Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2905 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,071 out of 2905
  2. Mixed: 461 out of 2905
  3. Negative: 373 out of 2905

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  1. Bane2087
    Sep 4, 2015
    7
    + Good graphics, well optimised
    + Gameplay is fun when not fighting the controls
    + Tons of content - Bad glitchy controls, movement and cover system - Completely nonsensical plot and backstory - Dodgy PC port with no mouse support in menus Seems people will rate anything a 10 with Kojima written on it, because this game is by no means perfect. The worst offender here is the    + Good graphics, well optimised
    + Gameplay is fun when not fighting the controls
    + Tons of content
    - Bad glitchy controls, movement and cover system
    - Completely nonsensical plot and backstory
    - Dodgy PC port with no mouse support in menus

    Seems people will rate anything a 10 with Kojima written on it, because this game is by no means perfect. The worst offender here is the glitching controls that fight you at every turn whether it's something as simple as opening a door that takes 3 attempts or trying to take cover behind a wall the game developers forgot to mark as cover. In those times you aren't crawling backwards instead of turning around, or climbing on a ledge you are actually allowed to climb the game shines and makes you wish they'd spent more time polishing the terrain traversal instead of the cut scenes because it could have been much better than it is. Also Assassin's Creed (yes the first one in 2007) did a better job of implementing horse movement.

    Other than that the story is barely coherent, extremely disjointed and nonsensical, If you haven't played the previous games in the series be prepared for a rough time because very little is explained and the game expects you from the outset to care about characters who you've only just been introduced to. There's very little to explain wtf is going on really apart from a bunch of audio logs.

    Finally this game is a jarring blend of seriousness (like witnessing graphic cold blooded murder of innocents) and the completely ridiculous (such as stealing enemy troops by sending them into orbit via a balloon). It does not blend well at all.    … Expand
  2. Captiosus
    Sep 4, 2015
    7
    The game is structurally sound and plays as one would expect a modern Metal Gear Solid game to play. Graphically it's better than most and the gameplay is pretty good. I have a few quibbles about the play, such as Big Boss' movement - he feels sluggish, almost drunk - and some pretty unrefined gunplay, but these quibbles aren't really that big of a deal. The narration is ho-hum andThe game is structurally sound and plays as one would expect a modern Metal Gear Solid game to play. Graphically it's better than most and the gameplay is pretty good. I have a few quibbles about the play, such as Big Boss' movement - he feels sluggish, almost drunk - and some pretty unrefined gunplay, but these quibbles aren't really that big of a deal. The narration is ho-hum and sometimes absolutely annoying, especially when getting harassed a bunch at Mother Base. But I could list a dozen games that are infinitely worse in this aspect.

    The problem I'm having with the game is that I'm finding it all so dreadfully BORING. I've enjoyed every Metal Gear game since its inception back on the NES, including the movie-fest that was MGS4, but for some reason MGS5 just doesn't really make me want to keep playing. So far it's missing the "WOW! DID YOU SEE THAT!" factor. The game features large terrains but they're are mostly bereft of life outside of your side ops and main mission areas. 15 hours in and I'm already tired of the samey repetition of the game's mission designs.

    The open world design doesn't seem all that impressive because most of the time is spent just traversing to predetermined destinations. But it's sure beautiful to look at. Also, the microtransactions really grate my nerves. I don't understand how anyone can defend this behavior. I don't think this is a Kojima design - I'm almost certain this was forced into the game by Konami.

    (PC Specs: i7-3770, 960GTX 4GB GDDR5, 16GB DDR3 System RAM, Win7 Pro x64)    … Expand
  3. Tylaris
    Sep 21, 2015
    7
    +Great performance and a very polished game...a lesson to almost ALL developers
    +Overall great visuals, animations, voice acting, music and sound design...very high production values
    +Excellent game play with amazing flexibility that allows you to tackle missions in a number of different ways...action stealth at it's FINEST +Intense intro and fantastic cinematics +"Thematically    +Great performance and a very polished game...a lesson to almost ALL developers
    +Overall great visuals, animations, voice acting, music and sound design...very high production values
    +Excellent game play with amazing flexibility that allows you to tackle missions in a number of different ways...action stealth at it's FINEST
    +Intense intro and fantastic cinematics
    +"Thematically strong", but only at certain( and very sparse) points within the game
    +Plenty of content, good replayability, interesting motherbase building concept
    -Convoluted, unfinished main story that fails to provide a sense of direction through majority of the game, plot holes, badly written dialogue at times, mute protagonist and little character development
    -Bland and unimpressive environmental design and world setting...game would hugely benefit from a change of scenery, especially later on in the game
    -Same applies to overall mission design, which can also get very tedious and repetitive
    -Typical MGS silliness that completely feels out of place with a more serious tone and setting of the game
    -Misc: Undeveloped motherbase, lot of unnecessary waiting periods, At times (Noticeable, but not frequent) buggy AI, "Kojima intrusion on the game"( you will know it when you see it, and you will...a LOT), credits rolling after each mission, at times glitchy controls, some minor graphical issues
    - In game Micro transactions, PC copies sold with nothing but a Steam installer on it, DRM...little respect for customers
    With finishing it, I can safely say that MGS V is a VERY polarizing title...if you are the sort of player who loves games that offer you amazing depth in game play mechanics and creating your own scenarios, then stop reading this and go buy this game...you're in for one hell of a ride.
    But if you're more interested about the story, characters, atmosphere, world or exploration...you won't regret passing on this one.
    Overall, don't listen to either "fanboys","haters" and ESPECIALLY to the majority of professional "journalists"...neither shows the full picture here. I recommend reading "yellow" reviews here and watching more detailed videos soon coming from independent and mature youtubers.    … Expand
  4. Jack_Felix
    Sep 2, 2015
    6
    Previous Metal Gear games was most cinematic and story driven productions of their times so imagine my disappointment when it turned out that MGV is one of the least cinematic games in this year...

    After great beginning - which is probably the most story driven part of the game - you landed in Afghanistan and there story is just... gone. Your getting one short cutscene and some    Previous Metal Gear games was most cinematic and story driven productions of their times so imagine my disappointment when it turned out that MGV is one of the least cinematic games in this year...

    After great beginning - which is probably the most story driven part of the game - you landed in Afghanistan and there story is just... gone. Your getting one short cutscene and some cinematic action sequence per 3 to 4 hours of gameplay! How is that even possible in Kojima game?! To hell with that... How is that even possible in 2015, after we get such narration-based games like Witcher 3, where almost every single quest has cinematic story to it?!

    I mean **** the story... **** the narration... It is just incredibly bad for the pacing. The moment you get into "open world" game becomes "choose the mission => go from point A to point B => do the stealth => repeat". It's almost like Destiny all over again. True, game has some great story-driven moments but they happen between hours upon hours of doing stealth missions all over again. And missions themselves aren't so much varied!

    The gameplay is great, no doubt about that, and game looks and runs gorgeous but the amount of story per hour and overall pacing make it repetitive after first 4 hours. It's like Kojima made amazing 10 hour game and then someone stretched it out to 50 hours by putting in completely story-lacked missions with only Ocelot speaking something of little importance to your ear. I can not understand those 10/10 from everyone. It is just impossible how everyone love this game with its repetitive "do the steath mission over and over again" while there are such games like Witcher or the Last of Us out there. It is just crazy.    … Expand
  5. Amerika
    Sep 19, 2015
    7
    Well, it's a good game - but not more. This is my first MGS, but I've known about the series for a long time, and I've heard that all the games are very, very good. There are a lot of good points: optimization, decent stealth, good (with some unexplained and plain stupid parts) story. And a big minus - it's surprisingly repetitive:
    1. "Good luck, boss".
    2. Put everyone to sleep (some    Well, it's a good game - but not more. This is my first MGS, but I've known about the series for a long time, and I've heard that all the games are very, very good. There are a lot of good points: optimization, decent stealth, good (with some unexplained and plain stupid parts) story. And a big minus - it's surprisingly repetitive:
    1. "Good luck, boss".
    2. Put everyone to sleep (some variety included)
    3. Fulton everyone
    4. Mission complete.

    Of course, there is a good amount of variety, bot core parts don't change a bit. And you'll have to replay the story missions again. They will be more difficult: remember that there are no difficulty "sliders" and no quicksaves.

    Sandbox, base building, online (fob part): it's bad because it consists of 10% chopper, 25% fulton, 15% boring objectives, 40% boring terrain, 10% gameplay. Grinding soldiers for motherbase feels like mmo.

    In the end I want to say that if we'd excluded repetative parts it would've been very short game. 7/10 is the maximum for this Hideo Kojima game.    … Expand
  6. Digitalkid
    Aug 8, 2016
    6
    Two hours of soapy cutscenes, to finally get to a stealth action, where you run to your target, shoot it and run away under a nose of his guards. Running under the nose of spetsnaz in a BOX? Or sending them to your base via balloons! SRSLY?! O_o
  7. marcelus
    Mar 17, 2017
    7
    Pros:
    - One of the best stealth games out there.
    - Replaying missions is most of the times a different experience. If the games is boring or repetitive is because you don't use all the tools you have. - Environments looks great. The weather system and day / night cycles changes the way you approach a base. The terrain has good use of vertical design. The FOX Engine works great on all    Pros:
    - One of the best stealth games out there.
    - Replaying missions is most of the times a different experience. If the games is boring or repetitive is because you don't use all the tools you have.
    - Environments looks great. The weather system and day / night cycles changes the way you approach a base. The terrain has good use of vertical design. The FOX Engine works great on all next-gen platforms. I played the PS4 and this PC versions. Between both versions more than 200 hs. Still playing both for whiiiiiiiiiiiiilee!
    - The main advantage of this PC version is the lighting. Some shaders respond better to specular maps. The texture work between PS4 and PC at least looks kind of the same range. There're some critical closeups to textures like some Diamond Dogs logos and Quiet sniper riffle that looks awful on both. But aside that the game looks outstanding and runs great even on "Borderless Fullscreen" mode ;) It had some stuttering issues and problems with alpha maps of particles during day one but they are solved.
    - The game adapts to your gameplay style. It changes the experience every time you replay a mission.
    - Master Miller rules!
    - If you liked MGS Peace Walker this is a great evolution.
    - The buddies of course! D.D. Is Love!    … Expand
  8. DanielCorfour
    Sep 14, 2015
    7
    Pros:
    -Best and most polished gameplay I've seen in a long time.
    -100+ hours worth of (mostly) worthwhile content. -Great Chapter I, story is mostly nice. -Excellent, meticulously crafted cut-scenes, even if the cinematographer at times tried too hard to make greatness and ended up botching some scenes. -Amazing graphics, great environments, and surprisingly good level design for an    Pros:
    -Best and most polished gameplay I've seen in a long time.
    -100+ hours worth of (mostly) worthwhile content.
    -Great Chapter I, story is mostly nice.
    -Excellent, meticulously crafted cut-scenes, even if the cinematographer at times tried too hard to make greatness and ended up botching some scenes.
    -Amazing graphics, great environments, and surprisingly good level design for an open-world game.

    Cons:
    -Missing a lot of story. Lots of plot holes, unfinished stuff. Half of chapter 2 and the entire chapter 3 missing from the game.
    -The story, even without the cuts, is often times contradictory and nonsensical. For a game that's supposed to explain the Big Boss's fall from grace, it does nothing of the sorts. Instead of acting as a bridge between Metal Gear and Peace Walker, it acts as the bomb that blew up the hypothetical bridge: it creates more plot holes than it solves... actually it doesn't solve any, it just creates new ones.
    -Some important story points are told trough audio logs. It's jarring. A cutscene would've been better.
    -Motherbase is gigantic and completely empty. Outside of some cutscenes, there's nothing going on there. There are only 2 indoors locations, and only one of them has anything interesting going on.
    -You build an awesome tank, and do nothing with it. Yeah, there was supposed to be something there, but it got cut from the game, like so many other things.
    -Controls are wonky at best. Shootings' fine, great even, but free-running, climbing, stances, cover are all horrible. Often times Snake gets up, instead of crawling, he goes out of cover, instead of moving a bit to the side. etc. There's also no mouse support in menus, which is a pain, and for some reason or the other, the button prompts are some time for the controller and some time for KBM. Oh and every single action in the game is bound to the "e" button. So a lot of times you'll struggle to get the guy to do what you want him to do.

    All in all, the game has a lot of problems. I could sit here all day listing them. But the short version of it all? I've had a tone of fun with it. It's dumb, and you'll get angry when you finish it, but the journey there might just be worth it.    … Expand
  9. Arkunsaas
    Sep 23, 2015
    7
    Positives:

    + Amazing new and fun gameplay features + Good graphics on 60fps + Buddy support system + Some serious issues touched upon in the story + New stealth mechanics with open world freedom + Awesome classic soundtracks + Day/night cycle + Dynamic weather Controversial elements: +/- Motherbase (for some it might be a distraction for other it might be a    Positives:

    + Amazing new and fun gameplay features

    + Good graphics on 60fps

    + Buddy support system

    + Some serious issues touched upon in the story

    + New stealth mechanics with open world freedom

    + Awesome classic soundtracks

    + Day/night cycle

    + Dynamic weather

    Controversial elements:

    +/- Motherbase (for some it might be a distraction for other it might be a cool new feature)

    Negatives:

    - No closure for MGS fans

    - Pacing sucks. The game revolves around gameplay only and the story has been sidelined to such an extent that it doesnt really matter how good the story line is. Cutscenes have been replaced by audio tapes that you listen to when you want. Do the first 20 missions and ask yourself how much has the actual story progressed and how it unfolded.

    - Forgettable villain

    - Repetitive main/side quests (Extract targets or Kill them thats pretty much the whole game). And sometimes you will find yourself doing similar missions at the exact same site. Whats up with this sh*t.

    - Lack of indoor stealth

    - Forgettable boss battles (Final boss is like a bad joke. Infact all the boss battles is this game are nothing compared to the battles from previous MGS games)

    - It is obviously a work in progress

    - Bland open world

    - First ever game i have played that asks you to replay the story missions on hard mode as a part of the main campaign

    - O and the "Boss" feels like he is Kaz's errand boy. All the high hopes of MGS fans to meet the legendary boss will be crushed to mush. His attitude shows that he really doesn't care about the story or the events of GZ because.....(the answer lies in mission 46).

    - The secret ending is a big Fu*k You to all the MGS fans. I am sorry but i cant see it any other way.

    This game doesn't deserve to be a part of the MGS series. One cannot just possibly praise this title as an MGS game simply because the gameplay is awesome while everything else great about the series is sacrificed.

    In short:
    Would i recommend this game: Yes (purely because its ultimately Kojima's MGS and the gameplay ofcourse)
    Is this game a disappointment: Yes (because of pretty much everything else)    … Expand
  10. TenchuuKhan
    Sep 15, 2015
    7
    Simply unfinished and unpolished game. What saves it is that it's super fun to play.
    I'd recommend the game to anyone but there's simply things that are so criminally bad and awkward in this game that one should know before purchasing it.
    Now, to begin with, what are you in for? Before you can do anything you are in for a ~90 minutes intro mission with various cutscenes and not much    Simply unfinished and unpolished game. What saves it is that it's super fun to play.
    I'd recommend the game to anyone but there's simply things that are so criminally bad and awkward in this game that one should know before purchasing it.

    Now, to begin with, what are you in for?
    Before you can do anything you are in for a ~90 minutes intro mission with various cutscenes and not much fun in terms of gameplay. Afterwards the real game starts.
    Basically you have an open world with various main and side missions that tell you to infiltrate some base, however you'd like to do that then, finish an objective, and get out again.
    In order to get in and out you can call in a heli that can pick you up and drop you off at various locations around the target - which is pretty atmospheric, even after doing it a hundred times.

    On top of that you have the opportunity to upgrade your mother base and compete with others online. You hire soldiers that defend your base, and you can attack other bases. Never tried that though.

    Now, if that sounds fun to you, and it is, here's the problems:
    Controls:
    The controls are basically good, the problem is more the reaction your controls have in the gameworld.
    For instance, if you push forward against a wall, like only 30% of the time he actually attaches to the wall. It doesn't work with all walls either. Some do, some don't... some sometimes do.

    The other issue is with climbing terrain. I'm not talking Skyrim laziness level: I'm trying to climb High Hrothgar from the Northeast in a straight line. I'm talking: there's a 20% angle upwards, you can't go... sometimes you can though. Also sometimes you can hit E to climb up a wall, sometimes you can't.

    Missions:
    If you thought Skyrim was lazy in terms of recycling locations you better fasten your seatbelt because this game brings a whole new quality to this.
    To begin with, yes - locations are recycled and used for various missions and side missions. No problem.

    But, even missions themselves are recycled. To be perfect, pretty much everything in the second chapter is doing chapter 1 missions (same cutscenes btw.) on ridiculously hard. Like: you can't get detected or, we just make that really hard bossfight a tick harder to make the game longer. Where we are at it...

    Bossfights:
    This is the number one atrocity in MGS5 Phantom Pain. I've never seen anything like it. The last MGS I played was the first MGS on the PSX. And those bossfights were hard, but original and had some tactic to them.

    Here though the tactic looks like this:
    Skulls: 4 guys jumping around that take ~30 Bazooka shots each that will grant you hours and hours of frustration. (On Extreme (Mission 42) - one mistake, you're dead... which sets you back around 30 minutes if you almost just made it)
    Quiet: That one was fun actually, basically it was a sniper duel in a valley. Even on Extreme I enjoyed it.
    Sniper Skulls: That one was okayish, basically you fight against 4 weaker versions of Quiet. Still not fun. Just aim at them, let them shoot, dock, then aim - take your shot. They'll run, and after a few seconds they go back to their old position. Rinse and repeat.
    Sahelanthropus: Yea, basically shoot your bazooka in his chest for 20 minutes... towards the end a single shot from him instakills you though.
    Eli: Since you're also in Africa there ought to be child soldiers... with a white kid commander that is a boss.... basically he jumps around, attacks you, quicktime... then he runs away again. Chase after him, rinse and repeat. Oh and hit him with your tranqus in between. (For whatever reason kids are almost immune to tranqus and take 3 headshots (regular kid soldiers, not this one))

    Story:
    The story is badly implemented into the game. The fact that there is a chapter 2 and that it sends you back to story missions from chapter 1 on hard should be proof enough for that.
    Still, whenever the story progresses, it's interesting.

    Quiet - yes she deserves her own section:
    Basically she's a a really likeable, but underdeveloped and hypersexualized character that deserved more. It feels more like after the sniper battle you tamed her.
    Having done her whole storyline it feels like this character was written this way solely for the purpose of trolling Anita Sarkeesian.

    Quiet is still a great buddy and I wished they did more with her.

    Small positive stuff:
    Soundtrack is great 80's music and you can collect tapes you can then listen to on your walkman.
    Extracting persons and animals is a fun, comical feature.
    AI will adapt to your tactics - in my case they now all wear helmets and there's heavy units all over the place.
    Game is 100% worth replaying and you can always just replay single missions.
    You find a stray pup at some point that then gets bigger and trained and he can accompany you at missions.

    Bottom line - buy it, play it - it's great. But oh so flawed.    … Expand
  11. 0235
    Sep 18, 2015
    7
    first off. i just cant give this game any higher than a 7. a game that fails to have a function save feature and will almost always throw you right back the the very start of hour+ long missions due to a tiny slip up, or poor planning from the start is not fun at all.
    Aside from that, the game is regularly boring, completely hollow, and a façade for what should have been a linear game.    first off. i just cant give this game any higher than a 7. a game that fails to have a function save feature and will almost always throw you right back the the very start of hour+ long missions due to a tiny slip up, or poor planning from the start is not fun at all.
    Aside from that, the game is regularly boring, completely hollow, and a façade for what should have been a linear game. mother base is but a tech tree you can walk around and get people to salute you, nothing more nothing less.
    the world just isn't real enough. they promised all sorts of different tactics, but nothing. there is no benefit to daytime attacks, AI can instantly report your location to every surrounding soldier, even if you shoot them before the radio reaches their mouth.
    the start was fantastic, then suddenly you are dumped into two boring maps with little going on. think farcry 2, and you will have pretty much nailed every element of MGSV: TPP, except MGS has more dart guns.    … Expand
  12. dduggan
    Nov 17, 2015
    6
    Disclaimer: I've never played a MGS game before, and I typically do not like stealth games. If you enjoy difficult stealth games then I expect you to have a significantly different experience than me.

    The graphics in this game were generally beautiful. The stealth mechanics were realistic, and somewhat fun. The game's interface was not great. The controls felt clunky and wrong in my    Disclaimer: I've never played a MGS game before, and I typically do not like stealth games. If you enjoy difficult stealth games then I expect you to have a significantly different experience than me.

    The graphics in this game were generally beautiful. The stealth mechanics were realistic, and somewhat fun. The game's interface was not great. The controls felt clunky and wrong in my hands. I couldn't figure out what the base building stuff meant.

    The open world was nice, but eventually got repetitive and difficult to get anywhere I wanted. Objectives weren't always clear.

    I really wanted to put in a chunk of time into this game, but I did not mesh with the system. I think it is a graphically great and well polished game, but it definitely appeals to a more hardcore niche. I am sure that for the people who like MGS and stealth games, it was all they dreamed. All in all, I may return to it eventually but it was not fun for me.    … Expand
  13. Wegnas
    Sep 18, 2015
    7
    Easily the best stealth game I've ever played, amazing gameplay. That being said, MGSV has the weakest storyline in the series. There are a lot of plotholes and inconsistencies. Story is not coherent at all. Storline seems rushed and narrative is the worst of them all. There were parts which made me stop playing for a while. Skull Face is the worst antagonist in the series, can't even callEasily the best stealth game I've ever played, amazing gameplay. That being said, MGSV has the weakest storyline in the series. There are a lot of plotholes and inconsistencies. Story is not coherent at all. Storline seems rushed and narrative is the worst of them all. There were parts which made me stop playing for a while. Skull Face is the worst antagonist in the series, can't even call him an antagonist he is more like a simple, generic and dull villian. Story starts interesting but it goes from interesting to boring very quickly and ending didn't satisfied me.

    Even though gameplay is great, story is the worst in the series. Since I value story more than gameplay MGSV is slightly disappointing to me.    … Expand
  14. Bishi
    Sep 12, 2015
    6
    +Reasonably fun at first once you are in the open world
    +Plays similarly to Far Cry
    +The character visuals (faces etc) are generally well done -MASSIVELY overhyped for what has actually been delivered. To sum this up in one phrase would be 'Far Cry Lite' -Fulton is entertaining at first but overused as hell -Awful selection of songs for the tape walkman -Cover system is so bad it    +Reasonably fun at first once you are in the open world
    +Plays similarly to Far Cry
    +The character visuals (faces etc) are generally well done

    -MASSIVELY overhyped for what has actually been delivered. To sum this up in one phrase would be 'Far Cry Lite'
    -Fulton is entertaining at first but overused as hell
    -Awful selection of songs for the tape walkman
    -Cover system is so bad it may as well not exist
    -Guns feel far too similar, little differentiating them
    -Voiceovers are annoying as hell 'he's coming too? EVERY time you use a Fulton'
    -Crappy textures even at max settings
    -Game looks very last gen. Not terrible but I have no idea why people are excited by these visuals.
    -Boring as hell prologue. Lasts about an hour in which time nothing happens. You should skip this.
    -Once you have the basics down the missions all become very repetitive and very easy
    -The whole mother-base part of the game feels bolted on and uninteresting
    -Quiet might as well be naked, camera likes to focus on her **** What year is this?
    -60 FPS lock, unacceptable in 2015. Can be bypassed with some hacking but can affect physics apparently
    -The two zones in the game Afghanistan and Africa are really boring to look at, very limited palletes and no interesting landmarks etc    … Expand
  15. georgio
    Sep 18, 2015
    7
    Now to preface the whole review - I have never played any MGS game. I just saw stellar reviews and bought the game on impulse. I do not regret the buy, but I have to say that my expectations definitely were not met. Also to note - I have around 25 hours clocked in the game, so I cannot really comment on late-game stuff. But I think I can still reasonably evaluate the game experience

    +    Now to preface the whole review - I have never played any MGS game. I just saw stellar reviews and bought the game on impulse. I do not regret the buy, but I have to say that my expectations definitely were not met. Also to note - I have around 25 hours clocked in the game, so I cannot really comment on late-game stuff. But I think I can still reasonably evaluate the game experience

    + Graphics, scenery and everything is top notch.
    + Combat system and movement is a little bit clunky, but it is not terrible
    + The story I actually do not mind that much. There are some weird things going on, but I get the gist of it. You were once glorious private army leader who fell hard due to some powerful enemies, you are now trying to rebuild and have your vengeance along the way. All in all I think the starting story sequence in the hospital was well done and a really well done
    + Base management is a plus. It fits with the whole rebuilding theme and I like it. I think it is done as well as it could given it is a console port

    Now unfortunately we get to the first and big minus: sandbox mode. At least for me it is very repetitive and boring. Sneak into the guard post/base/village, put everyone to sleep by tranquilizer/takedowns, chute everybody and everything out and rinse/repeat. I am not that far into the game and I cleared all the villages/guard posts several times over. I know where the guards are, I know the layout of everything by heart. Now you get something new every now and then (blow up some tanks and such), but it is not enough.

    Now I have to say that I am a little bit spoiled by having over 100 hours of Witcher 3 played. But the comparisons are not misplaced. While witcher lacks basebuilding concept, it gets everything else right. The world is large but also alive. You get separate story-lines that do not feel repetitive. You get a change in scenery (caves, open world, city streets even water) - in MGS it is same old.

    I am in a state where I still thing MGS is a good game but I now play it in bursts - log in, do one or two missions for hour or so, get fed up with doing same stuff, log out and go play other games. The game is not compelling for me, it lacks the element where you are curious what is over there or where this quest leads.

    If there is any comparison, I would say MGS V feels like FPS version of "Mount and Blade", only without Mods that freshen the game up and with less compelling combat (at least for me).

    PS:

    - Also a minor point, what the hell is this business with the crate? I can totally eat floating girl-ghost appearing from nowhere and hurling large boulders around with her mind. I can enjoy indestructible guy set on fire going around and killing everyone or packs of some cyber soldiers pursuing me in Afghanistan. I can even eat sending T-72s on a parachute to stratosphere while listening to Phil Collings from my walkman. But I refuse to go around in hidden in a crate lunging attacks on unsuspecting russian soldiers. It totally breaks my suspension of disbelief (fortunatelly I don't have to use it).    … Expand
  16. Thylbanus
    Sep 3, 2015
    5
    This game's ratings has clearly played to Kojima's reputation rather than actual quality. This has all the long time fans cheering the virtues of Kojima. These are the same people that say all the other ones are good, when they really aren't. This is just horrible, but no less horrible than any in the series. You may find it odd that I went with a 5. Had I been reviewing it on it'sThis game's ratings has clearly played to Kojima's reputation rather than actual quality. This has all the long time fans cheering the virtues of Kojima. These are the same people that say all the other ones are good, when they really aren't. This is just horrible, but no less horrible than any in the series. You may find it odd that I went with a 5. Had I been reviewing it on it's own merit, it would be a 2. Given the comparisons between the others, it's average for the series. It's pretty, no doubt, but it hardly compensates for the poor story and weak characterizations. It's like watching a bad B-Movie. Horribly delivered lines. Cheesy, predictable story. I had to check to see if George Lucas was given a screenwriting credit.

    TL:DR, if you liked the series, this one is for you. If you have never played any of the Metal Gear series, or didn't like it to begin with, this will make you hate it.    … Expand
  17. Nomus
    Sep 17, 2015
    7
    It's an okay game in small bursts.

    I'm doing roughly one mission a night, maybe a side-op if the game hasn't bored me already.

    I think we just overhyped the living **** out of it for ourselves.

    GZ and the trailers just looked so promising.

    The open-world premise got me thinking we'd have several Camp Omegas to explore, but we got tiny boring based and Far Cry outposts instead.
  18. suneater
    Sep 13, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Full review too large for Metacritic. Visit my Steam profile at /id/verticalcleave for more, including a breakdown of the pros and cons of MGS5.

    For a game that was supposed to bridge the gap between the original Metal Gear games and the MGS series's later titles, there is very little storytelling or character development here. The only character with real growth is Huey, who is a piece of trash that you (and everyone in the game) grows to hate. Sure, Huey might be the best written character in the series, but it doesn't excuse how everyone else is fueled by revenge and has their arc concluded with revenge. There are also few cutscenes, with most of the meat of the story being told through Codec calls- *ahem* -I mean, cassette tapes. The game also takes a sharp turn from GZ's tone, with Skull Face going from being a creepy, mysterious horror one step ahead of you to being a caricature of a bond villain (who exposes his whole scheme to you during an awkwardly long caravan ride to his "real" base). The worst part is a lot of the story is repeated; you seem to be expected to listen to all of the cassette tapes to get the full story (imagine how bad previous games would've been if you were expected to pay attention to every non-critical Codec call!) and yet the conversations on them are often repeated or paraphrased during the main game! The game also fails to conclude all of its threads appropriately; most notoriously, a cut Mission 51 has shown up on Youtube which concludes a cliffhanger that happens in the middle of Chapter 2. The fact that such an important mission was left undone makes me think that this game was unfinished and rushed out the door, despite being in development for a supposed 5 years.

    There is a lot that could be nitpicked about this game but the biggest issue I have with it is the story. The MGS games have always been known for their story, with lengthy cutscenes and frequent Codec calls crafting a believable parallel world to ours. Snake (despite being voiced by Jack Bauer) is almost a silent protagonist in 5, who doesn't respond to radio communications (the replacement for Codec calls) or even talk to non Diamond Dog characters outside of Mother Base. Even during the ridiculous caravan ride with Skull Face he doesn't say a word during Skull Face's exposition. Snake had some ridiculous writing in the past (often repeating lines and adding a question mark on the end to comical effect) but it makes no sense for him to play the mute during key story points. I understand that Kojima wanted players to insert themselves as Snake this time around... But isn't that what players have always done in this series? People wanted to play as Big Boss and watch his descent into madness as advertised, not play as a silent body double. This might've been an attempt to reproduce the twist that Kojima created with Raiden in MGS2; however, that twist was acceptable because it happened near the beginning of the game. This game's twist just seems like a big "screw you" to the fans. All of this is on top of Kojima's obnoxious handwavium of choice, VOCAL CHORD PARASITES, which have effectively replaced MGS4's nanomachines as being the cause and effect for everything supernatural that happens.

    MGS5 could've been a good game had it ended with Chapter 1, could've been a great game with better writing, and could've been an amazing game with more series staples (more & better bosses, more (!) cutscenes, more character development). Things might change in the future; Konami might just be holding out on later chapters to milk the player base for DLC money (MB coins are already disgustingly distorting the singleplayer experience). As it currently stands, I'm going to get everything I can out of this game because its money already spent and its decently playable. However, because of all the glaring issues previously mentioned, plus broken online components such as MGO3 being delayed to January 2016 while consoles get it Oct. 6th and FOBs being invadable while offline, I cannot recommend this game to anyone. Both MGR and even the "paid demo" Ground Zeroes were honestly better Metal Gear Solid games than this embarrassing train wreck of game.    … Expand
  19. ZaPaAl
    Oct 27, 2015
    6
    Really great gameplay, good looking. Bad and convoluted Story, told in tiny fragments and needing alot of listening to long tapes without hardly any message. Bad Pacing, dislikeable characters. Quiet and her part is ok, but she does not carry the main story. Forced online elements, built around griefing and wasting time. Lot's of repetitive time sinks between the "gameplay" action. Quite aReally great gameplay, good looking. Bad and convoluted Story, told in tiny fragments and needing alot of listening to long tapes without hardly any message. Bad Pacing, dislikeable characters. Quiet and her part is ok, but she does not carry the main story. Forced online elements, built around griefing and wasting time. Lot's of repetitive time sinks between the "gameplay" action. Quite a few annoying repeating radio messages. Baseline: very depressing and not fun the more you play and the more you understand the story. Feels unfinished, but I doubt even a finished version would have lifted the experience, as this was obviously not built around a strong and emotionally engaging story to begin with.… Expand
  20. Ansatsu83
    Sep 22, 2015
    7
    This game could be close to perfect but suffers from some very MAJOR issues... these are issues I cannot look past for whatever reason they chose, most of them just poor design flaws or poor implementation.

    1. FOB missions and connection to the server, yes you will get disconnected quite often. If you are in an FOB mission, and get disconnected cause their server derps up, you not only    This game could be close to perfect but suffers from some very MAJOR issues... these are issues I cannot look past for whatever reason they chose, most of them just poor design flaws or poor implementation.

    1. FOB missions and connection to the server, yes you will get disconnected quite often. If you are in an FOB mission, and get disconnected cause their server derps up, you not only automatically fail the mission, you lose rank points and they get a location on your base, opening you up to their raids. VERY BAD IMPLEMENTATION!!!!!!!

    2. The open world portion gets very repetitive and doesnt feel like I'm getting a lot of reward.

    3. Some of the missions feel like they drag on and on for no reason. The last mission in afganistan, in particular, takes far too long, when it should only take half of the time.

    4. At the time of writing this, there is a movement bug, where your character will continue walking in one direction. The fix is to run around in a circle... but this is enough time to either a. get spotted, or b. get focused down after being spotted... its a big bug that shouldn't have made it past their play testing.

    Otherwise, the stealth concept is sound, the combat is pretty good, and its overall a good game. I would say it is not worth 60 dollars, but closer to 40. Either way ive had a lot of fun, but these issues really kill the fun factor of the game. If this changes, great, I could go up to an 8 or 9, but until then, its a solid 7.    … Expand
  21. xavia91
    Oct 19, 2017
    7
    Pro:
    Great Graphics with no lag at all.
    Overall the game works pretty well, no real bugs.

    Con:
    Repetitive repetitive repetitive.
    The concept of basically being forced to extract people totally disturbs the stealth part for me!
    Range of some weapons seem pretty low.
    Story?
    taking cover has a kinda weird mechanic.
    controls on pc is badly ported.
  22. Chapa9dj
    Oct 21, 2015
    5
    Disappointment of the year.
    It feels so rushed, empty and boring. The story is more convoluted than ever and unfinished, just like the entire game.
    A shame that one of my favourite franchises goes straight into the trash with this entry.
    I simply cannot fathom how did it go so wrong.
    Open world doesn't fit in this game. It's like trying to make a linear GTA game.
  23. Mjolnir
    Sep 26, 2015
    6
    + Great gameplay
    + Well optimised
    + Interesting meta-game - Nonsense story - Little design flaws which impact entire game experience (e.g. repeating story missions) - Scars from cut content (e.g. unable to use Metal Gear Emmerich designs, unexplained origin story for D-Dog) - Limited to two environments which get stale (Afghanistan and Africa) - Story loopholes (e.g. Big Boss'    + Great gameplay
    + Well optimised
    + Interesting meta-game

    - Nonsense story
    - Little design flaws which impact entire game experience (e.g. repeating story missions)
    - Scars from cut content (e.g. unable to use Metal Gear Emmerich designs, unexplained origin story for D-Dog)
    - Limited to two environments which get stale (Afghanistan and Africa)
    - Story loopholes (e.g. Big Boss' descent into villainy)    … Expand
  24. awdrifter
    Oct 17, 2015
    6
    Chapter 1 of this game is fantastic. While it's different from the previous MGS game in terms of mission structure, it's still has that MGS flare. The missions only got repetitive towards the end of Chapter 1. If this game ends at Chapter 1, this is easily an 8-9 game. However, Chapter 2 completely sours the experience for me. Chapter 2 is consists mostly of repeat missions, and theChapter 1 of this game is fantastic. While it's different from the previous MGS game in terms of mission structure, it's still has that MGS flare. The missions only got repetitive towards the end of Chapter 1. If this game ends at Chapter 1, this is easily an 8-9 game. However, Chapter 2 completely sours the experience for me. Chapter 2 is consists mostly of repeat missions, and the missions that are new are not well designed. The two true ending missions were truly disappointing. Chapter 2 is maybe a 4-5 experience, it felt like Kojima no longer had creative control at that point, Konami just hired any junior designer to finish the game up as quickly as possible. If you're a Metal Gear fan, I would say play this, but wait for a price drop. The story didn't add a lot to the Metal Gear overarching story.… Expand
  25. chrispDUCK
    Oct 19, 2015
    7
    Graphically great but ultimately shallow game. Large, open but very sparcely populated world, compared to games that do open worlds well like Witcher 3, Skyrim, Oblivion, etc there is really no comparison.
  26. NoMaDXT
    Dec 8, 2016
    6
    A good story Title. But the change to open world isnt my thing. Its interesting but ultimately detracts from why I play MGS games. A weird and fantastical Military drama told and directed amazingly. The open world starts making things repetative early on when I just want to concentrate on the game and not get roped into a multiplayer I really dont care about. The multiplayer I feel shouldA good story Title. But the change to open world isnt my thing. Its interesting but ultimately detracts from why I play MGS games. A weird and fantastical Military drama told and directed amazingly. The open world starts making things repetative early on when I just want to concentrate on the game and not get roped into a multiplayer I really dont care about. The multiplayer I feel should have been another game on its own. or perhaps a DLC. Neverthe less. Great story.… Expand
  27. ChosenOne
    Jan 25, 2016
    7
    Game felt like 10/10 until I finished it. After I realized that after 100 hours of gameplay completing tuttorial mission second time is an actual ending - I felt deluded, frustraited.
  28. MatDerKater
    Nov 18, 2015
    5
    Typical medicore AAA PC game with a whole bunch of paid for rave reviews bestowed upon it. After the excruciating 2 hour intro, the games presentation and introduction to the games mechanics does wow you a bit, for a while....and then you begin to notice that you are just doing the same thing over and over, and that you can't be arsed with any of it. Just another empty over-ratedTypical medicore AAA PC game with a whole bunch of paid for rave reviews bestowed upon it. After the excruciating 2 hour intro, the games presentation and introduction to the games mechanics does wow you a bit, for a while....and then you begin to notice that you are just doing the same thing over and over, and that you can't be arsed with any of it. Just another empty over-rated sand-boxer, which is vast, just because it can, not because it should.… Expand
  29. beyondtool
    Oct 20, 2015
    5
    The world, the gameplay and the sandbox nature of this game is excellent, unfortunately it is clearly a half finished vision. The second half of the game becomes repetitive rubbish, clearly padding the game for an ending that never comes. There is far too much busy work in the game that dampers the few and far between excellent level designs. The story is also rather nonsensical even forThe world, the gameplay and the sandbox nature of this game is excellent, unfortunately it is clearly a half finished vision. The second half of the game becomes repetitive rubbish, clearly padding the game for an ending that never comes. There is far too much busy work in the game that dampers the few and far between excellent level designs. The story is also rather nonsensical even for a metal gear game and it never actually reaches a conclusion. At least it runs well on most PCs, although the audio randomly drops out on my PC.

    It is bitterly disappointing that a game that starts with such a bang, ends with a whimper. Oh it's it's not really a metal gear game IMHO, far removed from the story heavy previous titles.    … Expand
  30. Aeryx
    Jul 7, 2019
    7
    Phantom Pain should be getting a 10, but the ridiculous mobile game mechanics and stupidly long timers (3 real world days for an assault rifle or 6 days for a battle dress) are truly shameful. This should never be allowed on a $60 game. The PC port's controls are also poorly implemented. I remember manning an AA gun instead of extracting it so many times because the contextual controlsPhantom Pain should be getting a 10, but the ridiculous mobile game mechanics and stupidly long timers (3 real world days for an assault rifle or 6 days for a battle dress) are truly shameful. This should never be allowed on a $60 game. The PC port's controls are also poorly implemented. I remember manning an AA gun instead of extracting it so many times because the contextual controls were so bad. Also add to this the Perfect Stealth and Subsistence missions, which are missions you already completed BUT HAVE TO REPEAT on these modes, is a big waste of time. I finished all the missions and side missions and I found these modes to be unnecessary at best and a big waste of time at worst. I like the idea of you capturing troops and putting them on your base but they were too generic and had no personality and character whatsoever. They just became names and stats on a spreadsheet.

    Now that's out of the way, the gameplay is great. The weapon customizations are very nice and the graphics are spot on. No crashes for me in Windows 7 and the game is very stable with very few bugs, apart from the annoying early level troops "Silent Basilisk" and others being low level and you cannot dismiss them. Which is very bad for leveling up your FOBs. The story could be better as there are many plot holes, but it is long and has plenty of substance. The plot is silly at times and the fake gun names are annoying. I can't imagine a bunch of kids outsmarting Miller, Ocelot and the Boss. Really? That's just plain dumb. Emmerich is also an annoying self-righteous cuck. It doesn't fit his character and was poorly executed. Additionally, why do I need to extract myself via helicopter when I have a fulton or a portal extraction device? Why can't big boss just fulton or portal himself back home? The tapes are good to listen to but still left many holes. I think Kojima did this game justice, but Konami ruined it with all of these mobile game mechanics. I don't like Hideo Kojima's decision to drop David Hayter. Overall, this is a great game, but it has many issues that may annoy you. I like Kojima and I want to give this a higher score but I think fanboyism ruins everything it touches. 7/10.    … Expand
  31. Muuvinki
    Nov 20, 2015
    5
    This game is a serious let down on so many levels. So much content has been cut off from the game.
    People saying this is the best metal gear solid game of the series don't know what they are talking about.

    Nobody should pay 60$ of this game, its just not worth it.
  32. LostAnkh
    Dec 23, 2015
    7
    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the most odd entry into the Metal Gear franchise, as it's franchise storyline is now complete with this entry. With it being Hideo Kojima's final Metal Gear game, how does it hold up?

    The story takes a backseat for several chunks of the game, awkwardly appearing here and there without warning or proper pacing. It's not entirely bad, as I enjoy the    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the most odd entry into the Metal Gear franchise, as it's franchise storyline is now complete with this entry. With it being Hideo Kojima's final Metal Gear game, how does it hold up?

    The story takes a backseat for several chunks of the game, awkwardly appearing here and there without warning or proper pacing. It's not entirely bad, as I enjoy the several topics presented and some of the events in the game, but it felt like there was more to expand on that didn't see the light of day. This is the case of gameplay taking precedent over the story.

    The gameplay of this game is the best the series has seen, with a lot of external factors that come into play to make a great stealth action experience, so that everyone has a different story to tell. While it is great to play, the objectives become more tedious and repetitive, which is actually a good chunk of the game. Later segments of the game feel uninspired and dull, which brings the second half of the game to a drag.

    Outside of it's stealth-action gameplay, Metal Gear Solid V incorporates a metagame in the form of Mother Base, a military base platform that opens up a new ways to create and customize your experience. Alongside with the two main large maps, having something like this adds to the scale of what Metal Gear Solid V is, and how big of a game it really is.

    Visually, the game looks and feels like a cinematic experience, having facial and motion capture to add. And the game is well optimized for the most part. Some of the visual effects and coloring could look better, since the game isn't demanding, but it looks great overall.

    Overall, Metal Gear Solid V tried to become the biggest Metal Gear game it could be, and fell short along the way. It felt like there was going to be more to add in all aspects of the game, but couldn't be realized with the time spent during it's development. It might have been too ambitious of a project, and has disappointed fans, including myself. I can only think of what The Phantom Pain could have been, but for what it is, I enjoyed the 180+ hours I spent with the game.    … Expand
  33. SmithROrus
    Oct 15, 2015
    6
    Pros:
    Very good gameplay at its core.
    Cons: Overwhelmingly bad storytelling, probably the worst in gaming history among AAA games. Characters are bland and uninspiring, there`s nothing to do between missions. Missions are repetitive and boring, game is forcing you to repeat the same things over and over and over "Open world" is a joke, 2 locations for the whole game which you are    Pros:
    Very good gameplay at its core.

    Cons:
    Overwhelmingly bad storytelling, probably the worst in gaming history among AAA games.
    Characters are bland and uninspiring, there`s nothing to do between missions.
    Missions are repetitive and boring, game is forcing you to repeat the same things over and over and over
    "Open world" is a joke, 2 locations for the whole game which you are going to revisit until you hate this game.
    The game is not finished. There`s no ending. It ends with just NOTHING. You play the next mission and NOTHING happens. Chapter 2 is a disaster in terms of plot, logic and sanity. By the end of chapter 2, main characters achieve nothing and the games offers nothing more instead of replaying old missions.

    10/10 A Hideo Kojima failure.    … Expand
  34. Negativvv
    Nov 16, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I wanted to love this game.

    The trailers basically promised too much and so did Kojima's constant PR.

    It doesn't deserve to be called an "open world" as there's nothing in it apart from enemy soldiers and the odd animal.

    Gameplay itself is very nice, however it's rinse and repeat. To get the best score and soldiers you essentially need to go non-lethal most of the time so your play method will be largely similar most missions. Quiet is a completely broken addition to the game though, she makes you lazy once you've skilled her up. She essentially does your job for you about 75% of the time.

    Storyline is essentially an in-coherent mess. After Skull Face is killed, the rest appears to be some sort of cutting room floor extras scraped onto a number of missions, some new missions, some subsistence (no equipment) some ultra stealth with no order.

    Parts of the storyline are genuinely touching, Quiet's arch made me sad somewhat. And the presentation for the parts of the game that are finished are triple A worthy.

    Kojima seems to have wasted $80 million on this game, Witcher 3 Wild Hunt cost half that but is far more polished and doesn't feel like the plug was pulled on it. I don't want to compare it to Witcher 3 however these are two of the biggest hitting sandbox games this year and comparison is inevitable.

    Konami trying to force FOB upon everyone was idiotic too, I played in offline mode only to prevent this.

    They should have made it mission based with no open world and no multi-player. Had so much potential but fell down.

    And there I was thinking that Phantom Pain simply couldn't fail because Ground Zeroes was so good :-(    … Expand
  35. Skipnipper
    Sep 7, 2015
    5
    Its an OK console port I suppose. Not worth buying if you've played lots of far cry, Splinter cell et al. This is a very similar game to these and doesn't bring much, if anything, new to the table. Wait for a 50% discount before buying.
  36. Look444
    Nov 13, 2015
    6
    Pros:
    -Great gameplay
    -Option for different playstyles -AMAZING performance -Pretty damn good graphics, even in lowest settings Cons: -Poor story -Poor character development -Lame villains -Disappointing boss fights -Cut out game content -Plain and boring environment **** tapes -Boring side ops and recycled missions -Not enough time to develop all your stuff due to cut out    Pros:
    -Great gameplay
    -Option for different playstyles
    -AMAZING performance
    -Pretty damn good graphics, even in lowest settings

    Cons:
    -Poor story
    -Poor character development
    -Lame villains
    -Disappointing boss fights
    -Cut out game content
    -Plain and boring environment
    **** tapes
    -Boring side ops and recycled missions
    -Not enough time to develop all your stuff due to cut out content, weaponry is very limited despite having many options, and many more!

    Overall I didn't get bored in the game, but it lasts for 20 more hours than necessary and it's VERY disappointing from a lore perspective, one of the things that were awesome about this saga.    … Expand
  37. Microcosmix
    Nov 11, 2015
    6
    It think this is the worst MGS so far... almost no story and copy and paste sidemissions. Ive Only played 25 hours when i had enough of the game.

    I wish it wasnt open world becuse the world feels empty .. what really bugging me is that the enemies respawn.
  38. DukeBalek
    Oct 8, 2015
    6
    insane epic intro scene for a very basic open world just after ... so boring .. ;(
    and some ideas are so stange like this thing with baloons ... non sense
  39. LoneWolfSones
    Nov 2, 2015
    7
    MGSV on PC is proof that PC ports don't have to have a 30 fps cap. The fox engine runs like a champ and the game has been incredibly well optimized for PC. The game boasts high production values overall and offers some of the best gameplay in the series to date. The variety of ways you can tackle a given mission allows for great moment to moment gameplay.

    The open world feels a bit    MGSV on PC is proof that PC ports don't have to have a 30 fps cap. The fox engine runs like a champ and the game has been incredibly well optimized for PC. The game boasts high production values overall and offers some of the best gameplay in the series to date. The variety of ways you can tackle a given mission allows for great moment to moment gameplay.

    The open world feels a bit sparse in that there are outposts dotted about the map. Getting to those outposts is usually uneventful with the exception of a few instances where you find a patrolling jeep or something. But its once you reach those outposts where the mechanics are given a chance to shine.

    New mechanics like the reflex system allow you a certain element of forgiveness prior games didn't have. But at times it can make the game a bit too easy. This gives MGSV a greater level of accessibility though that earlier games didn't have. You aren't punished by going loud. Your play style is reflected in the world as soldiers wear gear to counter your tactics.

    The other area where the game falls short is in its story. Act 1 is entertaining enough. But it seems the criticism of previous entries has caused Kojima to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As a long time fan of the series, the longer exposition and cutscenes was something I always enjoyed in a Metal Gear title. Of course this is made worse knowing that a significant portion of the story was cut. Much of the story has been put on cassette tapes which is better than nothing but I would have appreciated more exposition given by the characters themselves overall. "Venom Snake" is practically mute which makes everything come across as a bit awkward.

    However the game quickly falls into a cycle of repetition that can quickly become stale. This is exacerbated by recycled missions. I currently have played 140+ hours spanning both main missions and side-ops. By the time you get to act 2 you start to see "Extreme" versions of main missions you have already completed. These wouldn't be as egregious if they were optional. But in many cases you have to complete these missions or variations of side-ops you already have done to open up new story missions. They break the pacing of the game and are the worst kind of padding in a video game.    … Expand
  40. Derf3L
    Nov 5, 2016
    6
    Wow this game is so weird.
    The gameplay is really good, a 9/10 score: you can choose what missions to do, both main and side ops (similar to rpgs), it has a lot of customization of weapons and mother base. From this point of view the game does not lack anything and is really fun to play.
    The story is atrocious: the game starts with really good cutscenes and suspence, then it pushes you    Wow this game is so weird.
    The gameplay is really good, a 9/10 score: you can choose what missions to do, both main and side ops (similar to rpgs), it has a lot of customization of weapons and mother base. From this point of view the game does not lack anything and is really fun to play.
    The story is atrocious: the game starts with really good cutscenes and suspence, then it pushes you in the open world with all these missions. I waited for the story to kick in but it never happened. Most of the "main" missions are like side quests.. very little is told and most of the story is recorded in audio cassettes, which are terrible to listen..
    Just after half of the game, the chapter 1 ends and that's basically the end of the game. What you are left with is a few missions that try to explain what happens after, but they are really boring because the main goal of the game has already been achieved.

    The sexism in this game is crazy, I think Kojima has serious issues.. there are basically no women in the game with an active role. Quiet, on top of the non-clothing, does not speak, is held in a cage, and treated same as your dog or horse.. a buddy.
    Other women are always half naked (even the f....n enemies!!) and the camera zooms on their curves all the time.. WTF!. Can't believe in 2016 these games are getting 10/10 scores..    … Expand
  41. RustInPeace
    Nov 10, 2015
    7
    Nice gameplay but clearly the controls are made for consoles. At least try show which button does what on the PC version instead of showing a xbox controller.

    The world felt bland and empty and the story was all over the place. But the gameplay holds the game up. It was definitely fun.
  42. jecomans
    Oct 1, 2015
    7
    Some great gameplay mechanics and systems are wasted on this mess of a game. Manages to be very bloated, but also unfinished and roughly stitched together, especially at the end. The series has fallen hard since MGS3, and it is a shame that it finally just kinda ends with the whimper it does.
  43. ketchupwfries
    Sep 17, 2015
    5
    +Decent graphics and well optimized for PC.
    - PC controls are alright but menus have no mouse support.
    - Repetitive beyond belief. Some missions have you returning back to the same base/camp multiple times which gets old real quick. - The map looks large but you soon realize you're restricted to travelling on roads only with extremely little room for exploring. - Environments are empty    +Decent graphics and well optimized for PC.
    - PC controls are alright but menus have no mouse support.
    - Repetitive beyond belief. Some missions have you returning back to the same base/camp multiple times which gets old real quick.
    - The map looks large but you soon realize you're restricted to travelling on roads only with extremely little room for exploring.
    - Environments are empty and completely lifeless. Guards, guards, and more guards, all dressed and behave the same way.

    Fun for a few hours if you like stealth, then gets boring real fast.    … Expand
  44. zipikaya
    Sep 21, 2015
    6
    I have never played a Metal Gear game before. This game was disappointing after all the great reviews I read. The open world is mostly empty. The PC port is really bad, the menu system in particular.

    It takes like eight clicks and several minutes to get into the game after starting it. Such things annoy me a lot. Have played 18 hours and will most likely never start it up again.    I have never played a Metal Gear game before. This game was disappointing after all the great reviews I read. The open world is mostly empty. The PC port is really bad, the menu system in particular.

    It takes like eight clicks and several minutes to get into the game after starting it. Such things annoy me a lot. Have played 18 hours and will most likely never start it up again. Missions so far are practically the same.    … Expand
  45. corvettee01
    Sep 27, 2015
    7
    The game was amazing for the first half, but not so much the second. The second half of the game is pretty much just taking missions from the first half and making them a bit more difficult.
  46. GuardianGunner
    Sep 28, 2015
    7
    ok let me first start out by saying that the game play is fantastic if you've never played a metal gear this si a great one to play you can either stealth or go loud and there's plenty of variations to ways of tackling missions, but....while the gameplay itself is nearly perfect its the story that falters. The story of mgs has been one of the driving forces of the series since theok let me first start out by saying that the game play is fantastic if you've never played a metal gear this si a great one to play you can either stealth or go loud and there's plenty of variations to ways of tackling missions, but....while the gameplay itself is nearly perfect its the story that falters. The story of mgs has been one of the driving forces of the series since the beginning, and now that some time has passed it is clear that quite a bit of content has been cut from the final game in order to push it out the door. data miners have revealed there was supposed to be an entire third chapter as well as some unused textures (some of which have been included as upcoming dlc) a lot of the cut scenes from trailers presented though the years also make a noshow in the game. so while the story was great for the first chapter it quickly falls apart in the second ending so abruptly you dont even have time to realize its ended. weve waited so long for this metal gear to come out but we got something so lackluster that i cannot in good conscience say its worthy of a high score at all and im a huge metal gear fan so that's hard to do.… Expand
  47. reallygoodgames
    Oct 2, 2015
    6
    An empty, terrible implementation of open world gameplay. Probably the worst in this or the last generation.

    Low quality, garbage writing with convoluted and forced dialogue and character dynamics, with what few characters you're even allowed to interact with. The storyline is cut and the game ends at an abrupt point, the game is seriously unfinished. If you didn't take at least one    An empty, terrible implementation of open world gameplay. Probably the worst in this or the last generation.

    Low quality, garbage writing with convoluted and forced dialogue and character dynamics, with what few characters you're even allowed to interact with. The storyline is cut and the game ends at an abrupt point, the game is seriously unfinished.

    If you didn't take at least one point off for this being unfinished and having microtransactions, you are a fraud. This game is a huge disappointment, and the game designer should be fired. Oh wait, he was. Good riddance, Metal Gear Rising is the only decent MG game to come out since MGS3 and it didn't feature a certain douchebag celebrity game designer that fans like to pretend created the game by himself.    … Expand
  48. AlternActive
    Oct 7, 2015
    7
    Could've easily been game of the year, and you'll probably have this feeling before getting to the end game. Then, it's just a shell of what could have been. Not cool, konami. 100+ that could feel like "OH MY WHAT GREAT GAME" turned into "i just feel cheated on this story". And i don't mean the plot twist, but how the build up went. Major disappointing from a GREAT GAME (gameplay wise).
  49. samhayne
    Oct 17, 2015
    7
    After 150 hours of (mostly) grinding the game just fell apart.

    It's a pity. All the finished puzzle pieces are brilliant... but it's obvious that half of the pieces didn't make it into the package in time. Like in Peace Walker the lack of content was solved by duplication. And so the missions become highly redundant very soon and the game starts to feel like dull work. Especially if you    After 150 hours of (mostly) grinding the game just fell apart.

    It's a pity. All the finished puzzle pieces are brilliant... but it's obvious that half of the pieces didn't make it into the package in time. Like in Peace Walker the lack of content was solved by duplication. And so the missions become highly redundant very soon and the game starts to feel like dull work. Especially if you are a completionist type and want to finish all the 167 (!) side missions like "Save the prisoner 1-15" which bring you back to the same game areas again and again.

    On top: After some time the game wants to be played online... and its constant reminders to do some online grinding start to become an annoyance.

    The biggest problem is the story though. While it manages to squeeze between "Peace Walker" and the MSX classics Metal Gear 1&2 it ends very abruptly with a trolling finale and many unfinished story arcs started within the game. Today we know that many important (but costly) missions, cutscenes and even the final third chapter were cut from the game as Konami obviously pulled the plug from a game which had become too expensive to develop further.

    So... after investing so much livetime in this game I'm really disappointed.
    I dived into the Metal Gear series only recently... in the last months I played Metal Gear 1&2, MGS1-4 and I adored every single one of them. Just Peace Walker was a let-down as it was already a livetime killing grind-fest like now Metal Gear V - but at least it felt complete at the end.

    Maybe producing and game design shouldn't be done by the same guy, Hideo-san.
    In this case it feels like the designer in Hideo Kojima won over his role as a producer and the designer wouldn't let go of his dreams... then time and money ran out and so his "Magnum Opus" stays unfinished now.
    A pity. :(    … Expand
  50. snoodleking
    Oct 13, 2015
    6
    This game is pretty good. I'm new to the MGS franchise, and honestly I don't get it one bit. Maybe if I had played the other games all the corny **** would make sense to me.

    The game just has some serious issues with tone. Some people love it. I certainly don't. The game mechanics are fun enough, I just wish the setting was bit different/made a shred of sense. Could have easily been    This game is pretty good. I'm new to the MGS franchise, and honestly I don't get it one bit. Maybe if I had played the other games all the corny **** would make sense to me.

    The game just has some serious issues with tone. Some people love it. I certainly don't. The game mechanics are fun enough, I just wish the setting was bit different/made a shred of sense. Could have easily been GoTY if only it had taken itself a little more seriously, or at least had any sense of identity.

    I wish he could have been named "GOTY Snake" but instead he'll go down in history as "Corny Snake." That IS how the name thing works... right?    … Expand
  51. timhunt412
    Oct 14, 2015
    6
    after 60+ hours of metal gear, i feel lost. konami raped this franchise and kojima let it happen. therefor metal gear is in a coma for me until something fixes the franchise.
    please don't keep me waiting.
  52. DatPett
    Oct 18, 2015
    6
    This was a game there was tremendous hype for and while i was certain it couldn't live up to the hype it got certainly wasn't expecting this, Anyway i'll start by telling you what this game did right.

    + Great gameplay: gameplay is probably the best in the series but i feel like a few things are lacking, such as a cover button and silently disabling devices such as cameras and antennas.    This was a game there was tremendous hype for and while i was certain it couldn't live up to the hype it got certainly wasn't expecting this, Anyway i'll start by telling you what this game did right.

    + Great gameplay: gameplay is probably the best in the series but i feel like a few things are lacking, such as a cover button and silently disabling devices such as cameras and antennas.
    + Weapon variety: There's a **** of weapons and custimizations for those weapons, now while i mostly stick to a select few the fact that the choice is there is really good.
    + Graphics optimization: I was always at a stable 60 fps and it looked amazing, the fox engine sure is one of the best optimized engines out there
    + Fluent and fun combat: The shooting feels good and (most) of the sights are good in first person.
    + Cutscenes (part 1): The cutscenes are really beutiful and impressive, however (see part 2)
    And here are some neutral things that i'll let you decide if they're good or bad.
    + Non-lethal: the choice of non-lethal is far more than "more score" and "better karma", because of the fulton extraction system that lets you basicly steal enemy soldiers and use them to improve is a great feature.

    ¤ Motherbase: some might find micromanaging annoying in a stealth game.
    ¤ Bland empty world: The world has basicly zero secrets and fun stuff/fun areas, some might apreciate teh sandbox feel though.

    And now for the negatives... (There are alot)

    - Boring story:In the MAIN story of Metal gear solid this has teh **** plot. And while thats understandable to some degree with chapter 2 because it was rushed, chapter 1 was finished completely and still sucked storywise.
    - Boring characters: Kinda goes in par with boring story but i feel this "deserves" it's own minus.
    - Cutscenes (part 2): There was a suprising lack of cutscenes which is one of the things MGS is famous for, i can understand decreasing cutscene amount/length by a bit but the lack of cutscenes is just horrid.
    - Repetetive missions: The first mission and maybe like 5 scattered missions are fun but the rest are horrible, boring and repetetive.
    - Trailers: The trailers are amazing and gave away practically portions of every cutscene in the game and just flat out lied about "Not shying away from controversy" and "Dealing with controversial issues".
    - Venom Snake (protagonist): He's boring and unlikable and doesn't talk much at all, compare him to Naked snake or any other snake really in MGS.
    - Lack of orchestral soundtrack: They usually have some form of the iconic MGS theme or boss music, hey atleast we got some sweet 70's/80's hits.
    - Controls optimization: menus are the worst part but generally control wise, this is a bad port.
    - Taboo subjects: This game lacked them even though promising them, even ground zeroes was more taboo with listening to Paz being raped to look for background clues.
    - Quiet: While MGS has had sexy and skimpy-clad characters like EVA Quiet feels different in a bad way somehow (not her costume, her general character) and was pure fan service or trying to spark controversy to increase sales.
    - Bland mission enviroments: generally sucky and lack of inside enviroments.
    - Side ops: These are so bad they should be removed good god.

    The pacing is horrible and so are alot of other stuff but the gameplay and tiny details are so greatly done, and thats why i give it a 6/10.    … Expand
  53. DKR
    Sep 26, 2018
    7
    FROM THE COMPANY - THAT'S RIDING ITS LAST DECENT FRANCHISE TO THE GROUND - COMES A SLIGHTLY-ABOVE-MEDIOCRE OPEN WORLD GAME that totally p**ed off moral-authoritarian celibates, married men with buyer's remorse, and feminists.

    It's just boobs, guys. Try going to the beach. METAL GEAR 5: THE PHANTOM PAIN. EMBARK ON AN UNEXCITING JOURNEY WITH Boss...uh Big Boss? Snake? Who doesn't    FROM THE COMPANY - THAT'S RIDING ITS LAST DECENT FRANCHISE TO THE GROUND - COMES A SLIGHTLY-ABOVE-MEDIOCRE OPEN WORLD GAME that totally p**ed off moral-authoritarian celibates, married men with buyer's remorse, and feminists.

    It's just boobs, guys. Try going to the beach.

    METAL GEAR 5: THE PHANTOM PAIN.

    EMBARK ON AN UNEXCITING JOURNEY WITH Boss...uh Big Boss? Snake? Who doesn't have a whole lot to say this time around; maybe for the better. "Card Keys? Metal Gear? Psycho Mantis?"....and is joined by some other cardboard quest dispensers with familiar names.

    BE IMMERSED IN BAD KOJIMA FAN-FICTION, WHERE THE PLOT'S ONLY ELEMENTS ARE BEATEN TO DEATH MORE THAN A MAN FALSELY ACCUSED OF HARASSMENT. Something something, NINE YEARS AGO. Something something, MOTHERBASE. Something something, CIPHER...SKULL FACE. Kojima must have wrote the first half of the plot in a Tweet.

    ARM YOURSELF TO THE TEETH WITH BOSSBIGBOSSNAKE'S MASSIVE INVENTORY OF SADISTIC TOYS TO TOTALLY F*** WITH THE MINDS OF YOUR 1 ENEMY: CLUELESS GUARDS. Ha! I never was a hot-chick taped to a cardboard box! RESEARCH AN IMPRESSIVE ARSENAL OF GUNS, ROCKETS, ROCKET ROBO ARMS, to massacre waves of defensless NPC's. We've done that to death since GTA1 in '97; aren't we bored of that by now? OR SUPER BALLOONS THAT CAN LIFT ANYTHING OFF THE GROUND WITH ENOUGH UPGRADES. Did I seriously just pick up a TANK? FREAKIN' AWESOME!

    TRY TO HAVE FUN AS YOU FIGHT THE GAME'S TOUGHEST BOSS: THE CONTROLS; GIVING YOU PROBLEMS LIKE: GETTING STUCK ON COVER, CAN'T TAKE COVER, DOING A FULL 360 BY PRESSING "up", FAILING TO CRAWL OVER A ROCK MAKING YOU STAND UP AND RUIN YOUR MISSION, SLIGHT INCLINES THAT YOU CAN NEITHER RUN OVER NOR SCALE, AUTO AIM THAT PREVENTS HEAD-SHOTS, VEHICLES WITH 2 SPEEDS THAT CRASH INTO EVERYTHING, AND COVER. THAT DOESN'T COVER YOU. Oh, come on! What'd he spot, my ponytail??

    STRUGGLE IN FUTILITY AS YOU TRY TO DECRYPT THE MISSION RANKING SYSTEM AS YOU TRY TO NOT GET SPOTTED, TO BE QUIET, NON-LETHAL, AND SPEEDY, only see some d*** bag on youtube ride the horse right into enemies and gun them down with unsilenced weapons and set off 4 alarms all in 6 minutes AND STILL GET S! WTF?? THAT TOOK ME HALF AN HOUR FOR A C!!

    SO STRAP ON YOUR EYE PATCH, CHOMP ON YOUR TIME-TRAVELING CIGAR, and get ready to crawl on your stomach for 700 meters, rescue some guy, run back out, something something CIPHER....9 YEARS AGO....SKULL FACE.... ad infinitum in Kojima's worst story telling yet, but then you can to do side missions without rules! Hehehe, hands up!...now stay still...I'm...aiming this...mortar....BOOM! HA SUCKER!

    STARRING:

    MIDGET MANTIS
    FIREY STOMACH ACHES
    REVOLVES HIS PERSONALITY-A-LOT
    9 YEARS AGO....CIPHER...SKULL FACE....You destroyed their anti-air radar?
    Quiet-ly showing her boooooooobs
    POORLY NAMED BAD GUY (for real, Kojima, stop describing your characters in one word names. THE PAIN. THE SORROW. THE END. QUIET. SKULL FACE. What's next, The Protagonist?)
    THIS IS THE TUTORIAL THAT NEVERRR EEEEEEENDS......
    Thanks for getting me out of the hospital, Cut-scene Man! See you in the next console shooter!
    COM-LINK STORY TELLING...and....
    THE PROTAGONIST

    METAL GEAR VEEEE: THE PHANTOM GAME

    A dev for Halo called Quiet "disgusting". Bold move from the team that made Cortana.    … Expand
  54. muzmuz
    May 10, 2017
    6
    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a open-world third-person stealth shooter with lots of action and various RPG elements. It has a good number of gameplay mechanics and also sports a commendable amount of content, but many a times feels too much. On top of its usual cringeworthy cinematics, MGSV:TPP presents its bad and repetitive game design in an annoying fashion.
  55. mikemaza9
    Jan 10, 2016
    7
    First of all, it wasn't a complete game. Having said that, I have to say that the first 20 hours of this games were very fun but after the First Chapter, the game starts to fall apart. To sum up, a decent and fun game in the beginning and after that, just an insult to the buyers.
  56. ablock
    Dec 1, 2015
    7
    Game play wise, it's beautiful and plays well. Eventually it gets repetitive with the same old "save this prisoner," and "kill this unit" missions, but that's not the big flaw with the game.

    This does not feel like a Metal Gear Solid game. The music is forgettable and the story is the weakest in the franchise. The plot is almost nonexistent and does not develop the character of big Boss    Game play wise, it's beautiful and plays well. Eventually it gets repetitive with the same old "save this prisoner," and "kill this unit" missions, but that's not the big flaw with the game.

    This does not feel like a Metal Gear Solid game. The music is forgettable and the story is the weakest in the franchise. The plot is almost nonexistent and does not develop the character of big Boss in any significant way that the saga has demanded. Hardcore MGS fans will not like this.    … Expand
  57. RIsky4Heart
    Feb 3, 2016
    6
    Hello!. This is my + and - of MGS V.
    I'm a fan of old MGS1/2/3 .
    + very good gameplay ( the Best in the series). + good music. + Hideo Kojima direction cutscene. - very bad boss development ( in MGS is one of the important things). - story is very dissapoint. - not have codec (cassete is not so good designe chose). - cutscene too short compared to other MGS (2-5 min max. compared    Hello!. This is my + and - of MGS V.
    I'm a fan of old MGS1/2/3 .
    + very good gameplay ( the Best in the series).
    + good music.
    + Hideo Kojima direction cutscene.
    - very bad boss development ( in MGS is one of the important things).
    - story is very dissapoint.
    - not have codec (cassete is not so good designe chose).
    - cutscene too short compared to other MGS (2-5 min max. compared to MGS4 with 90min in the ending).
    - bad character development.
    - sandbox boring ( Far Cry 2 hello!).
    - game not completed and overused the same boring missions over and over.
    - this is not MGS anymore.
    - a Hideo Kojima happy farm game - need to write in every boring mission and it be in many missions.
    - he played us like a damn fiddle.    … Expand
  58. MacMarrik
    May 20, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - изодранная игра, с дырявым сюжетом.

    Положительный момент - геймплейная составляющая самой игры. Эта игра из серии MGS самая богатая на геймплей. Имеется огромный арсенал снаряжения, которым можно воспользоваться для прохождения той или иной миссии. Для прохождения одной миссии можно подобрать не одну тактику её прохождения. И это радует.

    Имеется две большие открытые карты, где все эти миссии выполняются. В общем, мир на этих картах мёртвый. На них ничего толком не происходит, не считая самих миссий. Это, конечно, можно всё списать на пустынный мир Афганистана/Африки, но можно было бы хоть постараться.

    Имеется та атмосфера, которая присущая серии MGS. Это проявляется в диалогах, кат-сценах, в сути геймплея.

    Хороший и интересный сюжет всегда был неотъемлемой частью серии MGS. В этой же игре он ужасно рваный. Особенно это заметно во 2 главе, в которой сюжетных миссий всего лишь 5 штук(из 19, КАРЛ!!!), а остальные просто те же миссии из 1 главы, только с условиями усложняющие их прохождение. Есть, конечно, шикарный Пролог и 43 миссия, также не плохая 31, 45 миссии, но это крайне мало для такой игры. SPOILER!!!! Эпилог - Facepalm. Тот же пролог, только под другим углом. Да и с такой развязкой.

    Ответ на такую наглость приходит только один - незаконченность самой игры. Это проявляется в разных аспектах: нахождение вырезанных диалогов, кат-сцен в файлах игры, чрезмерная молчаливость ГГ, больше похожий на безразличие, рванность повествования самой игры.

    Для нового игрока, незнакомым с серией MGS, будет сложно понять, что происходит в серии, но если убрать сюжет как основу, то выходит довольно добротная игра. Но тем, кто играл в другие части будут чувствовать пустоту и недосказанность.

    Мой вердикт: игра бы могла стать лучшей в серии, были все предпосылки, но что-то пошло не так и игра вышла не законченной. Если её рассматривать как не MGS, то получится хорошая игра, но для меня "Разочарование 2015".    … Expand
  59. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    7
    MGSV: The Phantom Pain is, in a word, dense. It is unbelievably long, jamloaded with levels, items, fights, and exposition. It is the longest Metal Gear by far, the longest game I've played in years and, speaking purely in terms of dollars to hours played value, it payed for itself many times over. The sheer scale of it means that it boasts a diverse gamut of experiences. It drags badly inMGSV: The Phantom Pain is, in a word, dense. It is unbelievably long, jamloaded with levels, items, fights, and exposition. It is the longest Metal Gear by far, the longest game I've played in years and, speaking purely in terms of dollars to hours played value, it payed for itself many times over. The sheer scale of it means that it boasts a diverse gamut of experiences. It drags badly in some places, but other times it delights and thrills. I cried once or twice, and not just because the game remembered my birthday and baked me a virtual cake.

    Phantom Pain represents an evolution of the gameplay seen in MGS: Peace Walker. Gameplay consists of relatively bite-sized missions with simple objectives, this time however, layered over an open theater of operations that you are free to explore between missions. It is a considerable departure from the other Solid titles in this and other ways- you are not penalized for killing enemies directly, and perhaps most jarring, there are very, very few boss fights.

    Combat is manageable thanks to very slick movement and aiming controls- Phantom Pain’s PC port is incredible in this regard. It also looks and runs very well. Load times are very reasonable, and you will spend all of the considerable playtime of this game doing something- if not fighting or sneaking, then performing upkeep of your base and forces. However, herein lies an oddity about the Phantom Pain. The Metal Gear series is famous for its lengthy cutscenes and large infodumps, as well as a high amount of optional radio conversations and reading material. While this game has a fair number of audio logs to listen to, none of them are more then ten minutes long, and only a few of the game's 40 or so story missions have cutscenes of significant length. Plot points come sporadically, and when they do, they never seem to have the same impact as in other games in the series. I feel a Phantom Pain for the loss of gripping storytelling that marked earlier entries in the series. It also has a similar issue to Peace Walker in that the game does not end when the credits first roll, instead dragging things out for a few more hours with a handful more story missions and side operations, going so far as to have duplicate missions with arbitrary difficulty inflation, though thankfully these do not count towards unlocking the actual final mission, which is to say the least, a disappointing one. I was especially disheartened to hear that an entire mission was cut from the final release, though you can view unfinished footage on Youtube and such.

    I had Phantom Pain's major twist spoiled for me long before I actually played it, and I had actually come to grips with it long before it would have been revealed. It does perhaps raise more questions then it answers, but such is what Hideo Kojima is known for. Sadly, this is the last of the Kojima-led Metal Gear titles, and as a result, likely the last title in the series worthy of anyone's attention. While a powerful title in its own right, it is a sour note to end such a venerable series on. It's an overly complex mess of a game with a laundry list of both good ideas and boneheaded ones, and to be absolutely frank, there is probably a little something for everyone here, at least for longtime Metal Gear fans, shooter fans, stealth game fans and most certainly 100% completionists. Oh, and you can invade people's bases too, I guess. If you're into that kind of thing. Weirdo.

    I should probably make mention of the added versus multiplayer of Metal Gear Online, which is also not without its fair share of issues. While it makes good use of series staples like the Fulton system, stealth camo, tranquilizer guns and the famous cardboard boxes, it also commits the cardinal sin of multiplayer shooters by having an unforgiving damage model that rewards the lucky rather then the skilled. I am previous incarnations of MGO were vastly superior.

    I initially passed up Phantom Pain in favor of Mad Max, which had the misfortune of releasing the same day. Oddly enough, both games have similar issues with pacing and a dearth of story content versus collectibles and inane sidequests. Mad Max had way better cars and driving controls though, as one might expect. Still, both were emotionally punchy and, ultimately, Phantom Pain is the rare sort of game that might actually be worth its list price. It also has an excellent soundtrack comprising many 80s greats, including of course, A-Ha’s “Take on me” and Dead Or Alive’s “You spin me right round”. If nothing else, I will remember this game as the one that let me blast Billy Idol’s "Rebel Yell" as I rode into battle. There’s also custom soundtrack support. I recommend the soundtrack from the 1981 Heavy Metal movie, so your helicopter could play, say, Cheap Trick’s “You Must Be Dreamin”.    … Expand
  60. thomaddox4
    Sep 21, 2017
    7
    It may be a massive disappointment as a metal gear game, but damn it I still loved it. The gameplay was just so good, with such variety in approaches, and as convoluted as the story was I still liked it. It did just as the name said, and left the series with phantom pain.
  61. chatskyisretard
    Mar 7, 2019
    5
    I can't understand why people like this game.
    -empty open world
    -grind gmp
    -boring missions
    -disgusting snake
    etc.

    (Just my opinion do not pay attention.)
  62. Archontos
    Dec 4, 2018
    6
    Base building, collecting plants and resources, cartoon-like meteo baloon for rescuing poor animals and a total lack of story (apart from prologue) is not what I was expecting from Metal Gear Solid... The environment, covert ops mechanics, graphics, design - all this is just fine, but this game IS NOT Metal Gear Solid.
  63. SL539
    Dec 26, 2015
    6
    Once again this is another Steam review that ended up being too long to copy and paste the whole thing so I'm going to have to cut and paste sections of it. Now, I understand that most of its faults is not Kojima's fault but Konami's with their falling out and Konami turning into piss-heads. 3/4 of the story was cut from the game, which is honestly too bad because it could've been so good,Once again this is another Steam review that ended up being too long to copy and paste the whole thing so I'm going to have to cut and paste sections of it. Now, I understand that most of its faults is not Kojima's fault but Konami's with their falling out and Konami turning into piss-heads. 3/4 of the story was cut from the game, which is honestly too bad because it could've been so good, but it just falls short. And chapter two ends up being nothing but doing the same missions over again, save for two or three new ones, which are horrible and confusing (again because the falling out and loss of time.)

    - PC version, is at best, a noticeably poor port - from the clunky controls which either don't respond and automatically begin to do commands without you (i.e. being stuck walking in a different direction when you don't want to go that way,) to being unoptimized - to the point of crashes, it's easy to tell this is a console game. A bit more on unoptimized, it's rare and nothing really noticeable but when it happens you know it, for the most part it's a very strong FPS decline for a few minutes then it clears up, also in the iDroid menu it is very laggy and the emblem creator - both of which can take up to ten minutes to clear up and sometimes it requires a Tab out. And yes I have a high end rig so it's able to handle whatever the game has to offer. This can be easily overlooked as it happens so little, but the controls need fixing or something even though I've never plugged in an Xbox 360 controller it still wants to read my keyboard as a 360 controller so some options are unavailable which could've proven to be very useful.

    - All the cool stuff in the game is what we've already seen in the trailer, and half the cool stuff ends up being pointless - and again it eventually turns into one of those wtf or wtf you idiot moments. Most of the characters are a pain and stupid, Miller is a dramatic emo and the rest are just dumb, even Big Boss is pretty stupid in this game as he's turned into a mute and makes stupid choices. All of the characters have horrible development. The ones that last for only two seconds are pointless and the ones that last throughout the game have no real plot or decent development. Honestly the only good developement and plot is Ocelot. It all again, just seemed very rushed. Quiet (as I'm sure you can guess) is intended to have a somewhat relationship with Big Boss, but we never really get to see any development. Aside from her flirting with the Big Boss and Big Boss just ignoring it (ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE WTF YOU IDIOT moments.) She needed a bit better development as well. It's basically, oh I tried to kill you two times but now we're best friends for no real reason. And Quiet can speak in a different language but she won't for some reason. Big Boss can learn multiple different minor languages but can't learn a major one. Again it's just the story writing is so bad.

    - Having online options to further expand your singleplayer. I hate multiplayer, but I hate even more when you have to do multiplayer just to expand your singleplayer. You see to get more resources and more staff room you need to build more room, which you can in singleplayer but you'll soon notice it's hardly enough. So you have to expand a FOB into online to get more room and resources. Not only that, but you have to pay MORE for them. Yes you have to PAY for it, (you get one free however.) But seriously it's not worth it for being online and most likely loosing all your staff and resources. It would've been fine if the FOBs just had AI skrimishes, kind of like a castle defense. But no, you have to have an actual person come in with one thing on their mind - resources. Which will leave you with nothing, and of course we can't mod this game now because if we do it would be considered cheating and hacking because of the minor freaking FOB.

    - the strongest feature in this game is gameplay and probably the only good thing, luckily this game is almost all gameplay in sacrifice for a good story. If you're find with that I can say that this is worth it. If you're like me and want the story, it's honestly still worth it but you'll be very disappointed by the end. Unfortunately I've reach text limit, there is much more to say. Might put it in comments.    … Expand
  64. dunnyone
    Oct 11, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I must say, this is quite the fun game but its end-game suffers. The positives are the gameplay, graphics and sound, while the negatives are the story (which is utter crap).

    Gameplay is best of the lot, open-ended and tons of fun. Graphics are well optimised and never sunk below 60fps.

    For a Kojima game, the story sucks and is delivered in hour long chunks at the beginning and end of the game. Also, there is a missing chapter, so most of the plot points are never cleared up, and never will be. RIP Kojima.

    As for the end game, once you get the best suit (the cyborg Ninja) you are running around at light-speed, popping off headshots in super slow-mo and are basically a god of sneak. No one and nothing can touch you, so replaying the game becomes pointless as it become way too easy.

    Anyway, some tart showers in front of you, so there's always that.    … Expand
  65. purple_laser
    Jul 28, 2018
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this game is painful in the sense that it has so much potential and it is actually a let down.

    you will get stuck various times either in gameplay doubts, missions, controls etc and each time you will have to go online to search if there is a way to a particular thing fast.

    for eg. it was taking a horrible amount of time to ride form one mission place to another and it was after i completed 80 % of the game that i read about the option in the main game menu to go to the aerial command center and then to a mission area directly.

    also the story is ridiculous and try hard as i may , i did not buy it.

    main problem is that the story is not knitted together , there is virtually no end mission and boss battle. it will abruptly end. cutscenes i dont mind if the story is good .

    why i was mainly following up n th game is because it is an excellent port to pc. dragon age should learn form them ..

    graphics are beautiful. controls even though are based on PS are superb on pc and individually the missions are very interesting.

    so overall..

    story 2/10
    graphics 8/10
    characterization 6/10
    port 8/10
    fun 7/10

    i wil give the biggest tips now. and i do recommend the game playing with these tips.
    1. soon you wil realize that you have to waste a lot of time riding a horse or chopper to mission areas. just go the gam emenu and click on go to ACC.

    2. develop the STUN capable weapons like riot smg and the sniper rifle. they are the non lethal weapons.

    3. have quiet as a buddy. in missions where you have to deal with mist units .

    4. there are total 46 missions only and game progress iwill show 45 to 50% ..

    5. after that lot repeat missions will get added of already completed missions but in higher difficulty.

    overall u can enjoy.. but no proper ending is a big letdown    … Expand
  66. Lone_Wolf_Sones
    Aug 7, 2016
    7
    MGSV on PC is proof that PC ports don't have to have a 30 fps cap. The fox engine runs like a champ and the game has been incredibly well optimized for PC. The game boasts high production values overall and offers some of the best gameplay in the series to date. The variety of ways you can tackle a given mission allows for great moment to moment gameplay.

    The open world feels a bit    MGSV on PC is proof that PC ports don't have to have a 30 fps cap. The fox engine runs like a champ and the game has been incredibly well optimized for PC. The game boasts high production values overall and offers some of the best gameplay in the series to date. The variety of ways you can tackle a given mission allows for great moment to moment gameplay.

    The open world feels a bit sparse in that there are outposts dotted about the map. Getting to those outposts is usually uneventful with the exception of a few instances where you find a patrolling jeep or something. But its once you reach those outposts where the mechanics are given a chance to shine.

    New mechanics like the reflex system allow you a certain element of forgiveness prior games didn't have. But at times it can make the game a bit too easy. This gives MGSV a greater level of accessibility though that earlier games didn't have. You aren't punished by going loud. Your play style is reflected in the world as soldiers wear gear to counter your tactics.

    The other area where the game falls short is in its story. Act 1 is entertaining enough. But it seems the criticism of previous entries has caused Kojima to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As a long time fan of the series, the longer exposition and cutscenes was something I always enjoyed in a Metal Gear title. Of course this is made worse knowing that a significant portion of the story was cut. Much of the story has been put on cassette tapes which is better than nothing but I would have appreciated more exposition given by the characters themselves overall. "Venom Snake" is practically mute which makes everything come across as a bit awkward.

    However the game quickly falls into a cycle of repetition that can quickly become stale. This is exacerbated by recycled missions. I currently have played 140+ hours spanning both main missions and side-ops. By the time you get to act 2 you start to see "Extreme" versions of main missions you have already completed. These wouldn't be as egregious if they were optional. But in many cases you have to complete these missions or variations of side-ops you already have done to open up new story missions. Of course all those perfect 10's heaped on the game by the media made no mention of the cut story content or these recylced missions. They break the pacing of the game and are the worst kind of padding in a video game.    … Expand
  67. KittyWhisky
    Oct 21, 2017
    6
    Hideo Kojima always made the game worthy of attention, games that were truly art. We've learned that he can't do a checkpoint or base. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was waiting. The more she appeared not only on the console from Sony. The prequel Ground Zeroes gave a good seed. We've been getting a typical representative games for srubaniya money on the popularity of the franchise.Hideo Kojima always made the game worthy of attention, games that were truly art. We've learned that he can't do a checkpoint or base. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was waiting. The more she appeared not only on the console from Sony. The prequel Ground Zeroes gave a good seed. We've been getting a typical representative games for srubaniya money on the popularity of the franchise. Our expectations, scandal Kojima with Konami resulted in an overestimation of both users and the press.

    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain begins with a beautiful prologue. Hideo kojima is directing great videos. All the movies in the game is executed perfectly. After the prologue the expectations of the user on top, but then starts grindilka long hours in 100 (it at whom as). After a brilliant prologue and maybe the first mission to rescue Miller, begins an aimless romp in the sandbox. Many pointless and uninteresting additional missions diluted the plot. But the story missions sometimes are neither setting nor plot development. Rollers we all will indulge rarely. Buying this game you agree not to plot an adventure, not to play the movie with long rollers, and at long romp in the open world. The situation worsens more and that this open world (Afghanistan and Africa) completely empty and completely hostile. There is nothing but empty spaces and enemy bases.

    The game is really good. This is the best of STEL action in an open world! You have many opportunities to perform tasks. It is a pity that if you go through the game quietly, the arsenate will be only a tranquiliser gun. The lethal Arsenal of weapons is very extensive. Various gadgets are also set. With them, the game becomes infinitely replayable sandbox. Also, you have 4 partners: horse, cute dog, dog, d-walker, and sexy sniper Quiet. Each of the companions useful in their own way: with the horse's help you'll overcome the game miles, the dog will mark enemies and kill them, d-walker is generally a mini tank, a Quiet is to eliminate targets from afar.

    Those who will play Phantom Pain for the sake of the plot and stunning commercials will be disappointed. This game is about gameplay. Despite the fact that the story missions in the game a lot (50 pieces), but most can be written in extra, since there won't be anything interesting. They themselves do a few story missions are really good and are accompanied by stunning videos. But those missions are few (not more than 15, I think). Most of the story details we learn by listening to tapes, which is too much.

    In addition to performing the repetitive missions in the open world, we will equip our database (from people to animals). It's not very exciting, and extremely repetativly process.

    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, unfortunately, does not deserve all these great ratings and positive reviews. This is the best prohodnyak. Go and forget. If you want to re-again, you would have to do all of these monotonous effects, to get to the plot. The game is like this not because of Kojima. It is already clear that Konami just welded on the famous brand. Kojima can understand. It is impossible to force to make a good creative product. And the story he had to suck from a finger, so at least something was. However, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain remains the best stealth action game in an open world. If you want to perform monotonous missions and play with the local sandbox, the game for you. Once the game you need to enjoy rare clips and great replayability sandbox.    … Expand
  68. MetalRobot69
    Mar 22, 2017
    5
    This game has the best stealth mechanics I've ever seen and the combats mechanics aren't bad either, but all of this greatness have been eclipsed by the repeatability and lack of history. The map seems small plus you always do the same type of mission, or extrat a soldier or kill a guy or steal something on the same place. In a nutshell: if you don't bother getting yourself doing the sameThis game has the best stealth mechanics I've ever seen and the combats mechanics aren't bad either, but all of this greatness have been eclipsed by the repeatability and lack of history. The map seems small plus you always do the same type of mission, or extrat a soldier or kill a guy or steal something on the same place. In a nutshell: if you don't bother getting yourself doing the same stealth missions 50h you can like this game otherwise no.… Expand
  69. buranya
    Mar 25, 2017
    7
    It is a great game, but not a great Metal Gear.

    What i mean is that the game itself is great. It has a very nice world, the fighting aspect is perfectly done, different types of weapons, a lot of enemies everywhere to deal with and some nice quests. But, and this is what i think gives a Metal Gear it's credit is the lack of a well directed story: Metal Gear V is in some ways making the    It is a great game, but not a great Metal Gear.

    What i mean is that the game itself is great. It has a very nice world, the fighting aspect is perfectly done, different types of weapons, a lot of enemies everywhere to deal with and some nice quests. But, and this is what i think gives a Metal Gear it's credit is the lack of a well directed story: Metal Gear V is in some ways making the player disconnect of the main story, dealing with non-interesting side-quests, alternating with some epic moments on the story.

    Graphically the game is gorgeous. The world is beautifully created, and the fauna makes it even more interesting to explore. One bad aspect of the game is that the world is, in some moments, empty. There are only soldiers, not a simple civil basement, everything is about enemies bases, and nothing else. No interaction with any npc, no interaction apart of some videos with the "allies" you have.

    This is why, given the chance to score the game, i decided to give it a 7. Good graphics, soundtrack, fighting/shooting style. Correct story for a Metal Gear (very far away from what we saw on the 4 previous main games), but very bad connected. This is not what a Metal Gear game should be.    … Expand
  70. Diegochocho
    Jul 3, 2018
    6
    Gran jugabilidad, bien hecho los mapas, pero perdió la esencia de un Metal Gear.
  71. KoFChamp42
    Apr 25, 2017
    5
    The first half of the game was really good, it looked great, ran great, and played great, but the second half keeps the first two parts but completely forgets the 3rd. MGSV's not an awful game, but it could have been so much more.
  72. rezo_21
    May 11, 2022
    7
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME RANK : 73 IIIIIIIIII====================
  73. Shimmeywill
    Mar 9, 2020
    6
    A solid open world experience with good graphical fidelity and animation quality.
  74. Renaigse
    Jul 24, 2020
    7
    По началу кажется, что чуть ли не шедевр, но постепенно минусы игры проявляются все сильнее. С самого начала ты видишь шикарные катсцены, однако когда начинается сам геймплей сталкиваешься с проблемами хренового пк порта ( лок фпс на 60 без возможности пофиксить в самих настройках, отсутствие нормальной поддержки клавомыши). Далее следует неплохая 1 часть, хоть и с кучей недостатков в видеПо началу кажется, что чуть ли не шедевр, но постепенно минусы игры проявляются все сильнее. С самого начала ты видишь шикарные катсцены, однако когда начинается сам геймплей сталкиваешься с проблемами хренового пк порта ( лок фпс на 60 без возможности пофиксить в самих настройках, отсутствие нормальной поддержки клавомыши). Далее следует неплохая 1 часть, хоть и с кучей недостатков в виде кусков сюжета, которые ты пропустишь, если не будешь слушать кассеты. 2 часть откровенный провал, видно, что игру не доделали. В общем и целом сюжет то и неплохой, но его подача рваная, да и важные катсцены ты получаешь после 4 ч геймплея, который крайне однообразен, хоть и очень хорош. Если вот убрать все это дрочево побочек, разнообразить основные квесты, уволить левел дизайнера, потому что уровни для стелс-экшена сделаны очень плохо, мало того, что обходных путей почти нет, вокруг непроходимые горы, так еще и возле главного объекта на аванпосте по 5 противников стоит, прям в упор к объекту, в итоге по стелсу пройти просто нельзя некоторые задания из-за отвратного лвл дизайна. Механика развития базы, она ну.. просто существует, ты развиваешь главную базу, воруешь пулеметы и минометы для обороны просто так, данную механику можно было углубить и развить, а то и она ощущается недопиленной, на главной базе ты никуда не можешь зайти, кроме 1 комнаты в мед-центре. Было бы неплохо, если бы ввели какие-нибудь задания, которые ты бы выполнял вместе со своей армией. Ну, в общем и целом, всякие коловдутие быдлофиллды и рядом не стояли с этой игрой, но ее допиливать, допиливать и допиливать...… Expand
  75. SurujSingha
    May 8, 2020
    6
    Metal Gear Solid V starts so good. This has to be one of the best ever prologues you would ever get in a video game. I thought "wow, so this is what the hype was all about" But immediately after that, all my hopes crashed when it started throwing out random missions to complete in a semi-open world thats supposed to allow players plan their playthrough but instead results in a completelyMetal Gear Solid V starts so good. This has to be one of the best ever prologues you would ever get in a video game. I thought "wow, so this is what the hype was all about" But immediately after that, all my hopes crashed when it started throwing out random missions to complete in a semi-open world thats supposed to allow players plan their playthrough but instead results in a completely irrelevant piece of mess. The pacing is so slow that i had to rush through missions by blazing everything down. The thing is clear that if you want to craft a mindblowing thriller story, you would have to make it more linear. The prologue was an example of it. I felt like some side missions are given to me and that i need to complete a certain set of these to unlock a story mission and cinematics that progresses the story. DO NOT BUY IT if you are not a hardcore fan of stealth or Metal Gear games.
    There are some positives though.
    *The AI is brilliant that adapts to the situations realistically. Enemies try their best to hunt you down.
    *The story though half-fried is very well written. Expect horror elements.
    *I liked that you wont be punished for going against stealth unlike the Splinter Cell games. I completed nearly 15 missions rushing. I just went to a high position where i could get a good veiw of the mission area, took out my sniper rifle and gunned everyone down.    … Expand
  76. EmotionalBoi
    Feb 6, 2021
    7
    Great gameplay with a lot of immersive features. All of that is enough for ordinary game but not for a Metal gear. Story is simply not good enough, also one third of story was cut of for no obvious reasons.
  77. AshBornd
    Jun 21, 2020
    7
    Достойный визуальный ряд, занимательный сюжет, местами абсурдный, но неплохой стелс и очень много недоработанных моментов.

    Как известно, "Гению" не позволили полноценно завершить проект, поэтому игровой процесс очень часто оставляет впечатление Бета-версии. Более того, по факту игра именно ей и является. Но вот моменты, которые все уже ужалось довести до ума, выполнены чертовски    Достойный визуальный ряд, занимательный сюжет, местами абсурдный, но неплохой стелс и очень много недоработанных моментов.

    Как известно, "Гению" не позволили полноценно завершить проект, поэтому игровой процесс очень часто оставляет впечатление Бета-версии. Более того, по факту игра именно ей и является.

    Но вот моменты, которые все уже ужалось довести до ума, выполнены чертовски здорово и умело.    … Expand
  78. SPARTAN-010
    Jul 5, 2020
    7
    One of the best sandbox, but a very lacking open-world, weird story, overall a lot of potential, not bad nor great.
  79. sunriseofdeath
    Aug 24, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Another typical Hideo Kojima game. A whole bunch of gameplay cutouts just show their boring story for about eternity or to take a boring action that feels like its taking forever to finish(ex.- crawling out almost the whole hospital at the beginning). Easily to get bored at & no wish to replay it. Also a lot of "Kojima's" on the credit, its just annoying, feels like no one else have worked on it.… Expand
  80. jordanlearmonth
    Jul 25, 2020
    5
    The game is fun at first but it’s monotoned and visually depressing after while. It’s extremely repetitive, literally some missions are just a more difficult repeat of earlier missions, and there is essentially no story line. The gameplay is flawless and it has potentially but it’s fatally botched as the game is clearly compromised by being incomplete.
  81. Rollowos
    Nov 4, 2020
    7
    Actually, I don't have much to say about this game. Many people knows why, perfect gameplay experience, but insufficient story, This game shouldn't be a metal gear game that was clear.
  82. vova22379
    Dec 8, 2021
    7
    ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀
  83. Yaav13
    Apr 7, 2022
    7
    My truthful honorable incorruptible conclusive rating of this considered game: 7.
  84. Antohadance
    Jun 22, 2022
    6
    Кодзима конечно гений, но игру стоило бы закончить, жаль этого мы наверно никогда не увидим
  85. CoolBR
    Jul 8, 2022
    5
    This game has the best stealth mechanics I've ever seen and the combats mechanics aren't bad either, but all of this greatness has been eclipsed by the repeatability and lack of history. The map seems small plus you always do the same type of mission, or extract a soldier or kill a guy or steal something on the same place. In a nutshell: if you don't bother getting yourself doing the sameThis game has the best stealth mechanics I've ever seen and the combats mechanics aren't bad either, but all of this greatness has been eclipsed by the repeatability and lack of history. The map seems small plus you always do the same type of mission, or extract a soldier or kill a guy or steal something on the same place. In a nutshell: if you don't bother getting yourself doing the same stealth missions 50h you can like this game otherwise no.… Expand
  86. skeksis
    Dec 29, 2022
    7
    It's a very good game, but storywise I've no idea whats going on...
    Recommended for the Steam Deck!
  87. jonu86
    Dec 30, 2022
    7
    Excellent sneak gameplay!
    But also weird story, not really motivating weapon upgrade system, sometimes frustrating boss fights, too often at the same locations, slightly empty openworld...
  88. Magical_Viktor
    Apr 30, 2023
    5
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»
  89. Young_Fawn
    Jun 21, 2023
    7
    A Good Game With Some Lingering Issues

    I've been playing Metal Gear Solid since Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, I'm not as old school as Metal Gear for the NES and I wasn't really old enough to play Metal Gear Solid 1 on the PS1 but I've been following the franchise since more or less 2004, so I know what to expect out of a Metal Gear game for the most part. Firstly, Metal Gear    A Good Game With Some Lingering Issues

    I've been playing Metal Gear Solid since Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, I'm not as old school as Metal Gear for the NES and I wasn't really old enough to play Metal Gear Solid 1 on the PS1 but I've been following the franchise since more or less 2004, so I know what to expect out of a Metal Gear game for the most part.

    Firstly, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is probably the best third person stealth game currently on the market, in terms of stealth and I'm really stressing that word here. The AI is good enough so that if you're being stupid you'll get caught but if you're smart you'll definitely feel like you've earned it.

    The story takes place after the events of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, which was a strange little piece of a game where it was more or less a demo but acted more as a prologue to the story that is the Phantom Pain. Although overall the story is the same as what we've grown to expect. "Nukes Bad, Russia Bad, America kinda good but also bad." The story is good enough to keep you going but like most Kojima games, there are times where cutscenes take a bit too long and exposition becomes tedious.

    As said before, the stealth in this game is great, infiltrating bases and outposts and taking people out stealthily or just being a ghost is absolutely the best way to experience this game. It's one of the few stealth games you can play where it actually makes you feel like a proper commando.

    However the gunplay is also very tight, getting into shootouts is fun in this game, even though you might not want to be doing that; it's good that its satisfying and not clunky and weird like in previous installments. If you want to play the game guns-blazing, absolutely go for it.

    You have a base to manage to get upgrades, different pods as well, Intel can give you more intel as you're on the move, such as telling you where enemies are, R&D so you can make cool new weapons and gadgets to make things easier for situations, Medical Bay to help make tranq weapons as well as discharge your men from the sick bay earlier. It's a fun little mini game and luckily the game doesn't throw it all at you at once and introduces it bit by bit so that you're not overwhelmed. I feel this is definitely a positive as there are some games that just throw all their gimmicks and services at you right at the beginning and you find yourself ignoring them.

    The buddy system is great, for me, Quiet and D-Dog are absolutely the two best you can take, the best part about the buddy system is that unlike some stealth games, having someone with you doesn't mean they'll be seen if you move too quickly. Quiet (Sniper) tends to perch up way out of sight and D-Dog doesn't get seen at all when he's with you unless you're super close, but even then, the soldiers just treat him like a dog and tell him to shoo. Your stealth experience will absolutely not be hindered by taking a buddy. This is a massive bonus to bringing people along with you, more games should do it like this.

    A major criticism I have of the game is the ranking system per mission and there are a few reasons why. You get a higher rank the stealthier you are, that makes sense and that's totally fair but it does mean that if people want to go in guns blazing, they lose rank.

    Furthermore the stuff in the R&D development, for guns and other gadgets, all the really cool stuff is all Lethal weapons. There are so few choices for going non-lethal that it's absurd, it's at least 80:20 in favour of lethal. This means you'll end up using a similar loadout for most of the game. Don't get me wrong, I understand from a realistic standpoint Revolver Ocelots pistols should be lethal, but I feel every single gun in the game (Excluding maybe rocket launchers) should have a stun or tranq alternative. All the gun stuff means you need to go loud and lethal and thus, get a lower rank at the end of the mission.

    However it's not all bad in that sense, what I did discover is that rank for missions (Which I'd recommend getting an A or an S as you get rewards for doing so) only counts for actual story missions or "Episodes." So the way I had my gun was. If it's a story/episode mission, full stealth, I am Venom Snake, I am unseen and when I might get seen, I take them down slowly and put them to sleep. If it's a side mission? Use all your fun stuff. You're not ranked on a side op, so just go in with all the stuff you want to use, the revolvers, the light machine guns, the rocket launchers, the assault rifles. It's definitely the best way to make use of the lack of tranq and stun weapons if you're wanting to use lethal weapons.

    7/10, enjoyed the stealth aspects and story but wouldn't play it more than once, and in all honesty I'd probably tell someone to play Snake Eater instead.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PC Game of 2015
14
#14 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
24
#24 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Riot Pixels
    Oct 8, 2015
    77
    Metal Gear Solid V is amazing at times, and I enjoyed playing it, but there are so many embarrassing blunders and contradictions. Rich tactical gameplay vs an almost dead world. Fun HQ management and interesting characters vs an unfinished narrative and boring side quests. In some regards, this is a huge step back from previous Metal Gear games.
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  2. PC Gamer
    Oct 6, 2015
    93
    A generous stealth sandbox masterpiece that will delight both new and existing fans of the long-running series. [Dec 2015, p.50]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Sep 30, 2015
    90
    It might not be the best Metal Gear Solid game ever released, but it's certainly the bravest and most interesting. [Oct 2015, p.53]
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