Magazine Watching: Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Online to be sold in one package @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on December 14, 2007

News: Maybe... sorta... PlayStation: The Official Magazine 'confirms' it and then contradicts it.

Headlines are supposed to catch the eye and compel the reader to explore the rest of an article. I think it's a safe bet to say that the headline of the January 2008 issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine does just that as the cover of the issue loudly proclaims "MGS4 + Metal Gear Online = One Game".

Konami originally revealed that a "Starter Pack" for Metal Gear Online would come bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, while the full version of the game was released separately. But according to the preview of MGS4 in the magazine, it has been "confirmed" that full versions of the two games will be bundled together in one package.

But wait just one minute. In the very next paragraph the article continues "...MGO would support 16 players in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Team Sneak. We're expecting five maps in the Starter Pack that will provide the basic setup to get your MGS multiplayer fix moving..."

If that paragraph is confirmation of anything, it sounds like confirmation of the MGS4 and MGO Starter Pack that Konami revealed a while ago. The other possibility is that the five maps in the "Starter Pack" make up the full version on the disc with additional maps available online (presumably for a fee). Neither option is as appealing as a true "full version" of MGO being bundled with MGS4.

But whatever happens, PlayStation: The Official Magazine has also said that MGO will include plenty of character customization with three upgradeable skill slots per character. Metal Gear Online will also feature over 100 different weapons and "nanomachines" that enable skill sharing among teammates.

We'll have more on all things Metal Gear Solid soon.