will need to be downloaded first. Once done you will be able to play -- as long as you can connect to the server. Obviously they're being hammered right now, so it make take a few tries to get on. Didn't take us more than three attempts, so persevere. Once in, you can create a character and start your training before heading into a proper online game. Be sure to let us know what you think. Enjoy!
The most frustrating thing about the Metal Gear Online beta hasn't been the broken beta keys, the huge patch and client download or even the delay. It's trying to get a Konami ID from a website that simply refuses to work. Thankfully, that's in the past. Konami has retooled the ID registration website to be much more streamline and, as a result, much faster for all involved.
So if you haven't managed to get your hands on a Konami ID, now's your chance. Make sure you get one before Friday the 25th so that you can jump straight in once the beta begins. So long as it doesn't get delayed again, that is.
PS3 Fanboy attended New York Comic Con this weekend and got the chance to play several upcoming games, including Metal Gear Online. Konami's booth hosted the game with four-on-four action on the "Blood Bath" map. Andrew, two friends, and myself took on four other gamers excited to play MGO.
The first thing we saw before hitting the battle map was the weapons screen. Here, you need to choose one riffle type weapon, a sidearm, and grenades. There's a good selection of weapons within each category; however, it's still unclear whether all 70 plus weapons promised in MGS4 will make their way into MGO. Once we finally hit the battleground, we proceeded out in a unified team formation. Playing around with the controls, we noticed that MGO was pretty much a standard shooter experience -- which is a good thing as it felt very natural.
Brandon Laurino of Konami Online has written another post on the PlayStation.Blog to address a number of questions people have had about the Metal Gear Online beta. The most pressing query being about a number of Metal Gear Online beta keys missing digits and, therefore, being unusable. People who are affected by this are advised to contact Konami Support, making sure to include your broken code and a return email address.
Laurino continues to answer more questions from users. While he does so we find out that Konami representatives will be participating in the beta themselves and that we should "stay tuned" for more info. This is also the case if you are after more details on the "gunmetal PS3" bundle which was announced last week. Funnily enough, though, no mention has been made of the fact that it is currently impossible to get a Konami ID from the website. The beta starts on Monday, so we're hoping that will be fixed before then. Otherwise Konami could have a lot of angry PS3 owners on their hands.
It appears that a few unfortunate PS3 owners have received invalid Metal Gear Online beta codes. While PSN redemption codes are usually 12 digits long, many are finding 9 digit codes instead. Attempts to use these abbreviated codes have been met with a frustrating error screen. Unless Konami rectifies this situation, these people will be unable to download or join the beta.
We've contacted Konami, but have yet heard back from them. For now, we can only advise affected readers to email Konami support at mgobetasupport AT konami.com. We'll update this post when we find out more information.
[Thanks to everyone that sent this in! Image from Justin M.]
The second of this week's PSN Store updates is already up. While it's a little slimmer than the one earlier this week everything on the list below is worth grabbing. Especially as it's mostly all free. The only thing that isn't free is the Warhawk expansion, but we're sure you won't mind shelling out a few measly quid for that. Here's the full release list for today:
Grand Theft Auto 4 "Everyone's a rat" trailer (free)
Don't forget that while the MGO Beta client is available now, the servers won't be open for business until April 21st. In the meantime you can sign up for a Konami ID and make sure you're ready to start playing as soon as possible. We know the next four days are going to be going pretty slowly for you, so why don't you try out Operation Broken Mirror to take your mind off it?
Mondays are about to get a lot more interesting for fans of Metal Gear Solid. Every week new info will be posted on the PlayStation.Blog for anyone who wants to learn more about Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Online (we suspect that's a lot of you!) The first post details exactly what will take place during the Metal Gear Online beta that begins this month, including screenshots of the levels, weapon details and more.
The post also guides you through creating a Konami ID (previously a Japan-only affair, but now available worldwide) and setting yourself up to play the Metal Gear Online beta. The beta itself will take place between April 21st and May 5th (though it ends on May 6th for Europe) and you will require a beta key in order to take part (Europeans needn't worry about this - the beta is open for everyone in the region). As yet, there's no word on cross-region play, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.
SCEE has confirmed that the PSN Store redesign will be going live on April 15th. It has also been revealed that the European Store won't get updated until Thursday the 17th, but it should be worth the wait. A list of upcoming content was included in the press release, including the European Metal Gear Online beta. From the looks of things, it'll be an open beta for anyone who wants to take part, unlike in the US or Japan where beta keys were handed out with Metal Gear Solid 4 preorders. Here's what we can expect to see next Thursday:
Metal Gear Online Premiere Beta
Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror expansion
Lair "Diabolical Dragons" pack
Lair "Skyguard Upgrade" pack
"A collection of trailers including the latest for GTA IV"
Sega Superstar Tennis demo
Looks like that "special update" we were promised was pointing towards the MGO beta. Nice to see Europe not getting shafted in the end -- in fact, they get the best deal. A seemingly open beta. We're not sure whether the content listed above is exhaustive, but assume for now that it is. We'll let you know if we find out otherwise.
[Update]Konami has confirmed that the beta will be completely open and will last between April 21st and May 6th. After May 6th the beta client will be removed from the PSN Store.
According to Eurogamer, Konami has told them that a European Metal Gear Online beta will be announced "shortly." This is excellent news for Europeans, especially for the lot of you trying to sneak onto the Japanese beta sign-up but keep getting locked out. Naughty. In any case, you can stop the nail-biting anxiety now. Also, cancel that planned trip down to the pub -- the one you usually reserve for occasional grumblings on being left in the dark again.
While Euros await the chance to pounce on a sign-up, North Americans are sitting at home with paranoia for the past few weeks safeguarding their beta access codes from potential intruders. We're keeping it under lock and key, and behind a sawed-off shotgun. See, getting things early isn't always that much of a slick deal.
Posted Mar 27th 2008 8:00PM by Majed Athab Filed under: News
Over on the IGN boards, a forum poster uploaded pictures of the Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 DVD and stated that these pre-order bonus discs were ready for pick up. However, we gave several local Gamestops a call yet none of them have the discs up for grabs. Chances are your local Gamestop wouldn't have them either, so don't bother calling. For those who don't know what this DVD is, it's a documentary highlighting a part of Metal Gear Solid's history; it is only available to those who have pre-ordered Metal Gear Solid 4 from US retailer Gamestop.
The poster also revealed some information on the upcoming beta test for Metal Gear Online. According to a slip within the DVD case, the beta will be available for download on April 17 and will run from April 21 through May 5.
On a related note, teetering fans anxious to get their hands on the bonus DVD might want to double check Gamestop's website. They've been listing a scrumptious limited edition version of MGS4 for quite some time now. Better check that one out if you're a real hunter of all things collectible.
The public beta test for Metal Gear Online will be coming next month for those who pre-orderedMetal Gear Solid 4. In order to prepare all you MGS fans out there for the upcoming frag-fest, we suggest you have a look at these new screens, courtesy of Gamersyde. Things look like they're coming along smoothly, and the scores of English text only means we're getting closer and closer to those fateful beta days.
In the meantime, we suggest you start thinking of your special Metal Gear code name fast before someone else snatches it up. If you're having trouble finding the right name, we suggest you use this old friend of ours: Metal Gear name generator. This blogger's MGS code name is "Contageous Mandrill." Meh. What's yours?
Konami has issued a press release today which confirms the rumored report of Metal Gear Solid 4's June 12th release date. The latest issue of Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation also reports that June 12th will be the Japanese release date for the game. Hideo Kojima made a statement last year at Leipzig during which he said that he firmly intended on making Metal Gear Solid 4 a simultaneous worldwide release and that it is regrettable that Europe has to so often wait longer to receive games. Let's hope his plan comes to fruition and we can all, throughout the world, enjoy the game when June 12th rolls around.
The press release also confirms that Metal Gear Online will come bundled with MGS4 in the form of a "Starter Pack", but it's still unclear how this "Starter Pack" will differ from the full release. Those that pre-order the game will receive a bonus DVD entitled "Metal Gear Saga 2.0" which will contain a prologue recapping the entire series so far and a 20th Anniversary retrospective. Other features on the DVD include character profiles for all the main characters and trailers for the game. It's unclear whether any of this will be included with the European version, but we'll try and find out soon.
Does the above image look like it belongs somewhere else? Well, it sort of does to us; the background environment reminds us more of another Konami hit series, Silent Hill, than it does Metal Gear Solid. That is, of course, once you take out all the Russian soldiers.
Luckily, it's only this screenshot out of a batch that made us think so; the rest of the screenshots look mighty fine. Check out the rest of the new images at The Magic Box.
Set in what we can only assume is the same world as Metal Gear Solid 4, the new Metal Gear Online title is shaping up to be quite the sexy goddess of tactical espionage action we've been dying to see. What you can check out in this slew of new screenshots is that hiding in cardboard boxes is still pretty convenient to get the drop on your opponents -- there appear to be boxes sitting around everywhere. Still, shooting every box you come across is always going to be your best option.
If boxes aren't your cup of tea, how about narrow hallways? When you get tired of the mayhem of an open-field massacre, take your team and huddle around an open doorway leading into a hall and create a complicated ambush of unlimited fire. The possibilities are out there for this game to become one heck of a title, so we'll keep you as updated as possible on new images, game features, and maybe even someday, a release date.
