MGO SCENE expansion dated, priced News

Konami has announced that the Metal Gear Online SCENE expansion will be released on 17th March in Europe for EUR 17.99.

The pack consists of playable Vamp and Raiden characters, along with three new maps, a new Solo Capture gameplay mode and a range of accessories.

If you're really keen on it, Konami will begin pre-orders on 10th March, and anyone who pays out then gets exclusive Cardboard Box Man headgear for use in the game as a loyalty bonus.

Check out how it's all looking in our Metal Gear Online SCENE Expansion screenshot gallery.

Playing as Raiden and Vamp, then, ought to be fun. Raiden has his High Frequency Blade, which he can use as you'd expect, or non-lethally, and he also has throwing knives he can use to headshot enemies.

Not content with that, he has superhuman jumping skills, takes no falling damage, and can detect traps using his VISOR. Since he has no nano-machine implants, he can also use SOP Link, SOP Destabiliser and SOP system information-gathering.

Vamp does have nano-machines, of course, so he is susceptible to SOP stuff, but he is also terrific in hand-to-hand combat, has throwing knives (also headshottable), and a touch of immortality, which allows him to respawn in the spot where he dies (although, as Wired points out, won't that make it a bit easy to spawn-camp?).

The new maps, meanwhile, are Outer Outlet (an industrial wasteland with above and below-ground areas suited to long-range attacks), Hazard House (a three-story building better for close kills) and Ravaged Riverfront Clock Tower (with underground and underwater bits).

As for Solo Capture, it sees one player trying to hold a hostage for a specific amount of time, while rivals try to seize him from you.

Beyond that, there are other quirky add-ons - a clown suit, bikini, wig, hockey mask, and the option to where Robbie's hat from Silent Hill.

To get an even better sense of all this, be sure to check out the SCENE trailer that went up on PlayStation Network yesterday afternoon.

And finally, Konami notes that various other add-ons have now been reduced in price in the MGO Shop, and that from the middle of this month you will be able to use the PSN wallet system as an alternative payment option.