*Cue epic music*

Metal Gear Online is technically a standalone game, but the "Starter Pack" was automatically bundled with all retail versions of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots. There are currently three expansions- MEME, GENE, and SCENE- which add extra characters, codec messages (preset voice-overs that you use to communicate with your squadmates, comparable to Team Fortress 2 taunts.), and 3 maps each. They also enable the use of Special Characters: Special Characters are randomly given to players in SC-Enabled Lobbies during the beginning of a round.


Oh yeah.

There's a pretty high level of customization for your PMC soldier; you can select the face, hairdo, voice, skin color, clothing, and even gender with the MEME expansion, of your player character. But despite all of this uniqueness, there is still a heavy emphasis on cooperation and teamwork in the game's team-based matches.


Cover me, I'm eating a sandwich!

If you try to totally ignore your team, you will probably end up inadvertently shooting a teammate in the back, resulting in you being kicked from the server. Or, alternatively, you will get swarmed by 8 enemies who are actually staying in a squad like smart people instead of being lone guns. Speaking of shooting teammates in the back, don't. Not only does it irritate them, it also causes an automatic SOP lock.


OW SUNNVABIT-

SOP is one of the things that really sets MGO apart from other squad-based shooters. It's a fictional system in MGS4 that's essentially a soldier-to-soldier network run and managed by nanomachines. You will be able to see teammates through walls, track enemies that have been spotted and damaged, alert your friends to hidden traps or ambushes, and so on. Another one of the things that sets apart MGO is the CQC, or Close Quarters Combat. Hand to hand combat in other games is typically either a weak punch attack or a stab with a knife, but in MGO, you get down and dirty with supporting attacks that tie in with your weapons and abilities.


Sneaky noob.

CQC is controlled by an intuitive system in MGS4 that's simple to remember and context-sensitive. Tapping R1 rapidly is your basic Punch-Punch-Kick combo; slow, but useful for attacking people trying to dodge attacks by crawling on the ground. Holding R1 while standing still initiates a CQC Grab, from which point you can either cut your enemy's throat (provided you have a high enough Blade skill), disarm them, knock them out with a chokehold, or throw them on the ground and hold them up from behind for weapons and ammo. Holding R1 while running initiates the CQC Ground Throw, a powerful stunning attack which can instantly KO enemies if your CQC skill is high enough. CQC can also be used with weapons for gun butts, disarms, throws, and you can even grab an enemy when using a single-handed weapon to use as a human shield. Just initiate the CQC Grab and hold L1 (aiming button) to pick off their friends. Speaking of getting knocked out, and speaking of skills, these are yet two more features in MGO. The former is that you can be knocked out or put to sleep by players- this can give them more points if they KO you before killing you, or it can incapacitate you while preventing you from respawning. Its quite a useful tactic, but be wary of being KO'd- sometimes, your brave team will divert manpower to revive you, which can be epic but also end in disaster.


Get ♥♥♥♥ up!

Skills are the Perks of MGO. They range from the straightforward, like the Weapons+ series (Assault Rifle+, SMG+, Shotgun+, etc) which increase damage while reducing recoil and reload time, to the tricky, like Monomania which essentially turns your bullets into tracking devices that show you where injured enemies are going even with SOP disabled. You have everything from the supporting skills, like Runner which increases movement speed, to the offensive skills, like Blades which increases your knife attack speed, damage, and technique range.

Also notable in MGO is the sheer randomness of the whole affair that Konami and the Metal Gear series is pretty famous for. From the Playboys and alluring dances you can use to distract enemies...



...to the giant catapults that you can use to get around the map...



...to the giant gator cap and afros that you can buy at the Reward Shop...



MGO is full of injokes and randomness that spice up the gameplay and level out the general seriousness of the series with some lighthearted fun.



-Summarized Features-
12 Game Modes
15 Maps
Special Characters
High Customization Level
Varied Weapons
Fun