Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

by Mikhail Oct 18, 2017 | 1 Votes | 1 Played | 0 Reviews

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Genres:

Action , RPG , Adventure

Graphics:

3D

Labels:

War , Modern Setting , Military , Stealth

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Konami Digital Entertainment Probably one of the best games in this generation, Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain does not fail to impress. It boasts photorealistic graphics, outstanding presentation elements, and a gripping story. It dishes out fresh new take on stealth gameplay: infiltrate bases, extract or eliminate targets, and run a mercenary organization. Play Now Similar Games Played Post a Review

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Community Graphics/Sound Conclusion

Summary

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is touted as probably the best Metal Gear Solid game so far. This isn’t surprising as to why: it features a new take on stealth-based gameplay, thanks to its new, open world approach. This allows you to perform and accomplish missions in a variety of ways, thanks to the countless possibilities it provides. Finally, you have to note that it’s a Hideo Kojima game, so you’re assured that it’s worth more than its full price. Currently, it’s free for PlayStation Plus users in North America and Asia, being part of its free games lineup in October 2017.

Regardless if you’re an old Metal Gear fan or someone new to the series, is it something you would want to try out? Let’s find out:

Plotline

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain starts with a gripping hour-long prologue of the protagonist, Big Boss (now rechristened as Venom Snake) dealing with the aftermath of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Without diving much into spoiler territory (mild spoiler incoming), he wakes up from a nine year coma and has to escape from a hospital in Cyprus. In any case, the prologue is something that will leave you off the edge of your seat and even makes you wonder what in the world you’re playing.

Unfortunately, MGS V: The Phantom Pain’s story is rather bare-boned and lackluster compared to the other games in the series. This can be attributed to it being a “Metal Gear game for everyone”, likely targeting all gamers, not just hardcore fans of the franchise. Quite honestly, it’s hard to immerse yourself into a game without knowing much of the story, right? Moreover, some of the missions you do aren’t related to the story. The backdrop and setting is mostly on the Afghan desert (see Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the mid 1980s) and the Angola-Zaire (now DR Congo) border. The plot takes a backseat in this installment to make way for the gameplay, which is topnotch.

Gameplay

MGS V: The Phantom Pain’s gameplay is notably the best in the entire series. It has the series’ usual third-person view of the protagonist, but instead of a closed environment scenario, it features an open world. This in turn changes the way you approach the series’ stealth element. Instead of hiding in tiny corners in closed buildings, you have the option to approach enemy bases and neutralize enemy soldiers in various directions. After all, you have the vast Afghan desert and the Angola and Zaire border to tread on.

Due to the open world design, you can’t exactly go prone across the desert and hope to finish a mission within a couple of hours. In MGS V: The Phantom Pain, you have the option to ride a horse across the vast environment to traverse faster, or ride a vehicle, like a supply truck you stole, or a helicopter you got for your mercenary group, the Diamond Dogs. Early on, you will have fan-favorite Ocelot giving you intel over the radio. Your companions will grow numerous as the game progresses, like an attack dog or Quiet, the silent sniper who will take out enemies from a distance quietly (pun intended).

The AI in MGS V: The Phantom Pain is highly advanced. The enemy soldiers feel alive and react realistically whenever you make a sound or when they find the corpse of a fallen ally. Once they discover you, the game will initiate a slow-motion movie-like mode for a few seconds so you will have the opportunity to neutralize them without being discovered. Moreover, there are guard shifts you can note and take advantage of so you can eliminate targets more discreetly.

Missions in MGS V: The Phantom Pain range from extraction missions, wherein you’re required to rescue high-value targets, to ones wherein you have to kill a target. There are also side tasks in every main mission wherein you can gather intel from enemy outposts. Traversing around the world also lets you discover treasure like rough diamonds which you can get at a price and medicinal plants. Weather and day and night cycles also exist. For example, a sandstorm will make you more stealthy, though it makes it harder to see where you’re going and impossible to get intel support.

The treasure you will gather will help you manage your Mother Base, which is your base of operations and is located in Seychelles (which is in Africa). If you love micromanagement and menus, this part is your cup of tea. You will manage every aspect of your base, ranging from the mercenary troops, equipment, guns, helicopters, and vehicles. You can get these as you perform missions, mainly by transporting them by using some sort of a balloon.

MGS V: The Phantom Pain has all the guns and equipment required whether you want to go loud like Rambo or go stealthy. Apart from the arsenal of tranquilizing silenced guns, you will have a bionic arm that can be customized and be fitted to do a variety of tasks. One of which include releasing a current of electricity that can stun enemies silently. You can also go loud with a variety of snipers, SMGs, and assault rifles. There are grenades and the series’ signature cigar, which is used to make time go forward.

Community

MGS V: The Phantom Pain has two online modes. One is the part wherein you can create some sort of a forward operating base separate from your Mother Base so you can gather more resources of the single-player campaign. The other is a Metal Gear Tactical Team Operations where you will cooperate with a team of six players to infiltrate a base and fulfill a specific objective. Teamwork is the heart of the game, so it’s best played with friends than with random players.

Graphics/Sound

MGS V: The Phantom Pain features solid presentation elements, especially the world design and the photorealistic graphics. Even the menus are optimized to look as intuitive and good-looking as possible. The voice acting is also superb, even with the change in Snake’s voice actor, with actor Kiefer Sutherland behind the mic. In addition, Troy Baker voices Ocelot. It’s important to note that the lip animations were done to fit the English voice acting, not the Japanese one.

Conclusion

Overall, it’s no wonder why Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain scored perfect marks in various publications and was met with critical acclaim. It’s a fantastic game, and PS Plus players this month are more than fortunate to have it as a free title. It’s highly recommended and be sure to download it before November starts.