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After experimenting pretty unsuccessfully with the sniper rifle, we switched to a standard assault rifle and stun grenade combination. This worked much better. Stunning enemies works really well - provided you don't look at the explosion yourself (shtoopid), you'll be able to attack your opponent while they stare at a white screen. They can still move and shoot, they just won't be able to see - unless they picked goggles as a weapon option before the match.
You can also reselect your weapons every time you respawn, so you're not stuck with a duff choice for the whole game. Extra ammo and even armour can be found in the field, but you'll likely be shot before you run out. It'll be interesting to see how the best players approach the game - sneaking requires patience, but could it really make you invisible to human players? That would be the ultimate Metal Gear experience.
Above: Sneaking up on a sniper while he wonders where you areis so much fun
Possible down-points? Collision detection is iffy at present, especially when the server is lagging, making apparent hits pass through flesh without so much as a scratch. A smaller game fixed this problem for our demo and we're sure the finished servers will cope with the 16 player battles we tried, or more. Kickback on weapons in first-person makes it a bit too hard to aim, as the sight rises continuously, and the environments we saw lackedvariety. 'He's by the brown building' said one player, sarcastically. Sure, it's got personality, but the levels tend to be one main colour.
The bottom line, however, is that Metal Gear Online is a lot of fun. Without doubt one of the best gaming experiences we've had yet this year. Maybe it's not as responsive or in-your-face as Call of Duty 4, but it's an absolute blast with friends and the potential for clever play is huge. Apart from some placeholder text, it looks pretty finished to us, so the wait may not be as long as expected. It looks likely to arrive in both boxed and downloadable form. Either way, mark us down for a copy - we can't wait.
Above: Team communication through shortcuts works well. This one means"Go ahead! Release the game already!"
