Dave Shapiro
United States
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
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Metal Gear Solid meets Black Ops
Prior to beginning the review I must state that I have never played any of the Metal Gear Solid video games. I have no understanding of the flavor written on the cards or who the characters are. This review is based solely on game play. Also - Please note that when I refer to Risk games in general, I am not including Risk: Balance of Power or Risk: Legacy as these are different from the typical multi-player versions of Risk.
Until Risk: Metal Gear Solid, I have never been very impressed the games offered by USAopoly. They seem to be simply cosmetic changes to an existing game (most often Monopoly). The components are top notch but so often I saw little need to purchase a novelty version of an existing game that is usually significantly less expensive in its native format. That is, until now.
Risk: Metal Gear Solid is a variant of the Black Ops system for Risk. Risk: Halo was USAopoly’s first entry into this arena and MGS is the second. Where Risk: Halo was Black Ops with different graphics and units (cosmetic changes) MGS is a true variant version of Black Ops. It is not a re-themed version. There are a few changes and additions introduced that elevate the game to something more than most other Risk games. The alterations and additions are as follows:
1. Leaders
2. Tactical cards
3. Money
4. A moving territory/continent
5. Map alterations
To date, I find Risk 2210 to be the best of the group. The next most interesting were the Star Wars versions as, though they were Risk games, the strategies required to win were non-typical. After several games of MGS, I would have to describe it as a 2210 lite.
The Bosses
There are leaders in some of the Risk games. The concept originated with Castle Risk and developed into the unique (commander) units found in 2210 and Godstorm (gods). A weaker version of the leader units appears in the Lord of the Rings versions of Risk and Risk: Transformers it is this leader, the Transformer version, that appears in Metal Gear Solid.
There are eight leaders/bosses in the game. These are characters from the video game and serve as mercenary units. Each of the bosses uses an eight sided die in combat and each has a unique ability. None of the special abilities is exceptionally strong but each offers a little edge. For example: Roy Campbell deploys an additional army in the space he currently occupies and Solid Snake permits a player to move his armies through enemy territories during the maneuver phase.
If a player decides to hire one of the bosses, he is confronted with a variety of options that must be incorporated into his strategy. This addition increases the strategic decisions for the player without lengthening the game. To hire a boss costs 3000 Drebin Points (basically money - more on this later). Once hired, there is a 1000 Drebin Point salary that must be paid at the beginning of a player's turn in order to continue the employment of that particular boss. To terminate a boss's contract simple stop payments. As with the leaders in Lord of the Rings Risk, a player can only have one boss in his fold unless he earns a second through the rewards for meeting an Objective. Bosses are vaguely similar to the leaders in 2210 as they have specific advantages but no where near as powerful or useful. Bosses are better than the leaders in LotR (much like the Transformer leaders) but something less than the leaders in 2210.
Drebin's Shop - Cards
In addition to the standard Territory cards (Black Ops style with the single or double stars), there are two types of cards that can be purchased: Action cards and Tactics cards. There are 40 of these cards in the game. At the beginning of a player's turn, along with receiving his reinforcements and deciding on whether to hire a mercenary boss (or not), a player may purchase cards from Drebin's Shop. Action cards tend to be offensive while the Tactical cards perform a variety of actions. Each card purchased will cost 3000 Drebin points. It is a blind draw; you simply buy the top card from the deck. (One player in our group has suggested setting two or three cards face up, for purchase. If none of these are of interest, then the player could purchase one of the cards blindly from the top of the deck. To date we have not tried this method.)
The benefits of the cards are very specific and are, in almost every instance, single use cards. In addition to paying for the card, when purchased, there is a fee stated on the card that must be paid in order to play the card. It appears the price to play the card is directly related to the possible affect of the card when played. For example: it costs 1000 Drebin to change one of your dice to its highest value. For 2000 Drebin a player can place one additional army unit in three different territories. If you have sufficient Drebins (big bucks) you could spend 10,000 Drebin to deploy 10 army units in any territory you control. As with the bosses, this addition increases the strategic choices confronting the player.
It is important to remember that all of this is added to the standard Black Ops version of Risk so what may be a very valuable boss or card in one game maybe completely useless in another game depending on the Objectives on the board. These two additions increase the strategic decisions in the game. If you are familiar with the Black Ops version of Risk (new Risk) these additions are simple to explain and implement.
Drebin Points
Drebin Points are money; it is that simple. In our games we do not even refer to Drebin Points, we call it money; we don't get Drebin Points, we get bucks. The formula for how much a player receives is very simple: 1000 Drebin Points per army recruited. How much to spend? What to purchase? How much should I save? Do I hire a boss or purchase a card? Incorporating this economic aspect adds to the game without increasing the playing time or complexity significantly.
In general Black Ops games usually do not run very long. Even when we have gone on a buying frenzy, we have never depleted the deck. Many of the cards purchased never see play either because the game ends, because their use is not appropriate given the game situation or the player has the card but did not save enough to pay for its implementation. I mention this because I don't want to imply that these cards or bosses dominate the game - they do not. It is still a Black Ops game.
Outer Haven
Outer Haven is a space ship! (I am certain that it must play some important role in the video games. I apologize as I stated above, I have not played any of the MGS games so I cannot explain its existence in the game.) Considering just the game play, Outer Haven acts as a moving continent. Controlling Outer Haven rewards the player with one additional reinforcement point. There are only four territories in Australia and South America yet controlling either of these rewards a player with double the points for controlling Outer Haven. Considering the difficulty in gaining control of this piece or real estate, this may seem undervalued; not worth the trouble. Ah, that would be the wrong conclusion. Controlling Outer Haven may result in completing an Objective (depending on which Objectives are active in a particular game.) Even more important is, once control is attained, the player may maneuver Outer Haven to one of six locations on the map. Attacks can be made directly from Outer Haven to the standard territories. This is reminiscent of the attacks from the Moon map to the land map in 2210 though on a significantly restricted method. Again, this adds a bit more for a player to consider.
Map Alterations
Black, the map is black. Both Black Ops and the Onyx edition of Risk were published with black continents. The commercial version of Black Ops is far more colorful (including the awful red seas). This map is very much a Black Ops map with some changes. The colors have been reversed. In Black Ops the continents are black with grey seas. In MGS, the continents are grey with the seas being black. Lettering in Black Ops is yellow. Letting in MGS is stark white. For those of us who suffer defective vision (color blindness), the MGS map is easier to read. The artwork for the Black Ops map reminds me of something that would be used in a covert operation; it is a bit muted, dark, fuzzy… you should whisper. The Metal Gear Solid map is almost digitalized in its appearance. Lines are bold, distinct. I prefer the MGS map but as with anything related to art (or food) everyone will have a different opinion based on their own personal taste. Both maps are very playable and the colors chosen for the units stand out starkly against the dark background. Some people have described the artwork on different game boards in terms such as cute, friendly, busy and dozens of other adjectives. If I were to use one word to describe this board, with the units placed, I would say it appears powerful. I realize that such a statement may sound strange but this is a very unusual map. It does not invite you to play; it challenges you to try.
For those who follow these things, the connection between East Africa does exist in this game. In some previous editions of the game this connection had been deleted. Whether this was through an error of omission or deliberate, it alters some of the viable strategy in the game. Without the East Africa connection, a bottleneck can develop around the Middle East slowing the progress of a game. Risk: MGS includes the connection which, I find, speeds play and makes the game flow better.
When you first look at the map of the world on an MGS board, it feels as if something is amiss. Well, there is something unnatural. The continent of Asia has been physically split off from the European continent! While this does not reflect the geography of the real world, it does help with game play. It is easier to glance at the map and determine locations; to recognize that a player is only one territory away from conquering one of the large continents.
Finally, Ukraine and Siam are gone! They have been replaced with Russia and South East Asia respectively.
Conclusion
Black Ops was a welcome update to the Risk system. Though the classic game can still be played, there is a greater challenge and shorter playing time than in any of the Black Ops versions. Risk: Metal Gear Solid is a variant of Black Ops. MGS is closer to Black Ops than any of the other Risk games (with the exception of Risk: Halo.) The additions actually improve the game providing the players with an increased challenge without increasing the playing time. Though not as good as 2210, it is a very enjoyable and challenging game. Personally I prefer this to the standard Black Ops version because of the additions. I realize that Hasbro does not publish expansions for their games. I would urge them to examine the possibilities for other variations on the Black Ops system. I believe MGS demonstrates the solid foundation of the Black Ops system.
If you enjoy Black Ops, 2210, Godstorm or either of the Star Wars versions of Risk, I suspect that you would enjoy Risk: Metal Gear Solid.
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Malcolm
United Kingdom
Preston
Lancashire
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Thanks for the review... I'm always a fan of Risk games and have been playing this a good few times since it came out.
1 point/question though,
What do you think of the 'balance' of the cards and bosses?
We have found these to be very dodgy. Some bosses seem far better than others. Infact we took the guy who 'adds 1 to all dice in attack' out of the game as he was too powerful compared to some of the others.
Also, some cards are way better than others. for example there are 2 'defence' cards - i don't remember the names - one of them stops one specific area you control being attacked this turn. the other stops all of your areas being attacked this turn... yet they both cost the same to play. There are many expamples of this kind of thing...
So whilst it is a fun version of Risk it does seem like it was knocked together in an afternoon with little or no play testing - they just grabed a load of MGS ideas and stuck them on cards with fairly arbitary costs...
Cheers
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Dave Shapiro
United States
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
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Some of the cards seem very powerful but they are more expensive to play. We have found that the cheap cards get played far more often than the powerful/expensive cards. If I remember correctly, the most powerful card requires that you have a specific card to combine with it. I have never seen this played. Personally I think the game is too short to ever accumulate enough cash to pay for the two cards. I would think that someone would have attained the three objectives long before anyone cold save enough for the cards. I agree that a bit more time should have been spent designing the cards as the high cost of some of the cards essentially renders them useless. When you buy one of these, you have just lost your money. They remind me of the La-La card in Dune.
As to the bosses... We all like the boss that adds one to every die but once wmployed, it seems he doesn't last too long. It seems to put a big target on whatever territory he is in. I agree that some of the bosses are next to useless, adding only the eight sided die. In games with fewer than 5 players, these guys should be left in the box...they are never selected. However, in a 5 player game I have seen them purchased.
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Alejandro Lizarraga
Mexico
Merida
Yucatan
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One of the best reviews I have ever read, and exactly what I was looking forward to know more about this fantastic game.
I really appreciate you have given us so many details so we can have a more complete vision of everything that has been added/changed to this version of Risk.
Thank you very much!
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Very interesting that you have to pay currency to keep leaders under your control. My group is a little spotty with record keeping in Risk games, so something definitely to keep in mind.
I'm not the one with Risk 2210 (that's my friend, between us we have all the risk sets of the past decade), but since I don't think you pay energy to use a card after buying it, this also makes currency hoarding and use very important since you can't just stock up on cards with your currency... you need to have a high value in order to use high value cards.
Might actually move me to buy this sooner than I intended since Risk: Legacy is proving to be a disappointment to participate in playing.
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