Topic: Metal Gear Solid V OT

@themcnoisy I did. Looked like he snuck through the entire mission, with only one real bit of conflict at the very end.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy So there's exploration outside of the main missions? Or there's side missions? The structure of the game sounds radically different from previous entries.

@Ralizah Yeah, the online co-op is pretty minor and forgettable. I didn’t dabble in it at all and I spent dozens of hours in the game.

It’s been a while so the details in my memory are fuzzy, but yes, there are optional side missions in addition to the main ones. For example, you can pretty much ignore Quiet’s story if you want, or you can go through a handful of extra missions to see more about her and complete her story arc.
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy is right about the open world having a lot of empty space, with pockets of camps and soldiers. It felt good to me though. And for some reason I liked the story, but I know that’s an unpopular opinion. I liked how it connected to the greater MGS universe and storyline.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Yep that sums it pretty well! 👌

@Th3solution @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy @JohnnyShoulder @Ralizah i don't fell betrayed by the game and i can see flashes of what they was trying to do but to me it just feels like a game that doesn't really need to exist, MGS4 for it's faults ended the story pretty well in a nice rounded way, lose ends were tied up and everyone got their ending

MGSV on the other hand didn't really add much to the mythos now don't get me wrong in the gameplay department it was pretty fun but it's story was crock, the baddies were uninteresting and as for the big twist, well it was pretty dumb (not going to spoil it here for those who don't know) and Skull Face was probably the worse main villain in the series and that dumb jeep ride segment

what gets me about MGSV is that it had so much potential to be an epic story with great characters but it just fell flat on it's face, this video from The Gaming Brit tells it all (some spoilers inside, watch at your own risk)

It's more reminiscent of Peace Walker @Ralizah if you've played/seen that (There's also a few characters from that title)

The main missions essentially "lock" you into a certain, but rather large, area. Usually allowing you multiple points of entry and different routes.

Unlike Peace Walker though outside of the main missions you can get onto the map and go around by yourself doing side ops (side quests) or just explore if you like.

The mission based structure loses my interest to be honest.

Metal Gear Solid 1 & 3 are still the highlights of the series in my eyes.

To me personally it felt a bit forced. The entire title in fact feels a bit forced into the series to be honest my eyes but glad you enjoyed it @Th3solution

I really didn't plan on it coming out so negative... but the quibbles and niggles I had with the game just suddenly burst out as I started typing @JohnnyShoulder lol 😂

And @FullbringIchigo . I'd disagree about the 4th (It felt rather forced to fit in the mess that was the second's jumbled up narrative) but your thoughts on the fifth I certainly agree with!

@Ralizah I won't answer every point, but I'll just tag you with a general post about how much I absolutely adore MGSV, unfinished or not. As far as I'm concerned, there's enough of a story to hold everything together, and if it leaves a few threads dangling in the franchise's overall narrative, then great; we had to imagine far more before this game existed, so we're just being given more clues with which to figure it all out. The most important characters in MGSV, namely Venom Snake and Quiet, are given complete arcs and immensely satisfying endings. The rest is just gravy.

But it's the gameplay and associated atmosphere that really resonated with me. The controls are some of the most instinctive I've ever enjoyed. Snake is slow enough to be realistic, yet responsive enough to naturally flow, helping you feel like an absolute badass as you sweep through enemy camps. The wide-open, empty environments allow for a diversity of approach unseen in other games, and I'd often find myself heading towards small outposts on my way to larger objectives, rather than trying to circumvent them. It's totally addictive fun, with very few restrictions, and that's before even getting to the buddy system or Mother Base single-player elements (because yeah, you should totally hit the Options button and select "Offline Mode" as soon as you boot the game up).

Mr. Kojima does get a bit cheeky towards the end, making up for the rushed production schedule by including mandatory replays of previous missions with various, tougher restrictions placed upon them (which is a nod to previous re-releases Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, but at least those were separate games) but it's totally worth seeing them through for the final twists they unlock. Even after completing the plethora of missions, assignments and side quests, I'd often wanna just drop into one of the maps and take D-Dog for a walk.

It's a beautiful, haunting, unique experience unfairly weighted down by well-known development woes. If you ignore "real life" and just accept it for what it is, however, then I hope you'll have a blast.

But I totally get that it isn't for everybody, and am not trying to invalidate anybody else's criticisms.

@FullbringIchigo Wow — I just watched that video and I’m really worried about that poor guy. I’ve not heard such disappointment and vitriol related to a video game since Sonic Boy’s famous YouTube rage-fest where he decries “You frigin’ fricks! ...when will you realize your actions have consequences! ...You guys have officially RUINED EVERYTHING!!...” 😂
I sure hope Mr Gaming Brit got the help he needed after the assault on his well-being by Metal Gear Solid V. His therapist certainly earned their paycheck that week.

But seriously, I realize much of what he says in the video was hyperbole and grandiose catastrophization in order to get clicks. The news media does it all the time. Usually the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Part of his issues with the game seem to be related to narrative dissonance but some of that makes more sense after the reveal that you haven’t actually been playing as Big Boss the whole time after all. Therefore the different voice actor and those kinds of oddities make a little more sense. And to know the protagonist you’ve been playing is who you will face off against in MGS later in the storyline was a nice touch, I thought. But I’ll be honest here, I’m no MGS lore expert and frankly don’t understand three-fourths of the MGS series narrative. Besides playing all the games besides Portable Ops and using that MGS4 supplemental application on PS3 that had all the background storyline with the chronological timeline and everything — even with all that, I have never been confident that I understand the whole story from beginning to end. And part of that has to do with the jumbled up way Kojima has told the whole thing — jumping around with varying time periods and characters. Honestly, I think he just kind of made things up on the fly. And like I read in a comment on another website “This game is Metal Gear, if you don’t finish a Metal Gear with more questions than answers it isn’t Metal Gear”
Really @RogerRoger said it perfectly above so I’ll leave it at that because I agree exactly as he described about the gameplay and the story.

No doubt MGSV is polarizing. I know those who like it are probably in the minority, but it’s fans do exist, Rog and @Kidfried I know have been vocal fans of it, among others. And really, I think Kojima in general has this polarizing effect on players. MGS4 is likewise hotly debated as being either brilliant or being trash, and we have half the fandom ready to crown Death Stranding as the next milestone in the pantheon of gaming history and half saying the game is complete garbage — and no one has even played the game yet! 😅

Anyways, like Rog said above, by no means would I ever try to convince someone to like a game just because I do, nor discount another’s perfectly valid dissenting opinion. I do enjoy sharing and reading other people’s opinions and experiences, even if they don’t gel with mine. And I can agree with a lot of the aforementioned criticism on this thread in a peripheral sense, but my first hand experience with the game was splendid. Some games just speak to people differently — and that’s okay! Wouldn’t life be boring otherwise!

Tagging @Ralizah because he starting this whole discussion 😄

@Th3solution

Imperfect games can still be perfect. I think MGSV is like that. I could write about it all day, but thankfully some of you already did that for me, because the bus I'm sitting in just arrived at its station and I need to go, haha.

Wow! Lots of passionate feelings about this game either way. I might have to bump it up my list a bit and see what all the hubbub is about.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I watched all of the story cutscenes from Peace Walker on YouTube, which turned out to be an excellent idea, because MGS V: Ground Zeroes basically assumes intimate familiarity with that game's plot.

Thanks. It's nice to feel included. <3

No. They can't.

As does Phantom Pain obviously @Ralizah along with nods and call forwards to the rest of the series

It actually uses a few systems introduced in Peace Walker too (The base mechanics & the fulton system plus the mission structure) but on a grander scale due to not being constrained to the PSP

Peace Walker was an excellent PSP game.

MGS5 was just a bit weird. Ocelot’s role in the game didn’t really make sense; loads of actual plot is hidden in cassettes which you have to listen to (but only after finding a safe place to stand still to do so otherwise you might not hear what’s going on) and then there are loads of tapes going on about sodding hamburgers; and the fact there are only a few (admittedly large) areas means things feel repetitive.

But it is great fun and the sidekicks are all great to use, as is being able to call in air support etc, even if I do go for stealth runs (which do mostly involve tranquillising enemies, running off with their bodies, and then using the Fulton system).

The main story is okay but is so padded out with the random side missions that it’s difficult to keep track of what’s going on.

And @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy is wrong. Maneater by Hall and Oates is the best track to have your chopper playing. Or maybe Kids in America.

@Thrillho

Only Ride of the Valkyries is appropriate for a chopper.

I really enjoyed my time with MGS V, once I realised it wasn't the type of game I was expecting. In the run-up, I played through some of the older titles and read up on some of the others, in preparation for a grandiose story that would bring everyone in and tie everything together. I was expecting the story of a 50 hour JRPG and I got something off the back of a cereal packet.

Maybe that's a bit unfair, but once I realised the story wasn't a sweeping epic, I had an amazing time. The mission structure reminded me of the old school games, like Cannon Fodder or something. But with one guy, instead of four soon-to-be-dead guys.

All this discussion is making me want to replay MGS V

Reading all of this makes me want to play this game again, just to rocket punch someone in the face one more time! Also the correct answer to best song for your chopper is certainly ride of the valkeries but you spin me round by dead or alive has its place!!

@Gremio108 I think you've hit upon an excellent point.

After a decade of expansion into a huge franchise, the Metal Gear Solid games had a well-earned reputation for being fantastic CGI action films, periodically featuring snippets of inventive toybox gameplay made so memorable by its refinement, focus and brevity.

Reversing this overview, Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain are fantastic and inventive toybox games, periodically featuring snippets of a refined, focused story between missions.

In other words, the complete MGSV experience is the most "game" Metal Gear Solid game.

@Ralizah That is soooo cliche 🙄

(But we all had it as the chopper tune at some point)

Well when alls said and done. This is one of the few games that once back in the real world - I was actively looking for resources to fulton.

@RogerRoger Yeah, exactly. The structure was very game-y, whereas I was all primed and ready for the ultimate cinematic game. Good fun though!