Belated News Update

For those who don't know, Random Ninja Attack has been removed from Blip TV effectively canceling the show. All of the episodes are currently unavailable to view on this Blog. I hope to eventually get them reposted either via YouTube or some other video server. It is not the end, however. The YouTube channel is still up and active, and our writers are working on more episodes, we just will no longer be available with Blip. For the time being, you can view most of the episodes on our YouTube channel @therandomninja5. 

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

After years of waiting fans finally get their hands on MGSV - sort of. Ground Zeroes is a prologue to the main game titled The Phantom Pain and is a separate game serving as both a demo and a plot set up. It gives players a taste of what MGSV will have in store for them. While the prologue does not contain the much touted dinamic time and weather change, it does off a wide open space to conduct Snake(aka BigBoss)'s operation. Only one map is available in Ground Zeroes: a Marine Base on a Cuban island where some of his comrades are being held prisoner. 

The plot for this story mission is straight forward, but the players' options are unlimited toward how they approach the objectives. Right from the start there is freedom to roam the entire base. Exploring is rewarded with secondary goals like other escaped prisoners and hidden items such as tape recordings which can be listened to in game and from the main menu. The controls are an improved form of the MGS4 and Peace Walker ones which have included ways to make a quick escape such as diving, sprinting, and jumping. Interrogation is back which can gain you important intel about your surroundings, where hidden caches of weapons are located, or where secondary objectives can be found. 

Players once again have freedom to choose between lethal and non-lethal methods to eliminated their enemies, but knocked out sentries can be roused. So choose wisely. Driving vehicles is another big addition to gameplay. Along with the open world, it should make for interesting tactical opportunities. 

New gadgets are at Snake's disposal as well. The iDroid replaces the once familiar Soloton Radar from previous titles, but rather than be a map in the corner it is brought up with a separate menu and displays tactical information such as known enemy locations, security cameras, armored vehicles, etcetera after Snake is made aware of them either by sight or interrogating a sentry. The binoculars are more useful than ever allowing Snake to "tag" enemies and objects of interest which can then be kept track of throughout the mission. Snake can also "sense" nearby enemies similarly to MGS4. A first aid spray has replaced the all too familiar ration and is accessed when Snake is severely injured. There is no health bar either which makes every tactical decision that more important. 

Upon completing the story mission, side missions are unlocked which still take place in the same base but at different times of the day to give players a taste of daylight sneaking. 

So far there is no word on whether the prologue will be included in V or remain separate. The Phantom Pain is yet to have a release date, but I'm sure that the taste from Ground Zeroes will only increase our appetite for the main course.