Still a great game that stands on its own merits, but it’s not a great Metal Gear game.
CONCLUSION
Still a great game that stands on its own merits, but it’s not a great Metal Gear game.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
As the swan song for Hideo Kojima (the series creator), The Phantom Pain is a fitting finale. Despite that, the game itself has more than its fair share of problems, as well as being a marked departure from what the series originally was like.The Phantom Pain is a continuation of the events of Ground Zeroes, the standalone prequel released last year. After the events of that game, Militaires San Frontieres (Big Boss’ mercenary operation) was essentially wiped off the map, with its survivors scattered to the four winds.
Big Boss himself winds up in a coma and it’s with his awakening does the Phantom Pain begin.Unlike the older Metal Gear games, there aren’t any traditional stages. The Phantom Pain is open world, with a wide expanse of Afghanistan and Angola to run around in. Due to this, the plot is vague, with set-pieces and long exposition scenes that are a trademark of the series a thing of the past. In fact, cutscenes in the game are a rarity. Most of the story is told via cassette tapes you can listen to. While this means one can easily revise the story if one forgets, it also means there’s barely any gravitas to the events that unfold.
As such, many of the series’ trademarks (cutscenes, characters talking to one another via CODEC and the massive set-pieces) aremissing or severely reduced. While it does make for a more streamlined game, it doesn’t make for a good Metal Gear game. It’s a good game, mind you, just not one that feels like what a Metal Gear game should be.That is strange though, considering many of the mechanics in the game are carried over from Peace Walker.
The base building aspects (you can even roam around the base in realtime now), the capturing of soldiers, the researching of equipment, the non-linear progression… everything’s taken from Peace Walker and improved upon. It works incredibly well, though the lack of a cohesive story and notable side missions are felt once you’re a few hours into the game.
Yup, the game has zombies, though the explanation’s a bit more complicated than that.
AT A GLANCE
Developer: Kojima Productions, Publisher: Konami, Platform: PS4 (reviewed), PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, Players1–16, Genre: Stealth action.
The move away from the traditional structure means that the game’s much more open, not only in the stages but also in how missions can be completed. While stealth is the way the game’s meant to be played, going in guns blazing is also now a viable solution. Taking out power stations and communications gear for a base renders it effectively helpless, stopping enemy reinforcements and allowing you to clear it without hassle. While killing is effective, it also penalizes the player. Since players need to constantly recruit soldiers to staff their base, dead soldiers will hamper player progression.Unlike most games, The Phantom Pain has two main online modes.
Forward Operations Base (FOB) battles and Metal Gear Online. FOB battles are pit you against an enemy FOB or you defending your FOB from enemy incursion. These can happen even if you’re offline, which makes a solid strategy and good combat staff essential. Enemy players can easily kidnap your crew and steal your resources though, so the need for a good security team should always be tempered on whether you can afford to lose the personnel. FOB battles are exhilarating, especially against a live opponent. Whether you’re the infiltrator or being infiltrated, it’s always like a game of chess, trying to outthink your opponent before they are able to outwit you.
Metal Gear Online is a much more traditional multiplayer affair with up to 16 players divided into two teams going up against each other. The modes are your typical capture the flag game types, with character classes you can choose. It’s a bit laggy at the time of this writing.Keifer Sutherland as Snake might give the game some star power, but in truth it actually alienates fans who are used to David Hayter’s portrayal. Keifer’s Snake doesn’t talk as much, and is pretty one dimensional. Luckily the other characters, particularly Ocelot and Miller, pick up the slack.Despite the audio being a tad lackluster, visuals are top notch.
The detail on the characters and locations are incredible, and while the open world could definitely use more life to it, nobody can fault the visuals and its silky smooth frame rate.Whether you play online or off, The Phantom Pain is an experience that’s not to be missed. It’s a great game that manages to stand on its own merits, though Metal Gear fans might be miffed that the things that made the series great might not be as evident in this installment.
You don’t even need to play as Venom Snake if you don’t want. You can play as a custom avatar or any of the soldiers you recruit.
