Topic: Metal Gear Solid V OT

@KratosMD We're on a site on PlayStation games in a thread on Metal Gear Solid V. If there's any place on earth where you can talk endlessly about your take on the game, it's here!

Also, were all people that can sit through hour long cinematics on genomes, so you can expect of us to have a minute patience to read your posts.

Yeah, it's funny to read someone playing it for the first time so long after I played it, particularly as my overall memory of the game is one of slight disappointment even though I probably agree with what @KratosMD says about it most of the time!

@Thrillho I feel there is a difference on reception between people who played the game at launch and those who played it more recently.

We've seen that happen with some other games well. I think that, having your expectations set for it, it's easier to appreciate this game for the things it does so we'll, instead of its flaws.

Or, like a wise man (Kanye West of course) said: you're not perfect, but you're not your mistakes.

@KratosMD I hope your luck has improved as the weekend has progressed! What you describe has happened to me a fair few times (and I'd imagine a great many other players, too). I don't blame you for getting trigger-happy with an RPG!

It took me a while to get used to the checkpoint system. Because it's tracking so, SO many variables across the entire map, it can register at seemingly the most random moments. I'm used to relatively-linear games, or at least mission objectives that are pretty straightforward to achieve, so expected checkpoints in sync with Snake's actions or movement. When you realise that they'll trigger checkpoints when some secondary-objective interpreter gets in his Jeep a good few miles away from your location, it's awesome to know that everything's playing out in real-time across such a large area, but can also be a monumental pain when you're calling in that crucial support or trying to recover from making a mistake!

Always keep an eye on the HUD for those checkpoint notifications!

@KratosMD There will be moments where your GMP goes into the red. It's inevitable, and there are ways to earn much more later on, so don't worry about it too much. It can be frustrating when a shortage of funds causes tactical difficulty in the field, but these instances should be isolated.

As for your soldiers, you've got to be ruthless. Whenever you can, auto-assign your soldiers to put the best people in the best departments... and then dismiss the rest. It's harsh, but necessary. Those soldiers you extracted from early levels, with E and D ranks, will quickly be shoved back into the Waiting Room once auto-assign promotes soldiers with C, B and A ranks above them. Before long, they'll just start fights and be a drain on your resources. My army, the XOF Zeroes, were a lean and highly-skilled fighting machine by the end and it's because I didn't keep anybody around that I didn't have a place for. You only need one butt per slot, after all.

I'm with you on the extraction OCD, mainly because it's the only guaranteed way to ensure nobody's gonna spot a body whilst you're sneaking around gathering resources or completing an objective. That's where I got into the routine, after every mission once I'm back in Pequod, of getting on the iDroid, auto-assigning everybody, then dismissing those in the Waiting Room. If you don't want to extract everybody, that's okay too; there are enough Elite Soldiers or high-ranking folk out there for you to make solid progress. You're the best of the best. Get picky.

Quiet is excellent once you reach Bond Lvl.5, absolutely. I got R&D to develop her the rifle with tranq. rounds and as soon as "Cover Me" became available, I used nothing else for a good while. Just don't be afraid to mix things up a little, and get R&D working on all the various enhancements for Quiet, the D-Walker (if you're happy to kill) and, most importantly, D-Dog (as adorable as he is, I never found the enhancements for D-Horse necessary).

@KratosMD Have you made D-Horse poop in the road yet? I think you might find it is a viable tactic in certain situations!

@KratosMD Man, Quiet was pretty useful at times. If I recall correctly, she can scout the area first like D Dog. And like was said, once you get the tranq sniper rifle for her, she can just put the whole camp to sleep before you even have to lift a finger. And there were times when she saved my bacon as I was discovered and about to be attacked from behind and she’d fire without a command and take someone out without being ordered to do so just to save my life.
I don’t remember funds being an issue, and didn’t go into the red if I recall correctly.
But yeah, the game seems long, but honestly, with the wealth of options in gameplay, I actually didn’t end up having enough time to fully play around with all the buddies, weapons, and tactics before it ended.
And yes, try leaving a little horse poo on the road and hide out and watch the next vehicle pass by.
Gotta love how Metal Gear Solid games have all these wacky Easter Eggs.

I don't think I ever used D Walker as I always play as stealthily as possible. And extracting did feel like a bit of a cheat mode at times to stop the enemy waking up or being discovered.

@KratosMD It does indeed! I think you unlock at level 4 or 5 with D-Horse so you should have it already.

@KratosMD The real shame of it all, is that somebody's found some unused voice clips in the game data and they had Kiefer Sutherland growling "You're fired!" just like David Hayter does whenever dismissing soldiers in Peace Walker. It would've been an infinitely more enjoyable process if they'd kept that in!

I understand your slight criticism of D-Dog being overpowered. His abilities make perfect sense for a wolf, though, so I feel it would've been odd if he didn't start to sniff out enemies for you. Given that I'm the kind of player who observes an area and tags everybody before entering anyway, I didn't find that he impacted on my play-style the same way he did yours (and even then, tagging isn't perfect as soldiers can switch up their patrol routes whilst your attention is focused elsewhere, especially if the time of day changes during your mission). It perhaps got me moving a little faster, because I didn't have to stop and tag so many, especially at smaller outposts and checkpoints, but then his radius is otherwise limited, so I still had to find some high ground and scout things out myself during the main missions or at the larger locations.

Other than using D-Horse as almost-free transport in Afghanistan early on, I settled into a happy choice between Quiet (tranq. rounds) or D-Dog (stun vest). At least then, when using the latter, there was an element of risk and tactics because people tend to notice when soldiers are suddenly set upon by a massive taser-wielding wolf, especially at night (and since all the soldiers in my game started patrolling in pairs, I often had to dash and CQC the other... man, we made such a good team!).

How did you defeat the Man on Fire at the end of that mission, may I ask?

@Thrillho I've ridden a D-Walker a total of once, on my very first playthrough when completing the mission in Africa where your objective is to extract a handful of them (I didn't even use it when rescuing Huey, as he suggests; I just carried him out). I got on, stumbled around for a bit, got myself spotted and shot at for being such a clumsy oaf and just went "nope". I get that they're a heck of a lot of fun to play with for some, but I've never seen the appeal.

@KratosMD Sounds like you ran through the main options, but being in the heat of battle (pun semi-intended) is pretty intense and I missed a few tricks first time through as well.

@KratosMD Yeah, you’re reaching the part of the game that becomes more polarizing for fans. I personally love it. I won’t spoil anything, but push through (at your own pace), as I know you will, because you won’t want to miss the final epic story pieces. It’s such an awesome game, as you have so eloquently chronicled in the last couple weeks. I can’t wait to read more of your impressions.

@KratosMD like @th3solution says, the most debated part of the game has yet to come, but reading your impressions each time, I do feel like you really get what this game is about and what Kojima wanted to achieve. Many people didn't see that, or couldn't get into it.

I had no problem with the final part myself, quite enjoyed it, and story wise it still has a handful of surprises left as well.

@KratosMD @Th3solution @Kidfried Been following your discussion on MGS 5 over the last few weeks and after posting due to Streets of Rage 4 being announced thought I would plough in with my agreement before bugging out again.

MGS 5 was one of my favourite games of 2015. All you need to do is read all of the comments from the start of this thread and everyone was excited and the game didnt disappoint. The majority of people who preordered the game or bought it at release were happy, bear in mind there wasnt an online component to the game early doors. The complaints seemed to be from the fans of mgs 4 who bought the game later, thats fine and all but mgs 4 stand alone is not the mgs series.

Most of the critisism revolves around 4 major points.

1) A drab open world with no civilians or much to do.

This point is sometimes fair. I quite enjoyed the downtime when running from the enemy or approaching a scenario from another direction. The main point which is always missed is Snake is too slow early game making the distances needed to traverse a drag until you unlock the helicopter drop off points. Later on when your speed is doubled and a fully upgraded d-dog, it becomes way more fun. Making a route through the openworld to encounter a mountain is frustrating - especially during the early game. Something which BOTW overcame with the ability to climb almost anything. In Phantom Pain you have to find a way around and the map doesnt always illustrate this. That said I enjoyed both maps and the freedom once you got your bearings.

2) Repeated missions and filler content.

This was a crazy criticism as the repeated missions could all be skipped and the side ops were always there to extend the game. If Kojima just took put the duplicated missions you still have what - 44 (thats a guess) unique missions. Compare that to other great big games and its still a lot. The 100 odd side ops were great short blasts of game, you can avoid them if you wanted. I really enjoyed them.

3) Not much story and broken story threads.

The first 30 or so missions and the games story is amazing. It obviously has missing bits towards the end of the game but this is obviously because Kojimas plans were too grandiose for Konamis patience. There is clearly a missing chapter as things just rush crazy. I thought it wrapped up both the Quiet and Venom timeline nicely which for me was most important. Child soldiers, language virus, easter egg nods to MGS 3 and 5 hours worth of cassette tapes to listen to in the open world. I thought it was really well planned out and intriguing bar the missing chapter there is so much to get stuck into if you want (and I did).

4) The same gameplay with no deviation.

You can play that way if you want. Or you can change things up. The Phantom Pain is not difficult unless you are trying to bash all the S ranks. So you can play the same way more or less from start to finish. But by doing that you will be doing MGS 5 a massive disservice. Going in all guns blazing and then waiting for the compound to chill out before fultoning out the remnants slowly was my favoured tactic. I dont know how that got old for some people.

All in all the combination of a rushed ending after 50-100 hours of game, duplicated missions although there are loads of unique ones and a lack of story even though theres loads to unearth has left a bitter taste in some peoples mouths.

@KratosMD Thanks dude. Hope your good too.

Where as MGS 1-4 are fully complete games, perfect almost. MGS 5 lacks that special polish due to the rushed release, the biggest loose ends you are yet to come across.

I think ground zeroes was the games proper first chapter which would have been revistited during the missing last section closing down the game if Kojima had the chance. I cant say anymore! See you when the PS5 reveal arrives and enjoy the end to TPP.

Wow, much to my surprise, this thread is still open!
Moving my comment from the Horizon Zero Dawn thread to avoid a derail:

@Ralizah With all due respect to @FullbringIchigo and the many others who dislike and may feel betrayed by MGSV, I would offer the counter point that I absolutely think you need to give The Phantom Pain a try. Ground Zeros was a more difficult and more stealth focused game. The gameplay approach in TPP is a lot more open and missions can be executed with guns full blazing if you wish, replete with calling in air strikes and setting the world on fire. Killing soldiers has its consequences of course and there are perks to doing at least some things non-lethally, but I think if you disliked the stealthy aspects of the early games, then you’d actually like TPP better.
The part Fullbring says about it being an incomplete mess has some validity, although I wouldn’t call it a mess necessarily. Incomplete maybe. But if you didn’t know the backstory about the development issues then you may not realize that there is some story missing. For me it had a very impactful and meaningful ending story-wise.
The chapter / mission set up is definitely not the ideal way to present a cohesive storyline, but the game presents itself as a fun open world to experiment with first, and so the focus is more on the gameplay than the story, as opposed to the earlier games.

@Th3solution Thanks for your take. Like I said in the HZD thread, I already own the game, so playing it is a foregone conclusion for me. With that said, it's good to hear that there's more design freedom here. I actually do like the stealth aspects of early games, but I find MGS3/Ground Zeroes give me less of an idea of how safe it is to move around. I don't regret my time with GZ, though, even if I suck at it. It's a stunning, intricately designed stealth game, which is fairly impressive when you consider that it's essentially a single mission.

I assume MGSV is fully enjoyable without engaging in the weird asynchronous co-op aspects of the game, right?

I didn't enjoy TPP, it didn't feel like a Metal Gear Solid game to me. The only bit i enjoyed was the prologue. I played it at the same time as Breath of the Wild and
I found that game was a lot more fun to play.

@Ralizah to check how the gameplay is see Ash take on the brilliant mission 30 (which too me 2 hours) in comment 250 of this thread by AshUk. He smashed it - obviously replaying a mission knowing where to go etc. Take a look its a great vid.

Oh you certainly can @Ralizah, I didn't touch that at all in fact when I played it.

I love the gameplay of The Phantom Pain.

Loathed pretty much everything else about it though.

The open world felt fairly bland and seemingly stretched out just for the sake of it.

Admittedly I'm not the kinda person who explores judt because in any open world or sandboxy game (Horizon: Zero Dawn is probably the only game that I've really done that with), but it felt pretty lifeless to me outside the designated bases/camps or the main missions.

The story was a mess. Not even worth elaborating on as I just didn't enjoy it and thought it was absolute dreck.

Keifer doesn't have a lot of lines and I don't get why Kojima used him besides wanting to work with a movie star. It's a decent performance but... Eh.

The constant researching of new weapons and items got tiresome as well to be honest with the staff level requirements feeling rather arbitrary.

I don't think I used any other weapons besides the starting tranq pistol and the assualt rifle just higher ranked with a anti tank mine or two.

The fact there isn't any bosses really hurts it as well. Especially as the ones that are in it aren't kooky as hell and memorable like the previous titles either.

Also not a really a fan of the harder version unlocks of main missions either.

I really enjoyed the second by second gameplay though. The first mission to rescue Miller is seared into my brain. There's a nice amount of ways you can tackle certain things too (though like all MGS titles I find the gunsablazing approach eh)

Phantom Pain was also the first PS4 game I saw and it looks fantastic too. The sandstorms are quite lovely.

I certainly don't mind the walkman or the tape cassettes either... Especially with the helicopter blasting "Take On Me" everytime I call it in to take me back to mother base

I honestly didn't expect that to get so negative. I know all about the troubles it had to get out the door but... it feels pretty half baked yet fairly polished at the same time.

I don't particularly rate MGS4 either... 😂