During an interview with IGN Hideo Kojima said, “You’ll be able to play the game wherever you want, on whatever you want,” when talking about Metal Gear Solid V.
What does this mean?
Recently the concept of the “mobile companion app” has been taking off in the gaming world. Games like The Division and Watch Dogs have made it very clear that this could enhance the gameplay in a meaningful way. The concept is sound; it allows several more dimensions to be mined out of a game – but things like this always worry me when muttered within the same sentence as some of my favorite games.
Kojima’s Schemes
In the past Hideo Kojima has said a lot of weird stuff while making games. There was once a time when he said that Metal Gear 4 was going to be a first-person-shooter à la COD or Battlefield. He even went as far as to make a trailer that started in first person just to troll people (which he’s done several times since). When making MGS3, I remember being genuinely concerned with the switch to camo-based stealth and the overbearing presence of largely outdoor gameplay. Obviously this resulted in one of the finest games ever made, and its arguably superior sequel (Peace Walker).
The concept is sound; it allows several more dimensions to be mined out of a game – but things like this always worry me when muttered within the same sentence as some of my favorite games.
But still, when Kojima pitches things like, “you can play anywhere you want,” I still get nervous. These things have worked in the past for Kojima – he’s always been able to push the limits of what could so easily be an obnoxious gimmick and make it an integral and fun part of the gameplay. Is he that much of a genius, or does his luck have to run out sooner or later? 25 years of innovation makes him long overdue.
Gameplay Application
When Kojima hints at plans of being able to play MGSV anywhere, what exactly does he mean? Does he mean it in the same way that Rockstar did when they released that stupid (that’s right, I said stupid) app for GTAV? Will it be some weird add-on that influences minor things within certain facets of gameplay?
I’d say not.
**We won’t be seeing anything like this on our iPhones.**
Rockstar was testing the waters of companion apps – Kojima has never tested waters. Even if he’s had a poor idea (Boktai anyone?) he’s jumped right in; for better or worse. I think as fans we can expect this app to be something much more than what Rockstar offered to us.
Given the limitations of mobile devices when compared to home consoles, it’s safe to say that we will not be able to run the full game on our phones. Chances are it would also be a truly terrible experience if that were the case. No – this will be something that will directly influence the outcome of the game, or Snake’s abilities within the game. I have three guesses.
*Outer Ops was fun and I’d love to see some more content like that.**
1. Outer Ops Style minigames: Take Starcraft, shrink it down, re-skin it to look like soldiers that could live on Outer Haven, jump into some light RTS or tower defense games to gain resources for the in-game. Similar to the Outer Ops missions in Portable Ops, this could serve to flesh out the story a little and provide some more insight into Big Boss and Tortured Snake.
**Memories guys. Memories.**
2. VR Missions: Anyone that has ever played a Metal Gear game knows what these are. Imagine some VR Missions that can be playable on your phone to unlock certain weapons and resources to utilize within the actual game. For my money this is the most likely aim for Kojima as it fits in with the series and they are nearly always well received.
**This is the “Mistake Duck.” Kojima rides this after stuff like Boktai 2 or the translation for the first ZoE.**
3. Too Much: This could be seriously bad. While I can’t imagine Kojima letting a mobile game really influence the outcome of the console story, I can say it would be a truly terrible decision to make it noticeably easier to complete a certain portion of the story by having the app. Not only would you alienate people without phones that may want the advantage, but you’ll also alienate people that hate mobile games in general. Don’t do it, man. Don’t do it.
I can’t think of any other realistic application for a mobile app in the wide world of MGSV – but maybe that’s why I’m not Hideo Kojima. Even though two of my three predictions are fairly sound, Kojima has been surprising people for longer than I’ve been capable of coherent speech. That being said; there’s always room for a Kojima troll and I sure love me some Kojima trolls.
What do you think the mobile tie-in for MGSV will be like? What are your hopes for the application? What are you hopes in real life? How does that make you feel?
Sound off in the comments down below and maybe I’ll “!” and “!” while you play MGSV!
