Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Don't worry, he won't fall out.
The huge ass missile launcher on
his back is balancing his weight

*Note: as of writing this review I have yet to finish the game. Further discussion on that later in the review, but I've played enough of it (~40 hours) to feel comfortable giving it a final score.*

I've never been the biggest Metal Gear Solid fan. I've played most of the first one, a little bit of the second, and the entirety of the third and fourth, as well as this fifth game's extended demo, Ground Zeroes. I've usually always enjoyed my time with them, but I often don't think they age well and I find them very difficult games to go back and play once I complete them. Snake Eater, the third entry in the series, is my personal high point and it stands quite a bit taller than the other games in the series. It had some of the most incredible boss battles I've ever played (The End is a highlight out of my entire gaming career), a really fun environment, and still remains one of the best and most touching stories I've played. 

Even though this isn't my favorite gaming series, I still find plenty to get excited about for each new game and the early reviews for this game were nearly perfect. 

"Nearly-perfect" Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is not, which is quite disappointing. It does a lot VERY well, but it also suffers from the unforgivable gaming sin of tediousness and repetitiveness. There's enough to do that it doesn't sink in until about the 25 hour mark, but after that the game quickly loses steam, especially as we near one of the busiest gaming holiday seasons in recent memory.

One of my 2015 gaming highlights? This moment right here ^^

MGS V tries to change the formula by introducing an open world into the mix which, if you're familiar with this series' gameplay, is a pretty radical departure from the mostly-linear mission structure. Truth be told, the open world works better than I thought it would and we're given two different maps which could basically be described as "desert" and "jungle". They look gorgeous and each has its own distinct personality with sandstorms overtaking the desert and monsoon like rains coming in and out of the jungle. Both of these phenomenons obstruct enemy views and hearing, giving you brief windows to take out several enemies at once. Little details like this are something unique to the MGS series and they are one of the best aspects of this game. So many little things are hidden away in the game that it's a bit astonishing. Crazy example? Early in the game you can find a random recording of a soldier having some...."issues"...in the bathroom. If you take Snake, the game's protagonist, and hide him in a bathroom near another soldier and play the recording, the soldier will come to investigate if you're ok, giving you the chance to take him out. Completely unnecessary to "win" the game, but a fun quirk nonetheless. 

"I love you so much!"
"Snake you're hugging too hard!"

Unfortunately the open worlds themselves are barren for the most part. There are outposts and fortresses here and there, but no civilians and in between the enemy locations there is often very little other activity. A few years ago this open world would have been amazing, but in a post GTAV and Witcher 3 world, not to mention the fact that most players are on next-gen consoles now, it's a rather boring experience getting from place to place. Which leads me to another gripe; getting around the map is a sincere pain in the ass. Unless you have your horse equipped (who is the worst "buddy" option out of the four the game provides you), you have to run everywhere. 95% of the time when you would hope you can cut across some cliffs to make your trip from point A to B a linear one, you cannot. This is essentially the game forcing you to take the long way around to get places, and all on foot. There is no obvious fast travel system (though you can "ship" yourself from outpost to outpost) and any time your helicopter comes to pick you up, you must return to Aerial Command Center before picking another point. There was a huge opportunity missed with this decision as getting picked up in the helicopter and picking another drop point from there would have done wonders for the pace of the game. I mentioned earlier that I'm probably 40 hours into the game...I'd venture to say that at least 8 solid hours of those are running from place to place. Sure vehicles exist and I'd use them sometimes, but they're also loud and should an enemy come around the corner you're immediately in combat mode. 

This all leads me to my biggest issue with the game. As I mentioned, across each map there are enemy outposts and fortresses. Clearing these out during one mission does nothing for later missions as in, if I'm playing a mission, I clear an enemy outpost, complete the mission, go back to base, and deploy on another mission, that enemy outpost that I cleared last mission now has enemies back at it. In the year 2015 that is such an archaic videogame structure that I'm a bit shocked it's here. Taking an eagle eyed view of the game, I understand they had to do it...otherwise by mission 30 you'd have a completely empty map. But still, it gets so, so, SO old clearing out enemy outposts that you've already done several times before. Eventually I just began skipping clearing them out all together as the rewards for doing so are small. It's a repetitive feature that's unfortunately near the very core of what makes the game up and it leads to some really tedious hours of gameplay. 

Little known fact: Snake was secretly in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
This is proof ^^

Luckily though, the gameplay itself is absolutely incredible and the saving grace of the game. MGS games have always had some awkward controls in my opinion. They often take several hours of gameplay to get warmed up to and even still there would be times in the third and fourth game that I'd be tripping over the controls during some of the more hectic moments. Not so with The Phantom Pain. I found that initial learning curve to be minimal and as you play more and more, you'll find that you become really good at what you're doing. I was very stealth oriented so I could often take outposts with minimal interaction, but when firefights would occur, I was pretty weak because that wasn't necessarily my play style. One of the buddies you get, a nearly-nude female sniper named Quiet, is an amazing asset once your "bond" level with her is maxed out and I loved using her commands and my own actions to take enemies completely by surprise. It's astonishing how well it works when you consider just how many things Snake can do and how many weapons/items/tools he can use. The button mapping is jam packed, but quickly becomes second nature to the player. Handling weapons feels great and I was able to switch between first and third person views effortlessly for the times I needed that extra little bit of aiming. 

In addition to the solid gameplay there is also a decent amount of management the game requires you to perform surrounding your headquarters, Mother Base. A lot of it delves into tediousness and superfluous fluff, but certain aspects of it are phenomenal. One of my flat-out favorite features of the game is staffing Mother Base. It sounds incredibly boring, but you soon become addicted to collecting highly-talented soldiers in the field because of their skills (as displayed through your binoculars). Gaining more skill into a certain branch (i.e. R&D or Intel for example) unlocks new weapons, abilities, etc. of which there are an insane amount. It's here where the game encourages stealth in order to tranquilize your enemies, and extract them via a rather humorous helium balloon mechanism called a Fulton. It adds another level of research that you do when out in the field; seeing which guards you should take alive and which ones you should leave/kill. Finding a soldier with an A++ or even an S rating gets your blood pumping and you begin to plan your entire infiltration around gathering that solider. Most of the other Mother Base activities dont work nearly as well as they think they do (FOB missions get boring really quickly), but gathering and assigning staff is a highly unique and addicting aspect to the game. 

Sandstorms for the fast-sneaking-around win!

Unfortunately, the story is not up to par with other Metal Gear Solid titles either. It's entertaining, yes, and features probably some of the coolest and best looking cut scenes you'll ever see in a game. Those don't necessarily add up to a cohesive story though and it has its peaks and valleys of being either compelling or just downright confusing. The bird's eye view plot points are easy enough to describe; Snake is trying to stop an evil organization from releasing a highly unique (and completely unrealistic) virus into the world. MGS has always been "unrealistic" so it's not a complaint -- it comes with the territory at this point in the game when you have characters that can evaporate from place to place and others that breath and drink through their skin. The Phantom Pain is weird, just like most MGS games, but that's part of its charm. Luckily it also has a stellar cast of characters. Kiefer Sutherland takes over voicing duties for Snake and does a great job and almost all of the other voice work is great too. I absolutely loved Quiet, not just because she's a nearly nude female, but because her character is interesting from the second she's introduced. All of this adds up to a story that's mature, shockingly so at times when children become involved, but one that tries to extend itself too far past what it needs to. After beating Mission 30 (or somewhere around there) I defeated what I believed was the game's final boss (another area where this game suffers greatly, especially when held up against MGS3). Credits rolled. I thought I was done. And then the game tells me that Chapter 2 is starting. I'm not one to complain about the length of a game -- it means I'm getting my money's worth. But MGSV feels so unusually long and unnecessarily split up that, when combined with some of the poorer game choices listed above, it begins to feel like a chore. Perhaps I played far too many side missions in between the main ones? 

Well isn't this romantic?

I'll admit, I've been harsh on Metal Gear Solid V throughout this review. I don't think it was unfairly so though and I really really question some of the establishments that gave this game perfect scores. It shouldn't receive a pass just because it's a MGS game as it has a lot of glaring issues among some of its soaring accomplishments. It's ambitious as hell and I applaud Hideo Kojima and the creators for doing their damndest to keep this multiple-decades-old series relevant. I personally really enjoyed my time with it and there are certain "classic" gaming moments throughout (I'll probably never forget that boss battle with Quiet). Despite that however, I couldn't help being frustrated by so many little things that eventually add up to an uneven experience in a series that strives for perfection. The Phantom Pain is not perfection, but rather a very fun, but fairly flawed entry in this series. 

CONS:

• Lackluster story (thus far) compared to other MGS titles
• Overlong and unnecessarily split
• Aside from one or two boss battles, there are far fewer in this one and they're not very memorable
• Ok Hideo, we get it. You're the one who created this game. We don't need a pre AND post credits for every side mission, main mission, and chapter. So ridiculous
• There's a lot of room for improvement in the barren maps. First and foremost would be more traversable terrain so I could get from A to B faster
• Minimal/useless fast travel ability that could have been easily implemented
• Outposts/fortresses not clearing leads to a lot of repetitiveness by doing the same thing over and over in the exact same locales
• Lots of micromanaging and unnecessary aspects with Mother Base

PROS:

• Great voice work and cutscenes
• Moments in the story are highly captivating
• Quiet is an awesome character from a story, boss battle, and gameplay buddy perspective
• Stellar gameplay that represents the most easy-to-use and finely tuned the series has ever seen
• Large amount of freedom to approach objectives as you see fit
• Ambitious -- doesn't conform to the status quo
• Staffing Mother Base became highly addicting
• Tons of unlocks available
• Fun, quirky, but impeccable attention to little details
• Fun to play, despite its issues and one that, once you get really good, makes you feel like a stealth God

Rath's Review Score: 7.5/10