Metal Gear Online First look

Having proven with Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence that it can take the Metal Gear series online with style, Kojima Productions is building on its previous success with Metal Gear Online for the PlayStation 3. The upcoming game was shown off at the recent 20th anniversary celebration, and expands on Subsistence's online experience by offering 16-player support, refined gameplay, and a strong team emphasis. Though the version shown was an early work in progress and there was no hint of a release date, the game showed a hefty amount of potential that has us excited to see how it shapes up.

The MGO demo showed off a six-on-six match between members of the development team. The battle took place in a large, weathered camp setting that offered plenty of places for players to hide or lay in wait. From the looks of the demo, the core gameplay sticks pretty close to what you'd expect out of an online Metal Gear, although a number of new additions make the action considerably more interesting.

The new SOP system--the meaning of which we're currently unsure of--is a neat, high-tech way to promote teamwork. Basically, SOP revolves around the nanomachines that are injected into all the soldiers on the battlefield. This links you to your teammates and lets you keep tabs on their location and physical condition. In addition, you're able to benefit from their discoveries on the battlefield. For example, if one of your team has spotted landmines on the field, you'll see their outlines on the ground when you approach them. This tech serves especially handily when you manage to hack an opponent's nanomachines and get all the info they have on their teammates, which you'll then share with yours.

We also saw some other, slightly less dramatic gameplay refinements that should nevertheless come in pretty handy. You'll now be able to stop yourself halfway up a ladder, which is useful for lobbing grenades over the top of a wall if you keep yourself just out of sight. Of course, you can also rely on old standbys such as cardboard boxes and nudie magazines (now in high-res) to help you deal with your enemies. The action seems pretty hectic, but the team element is going to require some strategy to make the most use of it.

The visuals in Metal Gear Online pop out, thanks to the game's use of the MGS4 engine. As such, there's a respectable amount of detail to be scrutinized, and, most importantly, a ton of little touches to complement the main action. We saw clouds of dust kicked up when bullets tore into the ground as gunfire began to focus on a player. Explosions and chunks of objects went flying nicely, obscuring the field of vision for players, which will allow you to maneuver in for kills. The battle took place in an environment that looked to be about the right size for 12 people to run around in. There seemed to be enough room to let a player run off and catch their breath, but not so much that they could just run and hide. The animation varied, given the game's early development status, but things were looking pretty good already.

Based on what we saw, Metal Gear Online is looking like an appealing new branch on the Metal Gear family tree. The gameplay, in terms of individual mechanics and team emphasis, seems like a good fit for an online game. Though a Japanese beta has been announced, there's no word on a US one at this time, although Konami reps stated they would very much like to have a wide beta that would include other territories. The same vagueness suits the game's release date, which is yet to be determined in Japan and the rest of the world. Look for more on Metal Gear Online later this fall from the Tokyo Game Show.