My MGS V: Phantom Pain Thoughts...So Far

So, I got a PS4 and MGS V for my birthday some 3 weeks ago and in that time, I have slowly worked my way through the game, all the while juggling university, family and human interaction. I was so excited for the 5th installment in my fave game series that I almost overloaded on MGS V but since then I've decided to take my time...and it hasn't been good. Or I should say, it hasn't been as good as I expected or as good as the series high points MGS 4 and MGS 3 (imo anyway).

Now I know the game has gotten amazing reviews across the board and as a piece of technical achievement, the game is unlike anything I've ever played. Jaw dropping draw distances, exceptional environments, great weather effects and exceptional animation, all at a crisp 60fps. But in terms of game design and mission structure, it feels like I have done the same thing over and over and over again. Go here, take outpost, lift a person or an object, rinse, repeat, progress slowly, get some money, build your mother base. The story is almost non-existent, level design seems to have taken a back seat, where every section of the initial Afghanistan map looks exactly the same. What happened Kojima?

I ask that question because for the longest time, Metal Gear Solid and it's creator Hideo Kojima were the by ward for quality and innovation. Where Metal Gear went, other games followed. A lot has been made of previous games stories and at times intrusive cut scenes but they were part of a singular, popular vision. The games themselves featured changes in pace, varied level design and all of it in a package unique to Kojima and Konami. It was different and imitated.

Playing MGS V, it feels like Kojima is imitating everything he has seen in the last 15 years of gaming and he hasn't done it well. Open world has been the forte of Rockstar and others have tried, some well, some badly but Kojima has fallen somewhere in between. His open world looks great but is claustrophobic, guiding you through corridors, cleverly disguised as mountain passes or (here comes 2002) invisible walls! The last generation has better open world ranging from GTA to Skyrim and even Fallout 3.

Now, I hope this doesn't sound terrible, because there are certain elements that are very good. The stealth has been refined to the highest level in years and it's always fun fultoning just about everything in sight. The various ways of distracting guards or misleading them to a fultoning (or death if you're really mean) is a joy at times. If only it was packaged in a more varied product. Then again, I still have some way to go in the game, so I'll keep updating this review in progress of sorts.

Guys you can all sound off below!

You are not in the minority, there are a lot of people who feel the same way. MGS5 is a leap forward from a technical standpoint, but it fell a little flat in other areas.

Nevertheless, still a great game.

I think one of the biggest mistakes they did was to make MGS an open world game, other companies do that much much better than Konami, and the truth is, it's way more harder to make a good story in an open world game, they should have stayed with their old recipe because that's what their best at, why fix what's not broken right?

@ojmstr: I think overall open world was a good choice. This is supposed to be like a stealth espionage simulator where you do actual field work, collect Intel, work with soldiers etc. So imo there was more benefit than harm in going open world.

@MarcRecon Glad to know I'm not in the minority lol But, so far, I find it difficult to label it a great game, it's probably the first time I've played MGS and thought, "good at times but never great" but like I said, I'm still working my way through.

@ojmstr I think open world gaming is so common now that I understand why Kojima felt like doing it, not to mention that certain aspects of both MGS3 and MGS4 as well as Peace Walker were open world, in the sense that environments were bigger, providing far more routes to tackle than the claustrophobic MGS 1 and 2. However, I think the open world is boring, largely empty and many years behind the curve, it would have been better to limit levels like MGS4.

@soul_starter: They where not "open world", they where "wide corridor" Anyways, the thing that bugs me the most about this game is that they totally messed up the story, it could have been a masterpiece if they nailed the story and how they put togheter the missions but it ended up as a rushed product and i kinda feel a let down and lost alot of respct for Konami and Kojima. Don't get me wrong, this is the only game i play these days because the game it self has great gameplay, performance, sound, graphics etc.. and the meta game is pretty good. But the story and how they put togheter the missions are such a mess.

they screwed up the story part of the mgs 5, which actually is the main part about the whole series, and then kojima and konami hyped up the story by making a lot of trailers, and then didn't deliver .

I've loved and played all the metal gears that have come to consoles. This one is literally my least favorite in the series. Story which is the main reason I played metal gear games in the first place is complete junk in this game. It's the worst in the series by far, at leastr IMO. Gameplay is a step up in the way he controls but the world is devoid of life, and each checkpoint feels the same. Such a disappointment this is the last Metal gear game I'll be buying, actually wish I hadn't purchased it as it was a waste of $80.

Too be honest, I kind of stopped giving a crap about the story a long time ago. Anyway, it''s a great game with WAY too much redundant padding.

@ribstaylor1 I totally agree but I wouldn't mind if the story was average or worse as long as the gameplay was fun but besides a handful of main story missions, the side ops are literally the same ,repetitive mission over and over again. I have enjoyed the weapon customisation and the vehicles, it's always fun waltzing into a checkpoint with a tank and blowing shit up lol @MrGeezer The story can be hit or miss but if a game has redundant padding, as you say, can it really be great?

I just had a quick question, is MGO free or does it require a PS+ sub to play?

I've said this before.. Whenever people try to look at MGSV's open world, they immediately try to compare it to other games with open worlds. This makes sense...but first we need to look at the genres or context of the game and gameplay mechanics. MGS V's open world is not to give an "open world" experience like Skyrim or GTA V.....it's to give sandbox elements and it does it well. Yes, it has a linear aspect in a sense that it doesn't want you to go everywhere and on every mountain top....but the game's open feel gives more options to the player and creates more scenarios than what a more linear experience would've given.. The game allows you to create moments similar to scripted events in other games...For example, recently I did a mission where I had to kill commander in the Airport area on the Angola-Zaire border...I had already done this mission before but I wanted to get an S rank on it. I decided that I'll maybe do this the quick way...since the quicker I complete the mission the higher my score. So I infiltrated the Airport unseen, perfect stealth and climbed on one of the buildings that looked out onto the airfield and the central building where the helicopter would eventually land.....An arms dealer would come out to have a meeting with the commander that I haven't seen yet... As I try to find a spot on the building to fire the perfect shot...the arms dealer meets with the commander...I can't see them because they are behind a wall...but I use my binocularscope-thingy that pick up the sound close to the spot your pointing at...Like this I got to here the conversation and prepare myself before their convo ended...The arms dealer wants a tour of the airfield and leads the commander out in the open. I probably got one of the longest headshot in the game... It felt immensely rewarding. But I didn't have time to savour the moment yet...I had to get of the building and call in my heli. I sneak out of the base full of alert soldiers and wait for extraction. Mission complete. No sign of the enemy. S rank. This is why you're the best, boss.

Well it cleared up a lot of things about MGS 4 that was simply an impossible feat.

I don't know if you played mission 46 ( I think ) it's called " The Man Who Sold The World". It's a very hidden mission and only unlocks once you've met a bunch of requirements for it.. If you haven't yet....then prepare to get your mind blown to bits.

I think people's first mistake is seeing MGSV as an open world game. Comparing it to games like GTA and Skyrim is pointless, it is nothing like those games.

The open area is to give the player a more dynamic approach to mission design. I imagine it would feel repetitive if you tried the same tactics over and over again in a 70+ hour game. However, the game doesn't give you a few options for approach, it gives you hundreds. There are several different ways to complete missions in that game. I played through half the game mostly stealthy and started to get a bit bored. I switched to a more gun happy loadout in the second half and the experience felt fresh and exciting again.

I honestly don't get the huge criticism that this game gets. When it comes to dynamic mission design and approach, this game is pretty much unparalleled. It definitely has some issues with pacing and being overly long, but it's still a crowning achievement in game design.

I've completed about 30% of the game and again, it's just repetitive still. And a lot of you are mentioning the open world, which was just one problem I had. I have no problem if it included varied side ops, more interesting looking environments and so on but the real big problem is that everyside op is identical. And you need to play through them for GMP and blue prints etc. I do like that some of the main missions mix up stealth and all out action, which is fun.

It's still a good game so far but not even reaching the heights of say MGS2, which at times felt flat.

I just wanted to post a quick update. A couple weeks ago, the last time I played MGSV, I recahed the half way point and after some cool cutscenes and moments, I'm being forced to replay older missions. I haven't been able to get back into the game since. Sigh.

i know this thread is old-ish but what the hell

totally agree with this

You only have to replay like three missions before you reach the end. You can rush through them in like a half an hour. You also just do a couple side ops, and that will progress the story as well.

@JangoWuzHere: Really? I just got so tired after slogging through repetitive side ops, constant bs FOB pop ups and the repetitive missions thats I just stopped. I may get back into it but even then I hear that the ending isn't fully revealed. This is such a major misstep from Konami, Kojima and for the whole franchise.

@Macutchi How can you claim the level and mission design is "unparalleled"? It's repetitive, with almost every side op following the exact same path and all the locales looking the same and every area re-used on a constant basis. I will however say that some of the main missions are a lot of fun, especially later on with all the added equipment and so on but even then a lot of them boil down to the same formula and the same locales.

@soul_starter: well firstly i didn't claim that, jango did, and he qualified it with "pretty much" which isn't definitive. secondly it's a huge game in terms of the number of missions, so inevitably with a game of that size you run the risk of repetition, but you don't have to do all the side ops, as you know many of them are optional. thirdly you need to use your imagination and the tools / weapons at your disposal more inventively. there's some really dynamic gameplay there which offsets the repetition. take risks. it's one of the few games that rewards creativity. be audacious. outrageous tactics often pay off and can provide some real edge of the seat thrills. fourthly, it may just be a case of the game isn't your cup of tea. that doesn't mean others can't appreciate its qualities though

You shouldn't be playing side ops if you're not enjoying them. The majority of them are just tasks which give you extra GMP and soldiers. It's stuff to do in the open world before you tackle the next mission. You don't have to do any of the FOB stuff either. You can simply opt out or ignore those invasions altogether. Most of the end game equipment is so overpowered, you would never need any of it to actually beat the game. And yeah, I don't really get the repetitive argument. Like Macutchi said, the game gives you tons of tools that can lead to great creative fun. I was playing stealthy through the first half of the game, I started to get bored, so I changed it up and went guns blazing in the later half. I had a new and fresh experience that was a definite welcome change. The story comes to a complete close at the end. One minor plot point isn't addressed, and it's so insignificant that it's not even worth getting angry about.

Honestly, if you're not enjoying the game at all, then simply don't come back to it. However, I found your reasons to be somewhat puzzling.

@JangoWuzHere: I guess the issue is not whether its a great game(which it is) but whether it is a 10/10 game.

Btw doesn't going guns blazing in main missions penalise you? I like side ops for that reason that you can approach it guns blazing without being penalised.

Maybe they weren't trying to fix anything, and instead were trying to do something new with this series and wanted to see how well it would play out? just a thought

@BboyStatix: You can still get an S-Rank while using lethal weapons(guns blazing). Just play a mission, and see which things give you minus or plus points, I can't recall what they are off the top of my head, but i've done some missions gun blazing and was suprised to get the S-Rank. If you only get 1 combat alert, that shouldn't hurt you too much, as long as you keep the action going without letting them go off the alert.

@fnevaeva: Ahh I see, I'm actually looking to try some new approaches now that I have a lot of GMP and lots of choices of weapons to develop. I wanna try something else other than the tranq pistol. Any ideas on what weapons and approaches would be fun to try out? Are there any weapons other than the tranq pistol that can stun enemies rather than kill them?

I completely agree with your complaints Soul_Starter. I won't mindlessly defend this title, because while it looks and sounds great, the rest is a short delivery of what made the series great in the first place. Hype is a toxic thing indeed.

I agree with everything you said but MGS4 as a high point of the series.... uhhh what? Guess this is my own opinion but I thought that game was a very well polished turd. I am also a huge Metal Gear Solid fan (mgs1 being the first game I ever played) but it was a mess story-wise and gameplay wise.

That's so funny. I finished the end fight against the big boss thing (vague for spoilers) and shot that one ugly dude in the face...and thought the game was over. I put 160 hours into it (I really enjoy playing it out slow, and sneaky...and lot's of side ops, etc) and just got to the same part where I need to do the extreme levels of stuff I've done before.

Since then I've enjoyed Just Cause 3, which I'm probably near finished with. Something about having to replay missions on another difficulty just turned me off for a minute. I'll get back to it soon, but I got so many games in the past few months, I'm trying to stagger them (I need to be AC: Syndicate, only got 1 playthrough on fallout 4, enjoying RSS, Just Cause 3, and MGSV. Gosh...so much to enjoy, too little time.

I just thought it was funny we are on the same part, and lost interest in the same way.

@Macutchi: I've done all the imaginative stuff and it's fun no doubt but the game rewards stealth and the only way you get the best ranking, in most missions anyway, is a stealthy playthrough rather than using all the tools at your disposal, which are probably better suited to making the repetitive side ops more fun.

I do agree that there's a lot of missions but the missions are just retreads of everything past, I dunno, mission 10 or 11. Even all the environments look the same. Like I've said before, I'm a huge MGS fan and have played all the main console versions so I hold this series to a very, very high standard. MGS V is good, a fun distraction at times but it isn't the "I have to play through this all night long" great game that previous games in the series have been, especially MGS 3 and 4.

@milorivers Exactly, I think some people are just blindly buying into the hype and not wanting to believe what their eyes or minds are telling them, or they just have some sort of mad loyalty to Kojima and can't hold him to account for what is a poor attempt at both a MGS game and an open world/3rd person shooter hybrid.

@pyco MGS4 was exceptional, yest he story got a little convoluted but go back and play MGS2, that was a massive mess in terms of story but a solid gaming experience, as is MGS4, especially considering the different environments required slightly different game play approaches AND the enemies were far more interesting than generic white or black soldiers. But hey, MGS1-4 were all exceptional games in their own right and I'd probably rank them all in a best ever list.

@demi0227_basic Yep, I've started playing Mad Max again and will probably get Fall Out 4 in the next couple weeks. I know I'll get back to MGSV at some stage and I played through the sideops like you did too, simply because they didn't penalise using tanks and all that badass shit but at the end of the day, side ops or main missions, they all sort of blend into one "infiltrate, extract, repeat, get your ass outta there".

@soul_starter: I still rank MGS4 highly as one of my top games, but it was still a pretty big let down. Having Snake be very aged right from the getgo was a big mistake in my opinion. It would've been much better narrative-wise to start him off pretty young then progressively see him get older as the game goes on. Think about the emotional impact that would have on the players. Also, Kojima advertised that you could choose your side in the war (mainly in act one) and influence the soldiers. This was pretty untrue because the game obviously nudged you with working with the soldiers you start off disguised as, and they struggle a lot more against weighing odds so it makes them more likable. Also the whole nanomachines thing was complete horse**** and ruined a lot of the series magic. A lot of the boss fights were pretty boring and bullet-spongey. Not to mention the completely useless Drebin character. Sorry if I'm going on a rant here but a lot of people are blind to the game's problems

I never seen a game with so many 10's as MGSV be so bad. I think i got brain damage after playing it.. and probably will never get on a helicopter ever again lol

Hated the game and it's prequel. It's my least favorite metal gear out of them all nothing like what I thought it was going to be. The story, cutscenes or lack there off, no codec and boring repetitive balloon gameplay along side micro-transactions and an unfinished multiplayer kept me from finish even the 2 chapter.

One of best games ever slandered for no reason, who complaining about repetitive gameplay, the answer is on and only : creativity !

While I did miss the crazy story filled cutscenes and cool boss fights from previous games I really enjoyed MGSV and thought it was a fantastic game. The gameplay was top-notch and it was a lot of fun finding new ways to approach any given mission in the game.

Personally, I agree with the majority of the criticisms that are directed at the game's gameplay and mission and world design. At the same time, i see why it has gotten all the praise it has.

I do believe that creativity can only go but so far due to the limited events and somewhat static nature of each mission

I just hope that another game does the whole open world third person stealth better because this is about the only one that we have had besides AC

While MGSV had its shortcomings, I thought MGSV was a great game. I wish both GZ and TPP were merged together as one big game tho. Would have been so much better.

To me, it's probably the best game I've played on a next gen console. There's a few minor things I wished that they would add to the game and I'm not a fan of the FOB and multiplayer modes. But everything else about the game, building Mother Base and getting recruits makes this game fun.

@dark_rising76: I would agree with you about it being the best game of the current gen, if the story didn't suck complete ass. From a technical standpoint, I've never had more fun in a stealth game and for it to be open world with the micromanagement of an army of guys that help you advance in the game through the different categories, it truly ROCKS!! But the false advertising of it being a story of seeing Snake go from good to the dark side (an article somewhere mentioned this and that Kojima was a big fan of Breaking Bad, so I believed that to be similar to the story of this game), the language virus...wtf?, the forced repeating of 10+ old missions in Chapter 2 on a higher difficulty just to see it to the end, and the big plot twist at the end (which is cool, in my opinion, but completely contradicts what Kojima said about seeing Snake go from good to bad in a game) are what bring the game down a few points.

One guy on these forums said it best, if the game ended at Mission 32, it would be one of the best games of all time because that pretty much wraps up quite a lot of the game in that big, explosive metal gear showdown. How it is, yeah...it is obviously unfinished what with the repeated missions claiming to be "newer" missions as well as the cut content of mission 51 which you can see on youtube.

So, I finished it a couple weeks back and the story was utter shite. NO real closure and a twist which made zero sense and before people claim that all MGS games have confusing/non-sensical stories, it's just not true. I've been able to keep up with most of the story from the main canon of games and have been pretty satisfied, especially with the nice way MGS 4 ended.

However, I have played some more of the side ops (done over a 100 of these) and I just realised something...in fact, it's something I saw in a youtube video. MGS V is a repetitive, stupid, unrewarding game...yet it keeps you playing. **** me, Kokijma had me for a bit.

I couldn't bring myself to play the game anymore, too grindy. Missions are too much the same. The world is too boring. Things like scanning soldiers to find out their stats to fulton the good ones was boring. The story sucked.

I thought it was a downright terrible game. I'd give it about 3 / 10 just for graphics. It definitely looked and ran well. Controls were horrible though.