Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Big Boss // Paz Ortega Andrade // Skull Face
MISSION BRIEFING
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is a 2014 action-adventure stealth game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami. Serving as the prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes is set in 1975, one year after the events of Peace Walker. The story follows Big Boss and his Militaires Sans Frontières as they are tasked with rescuing two hostages from a Cuban military base: Paz Ortega Andrade, a KGB agent who knows the location of MSF's Mother Base, and Ricardo Valenciano Libre, a child soldier known as Chico. The mission is orchestrated by XOF—a covert CIA black-ops unit commanded by Skull Face—as part of "Operation Skull Face," designed to eliminate Big Boss and seize control of MSF's nuclear stockpile. The game introduced an open-world design, a new stealth mechanic with reactive AI, and a weather cycle system. Despite its short length (approximately 2-3 hours for the main mission), Ground Zeroes was praised for its polished gameplay, stunning graphics powered by the FOX Engine, and its devastating narrative climax that sets the stage for The Phantom Pain.
SUMMARY
In 1975, Big Boss infiltrates Camp Omega in Cuba to rescue hostages Paz and Chico. The mission succeeds tactically but results in a devastating XOF attack on Mother Base. Big Boss and his Medic are critically wounded during the assault. In the aftermath, the Medic undergoes cranial reconstruction and identity rewriting, emerging as Venom Snake—a body double who assumes Big Boss's identity to protect the real Big Boss as he enters a nine-year coma. The destruction of MSF marks the end of Big Boss's first attempt at an independent military state.