Now with that being said, the game isn't without its faults. The game looks great in some parts and bad in others. The developers pretty much re-used all the the environmental assets from Metal Gear 5: The Phantom Pain. This can be a bit of a letdown considering how powerful the FOX Engine is; Konami could have really produced something visually striking but chose to play it safe. They still haven't addressed the weird pixelated effect that happens when light passes through object, it's funky to look at but it doesn't take away from the game completely. I know that Konami will eventually address this sometime in the future.

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The only other concern I have revolves around the hunger/thirst management. But before I get to that, let me make it clear that the hunger/thirst management should be a game-play mechanic used more often in games, especially if they want to call themselves a survival game. The hunger/thirst meters are a constant reminder of the risk you take venturing out for too long, especially if you are not well equipped. I have seen many threads of gamers complaining about the stamina being used while crouching and crawling. To that I say, well...it makes perfect sense. When we crawl we use stamina, when we crouch we use stamina, when we swing a bat we use stamina, so having a well implemented survival mechanic just makes every move you make count. You cant just go into a horde of wanderers and try to come out on the other side without a scratch (trust me I tried).

 

But it seems like my survivor has some sort of super-serum accelerated metabolism because the hunger/thirst meter depletes rather quickly. I constantly find myself pulling up the menus to feed myself. This can be rather cumbersome when I'm trying to make a quick getaway from a horde of those pesky wanderers only to be notified that I'm thirsty/hungry. This does make for a more strategic planning when it comes to venturing out on missions but I hope that Konami does address this. Maybe just slowing down the meter just a bit will make for a more balanced game-play experience. 

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I haven't had the chance to try out the Co-Op Salvage missions yet because I want to continue with the single player experience. I want to make sure that I have a complete understanding of the world before I jump online. For the meantime I'm just going to play and see how everything unfolds. I am going to be updating this article regularly with new content and experiences because I really do have hope that this game will evolve into something truly unique. Who knows? Maybe I'm just kidding myself and this is the best the game will ever be, but its too early to call right now. As of right now, the game in enjoyable but that is just strictly my opinion. I am a huge Metal Gear Fan and seeing Konami venture down this "non-canon" story arch gives me the chance to play some more Metal gear, even if it really isn't a true Metal Gear game. 

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Survival Update: 15 hours in (2.28.18)

 

I've managed to put in a good amount of time with Metal Gear Survive as a whole. I am roughly 15 hours in and managed to reach level 20, although I am still not sure what the level cap is. I've been mainly running around looking for resources to maintain my base camp which has reached a total of 7 survivors. At this point my base camp is starting to feel a bit cramped but there is an option of increasing the size, which comes roughly around Chapter 14. This is where I feel Metal Gear Survive really shines, in it's ability to make sure that your base camp is fully cared for. All your actions have consequences that may lead to an untimely demise of one of your survivors. I haven't lost anyone yet but that can surly change The more survivors you have, the more resources they require, and this is where striking a perfect balance is crucial to your survival. 

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There will be many times where you are faced with a choice: either take some grilled vulture on a resource run or leave it behind for your survivors? Do you take a survival bow for yourself? Or do you leave it for your exploration team? Thankfully there are enough side activities to get what you need to make sure your base camp is running at optimal capacity. This is why creating farms and water processing plants should be you're #1 priority, it serves as a constant source of food and water that your base can use. Whatever you decide to bring back from a resource run can serve as a bonus. Just make sure not to store too much food because it can go bad which can increase the likely-hood that one of your survivors can be poisoned. You see? There has to be a perfect balance.

 

It's that sense of attachment that really has me going all-in on Metal Gear Survives single player component. But if you really want to gain a good chunk of resources, participating in the Co-Op Salvage missions is where you want to go. As of right now there is only 1 Co-Op Salvage map available, Wrecked Base, but the amount of Kubon energy and resources you gain by completing these missions make it a far better option than trying to get the resources in single-player. Konami is set to release more modes and maps in the upcoming weeks so you can expect to see more info as it comes available. You can average anywhere from 20,000-35,000 worth of Kubon energy per match and you can gain a nice 40,000 if you play with a good team. There is an odd satisfaction in surviving an all out assault from a horde of enemies. Playing together as a team is crucial to the success of the salvage mission. This means strategically placing your defenses is just as important as making sure your hunger and thirst are at optimal levels. There's nothing worse than getting super thirsty while the final wave of enemies comes barreling down on your defenses. 
 

For now Metal Gear Survival is still a fun experience but not without its faults which I wont get into right now. I'm really focusing more on what Metal Gear Survive is getting right rather than what its not doing right. I can see that Konami is really focusing on setting up its player base for the end game content which is thin right now but its on the way. With this new content on the horizon, I'm really looking forward to try new and creative ways to gear up and survive. 

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Final Update: End-Game (3.28.18)

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Oh Konami, You sure know how to make things more complicated then they really are. I'm a bit torn on this one to be honest. First of all, let's face the facts, Metal Gear Survive was doomed from the start. Yet if you take a good look at my stats, a different story is told all together. I am well over 50+ hours invested into Metal Gear Survive but how can this be? How can a game that is not supposed to exist garner so much playtime? One word, and that word is loot, and this game has plenty of it. 

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But before we get into the loot system, I want to take this time and point out something that was clearly obvious. This game is a clear attempt to milk their most popular franchise for all it is worth, and I do mean FOR ALL IT IS WORTH! What adds insult to injury is that they made no attempt to hide it either. They could have at least acted like they were trying to remain faithful to one of the best, if not THE BEST franchise in gaming history. But no, they chose to go in the opposite direction implementing some of the most outrageous micro-transactions in modern gaming. I mean really, do you need to charge $10 for an extra save slot? 

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The best way they could have remedied this was to release Metal Gear Survive as a free to play game. Then, and only then would the micro-transactions have made any sense. Charging us $40 for the base game and then requiring us to dish out extra cash for adding additional Exploration teams is just plain wrong. Sure you can opt out of purchasing SV coins but when a game revolves around resources as its main game-play mechanic, micro-transactions just slow you down tremendously. Since its launch, Konami has been generous on supplying its community with SV coins as  part of their daily log-in rewards. I accrued roughly 1000 SV coins in just under 1 month (about 30 SV coins on average) but as of late Konami has been dialing back the amount of SV coins it gives out. So I am making sure that my SV coins will be put to good use. 

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Where the game really has potential is in its loot system. Everything revolves around collecting resources to create gear which then helps you collect more resources for stronger gear, your standard loot grind loop. You then take those resources and expand your base camp which you also have to defend from hordes of wanderers. It has a similar premise to Fortnite as far as base building is concerned but the grind loop is very much present in other games like Destiny, Tom Clancy's The Division and the Diablo series, just to name a few. So if you played any of those games then you know how Metal Gear Survive works.

 

And that's the thing, the loot grind system works in this game. There's always an objective to go to, there's always weapons/gear to obtain and there's an incentive to keep leveling up your base camp. Metal Gear Survive doesn't do anything different but it does enough to keep players coming back for more resources and that's important. It's the foundation for something bigger. Konami hasn't revealed it's long term plans for Metal Gear Survive but the endgame certainly feels like the game was designed with it in mind. Even if the micro-transactions are intended to slow down the process you still cant look past the fact that the game has potential. The end game still only has 2 modes (salvage and rescue) and I have a strange feeling that Konami will throw in their own version of battle royale. Although it would be nice to see other players (primarily friends) be given the option of defending my base when I am away. Please make it happen Konami!!!

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RATING:

I'm going to be honest. This was one of the toughest reviews that I had to write because the game does a lot wrong, but on the other hand the game does get a lot of things right. But I cannot, within good conscience, recommend purchasing this game to anyone because this game is certainly not for everyone. If you are familiar with the grind loop and are accepting of a mediocre story-line (at best), then go ahead and jump into the game. I'll even go as far as volunteering to help you in co-op salvage just so you can get enough resources to get going (just drop us a comment or an email). As it currently stands I can only recommend TRYING this game because it does have its moments but I'm worried that those good moments might not be enough to make Metal Gear Survive.

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What did you think of Metal Gear Survive? Are you grinding away for loot? Let us know in the comments below: 

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Also check out our quest to get base camp to level 3 or bust below:

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