Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6369 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,905 out of 6369
  2. Mixed: 824 out of 6369
  3. Negative: 640 out of 6369
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  1. Bollywongaloid
    Sep 9, 2015
    7
    Really difficult for me to put a score on this... Mechanically, the game is near perfect and is a joy to play for the most part. Controls are intuitive, graphics are great, performs at a constant 60 FPS etc. It's a fantastic game. But, for some reason, as a huge MGS fan who's played the series since the 80's, I'm disappointed too. I hate the episodic structure to the game, the motherReally difficult for me to put a score on this... Mechanically, the game is near perfect and is a joy to play for the most part. Controls are intuitive, graphics are great, performs at a constant 60 FPS etc. It's a fantastic game. But, for some reason, as a huge MGS fan who's played the series since the 80's, I'm disappointed too. I hate the episodic structure to the game, the mother base metagame belongs on an iPad and the story is so bare bones I sometimes had to remind myself I was playing a metal gear game (twists are predictable too).

    In short, it makes too many concessions to the modern gaming world. A real shame.    … Expand
  2. AndyZ88
    Sep 8, 2015
    7
    As a new player to the MGS series, I gave into the pre-launch hype and I was excited about it, but ultimately I feel the game was overall a disappointment. The graphics are good and the lighting is masterfully done, but there's not a lot of other positive things I can say about the game.

    The world feels empty and feels like it's created just to tie together a bunch of outposts. The    As a new player to the MGS series, I gave into the pre-launch hype and I was excited about it, but ultimately I feel the game was overall a disappointment. The graphics are good and the lighting is masterfully done, but there's not a lot of other positive things I can say about the game.

    The world feels empty and feels like it's created just to tie together a bunch of outposts. The scenery looks really good, but I can't help think how lazy the devs were when 3/4 out of the surface of the Afghanistan map is made of corridors through rocks. Which, admittedly, look beautiful.. I was also surprised by how rigid the animations look, and what a lack of variety there is. They could've at least added some more animations to the close-quarters fighting & such..

    There really aren't many things to do in this game world, other than the "kill this guy" / "save that guy" repetitive missions, set in the same bases, over and over again. The gameplay is also not very deep, the whole game consists basically of crawling up to an enemy, interrogating him and extracting him with the Fulton device. There are gadgets you can use, but the open world and rigid nature of it prevent you from having any meaningful stealth takedowns & tactics. At some point I just gave up and played it as a shooter, but then I realised the shooting mechanics are also unimpressive.

    The AI is bad. Sometimes is spots you from miles away, during night time...Sometimes it can't see you a couple of meters away. Sometimes you are 20m away pointing the gun at them and they're just trying to figure out what's in front of them... Also it's very underwhelming, it's like the AI has no tactic, the enemies are just flocking to take cover where ever they can and that's it... No flanking tactics, very predictable, very easy to clean out entire bases, it makes you feel like you're the Terminator, not some special ops guy who still needs to be a ghost to survive a base full of soldiers...

    I'm not going to say anything about the story. As a first time MGS player, it obviously doesn't carry much weight for me, as it does for MGS fans. The storytelling style in MGS is not really something I enjoy, to me the cutscenes and character behavior is just weird. I'm just gonna leave it at "I don't get the artist's vision".

    All in all, I feel like if this game hadn't been called Metal Gear Solid, it would get far from the 10/10 reviews it's getting, and would receive far less attention. And it's sad to see a game with so many flaws and so many shortcomings, pull out these perfect marks in supposedly professional magazines, and get these "BEST GAME EVER" reactions.... No, it is far from a "best game ever", and it's far from GOTY 2015. In the year of the Witcher, Batman AK, Bloodborne, Dying Light, the upcoming Fallout 4, it simply doesn't have the quality to compete at this level.    … Expand
  3. carlingtat
    Sep 4, 2015
    7
    I own all the major Metal Gear Solid Releases(1-5 & Peace Walker) and consider myself a huge fan of the series and I eagerly awaited the finale of the series but now that I've played over 25 hours I cant help be disappointed by what is the last true Metal Gear Solid game and the fact its finished with a whimper.

    Pluses: +The stealth and gameplay are without doubt the best they've ever    I own all the major Metal Gear Solid Releases(1-5 & Peace Walker) and consider myself a huge fan of the series and I eagerly awaited the finale of the series but now that I've played over 25 hours I cant help be disappointed by what is the last true Metal Gear Solid game and the fact its finished with a whimper.

    Pluses:
    +The stealth and gameplay are without doubt the best they've ever been and I really enjoy trying to complete each mission and side op with the perfect stealth & no kills bonus.

    +The game looks great with the new Fox Engine and for such a big game there are little to no bugs with some great optimization.

    +Extra objectives in Missions and Side Ops give the player so much to do. I've played over 25 hours and still at only 20% complete

    +Characters and Cinematic scenes are, as always, top-notch work

    +Buddy system allows for backup on missions and side ops. Quiet is very handy to have as cover fire.

    Negatives:
    - Huge open worlds are pointless if theres barely anything in it. Both Africa and Afghanistan are huge in area but little in content. Small outposts and bases are spread wide leaving the map with about 70-80% wasteland.

    -Side ops and Mother Base staff management become crucial without the game notifying you. I spent a long time defeating a boss only to find that I needed a Transport Specialist staff member to complete the mission, a fact the game did not inform me of. Another frustrating hour of searching the internet and the maps for this specialist ensued.

    -Narrative is badly paced. After the prologue it was hours before I progressed the story in any way. Metal Gear Solid has always been excellent example in a narrative driven game but TPP doesnt seem to have much story left to tell and it seems like its a side story to the missions.

    -Hiding is just pointless in this game. Another key aspect of previous MGS games has vanished. Once you've been discovered the only way of dodging enemies is by fleeing mainly because there are very few places to hide.

    This is really a 7.5 but for a whole number rating.

    -Health and Supplies are a huge annoyance in this game. There aren't many supplies around when you need them and the guns cannot hold a lot of ammo meaning you need to constantly call for supply drops. Old system of being able to have all the weapons is gone and replaced by a loadout of 4 weapons max. Also have to hide for long periods to wait for your health to recover instead of using rations while annoying blood spatters on screen reducing your visibility.

    -Micro-transactions. All that needs to be said about this. Anyone defending micro-transactions in a £40/€60 game is an idiot.    … Expand
  4. 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.

    (Sorry, posted this here when I meant to put it in the PC reviews.)    … Expand
  5. Cytiene
    Sep 6, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I simply cannot understand how this game is getting so much praise. I'm a huge Metal Gear Solid fan and I was really looking forward to it. But when I finally started this game, playing the opening sequence I couldn't help but feel sort of numb to everything that was happening. Sure it was cool but something was missing. Only about 30 hours later and after nights of sleeplessness where I tried to figure out why I wasn't satisfied with the game it hit me. There is no heart to it. The gameplay sure ist pretty good and it is a lot of fun. The world's are empty though and Kojima Productions had no idea how to make an open world that is diverse and feels natural. The worst part of this game is without a doubt the story. The first chapter was somehow bearable, although it felt so unfinished and things that got introduced were never explained or continued later on. The second chapter though is the worst part. It feels like they needed to throw everything they had left together just to make the story a little bit longer in the end. Quiet is an awful character and I don't feel ashamed for my "words and deeds" about her attire but that I actually defended her all this time only to learn about the utterly stupid reason she's wearing a bikini in battle. I feel ashamed for playing this game when I see her weird, hyper-sexual movements in some cutscenes and especially that stuff in the rain. The forced romance between her and 'Snake' that the story tries to shove down your throat somewhere in the middle of the game, again with no build up is so painful and cringe-worthy to look at. Also there is nothing controversial in this game that hasn't been done in other games already. Children with guns? In The Last of Us you play as a child while you're murdering people. Now I know child-soldiers are a real thing but it's so weirdly implemented in this game and doesn't really add much. Quiet being almost raped and tortured? Well that is a bad thing but the fact that men get raped too is not acknowledged at all. These scenes just feel like the game is forcing you to feel sorry for her all of a sudden. Skull Face is a silly, pathetic character that feels almost unimportant to the story. I could go on for hours. The thing that I hate most about this game is that stupid twist at the end that creates more plot-holes than it does actually explain something. It's just so stupid and unnecessary. There is no downfall of Big Boss. He doesn't become evil because of the events he has to go through. Finding out that you're playing as the medic from Ground Zeroes just makes me say one thing "Why should I even care?" There are just so many things wrong with this game's narrative that it's hard to mention all of them.

    Kojima you f***ed up big time. The only sad thing about it is that all these talented people dedicating their lives all these years to make this game are never really acknowledged behind all the praise Kojima is getting. The presentation is phenomenal, exceptional. Motion capture and cinematography is outstanding, graphics are beautiful. The soundtrack is so memorable and always fitting and the gameplay is pretty good, but all that isn't enough to save the game from it's poorly executed story and characters.    … Expand
  6. RavensCrime
    Sep 4, 2015
    6
    Oh god Kojima, why?
    I wanted to love this game, I wanted it to be epic and a worthwhile closure to one of of my favorite series of all time, and for the most part, I thought: "This is my GotY 2015". But then, close to the finish line, it stumbles and destroys every enjoyment I could have, instead replacing it with frustration and Game Design decisions I just cant understand.
    Metal Gear    Oh god Kojima, why?
    I wanted to love this game, I wanted it to be epic and a worthwhile closure to one of of my favorite series of all time, and for the most part, I thought: "This is my GotY 2015". But then, close to the finish line, it stumbles and destroys every enjoyment I could have, instead replacing it with frustration and Game Design decisions I just cant understand.
    Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain proves that you can never expect a good Game to stay good.
    But where do I start?
    MGSV does a lot of things right.
    +The Gameplay has never been this good in a Metal Gear Game. Seriously, the sneaking is fun and engaging, and the open world aspect makes you truly want to explore.
    +The graphical Quality is pretty good and this game runs at 60fps instead of the standard 30, while also not feeling like it sacrificed visual quality for that.
    +The Game is Gigantic, with me spending over 60 hours with roughly 70% Completion.
    +The Score has never been so perfectly mixed, every single track feels like it belongs to where it is played, and really makes some scenes really emotional.
    +The cinematics are beautiful, engaging and really great, making this one of the closest experiences to an interactive movie.
    This all sounds great, doesn´t it? So why do I rate this game relatively low?
    -While the Gameplay is great, it was never the strong point of Metal Gear Solid t begin with, at least not for me. I always played this games for the Story, and the Story in this Game is one of the worst in the series, being played completely by the numbers and an ending that makes you feel like you just wasted all the Time you played Metal Gear Solid V.
    -While the Open world is pretty Big, it also gets pretty samey pretty damn fast, making you loose interest after a few hours already.
    And my biggest gripe:
    This Game takes the Peace Walker approach in storytelling in which you have a main Chapter that is pretty basic storytelling wise, and an "Epilogue" which is aimed to complete the Story. First of all, reaching that ending is a chore. You are forced to replay Missions from earlier in the Game, just on a higher difficulty Setting.Not only does that make no narrative sense, But Metal Gear Solid V cranks it up to 11, having missions where you can get One-Shot less then 1 Second in. No Room for Error, no Fairness. That is not Fun, just Punishing.
    It is funny that i would say this about MGSV, a game in development for what feels like an eternity, but it needed more Time. The Final chapter feels like it was meant to be accompanied by Gameplay, but they had to scrap that and instead just recycled older levels.
    It is sad that it had to end like this. I truly wanted to Love this Game and for the Most Part, it felt like this would be the best Metal Gear, and a true ending to the Series, but everything it left was an awful aftertaste.    … Expand
  7. 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
  8. gongal
    Sep 6, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm really not sure where all the positive feedback comes from... Yes - the gameplay is great, but that's all what MGS is about...
    This was supposed to be the ultimate MGS STORY, THE MISSING LINK. What did we get? A convoluted story about a double without emotions, without his own personality. With a villan that means absolutely nothing to the series, who's personality is basicaly what venom should have been...
    The whole Chapter 2 is an unfinished mess, that starts with an awesome trailer when we expect the real **** to hit the fan, but nothing really happens... Then, out of nowhere, we are given the most awfully delivered ending in the MGS history. There's no build up, no interesting cutscenes. Everything happens "because reasons", and that they had no time to implement a proper storyline to the game.
    And the disguisting ending itself, where someone thought that would be necessary to target the game to suicidal teenagers and help them feel better about themselves... YOU ARE BIG BOSS LOL.

    Thank god they let Kojima go so he won't disappoint that much any more...    … Expand
  9. TixyLix
    Sep 6, 2015
    5
    Just feels like another mediocre open world game to me, it's not MGS in the slightest and I'm super disappointed.

    If you were expecting the big epic story finale to the MGS series, then prepare to be as disappointed as I was. After the first hour the story just goes away, most of what is left is in the tapes you listen to and then a 2 min cutscene is sparsely dotted around every 10    Just feels like another mediocre open world game to me, it's not MGS in the slightest and I'm super disappointed.

    If you were expecting the big epic story finale to the MGS series, then prepare to be as disappointed as I was. After the first hour the story just goes away, most of what is left is in the tapes you listen to and then a 2 min cutscene is sparsely dotted around every 10 hours or so. There are no characters like you had in the other games, everyone is largely forgettable, the voice acting for the male actors is bad, they all sound too similar. There are no boss fights as you'd expect from a MGS game, no moments like you had with The End in MGS3 or Psycho Mantis from MGS.

    The world is empty and really annoying to travel through since you constantly have big rocks stopping you from going places, it really feels more like a series of funnels. All the content is in the outposts, but they all have the same objectives of sneak past guards to get to something to either kill or extract. They never do anything clever with the gameplay, it always plays the same and I got bored quickly. The previous games were much more like Mario where Nintendo constantly finds new things to do with the gameplay with each level. However in MGSV It's like doing Hideouts in Watchdogs over and over again. I don't even see why the world is there, it serves no reason but for you to travel across, which is boring. I'd have much preferred a single location like the Tanker in MGS or Shadow Moses, at least then the map would have character, rather than the generic outposts of MGV.

    The controls are very clunky, it doesn't control well at all, there is no jump button either so you'll constantly get stuck on trying to negotiate Snake over and around them. Constantly I found myself in prone and not able to get Snake to turn around, so I'd end up just having Snake moving backwards all the time, which mirrors left and right and that is so annoying.

    I think MGSV is a very mediocre game, it's like Kojima got Western open world game envy and decided to copy it. It's not satisfying with the story, which to me is the biggest crime since MGS has always been about the story. Why make a big deal out of getting Kiefer Sutherland if you aren't going to use him? I swear I only heard him talk like 5 times throughout the game.

    I fully expect a backlash to happen, in the same vein as GTA IV.    … Expand
  10. Alche
    Sep 1, 2015
    5
    While I not motivate me of both a game and has managed this. Quality and content overflows do. Special mention for Mother Base, customizable and entertaining. Every thing you do feel you progress, unlock weapons, upgrades, etc. Fellow soles an amazing game that I we can deduct many hours hooked.
  11. riseinflame
    Sep 4, 2015
    6
    Metal Gear Solid 5 Review (Spoiler Free) -

    Ever since I've seen the first trailer of MGS 5, i haven't been able to contain my hype. Waiting for the long awaited GOTY 2015 has been hard and finally getting to play it as soon as it launched was a treat. However, as many times as you see his name appear on every mission, sadly, this isn't A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME! Phantom Pain's fox engine    Metal Gear Solid 5 Review (Spoiler Free) -

    Ever since I've seen the first trailer of MGS 5, i haven't been able to contain my hype. Waiting for the long awaited GOTY 2015 has been hard and finally getting to play it as soon as it launched was a treat. However, as many times as you see his name appear on every mission, sadly, this isn't A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME!

    Phantom Pain's fox engine is amazing, showcasing a new era of open world fun that can be had in the 8th gen of gaming. However, Kojima's so called conclusion to the epic saga is a big fail. MGS 5 is an open world game with mechanics picked up from Far Cry, Splinter Cell & some other 3rd person shooters. What the game doesn't pick is anything from its previous Metal Gears.

    Metal Gear Solid 4 remains my favourite game of all time not just because of its amazing story but also its boss battles. And Phantom Pain fails to deliver on both. The game's story is left on a cliched cliffhanger and the game has a total of 1 Boss Battle. The hype with which i started the game died down each moment I progressed towards the end.

    The game is divided into 3 sections - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2.

    The prologue features some amazing cutscenes with chapter 1 featuring 31 missions to the finale. While some of these missions are really amazing, most are repetitive and sloppy. The game's initial impressions make you say that its a GOTY, however by the end of chapter 1, you witness a boss battle which is nothing but a bullet sponge.(felt like i was playing a Destiny boss battle, shoot rockets till death... urgh!)

    What's even more disappointing is Chapter 2, which has 19 missions, 12 of which are basically missions from Chapter 1 on higher difficulty which need to be completed in a specific way, stealing away your freedom of open world tactical espionage. The way you want to play doesn't exist anymore in Chapter 2 which makes you question the existence of the open world.

    Metal Gear Solid 5 was the most hyped game of 2015 and Kojima does nothing but disappoint. I look back at MGS 4 and see nothing but laziness from Konami & Team in this game. A lack of boss battles, the sheer lack of the amount of Kojima quantity cutscenes & the exact same missions in Chapter 2 makes me glad that i spent only $60 on this game and no more.

    Phantom Pain from no angle is 2015's GOTY & while i am not interested in Fallout 4 as of now, i hope its much better than this.    … Expand
  12. voidsea
    Sep 5, 2015
    5
    Although all we MGS fanboys should be high.
    But this crap is just an average game with feign tactic and stupid funky story.
    Open world? Lifeless and boring repeative.
    Mother base? Distractive.
    Where is the good old story telling?
    Kojima Kojima Kojima... F*k off and stop telling me this.
  13. MooseSpoon
    Sep 3, 2015
    7
    It's a nice game. The graphics are great. The game plays well. But in all honesty it loses some points in a few areas.

    1.) The credits for every episode are annoying. I mean did you know this game was made by Hideo Kojima? Yeah it's a thing that they took his name off the box, but I'm pretty sure I knew at the start of the game it was made by him. You don't have to remind me. 2.) It    It's a nice game. The graphics are great. The game plays well. But in all honesty it loses some points in a few areas.

    1.) The credits for every episode are annoying. I mean did you know this game was made by Hideo Kojima? Yeah it's a thing that they took his name off the box, but I'm pretty sure I knew at the start of the game it was made by him. You don't have to remind me.

    2.) It feels like Far Cry. Seriously. Gather some things, craft some things, do some open world missions. Maybe it should be called Far Cry Solid.

    3.) Micro transactions. Yes, you paid for a full game and you still get micro transactions. They're mostly for the online component, but it still seems a bit silly. If I wanted micro transactions, I can play a mobile game or something from EA.    … Expand
  14. JMARSseph
    Sep 5, 2015
    6
    Why so much hype? This game is ok, nothing more, nothing less. The graphics are pretty decent, not the best. A lot of models are poorly done and for a game of this magnitude it is inexcusable. The movement can be problematic when running or just walking, yet for some reason when crawling you are like a tank and crawl relatively problem free. The combat is above average but nothing new. AWhy so much hype? This game is ok, nothing more, nothing less. The graphics are pretty decent, not the best. A lot of models are poorly done and for a game of this magnitude it is inexcusable. The movement can be problematic when running or just walking, yet for some reason when crawling you are like a tank and crawl relatively problem free. The combat is above average but nothing new. A lot of people claim the enemy A. I. is something special.....not so much. Enemies will wonder around into the open and run directly into sniper fire. Also a lot of people like all of the micromanaging at your base...not me. An abundance of content does not make for greatness or make up for typical gameplay. I am not overly impressed at all. I guess I expected more and was let down. I feel each mission is replaying the prior mission. Repeat, repeat, repeat.....................I cant decide if I will continue or trade this game while it has value. As for so called professional critics...I never have bought their nonsense, because clearly if a company pays you a lot of money to hype their product and advertise....well you wouldn't be to objective either.… Expand
  15. Deezlar
    Sep 2, 2015
    6
    Doesn't even come close to the hype.

    If you are a MGS ultra fan, then of course this game will be "perfect" to you because it can do no wrong. For the more open minded, a few points.. The open world isn't open. There is nothing to explore. The locations all look identical / low quality textures. The missions offer very little variety. Credits at the beginning/end of every    Doesn't even come close to the hype.

    If you are a MGS ultra fan, then of course this game will be "perfect" to you because it can do no wrong.
    For the more open minded, a few points..

    The open world isn't open.
    There is nothing to explore.
    The locations all look identical / low quality textures.
    The missions offer very little variety.
    Credits at the beginning/end of every "episode" is really obnoxious.
    Stealth is badly implemented, but if you get seen you just destroyed most of your rewards.
    The entire base/army aside is just lubrication for the cash shop ramming.

    The simplest and most fundamental flaw is that Guns have no place in this game... You get majorly penalised for doing anything with a weapon other than a stealth knockdown pistol, so it begs the question, why do they even exist?

    As for the whole "Everyone will have stories" nonsense, no they wont. There will be a couple of variations on the theme but for the most part, everyone will approach things in the same way.

    The story is pretty crap so far, other than an awesome intro sequence that jarrs so heavily with you being dropped into the "open" (not open) world, that it feels like you just watched a trailer for another game instead of a build up to your own story.

    The game overall is average. Painfully average.
    But of course that doesn't matter because all that people care about is the hype train these days.    … Expand
  16. Skarwind
    Sep 1, 2015
    7
    It's a AAA title that works, so +5 for that. For the people giving it a 10/10 I feel sorry for their quality in gameplay and game design as a whole. The game is just boring. It looks great, sounds great, is optimized very well, and has the production value of a high quality AAA movie, however, this game is bland and boring as any other standard Call of Duty game or Battlefield game at thisIt's a AAA title that works, so +5 for that. For the people giving it a 10/10 I feel sorry for their quality in gameplay and game design as a whole. The game is just boring. It looks great, sounds great, is optimized very well, and has the production value of a high quality AAA movie, however, this game is bland and boring as any other standard Call of Duty game or Battlefield game at this point.

    The AI is stupid. I can't express this enough, but the AI is a sham of what previous games were. You can stand in front of them and they won't notice you (WITHOUT THE CHICKEN HAT).

    Also, and this may be a small point to point out, Kojima made it a point to say, "screw you Konami," but I have to say I do NOT ENJOY SEEING HIS NAME AT THE END OF EVERY MISSION! We get it... you made the game, you emphasized that enough with your 2014 easter eggs of Ground Zeroes, but as human beings, your emphasis on stupid **** is pointless.

    Imagine seeing a movie where the credits rolled every 5 minutes. This would be outrageous. I personally do not enjoy this game but many others do, it is a good game overall but I can't vouch for it. I don't enjoy it and I don't like it. The graphics are amazing. The story is probably awesome but I'll never know. I spent about 20 hours in and I stopped playing. I hate it. I don't like what the modern age of gaming has done to people and the medium in general. This is my protest. This is my non 10/10 review and my non 0/10 review. I give this game, in my opinion a fair score, the mediocre 7/10 that I feel it deserves. Kojima could have done better for his final game for the company but instead he decided to troll the ever living dog **** out of it. there may be 400+ positive reviews for this game on metacritic. I honestly hope that I can convince at least one person to use an objective mind before purchasing this game, however.

    It's not fun, it looks great, but it is shallow. SHALLOW to the 10/10 extreme reviews that this game is getting.

    10/10 Kojima, **** YOU. After 20 years of loving your products and story, I have to say, I hate you now...

    Rant/Over. Metal Ger fo LIFE. (but not really)

    P.S. the most not realistic review I've ever made while still being serious.    … Expand
  17. shundog
    Apr 10, 2017
    5
    This is an average game at best, which is hugely disappointing for such a great series. There are a lot of side missions, but they are very repetitive and they get old in a hurry. The levels are mostly barren deserts which are very bland to run through. I got about 3/4 of the way through the game and I couldn't bring myself to finish it, which was a first for me in the series.
  18. theche
    Apr 3, 2017
    5
    The Metal Gear series has always excelled in combining great stealth action game play and state-of-the art graphics with a complex, enthralling storyline featuring fascinating characters. Unfortunately, this latest part of the series only excels in the technical and mechanical aspects. Moving the series into an open world sandbox, it offers more content than any former part - however itThe Metal Gear series has always excelled in combining great stealth action game play and state-of-the art graphics with a complex, enthralling storyline featuring fascinating characters. Unfortunately, this latest part of the series only excels in the technical and mechanical aspects. Moving the series into an open world sandbox, it offers more content than any former part - however it does so by heavily recycling content, forcing players to visit the same outposts over and over again. Uncharacteristically, the game also fails to narrate a meaningful or even comprehensible story: The motivations of major protagonists and antagonists remain unclear until the very end, it all just seems to serve as a cheap excuse to send the player onto random missions.

    Fans of the stealth action genre should still check the game out due to its unquestionable great mechanics, but compared to its predecessors, Metal Gear Solid 5 is a huge step down.    … Expand
  19. DonManias
    Oct 25, 2017
    7
    Highly overrated.
    Despite the game play mechanics and production values being sky high, like most Metal Gear games, the switch to an open world destroys the most important aspect of the Metal Gear series: the fantastic storytelling of its genius creator, who has managed to innovate gaming time and again.
    This time, however, the innovation is replaced by repetition. Multiple missions in    Highly overrated.
    Despite the game play mechanics and production values being sky high, like most Metal Gear games, the switch to an open world destroys the most important aspect of the Metal Gear series: the fantastic storytelling of its genius creator, who has managed to innovate gaming time and again.
    This time, however, the innovation is replaced by repetition.
    Multiple missions in the same location may be the idea of great fun of many people, but it sure isn't mine: I love open world games, but I also love straight stories, and Metal Gear games were their best version. Imagine a fantastic Grand Theft Auto that takes away open world roaming and replaces it with a straight story, moving you from one location to another once you complete a stage...
    All in all , the game does not lack in any aspect, with the notable exception of stealth, which at times looks quite laughable, with lots of noises and other impossible events that would wake up a person from a bloody coma.
    However, this is a game, so suspension of reality is something to be expected to a certain degree, although this is cutting it close.
    Stealth aside, it would be unfair to criticize anything else.
    However, switching to a sandbox world is pretty massive, and although I am more than certain that the majority of people will not mind this change, as far as my personal taste goes, this was a disappointing change of direction.
    Do give it a short, particularly if you love open world games. They have made one of the best ones out there.
    But, Metal Gear fans, this is what Dragon Age 2 was to Dragon Age Origins: better graphics, same locations all over, and that weird feeling of "what happened to the game I love? Why am I playing another GTA clone, dammit"?    … Expand
  20. BIGMIK80
    Oct 29, 2017
    5
    I. Cant believe this game got such a high rating. Yes the mechanics are near perfect and the graphics are amazing but its very repetitive. Exploring the same areas over and over. Then halfway through it forces you to do online FOBs, which is a total waste of time. Then after mission 30 your just repeating the same missions but on a harder setting. The load in before EVERY mission in theI. Cant believe this game got such a high rating. Yes the mechanics are near perfect and the graphics are amazing but its very repetitive. Exploring the same areas over and over. Then halfway through it forces you to do online FOBs, which is a total waste of time. Then after mission 30 your just repeating the same missions but on a harder setting. The load in before EVERY mission in the chopper is pointless and cant be skipped. I did enjoy the challenges and tasks but some are bugged and are annoying.… Expand
  21. B0rn2_w1n
    Jul 17, 2019
    7
    Amazing mechanics, but the game has no soul.

    MGS1 is my favorite game of all time, MGS2 is in the top 10. These games where great not only because of the mechanics, but also because of the story/music/script/final bosses, etc.

    This game, with it's episodic structure and repetitive missions is dull and lacks soul. First 2 hours are great, then the game becomes just average.
  22. Umbrella-17
    Mar 22, 2017
    6
    MGS V is a Deception. The Story is a mess and Kojima attempted a Too Deep for you story with a lack of cut-scene and information even a certain part in the story which i won't spoil end with a cliffhanger and the real ending is an unfinished cut-scene in a bonus disc from the collector edition. While we have a lack of good story missions and cut-scenes they make it in useless repetitiveMGS V is a Deception. The Story is a mess and Kojima attempted a Too Deep for you story with a lack of cut-scene and information even a certain part in the story which i won't spoil end with a cliffhanger and the real ending is an unfinished cut-scene in a bonus disc from the collector edition. While we have a lack of good story missions and cut-scenes they make it in useless repetitive Ops that feel like a chore to play. Go there extract that dude. Go there kill or Fulton those Commanders, go get those supply containers. Eliminate or Fulton those Tank and APC. Without forgetting the development time for many weapons and Equipment lets say i want to develop that amazing assault rifle it will be available in 2 hours in game or later in the game the Gold weapons which are the strongest take around a week without playing at least to develop unless you use MB coin which you will want to keep for buying more Platform for your base which take 1 day or more to develop. I give it a six because the actual Gameplay is Solid the game has almost no bugs and the weapons Item variety is there. MGSV is exactly the case of a **** of mediocre content. I never wished to have story content as DLC's so much than with MGS V if Kojima had in is mind to make us feel the phantom pain with MGS V he did great with the lack of story content for the last MGS game. As i am writing this review Ghost Recon wildlands is out and its an amazing Stealth open world done right.… Expand
  23. OBrien1510
    May 13, 2019
    6
    Bloat. This is the word the summarises this game for me. I should note that I never make reviews like this because something really irked me about my (admittedly brief) time with this game and that's that I really really want to like it. It's so obvious that a lot of time and effort went into making this game and this can be seen by the sheer quantity of often frivolous gameplay mechanicsBloat. This is the word the summarises this game for me. I should note that I never make reviews like this because something really irked me about my (admittedly brief) time with this game and that's that I really really want to like it. It's so obvious that a lot of time and effort went into making this game and this can be seen by the sheer quantity of often frivolous gameplay mechanics that have been worked in. Herein lies both the strength and weakness of Phantom Pain. It seems to take a needless long amount of time to do anything in this game and it only serves to bolster and bloat a users playtime with empty hours. I would imagine that an average play through my spend almost 10 solid hours either being ferried to your next location in a helicopter or waiting for said helicopter. The lack of loading screens is very nice I will admit but I wish there was something else to fill that time than just staring at the drab grey and browns of the landscape.

    I really can't comment on the story because I didn't see very much of it. I could bring myself to play very far into the story because I would find myself getting visibly agitated at the amount of 'red tape' surrounding the actual game. I just want to play the game, why does this highly complex mother base metagame exists? Is it neccesary? Can I skip it? Honestly stuff like that seemed to just ramp up my anxiety because I constantly felt like I was missing out on something by ignoring all these auxiliary content. I've attempted to go back to this game multiple times hoping that eventually it'll 'catch' and I get hooked but I end up rage quiting and deleting it again after half an hour everytime. It feels like the type of game that require 10's of hours of gameplay to actually get used to all the little mechanics in the game and honestly, these days I just don't have the patience for it. The migration to an open world really hinders the game as well I feel. I would prefer set missions that were mostly relevant to the story opposed to the current scattergun approach. It falls into the same trapping of many open world games and this is a lack of direction. Let me just ignore the main story for 10 hours because there's a few 'highly skilled solidiers' I need to spend an inordinate amount of time finding so that I can extract them for this mother base mini game that I don't even really understand.

    I would be remiss if I gave this game a score any lower than I did because mechanically it is near perfect and it's clear a lot of care was put into the game. But the "Throw enough **** at the wall and hope something sticks" approach it one that has left a sour taste in my mouth every time I try to play. It always feels like the game could be streamlined better in almost every way, but that would make the game too modern and would probably shave 10's of hours of game time from any one save. Being a Japanese made game, playtime really is everything (believe me, I played persona and loved it btw)

    I'm going to stop know but I needed to vent a little bit because I honestly don't think I've ever been more frustrated with a game. Mostly because I feel like I'm missing something, like there's something wrong with my and not the game (this very well might be the case) but as hard as I have tried I just can't bring myself to enjoy it    … Expand
  24. CoreGamer1408
    Aug 9, 2019
    6
    MGS1/2 and even MGS3 was a good balance between stealth action and story,. MGS4 was way to much story and not enough game. While MGSV feels way to much of a empty padded out game and not enough story (barring the intro section). Then the game switches to a resource collection and management game. I have spent tens of hours going into the same looking areas coming up against the same numberMGS1/2 and even MGS3 was a good balance between stealth action and story,. MGS4 was way to much story and not enough game. While MGSV feels way to much of a empty padded out game and not enough story (barring the intro section). Then the game switches to a resource collection and management game. I have spent tens of hours going into the same looking areas coming up against the same number of enemies. To ether assassinate, capture personal, steal some intel/tech or blow something up.

    In all the previous games Solid Snake and Big Boss in MG3 was voiced by the same actor David Hayter. So it is quite jarring to hear another actor Kethier Sutherland with a totally different distinct voice play the same role as which David Hayter did. New to the IP then this won't even matter.

    The gameplay is fine polished, but nothing ground breaking or that exciting really. The older MG games and controls were kind of tricky, because honestly how the limited 3D technology worked at the time. MGSV is a breeze to play and I felt at no time challenged on default difficulty. While the optional use of the iron sight addition makes the take downs even easier. How to recruit people is silly fun, but also so super dumb.

    A open map with a padded travel system and rinse/repeat missions is so boring in stealth. I get the feeling this game was supposed to have more maps? Or that maps were supposed to only have one mission per local.? They padded this game to hell and back for sure. Returning to the same place the third, fourth or filth time do the same thing for the third, fourth of fifth time in stealth mode.

    This game has a extensive tiers for lethal gear that take ages to grind to unlock lock, but the game penalizes you if you go loud and/or kill stuff. The most fun I had with this game was when I was going loud and getting crappy ranks.    … Expand
  25. Sveta7
    Jul 18, 2018
    6
    First tim playing a mgs game so im not a hyper fanboy and will give a 10/10 to anything...With that out of the way the game runs good has good mechanics and graphics but has a lot of short missions which get boring and repetitive and doesn't really have something special or intriguing for me to keep playing it just an average shooter with traces of asian culture and also the recruitingFirst tim playing a mgs game so im not a hyper fanboy and will give a 10/10 to anything...With that out of the way the game runs good has good mechanics and graphics but has a lot of short missions which get boring and repetitive and doesn't really have something special or intriguing for me to keep playing it just an average shooter with traces of asian culture and also the recruiting part is a pain in the ass ...… Expand
  26. Arctic_Kurioshi
    May 28, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's was a HUGE let down for me in many ways. Gameplay wise is good but not a master piece. I found myself bored often. I've played all the Metal Gear games and this was the weakest by far. I liked Survive better and that's saying a lot.… Expand
  27. ilx4ever
    Aug 26, 2020
    6
    When you finish the intro, which is roughly 2hrs you could rate this game really so high. But that's not the case with the rest of the game. After the 5th mission you are done with the game. Its literally the same again and again, mission after mission. You just hope to end sooner. This guy Hideo Kojima is either the most overrated game dev ever or he has just made the intro of the gameWhen you finish the intro, which is roughly 2hrs you could rate this game really so high. But that's not the case with the rest of the game. After the 5th mission you are done with the game. Its literally the same again and again, mission after mission. You just hope to end sooner. This guy Hideo Kojima is either the most overrated game dev ever or he has just made the intro of the game and left everything else to his team. The game is at most 6 out of 10.… Expand
  28. SuperDuck23
    May 28, 2017
    7
    Despite the fact that there are many positives in regards to presentation and controls, I found the rest of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain to be a chore to get through. The lack of a good story also adds to the frustration. Like Ground Zeroes, it’s very well realised but carries no weight.
  29. SolidXSteak
    Feb 23, 2017
    5
    Man what a **** disappointment. True there are aspects that work. The graphics are fantastic, and the mechanics are perhaps the best in the series. The game is crippled by a story that is incomplete and confusing even by Metal Gear standards, boring level design, repetitive missions, an open world so empty and pointless that you wonder why they even bothered, and a base building/onlineMan what a **** disappointment. True there are aspects that work. The graphics are fantastic, and the mechanics are perhaps the best in the series. The game is crippled by a story that is incomplete and confusing even by Metal Gear standards, boring level design, repetitive missions, an open world so empty and pointless that you wonder why they even bothered, and a base building/online competitive aspect of the game that is just annoying to say the least. The sad part is that I can see the potential this game had. Simply put; Kojima wasn't able to properly finish the game and it shows… Expand
  30. MasterGames
    Jan 8, 2019
    7
    A great Stealth-Action game but as a Metal Gear title it's kind of disappointing. The story seems unfinished, there are no major bosses and the cassette tapes are a the real phantom pain... in the ass.
  31. Diesel_Fox
    Oct 29, 2018
    5
    I've just got around to playing this recently. I'm a huge Metal Gear fan, but man, was I let down with this entry! The game looked good and had tight controls, for the most part, but that's about all the praise I can give it. This game was so repetitive and had terrible pacing. Capture this guy, capture that guy, destroy this convoy, destroy that equipment...repeat, repeat, repeat. StoryI've just got around to playing this recently. I'm a huge Metal Gear fan, but man, was I let down with this entry! The game looked good and had tight controls, for the most part, but that's about all the praise I can give it. This game was so repetitive and had terrible pacing. Capture this guy, capture that guy, destroy this convoy, destroy that equipment...repeat, repeat, repeat. Story is so important in the Metal Gear game, but this games story was not only absurdly stupid, it was hindered even more, by the ridiculously slow pacing. (And the product advertisements? WTF?) The open-(empty) world setting really hurt this game IMO. Don't even get me started on Mother Base...so pointless. If you compiled 60 hours in this game, 10 or more of it was spent running from or to your objective from the Heli drop off/pick-up. Then the game has an ending, and another Chapter (2), which in order to unlock the final mission has all these prerequisites that you are going to have no idea for the most part what they are... come on? Not to mention all the pointless mundane missions you have already completed thrown in there. Overall this was a huge and frustrating, sometimes boring, disappointment for me.… Expand
  32. iJustJean
    Nov 30, 2015
    6
    Graphic are amazing, game play is smooth for the most part. Story is a bit eh. There is a lot to do but most of it is repetitive. The world might seem open and it it to a certain level but it all honesty it's linear. There's no real reason to explore other than for resources and side missions which again are repetitive. Great game but defiantly overrated by a lot.
  33. alzahhar
    Jul 24, 2016
    5
    Regardless of all the praise this game received, it has so many flaws that get overlooked in most subjective reviews. There is basically no story, no real narrative or ending, the game is one of the most repetitive games I have ever played. Missions actually repeat themselves on "harder" diffuclties and are considered one of the "main" mission. Most missions feel forced, meaningless andRegardless of all the praise this game received, it has so many flaws that get overlooked in most subjective reviews. There is basically no story, no real narrative or ending, the game is one of the most repetitive games I have ever played. Missions actually repeat themselves on "harder" diffuclties and are considered one of the "main" mission. Most missions feel forced, meaningless and unnecessary and there are about 5 different side missions that are repeated 150 times. Now what is good about the game ? The gameplay is phenomenal, smooth and I don't think I have seen better, and there is somewhat of a nice sense of progression. It is graphically and technically almost flawless but objectively the game has too many flaws to be an 10 or a 9 as many subjective reviewers gave it. If you're going to buy this game expect no story and repetitive missions, that way you'll enjoy it much more than I have.… Expand
  34. EmoOutlaw
    Sep 8, 2015
    7
    Very solid game, beautiful graphics and gameplay but I always found myself being bored and wondering why I wasn't playing something more engaging. The story could be way better also.
  35. Bitek
    Apr 20, 2018
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Metal Gear Solid 5 is a good but not great game in my opinion. There are some awesome moments in the game and the music is great too. it feels like big budget game but some things in the game are just weird. The game gets repetitive after a while, too many same environments (aka enemy bases) are used for different missions, some missions are repeated again as new mission with different difficulty. This is just strange. I feel that the developer was trying too hard to make this game too long. instead of 50 levels , there could have been 40 levels and the game would be much better. Overall it is a must play but i cannot give this game 10 out of 10.… Expand
  36. Vicjo
    Jan 10, 2017
    6
    I was ilusionate after read the reviews of metal gear solid V, all of them said that the game was a masterpiece, at the beginning the game looked good, the grafichs are good and the gameplay was full of possibilities, never the control of Snake was so rewarding, but little by little you realize that lack the essence of metal gear, the story between mission looks like don´t have connectionI was ilusionate after read the reviews of metal gear solid V, all of them said that the game was a masterpiece, at the beginning the game looked good, the grafichs are good and the gameplay was full of possibilities, never the control of Snake was so rewarding, but little by little you realize that lack the essence of metal gear, the story between mission looks like don´t have connection and only you learn the story in the few cutscenes that have the game, you can deepen in the story with the system of cassettes but is slow and very boring, also is very bad. Like good things the game has many possibilities at the hour of facing missions and we have a lot of weapons and gadgets, but unfortunately only you will use a couple of them. But the worst is the game is imcomplete!!!!!, the second chapter have the same mission than chapter one, but with more difficult, only five o six mission are news, which cause that the story loss lose the sense in a lot of times, and the third and finally chapter is missing, therefore you don´t know like end the story. By last the side quests are repetitive, all are rescue a prisioner, or kill a soldier or find weapon planes, etc.

    In summary is not a bad game, but the felling is not a metal gear game, the story is poor and missing the spectacularity the other games, also the game is incomplete and a lot of missions are the same.    … Expand
  37. upsilonh24
    Nov 9, 2016
    7
    An interesting game that falls short in terms of narrative.

    In terms of gameplay, this is an accomplished game. Open space is interesting and well done, and appropriate for a Metal Gear game. Infiltration is exciting and combat is satisfying. There is a wealth of weapons and customization. The players has a lot of room to decide what strategy to employ for a given mission. Furthermore,    An interesting game that falls short in terms of narrative.

    In terms of gameplay, this is an accomplished game. Open space is interesting and well done, and appropriate for a Metal Gear game. Infiltration is exciting and combat is satisfying. There is a wealth of weapons and customization. The players has a lot of room to decide what strategy to employ for a given mission. Furthermore, the environnements (war torn Afghanistan and Angola) are engaging. You will probably be compelled to keep playing MGS5.

    However, in doing so, you might find yourself increasingly annoyed at the weakness of the story. It is puzzling and immature -- a trait that only tends to worsen as the game goes on. You'd wish Hideo Kojima would have exploited his evidently good knowledge of war and conflict to anchor the plot in something a bit more real. God knows it can be gruesome but it would have given his game depth.

    Instead, he chose to relegate MGS5's gorgeous setting to no more than a kind of wallpaper to this series self-indulging and sometimes exasperating internal mythology. There is a startling contrast between the maturity of the setting and the immaturity of the narrative. Naturally, it is difficult to discuss this without giving away too much. But players (especially older ones), may be disappointed with the numerous cheap plot twists and thin characters. The ending feels especially half-arsed. We're almost talking about the "oh, so this was all a dream" category.

    MGS5 is a squandered opportunity for this medium to grow. It could have done so while retaining its compelling gameplay.    … Expand
  38. Caerleon
    Mar 19, 2017
    6
    The game looks empty. A huge open world, but nothing passes through it. It feels like I was playing the alpha version. All tasks are the same and start to bore after 3 hours of play.

    The plot is linear. The indistinct chief villain without any motivation. Snake does not look like a hero. On the game, he is some kind of errand boy. There are no long video inserts as in the past parts.
  39. 2cben
    Sep 7, 2015
    6
    I played 15 hours so far here is how I feel about this game, I don't think it's a bad game but it is NOT a masterpiece nor a perfect game.

    I just don't understand how the media (especially IGN) would often give this game a perfect score. Perfect score would mean perfect game right? Here is a list of what's far from being perfect: - The world may be big but it's impressively empty.    I played 15 hours so far here is how I feel about this game, I don't think it's a bad game but it is NOT a masterpiece nor a perfect game.

    I just don't understand how the media (especially IGN) would often give this game a perfect score. Perfect score would mean perfect game right? Here is a list of what's far from being perfect:

    - The world may be big but it's impressively empty. Apart from doing the mission what is there to do? Capture animals and pick wild flowers? How exciting! Everywhere looks the same!
    - The eyesight of the enemy is just bad, they will notice something if you're like 30 meters away then will walk a few meters and then go back like everything is normal. They will spot you if you're literally in standing in front of them. I'm not saying they should see you from 200 meters away but it's hard to take the whole thing seriously when you feel that you're playing against an army of blind soviet soldiers.
    - Snake spends way too much time crawling backward ...
    - Credits at the end of every mission? Seriously? Ideo Kojima must have some big ego issues, his name appears 100 times in total.
    - Oh well the story ...

    My game progress reports %9 but I already feel like I did all the different type of mission (extraction, kill the target, find this document, destroy this thing ...)

    There is obviously lots of great things about the game too but it's seriously impacted by all this clumsyness/empty world/I can't jump...    … Expand
  40. Unsky
    Jul 24, 2017
    7
    I'm a huge fan of the series but unfortunately this episode didn't live up to my expectations. Even if there are many secondary missions it gets boring after a while of repetitive gameplay. The story and the main missions are not bad but not at the levels of past games for sure. The whole open world thing kinda works but didn't convince me, it feels like a forced move to make it moreI'm a huge fan of the series but unfortunately this episode didn't live up to my expectations. Even if there are many secondary missions it gets boring after a while of repetitive gameplay. The story and the main missions are not bad but not at the levels of past games for sure. The whole open world thing kinda works but didn't convince me, it feels like a forced move to make it more appealing by adapting to what's a standard at this point, you just end up powering up for hours but the gameplay never actually changes. I liked the sidekicks introduction and some new stuff though. The recruiting/extraction system inherited by Portable Ops and Acid! becomes obsessive after a while and it becomes the objective of every secondary mission, preventing you from playing the way you really want to. The motherbase/powerup system basically takes over the game.… Expand
  41. bryan016
    Mar 17, 2016
    5
    Am I playing the same game as everyone else?

    The game isn't even finished and even though there are well over a hundred missions, they are all the same, literally. This game is very similar to MGS2 except for time period and your character undergoes spoiler plastic surgery. The character is never given a chance to develop and become evil or venom snake. The gameplay is great yes, but it    Am I playing the same game as everyone else?

    The game isn't even finished and even though there are well over a hundred missions, they are all the same, literally. This game is very similar to MGS2 except for time period and your character undergoes spoiler plastic surgery. The character is never given a chance to develop and become evil or venom snake. The gameplay is great yes, but it is the same as MGS4 gameplay so I don't see what all the hype is about. Also, this game's open world idea should have never been created. Just wasn't met to be for this game, what a waste of 5 years of development this game was and I had such high expectations for this game.

    Pros:
    Great gameplay even though it is exactly like MGS4
    Great soundtrack
    Great variety of weapons
    Great introduction
    Beautiful graphics

    Bad:
    Where is the story?
    Short and repetitive missions
    The bloody chopper rides are just tiring
    Is there even a story worth mentioning here
    Where is the rest of the game
    Characters are never given a chance to develop
    Same missions that are repetitive    … Expand
  42. TsukasaHiiragi
    Sep 10, 2015
    5
    Metal Gear Solid V: TPP has a dirty and terrible secret that needs to be exposed, especially after Konami lied to everyone about how F.O.B would work, and that the FOBS would be optional, and you could disable invasions but these features was cut and made mandatory - What that means for the player is that anyone can invade, steal your soldiers/resources/GMP at anytime whether your onlineMetal Gear Solid V: TPP has a dirty and terrible secret that needs to be exposed, especially after Konami lied to everyone about how F.O.B would work, and that the FOBS would be optional, and you could disable invasions but these features was cut and made mandatory - What that means for the player is that anyone can invade, steal your soldiers/resources/GMP at anytime whether your online or offline, this directly affects your SINGLE player experience, imagine you go on vacation for a week and find out your missing most of your troops and all your GMP?

    Alot of the more paranoid players, the ones who'll stay up for days at a time will most likely kill themselves to stop players from raiding their bases.

    The FOB invasions are already a mess with hackers usings CEs - Konami, your fall from grace is astounding here, Lets also talk about the microtransactions the FOB have, and that MSG5 most likely will go directly into P2W areas, to make matters worse that will still affect your SinglePlayer game, and indeed progress.

    The research tree is also directly impacted and designed that you HAVE to invest into FOBS if you want to better gear since your base is restricted at 700 personnel so naturally it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you need the extra bases to increase the amount of people you can have which increases the rank of your equipment.

    MGSV is a good game thats ruined by all of these forced online components after Mission 22. Sure, people have mention you can attempt to stay offline permanently, but then you'll miss out on the daily bonuses (think fish + bait here) and what about patching the game? Once you log back into the game for any reason, all the damage is applied retroactively so instantly you could lose everything. Right now, there are supposedly ways around this by backing up several files - but this might be patched so the player cannot do this soon.

    There are many posts about it now, with this being a COMMON theme-

    ""
    Play offline

    While the online multiplayer mode of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has you constructing a Forward Operating Base (FOB) to which you can allocate soldiers and resources, it also leaves you open to attack from other players even if you're offline. What this means is, you can lose your top Mother Base staff that you spent time and energy capturing, even when you're not playing the game or in online mode. Simply pause the game and disconnect from it as soon as you start and ensure you do so before the end of mission 22 to prevent being forced to build an FOB and take part in a game mode that's more detrimental than it should be. Hopefully Konami patches this mode to make invasions from other players optional. ""    … Expand
  43. Mcfly69
    Sep 3, 2015
    6
    Well here it is, I was so excited about this game, I've played every Metal Gear from PS2 and up and have always enjoyed them. Metal Gear 5 is NOTHING like the past Metal Gears, you're in a open world and you pick your missions? NOOO that's not what Metal Gear is about, I loved these games because of the intense and interesting storyline with missions that went with the storyline, MG5 isWell here it is, I was so excited about this game, I've played every Metal Gear from PS2 and up and have always enjoyed them. Metal Gear 5 is NOTHING like the past Metal Gears, you're in a open world and you pick your missions? NOOO that's not what Metal Gear is about, I loved these games because of the intense and interesting storyline with missions that went with the storyline, MG5 is not like that and pretty much should be called Far Cry 5.. So disappointed :( you messed up on this one Kojima… Expand
  44. CaraDavies
    Sep 6, 2015
    7
    (SPOILER FREE)
    Could this final instalment ever really satisfy all the unanswered questions and audience expectations? Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear series was medium and genre defining, not only setting a standard for stealth gameplay and mechanics, but also demonstrating in the early days of the video games industry how cinematic and storytelling techniques could be innovatively used to    (SPOILER FREE)
    Could this final instalment ever really satisfy all the unanswered questions and audience expectations? Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear series was medium and genre defining, not only setting a standard for stealth gameplay and mechanics, but also demonstrating in the early days of the video games industry how cinematic and storytelling techniques could be innovatively used to create powerful and moving stories. Fans around the world were drawn into a rich and at times brilliantly convoluted universe, populated with characters so three dimensional and likeable that the player finds themselves genuinely caring about their fates. Fates played out in a saga where sub plot and character history are an addictive garnish atop the substantial meat of a philosophically and politically motivated main narrative.
    The issue with this release is the side lining of the story which has captivated fans for so long, the lengthy frequent cut scenes and codec conversations that so characterised the series are gone.
    While Kiefer Sutherland has done a fantastic job other voice actors let the production down and your character is too often mute which becomes jarring, particularly when something is directly revealed to you and there is no snappy one liner or thoughtful response as there has been in all the other games. As someone who struggled with the series gameplay pre the introduction of Fox Engine in MGS 4 (to the point of playing them on easy mode), I can appreciate how there was pressure to match the easy fun style of recent games like GTA V, Far Cry 4 and Tomb Raider. Audiences demand a less linear world to explore; they are less forgiving of clunky controls and most desire some RPG style element such as upgrading skills or characters to chart their progression through the game.
    The Phantom Pain succeeds in bringing this more player friendly style of gameplay, not only does it run ridiculously well on PC due to the power of Fox Engine, action and stealth mechanics are greatly improved making both infiltration and a more aggressive approach really fun to play. However the addition of elements such as the development of Mother Base mainly through resource management feels slightly tacked on and dare I say pointless. Though the world is huge and open there isn’t an awful lot to do when travelling between bases or missions, making a lot of the game a frustrating dash or painstaking crawl between A and B. This would not be so noticeable if the autosave/check pointing system (you cannot manually save) was not so poorly implemented. It is difficult to tell when your game has saved and too often you end up wasting hours redoing missions because the game has bugged and forgotten a checkpoint. While some gameplay is ruined by what would seem very simple fixes, for example the close quarter combat actions, buddy attacks and prone are so over powered it ruins the immersion significantly.
    Kojami has always been an uncompromising auteur and innovator, possibly one of the most important creative minds of our times. It has been revealed there was great pressure not only to recoup profits on the pushed back release leading to annoyances like micro transactions but also that publishers Konami effectively ripped the story out of the game, hours of cut scenes were removed and for a year they wouldn’t allow funding for development of effectively anything but the gameplay. Some we will see, for example a particularly important cut scene was included on the special edition and is surely destined for upload, but some tragically will probably never reach the eyes of fans.

    The truth is this release and the mixed reactions of players across the world just goes to proves how when business and creativity come together in the right ways, as the series has done in the past, wonderful things can be allowed to develop, however as with this game when profit margins dictate creative content the result is almost always half-baked, even with the best material to work with. However, I think the best way to view the series is not through the lens of this one game, but rather as we view any iconic saga from Star Wars to James Bond, it should be viewed as a sum of its parts and judged by enjoyment it has given fans and inspiration it has given to artists. It would be easy to harshly proclaim this game a disservice to fans but in comparison to most commercial premium games it still stands out as a very good game. Kojami put it best when in an interview he said:
    “When a flower dies it scatters its seeds. Snake’s DNA, his seeds of life, dissolves in the wind and gives rise to a new life in a new place…that’s the kind of “dissolve” I had in mind. Likewise I hope I can pass various genes onto a next generation of game designers”.
    Given the commercial pressures the game was created under I’ll cherish what little story was allowed to survive, ignore the nit-picks and then probably replay the older games.    … Expand
  45. t0mmyg
    Feb 3, 2017
    7
    Metal gear solid 5 is a very tough game to review. On one hand you have solid graphics and animations, solid voice acting and solid gameplay. On the other you have bland endless nameless enemies and drab rocky desert base after drab rocky desert base. I had great fun using different weapons and gear to take enemies out however I had much less fun, researching them with the overblown menusMetal gear solid 5 is a very tough game to review. On one hand you have solid graphics and animations, solid voice acting and solid gameplay. On the other you have bland endless nameless enemies and drab rocky desert base after drab rocky desert base. I had great fun using different weapons and gear to take enemies out however I had much less fun, researching them with the overblown menus and convoluted mother base operations. Every moment of excitement I had planning an infiltration was met with a moment of mundane base management and research of weapons. The menus give very little incentive to be excited about researching anything and every time I booted up a new mission I couldn't help but be disappointed looking at another craggy desert waste filled with generic samey bunkers. All in all I had fun playing Metal Gear solid, but the presentation just left me less than pumped.… Expand
  46. fxa5209
    Sep 16, 2015
    7
    At one point, the game gets boring and repetitive. I dont like the open world approach taken by Kojima. Please take MGS to its old route if there will be a next MGS
  47. Bertoflyingfox
    Sep 5, 2015
    7
    This game is a tour de force. I've always been a Metal Gear Solid fan (Snake Eater being my favorite) and being able to follow Big Boss again but in the 80s is a treat. An explosive beginning chapter leads to the most feature-packed stealth/action game I have ever played. While the initial setting does leave something to be desired (some folks can't stand the desert sandbox for too long)This game is a tour de force. I've always been a Metal Gear Solid fan (Snake Eater being my favorite) and being able to follow Big Boss again but in the 80s is a treat. An explosive beginning chapter leads to the most feature-packed stealth/action game I have ever played. While the initial setting does leave something to be desired (some folks can't stand the desert sandbox for too long) everything else makes up for it in spades.

    Having a base, collecting weapons/armor/soldiers/animals, developing things that'll help in future missions. This game has it all and has pretty much shot up to the top of my GOTY contenders. Bravo Kojima & Team, bravo.    … Expand
  48. Shocktrooper1
    Oct 15, 2015
    6
    If Metal Gear Solid V is one thing, it's wasted potential.

    While the idea of an open world stealth game is a novel one, The Phantom Pain fails to execute it in any meaningful way - here you have a game with very impressive (if a little forgiving) stealth gameplay shoved into an open world where the only places you have to use stealth, for the most part, is in mission areas. Thus, the    If Metal Gear Solid V is one thing, it's wasted potential.

    While the idea of an open world stealth game is a novel one, The Phantom Pain fails to execute it in any meaningful way - here you have a game with very impressive (if a little forgiving) stealth gameplay shoved into an open world where the only places you have to use stealth, for the most part, is in mission areas. Thus, the sense of freedom you have is meaningless. For the most part I was running or riding around the world, looking for the mission objective, infiltrating a base, and extracting a target, then calling a chopper to pick me up. Rinse and repeat. The missions themselves are quite fun because there are so many different ways to approach them, but the objectives are all more or less the same which can get grating.

    The story this time is far sparser than in previous MGS games, which in my opinion is not a good thing. Not to mention the ridiculous plot (yes, even for a Metal Gear game - though perhaps not to the extent of MGS4) and the lackluster antagonist. And yes, the divisive "ending twist" might offend the Metal Gear faithful. Characters like Big Boss, Ocelot and Miller here are stripped of all the charm they had in previous games, due to the much more serious nature of this one, and again I don't feel that's a good thing. MGSV now feels soulless compared to other entries in the series.

    Because of the lack of story focus, the gameplay, while pretty cool, gets tedious as I'm now tasked with completing a series of missions with little context and little reason to care.

    On the positive side, the visuals are quite nice, and the music - while sparse - is good as usual. There are some memorable moments but the lack of cutscenes really turns that down a notch.

    So, in short, I had some fun with The Phantom Pain, and there's a lot to look forward to for gamers who like a lot of customization. But if you're looking for a game with heart - like the previous MG games (even 4) - there isn't much to find here. Load times can be annoying too, if that sort of thing bothers you.

    Presentation (story & structure) - 4.5/10: Riddled with pacing issues and bereft of any memorability, MGSV feels lifeless.

    Gameplay - 7/10: It's fun and novel, but it wears out its welcome quickly thanks to the lack of variety in mission objectives. Replayability is low as well.

    Visuals - 7.5/10: Nothing mind-blowing, but it's for the most part pretty to look at. Lack of color may bother some.

    Sound - 7.5/10 - Music, whenever it appears, is stellar, and the selection of tracks on the radio is great. Voice acting is decent, but nowhere near what I expected from the caliber of the cast.

    Overall, 6.4/10    … Expand
  49. dancingmind
    Nov 5, 2015
    7
    [+] Polished controls; Lots of extras to unlock; some cool sidekicks in Dhorse, Ddog, and Quiet, Great Soundtrack.

    [-] Unlocking starts to become a chore more than fun, certain missions present giant difficult spikes and can only be completed a certain way (omitting point of open world environment); Keifer's voice acting leaves a lot to be desired; Miller/Ocelot/Snake all sound similar    [+] Polished controls; Lots of extras to unlock; some cool sidekicks in Dhorse, Ddog, and Quiet, Great Soundtrack.

    [-] Unlocking starts to become a chore more than fun, certain missions present giant difficult spikes and can only be completed a certain way (omitting point of open world environment); Keifer's voice acting leaves a lot to be desired; Miller/Ocelot/Snake all sound similar in codec and lack the distinguished sounds of SolidSnake/Campbell/Miller/Otacon for example; becomes a grind to get anywhere; online mode is annoying; microtransactions, not as cinematic or epic moments as previous entries in series.

    This game was fun at first but I don't think it has the same impact or long lasting appeal as the older titles in the series. Moments have caused me to rage quit and hate gaming entirely. It's a miracle it turned out as well as it did with the turmoil of development, but in the end the game feels more like a job than fun.    … Expand
  50. Sky-Line___
    Apr 29, 2016
    6
    Very pleasant in the first gaming hours, it quickly becomes boring: 2 big (but still overused) maps.
    However, voices sound great, I love the cinematics but I would have liked seeing more of them!
    Gameplay is pretty satisfying (just one thing: the main base & resources-and-personel system is boring & takes too much time to manage although it's nothing about infiltration), but IA is    Very pleasant in the first gaming hours, it quickly becomes boring: 2 big (but still overused) maps.
    However, voices sound great, I love the cinematics but I would have liked seeing more of them!
    Gameplay is pretty satisfying (just one thing: the main base & resources-and-personel system is boring & takes too much time to manage although it's nothing about infiltration), but IA is sometimes very dumb unfortunately.
    Graphically it looks good, but there isn't enough variation, you always see the same environments.
    Scenario was acceptable, I never played MGS before so I suggest you first get yourself up to date concerning MGS's background like I did if you are new in MGS universe.

    graphics, sounds, animations, etc : 4/5
    gameplay : 3/5
    content : 2/5

    I forgot to mention the multiplayer mode, well it is totally bad. Way too simple, 0 content, there are like 3 modes and it's nothing about infiltration.    … Expand
  51. VeniPewPew
    Oct 23, 2015
    7
    I have very mixed feelings about this game. It manages to offer some incredibly fun gameplay moments, very impressive visuals and quite an interesting story and lore, while from time to time showing some ridicculous restrictions. Like, how many times have I failed to CLIMB A FREAKING ROCK. And I'm not even talking about AC-style parcour: no, just invisible walls of stupid. This reallyI have very mixed feelings about this game. It manages to offer some incredibly fun gameplay moments, very impressive visuals and quite an interesting story and lore, while from time to time showing some ridicculous restrictions. Like, how many times have I failed to CLIMB A FREAKING ROCK. And I'm not even talking about AC-style parcour: no, just invisible walls of stupid. This really bothered me. I hate invisible walls.… Expand
  52. t15
    Nov 10, 2015
    6
    Good game play but repetitive. Not enough diversity in missions. No replay value.
    Story is garbage. All characters becomes suddenly stupid so the twist can exist.
  53. 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
  54. RealisticCritic
    Feb 5, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. coming from a metal gear veteran i have to say,sadly Metal gear solid 5 is nothing like it's predecessors The Gameplay is good BUT the game just sticks to all the problems with modern video games for example Regenerating health in a mg game?!?!?! the open world is empty except for bases it isn't alive at all ,the boss battles suck ass. THE AI sucks ass, even if you are in front of them (WITHOUT THE CHICKEN HAT) they won't see you so let's get Down to The Story,the thing that is the essence of mg.IT IS garbage for starters the main villain slkullface just comes then gets killed by metal gear Ocelot is out of character The Only Times I was Into the story was the hospital stage and the stage where you have to kill your men And Chapter 2 was Garbage,The Game Is padded beyond belief

    So In the end Is it Worth buying? if you are a mg Fan Then hell no

    but if you are a newcomer then yes it is worth buying    … Expand
  55. Archcrawley
    May 13, 2016
    7
    While the gameplay in Mgs5 is top notch, the variety to the way that the missions are given is always the same.
    Sneak in.
    Grab thing. Sneak out. And while the game may be a huge open world, it doesn't feel like a living open world. Within my first play-though I learned where the best place to harvest resources and where to find the best men to recruit. It doesn't take long to learn    While the gameplay in Mgs5 is top notch, the variety to the way that the missions are given is always the same.
    Sneak in.
    Grab thing.
    Sneak out.
    And while the game may be a huge open world, it doesn't feel like a living open world.
    Within my first play-though I learned where the best place to harvest resources and where to find the best men to recruit.
    It doesn't take long to learn the spawn times either, which normally spawn within half a hour.
    And while a few of the characters where great,(code talker, Huey, Quiet, Eli, Paz) the main stake characters of this beloved franchise felt like hollow representations of themselves from pervious game (Snake, Miller).
    The worst offender of this is by far ocelot.
    They completely butched ocelot within this game.
    While In other games he comes off as zany and a bit of nut job, in this instalment he comes off as a monotone soulless client Eastwood wannabe.
    And the story my god the story.
    I have one thing to say about this heap of **** story that makes me want to puke.
    Less is not more Kojima, more is more.
    As a long time Mgs fan I just can not express just how much of a disappointment the story was.

    While the game was overall a disappointment. I still enjoyed the gameplay and the companion system which was a nice welcome edition to this franchise.
    If you are a long time Mgs fan avoid this like the plague.
    If you new to this franchise and have just come off call of duty or hitman:absolution or the latest thief title, go for it!
    I'm sure it will be right up your alley!    … Expand
  56. Oddomatic
    Apr 22, 2018
    7
    Deeply flawed and yet still amazing. Yes, the story isn't quite up to the standard of previous Metal Gear games, but I genuinely enjoyed the majority of the narrative. People lament the change in voice actors for Snake for a reason. Kiefer Sutherland is woefully noncommittal in his delivery. He has barely any lines, the majority of which are in the optional audio tapes which aren't forDeeply flawed and yet still amazing. Yes, the story isn't quite up to the standard of previous Metal Gear games, but I genuinely enjoyed the majority of the narrative. People lament the change in voice actors for Snake for a reason. Kiefer Sutherland is woefully noncommittal in his delivery. He has barely any lines, the majority of which are in the optional audio tapes which aren't for everyone, and even feel kinda like compensation for the bare bones script. The absurd melodramatic charm that MGS is known for remains intact, in my opinion, with characters like Kazuhira Miller and Ocelot actually fitting their roles and giving it more passion. Even the exaggeratedly irritating Hal Emmerich does a better job than Snake, which is a disappointing irony. All in all, there's lots of room for improvement.

    The consensus on gameplay seems to be that it's nearly flawless, and almost always a blast. The sheer level of interactivity between environment, equipment, enemy, and player is ludicrous. The enemy AI is extremely complex, not always perfect, but better than most games' AI. Environments will get samey. No matter how you look at it, this game has a repetitive open world. Admittedly, there are plenty of gorgeous moments, and it's hard not to appreciate the feeling of being in the middle of a sandstorm, or the imposing presence of a Metal Gear before you.

    The cutscenes are very different from most other games, with bizarre angles and camera movement, almost as if to give the sense that a person is recording everything, scrambling left and right, and then suddenly gliding through the air or across the ground to give you a better look at a menacing villain. A unique cinematic presentation, when it chooses to be.

    My major gripes are with many of the game's design choices, which border on idiotic. For instance, the development times for equipment become rather obscene after a certain point, which really tested my patience, considering the player already had to accumulate the resources, upgrade the base, and recruit all the staff necessary to even develop the items in the first place. Got an S-rank on all the missions? Congratulations, here's your super cool skin for all your efforts, you only have to wait two and a half hours before you actually get to wear it.

    The game gradually becomes more of a grind as you go on. This is perhaps the biggest flaw of the game. Eventually the climax of the story feels unreasonably distant, even though you've poured hours and hours into the story, there's always one more lousy design choice for you to get used to, one more hoop to jump through.
    This is enough to deter people from the game, and I don't blame them. This game had the potential to be a masterpiece, but instead is just 'solid' (I'm sorry, I had to). I would give this game an 8 or a 9 because of how much I enjoyed it, but it's just too flawed for me to be that generous. It's funny, because I got so much mileage out of this game that it seems backwards to give it a 7, but for every great gameplay or cinematic moment, it felt there were hours of tedious chores to waste one's time. I'd give it a 7.5 if the rating system allowed it.

    TL;DR a mixed bag with equal parts spectacular and infuriating elements.    … Expand
  57. abotgar
    Jul 17, 2019
    7
    it is a beautiful looking game with many ways to outplay your enemies to the point it get overwhelming, the pc version controls were just fancy port from the consoles and the story became lackluster, it takes alot of time to move from one area of the map to another, and the online experience is almost dead and focus on camping.
  58. DirtyDishSoap
    Dec 23, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is not a 10/10 game, but it's not the worst ever, and I feel like I'm being really forgiving for just giving it a 6. I'll give you the number of problems when I first played this game upon release. This is my open and honest opinion, the people below me giving this game 10/10 are either delusional or fake accounts just tossing in as many reviews as possible to keep this at a score of 80. I'll try and not spoil this for anyone if I can help it.

    1. The story...It's easily the worst in the series and if you're a MGS fan that plays for the story, you're going to be disappointed of how badly paced this game is. The game throws you into an hour long prologue with no real gameplay other then "run!" The cinematic's look pretty, the cut scenes throw a lot of action at you, but you'll not really do much of anything in this segment, it's just an "ooh ahh" moment. The tutorial is nice only because it shows you how much tighter the controls are. After the prologue though, a wave of confusion sets in, like why Ocelot reversed roles with Miller (Miller being pretty sadistic while Ocelot feels like the voice of reason, which is weird considering previous games.) The main villain is easily the worst in the series, and you don't even get to fight him in the end, he ends up getting stepped on by Metal Gear, it's just terrible. Basically he hates Zero and he wants to cause mass genocide for no real reason other then **** it." Quiet is another character added just for eye candy, which is fine, honestly, since they've done this to every female lead other then Meryl (somewhat.) But at least give her a better background, having her butt naked so she can "breath" is the worst game writing excuse to have a nearly butt naked woman running around, That kind of **** is for horny teenagers stuck in moms basement. Come on...Psycho Mantis, a long time favorite of the series is in this, but plays a surprisingly small role, and it baffles me that they contradicted themselves when making this game without thinking of the earlier games...Like hard drives (See MGS IV, memory card easter egg.) Liquid is also in this but is never fleshed out either, he's just there to cause trouble. None of your questions will be answered, and if anything, will leave you with more questions when the game abruptly ends. Why they chose not to focus on Zero and what made him the villain is beyond me.

    2. There's micro transactions in the game. They snuck this under the radar gents. It's a $60 game, there's no reason why you should have micro transactions in a $60 game. If you defend this aspect, you're an idiot.

    3. The open world isn't really open...There's 2 levels, a very small Afghanistan and an equally smaller Africa, neither really separate one another from being different other then one is desert, and the other is a jungle, and that's it. There are no actual large bases to infiltrate, but medium sized to small outposts with a few checkpoints. It tries to give you the incentive to explore, but after a few hours, I guarantee you, you will see not anything new, and it turns into a chore when you need to hunt down specific targets to unlock more aspects of the game. (Instead of real story progression like how the game has always been). Hardly any wild life, both in Africa and Afghanistan (I would know about the latter, there's plenty, believe me.) Both are just giant wastelands with pockets of outposts to raid.

    4. MGS has been known for it's stealth mechanics and promoting that sort of gameplay...There isn't a point and it almost encourages you to just full on rampage, with some of the missions just outright denying you the stealth aspect. What made this game difficult was the stealth, but there are so many people now-a-days who just want to run and gun, I can kinda see why they did it this way. There is still stealth in this game, but it's a joke. Camo is definitely worse then III and IV. Want to change camo? Air drop it in! That's stealthy! It breaks a lot of the stealth immersion which is a damn shame.

    5. Snake isn't really Snake...As a character mind you, but he just acts like a mopey idiot. He says maybe a total of 40 lines in the entire game.

    6. A lot of the locked items takes hours if not days to complete. That's outright stupid in my opinion and it belongs in ****ty facebook aps. Don't agree with me? Have fun sitting there waiting to complete your "research" for 3 hours. That isn't fun, sorry.

    7. For a guy with an army at his beck and call, you sure don't do anything with them. Sure you can switch characters but what is the point? It's a merc army, and yet I never interact with them at all. Totally missed out on what could have been a great game mechanic. Dropping the ball and sending them out on missions and...You guessed it, takes hours.

    8. The gameplay is actually great, plenty to do after you unlock everything...Which takes an absurd amount of time, even for an MGS game. But again, you'll get bored quickly.

    Ran out of room sadly.    … Expand
  59. klille
    Sep 12, 2015
    7
    while every part of the game is pretty much functional and solid so does the game fail to excel in any way for me. there are better games for "lethal" stealth, there are better games for "ghost" stealth, there are better games for all out combat, there are better games for management and so forth. the only real thing i can say it does really, really well is the blending of these games.while every part of the game is pretty much functional and solid so does the game fail to excel in any way for me. there are better games for "lethal" stealth, there are better games for "ghost" stealth, there are better games for all out combat, there are better games for management and so forth. the only real thing i can say it does really, really well is the blending of these games.

    the game itself suffers from the ordinary predicament of open-world games, where the world is big but boring and dead and the game gets repetitive quickly.

    the story is what you would expect from a comic-book that has been running a slight bit too long "the evil doctor skullface (yes, the villains name is skullface) wants to make a macguffin to genocide people for world domination, it only gets worse from there and they tell the story with a straight face. of course, while the story might be a bit... bonkers, so can there be some enjoyment derived from it anyway.    … Expand
  60. starki11er
    Sep 3, 2015
    5
    it´s a good game but, takes elements from the other games for build mgsv 5, sadly the final is a crap and generate the feeling of wtf many people will hate the true ending. weird way to say good bye to franchise for mr. Hype kojima it's a shame
  61. Mgsfreek97
    Sep 3, 2015
    7
    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain may be Hideo Kojima's last masterpiece within the Metal Gear-franchise, and while the game feels like an ending, it also feels like a brand new imagining of the Metal Gear series. Everything from the make your own story trough gameplay, to the immersive Mother Base system where you build your own private army, the game delivers on every front. Loyal MGSMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain may be Hideo Kojima's last masterpiece within the Metal Gear-franchise, and while the game feels like an ending, it also feels like a brand new imagining of the Metal Gear series. Everything from the make your own story trough gameplay, to the immersive Mother Base system where you build your own private army, the game delivers on every front. Loyal MGS fans will be at home here, even if theres a lot of new content. The story is fantastic, even though there are fewer cutscenes than there was in the past, and therefore the cutscenes feel like a reward for the player, because they usually come after a hard boss battle or an one hour long mission, and the cutscenes are directed beautifully.

    Short summary - 11/10 go buy it, play it, feel the hype after mission 6, and then prepare for a wild ride.    … Expand
  62. DillDill
    Oct 23, 2015
    7
    After awaiting this game for more than 3 years we were all left with high expectations, while this game delivers greatly in most areas it lacks in others. This definitely isn't the Metal Gear we're used too. While this game is the gameplay peak of the series, it's also the storytelling valley of it. Never has sneaking around enemies felt so satisfying and smooth. You truly feel like theAfter awaiting this game for more than 3 years we were all left with high expectations, while this game delivers greatly in most areas it lacks in others. This definitely isn't the Metal Gear we're used too. While this game is the gameplay peak of the series, it's also the storytelling valley of it. Never has sneaking around enemies felt so satisfying and smooth. You truly feel like the Living Legend himself, as you interrogate enemies and extract them after to build your army and gain supplies. Infiltrating large areas will never feel as cool in any other games as it does in MGSV. Yet the story lacks throughout the game. Unfortunately it's drawn out over 40 something hours, the lengthy start to end makes the story seem so little. It feels so unlike anything from Hideo Kojima's past works. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is certainly different from anything we've ever seen, unfortunately it is also the last. I'd rather give this game a 7.5 but I'm unable to do so. There's no doubt that I've greatly enjoyed this game, with over 100 hours in it already I can easily see that number increasing.
    I could also go on about cut content and this whole fiasco with Konami, but we'll have to see how the future plays out.    … Expand
  63. 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
  64. DonMega
    Sep 8, 2015
    6
    I'll give an honest review as I am not a so called "fan boy" of the mgs series and I didn't have any hype for this game. The first MGS i played was MGS 4.
    Note: I haven't played ground zero.
    This review will be split into 2 parts because the game is split into 2 very different chapters and major quality in gameplay differences. I think the major difference between quality of gameplay    I'll give an honest review as I am not a so called "fan boy" of the mgs series and I didn't have any hype for this game. The first MGS i played was MGS 4.
    Note: I haven't played ground zero.

    This review will be split into 2 parts because the game is split into 2 very different chapters and major quality in gameplay differences.
    I think the major difference between quality of gameplay is solely because of the internal feud between Hideo Kojima (the series director and creator) and Hojima (the production company) falling out and break up during development of MGS:V. Also please note this is fully my speculation.

    If I rated the game solely on Chapter 1 I would give the game a 8/10 rating. But rating chapter 2 my rating falls to 2/10.

    Chapter 1: 8/10:
    In the beginning the game is fun, the story is good and engaging. The gameplay is exciting and new. The cutscenes are awesome. The only drawback of giving the game the perfect score is that it is slightly repetitive. The side missions (side ops) consist of 5 missions rehashed 157 or so times at different locations. Don't let the 157 side missions number fool you. It's just a number and gimmick to put on the box.
    The locations also get boring pretty quickly, i knew nothing of the game before playing it so i was expecting various locations but this game mostly features sandy locations in afganistan and africa. Africa and Afganistan look the same for the most part and are a lazy created location.

    The AI is decent, they do adapt to your playstyle but are dumb nontheless. Eventually you will get to a point where the AI will snipe you with a shotgun from 300m away and my only deaths were caused by close range shotguns. Even a direct mortar hit didn't kill me.
    Controlling snake gets annoying at times, he has troubles climbing over the thousands of small rocks scattered all over afganistan and africa.
    Tanks you drive will get stuck hitting some small bushes and little rocks which makes driving them not as fun as you'd imagine.

    But other than all those cons chapter 1 main missions are very enjoyable and put together. The game feels engaging at this moment and you want to better your army, upgrade items and continue doing the same side missions.

    Chapter 2:
    I think this is where someone else took the reigns from Hideo Kojima.
    The game takes a huge nose dive in quality of gameplay. It solely feels like they just made a chapter 2 to extend the overall game time. The story feels different a new. You don't really care about anything happening in this storyline.

    A ridiculous mission unlocking system where you are forced to do a number of side missions to progress in the story. Which would be fine if they weren't the same rehashed side missions you did 100+ times in Chapter 1
    The main story missions are lazyily designed, boring and some are just baffling. Number 45 mission, without revealing anything is probably one of the worst missions in a single AAA title I have played in the last 6 years.
    During the missions I just couldn't comprehend how it was the same game I played earlier in the first chapter.
    Here I completely stopped doing the extra tasks and made it my mission to end the game asap. I honestly couldn't do it, my breaking point was mission 45, yes 1 mission before the ending. I got so bored of this ridiculous mission I rather go on youtube and watch Furious Don play it.
    Now I haven't touched the online bit and I won't as I've already sold my copy of the game to someone but I hear it has microtransactions which are mostly pay to win.

    Someone really dropped the ball on this game and could have made it one of the best games ever.

    Who should buy it?

    Hardcore MGS fans.
    People who can wait a couple months and buy this for $40. It's fun for about 10-15 hours. Depending how long chapter 1 takes you. Which is a decent amount of time, but I'm afraid chapter 2 (if bought at regular price) would feel like a rip off.

    Who shouldn't buy it?

    New ps4 users who believed the hype from friends should get witcher 3 instead. That is a top quality game.
    If you bought the PS4 solely for the release of MGS 4, please return in and get witcher 3 so that you get your moneys worth    … Expand
  65. Sir_JoBo
    Feb 13, 2018
    6
    First of all, I would like to point out that MGS is my favourite gaming series since PS1. That hasn't changed after playing The Phantom Pain. In aspects this game is fantastic. The graphics, the stealth, the slow-mo when spotted by an enemy was also a great addition.. there's a list of things I can name that I enjoyed about the game. But then here lies the problem.... none of these thingsFirst of all, I would like to point out that MGS is my favourite gaming series since PS1. That hasn't changed after playing The Phantom Pain. In aspects this game is fantastic. The graphics, the stealth, the slow-mo when spotted by an enemy was also a great addition.. there's a list of things I can name that I enjoyed about the game. But then here lies the problem.... none of these things were necessarily the things that made MGS so special. This game is missing the linear feel of getting sucked into a major story that unfolds as you progress - instead, you can completely lose track of any story as you get to choose when and where to progress. Which brings me to the absolutely pointless part of the game giving credits after every completed mission. What's the point? Now to the story.... of which I really wished I cared about in this game, but sadly I didn't. Where was the emotion? The music which used to make cutscenes so epic was so minimal, and if there was a cutscene I probably missed it as I got sidetracked and had a toilet break as I was bored to tears. I really wished I'd loved this game. I feel a 6/10 is generous considering how much I felt let-down by the whole experience. I'm sure other true MGS fans feel the same.… Expand
  66. swagmaster9000
    Nov 2, 2015
    5
    Bought the prologue $25
    Bought the game $65

    I guess I forgot to buy the character development DLC as well as plot DLC, fun boss DLC and story ending DLC. Guarantee they'll try to charge you for it though.

    Never buying another game from Konami again.
  67. Redberz
    Sep 1, 2015
    6
    The gameplay is good, action is good, but story is awful. Any fans theory was better than Kojima's plot. The story is self destroyed by big holes in the line of big boss. Best chapter in gameplay, worst chapter in story.
  68. ovoon7
    Sep 14, 2015
    7
    Metal Gear Solid V is a strange game to review. I love it so dearly, yet I am severely disappointed with it at the same time. It's one of the polarizing games I've ever played.

    At first I was in love with it, the story direction was a dark a unique twist for the series, and the gameplay is fantastic. So much mission variety, and the gameplay organically makes its own sense of creative    Metal Gear Solid V is a strange game to review. I love it so dearly, yet I am severely disappointed with it at the same time. It's one of the polarizing games I've ever played.

    At first I was in love with it, the story direction was a dark a unique twist for the series, and the gameplay is fantastic. So much mission variety, and the gameplay organically makes its own sense of creative fun. So many different ways to approach a scenario... that is for about 30-40 hours.

    The game offers 157 side missions and 50 main missions, which took me like 50+ hours just to get through most of. I still have another 40 side missions left to do. The grind gets insane. I feel like open world/sandbox games should be of a certain length, normally 28-32 hours is a good run for an open world game. This game takes 50+, and it overstays its welcome for me.

    I found the side missions to become a ridiculous chore, as they were cut/copy/paste 157 times over, meaning you go to every single outpost and camp to do a different goal. You get to know the 2 open worlds very well, because you will be grinding content in them for a long time. What's sad is when a side op takes you where the story will later go, so now you're familiar with all the hidden secrets, and the area doesn't feel new when the story goes to that place.

    The story is another matter. It is convoluted, yet barely even there. Big Boss rarely talks to give the "silent protagonist" feel, which was a horrible decision in my opinion, as he is already a developed and incredible character. The cutscenes were almost all shown off in the trailers for the game, and some of the really impressive and mysterious moments in the trailers were not as impressive in the context of the game.

    The story as a whole just feels cheap, and underwhelming. Without talking about spoilers, I will say that the ending is really poor. In fact, chapter 2 as a whole is just bad.

    Metal Gear Solid V is separated by two chapters, chapter 1 runs through mission 31, and I quite enjoyed that part of the game's story. The cutscene direction is really good, the only real problem I have is the pacing of the story is crazy slow. However, chapter 1 leads into a totally underwhelming "chapter 2" which contains only 3 or so unique story missions. And only 1 of those missions is remotely interesting (it's actually the most impactful mission in the game and I love it). The "ending" is cut off. The entire chapter 2 feels like Kojima directed some cutscenes, and was fired before finishing the second half of the game, so Konami dumped a bunch of padding in.

    In chapter 2, almost all of the main story missions are "challenge modes" of past missions, and they're so lazy that they even have you watch all of the old cutscenes as if they're happening for the first time. These missions are fine if they were optional, but they are required.

    In the end, the gameplay and story missions of MGS V are a mixed bag between masterful, tons of fun, and a total grind. If the story was planned better, and didn't fall apart in chapter 2, and if there wasn't LOADS of padding, I would give this game a 9 or 10 depending on how well it was handled. But I don't think this game needed to be the bloated mess that it turned out to be. All in all, I had a good time as far as my enjoyment for a videogame goes, but as a Metal Gear game... I wanted a lot to be different or better.

    My score varies during moments of the game, so it lands in a range of 6-8.5, so I'll just give it a 7.    … Expand
  69. Glogglies
    Sep 4, 2015
    6
    Some of the most fun Ive had with a videogame in a long time. I often find myself awestruck at the amount of content packed in every mission, and the thoughtfulness put into every map.
  70. SuperNaiv
    Sep 14, 2015
    5
    A lot of «man childs» with nostalgia on their dick. Gamespot and Ign gave it full pot. 10/10? Are you **** kidding me? Those so called game critics need reality check. Gaming is really **** up these days. As long people are happy with mediocracy then publisher will continue on this path. The game isn’t bad; it’s not what I am saying. But it isn’t perfect at all. What’s the biggest problemA lot of «man childs» with nostalgia on their dick. Gamespot and Ign gave it full pot. 10/10? Are you **** kidding me? Those so called game critics need reality check. Gaming is really **** up these days. As long people are happy with mediocracy then publisher will continue on this path. The game isn’t bad; it’s not what I am saying. But it isn’t perfect at all. What’s the biggest problem with this game is that it’s not special and great in any form or shape. The storytelling is boring. The gameplay is mediocre. The characters are not interesting. The graphic is so so. Personally I am sick and tired of games that try to be a movie. Those cut scenes are sooo long and uninteresting. It is really boring. I want to play my game and not to **** watch some bad game actors with uninspiring voices talk and talk…and talk…Please kill me now! The only games with great narrative and actor voices that I know are those guys from Telltale Games. I am sorry, but the actor voices in this game are awful. What I believe personally is, if this game had another name then “Metal gear solid” and “Konami” brand, it would most probably never get so high scores. Is it some kind of mass hysteria?… Expand
  71. OwtDaft
    May 10, 2018
    7
    + This game has some moments of greatness between long periods of tedious side quests.
    + Snake feels very good to control.
    + You have so many abilities. + It's a lot of fun planning how you will attack a camp and planning it out. + The base related stuff is something that helps make the tedious side mission go by a bit easier. + The graphics are pretty good. - Replacing Snake's voice    + This game has some moments of greatness between long periods of tedious side quests.
    + Snake feels very good to control.
    + You have so many abilities.
    + It's a lot of fun planning how you will attack a camp and planning it out.
    + The base related stuff is something that helps make the tedious side mission go by a bit easier.
    + The graphics are pretty good.
    - Replacing Snake's voice actor was a mistake.
    - Otherwise a short story diluted with lots of side missions.
    - I love story in the Metal Gear Solid series the most and this games story feels unfinished.
    - Much story is just given to you in cassette tapes with even less drama than the past games codecs.
    - The ending was so terrible, I didn't even notice I finished the game.
    - You love the boss fights of the past games? There gone..
    - Ultimately this game comes down to Quantity over Quality
    - The game is so heavily padded your given the missions to do again on a harder difficulty.
    - Most of the guns in this game you likely won't use as they are made redundant by better ones.    … Expand
  72. Bossanova
    Sep 12, 2015
    5
    Without spoiling anything. MGSV : TPP Is an incomplete game.
    Gameplay doesn't make a 10/10 alone. The game is littered with filler missions and has no proper ending. If you come in expecting to play a full fledged Metal Gear Solid game you're in for a massive disapointment.
  73. Gfunk839
    Sep 30, 2015
    6
    Well, where to begin.
    First of all let me admit that I was swept away by the hype developed for this game prior to release, which may contribute to my massive disappointment. I was super hyped to get this game after thouroughly enjoying MGS V GZ. The promise of buddies a huge open world and a massive arsenal gave me hope for and absolutely epic experience. But the whole experience was    Well, where to begin.
    First of all let me admit that I was swept away by the hype developed for this game prior to release, which may contribute to my massive disappointment. I was super hyped to get this game after thouroughly enjoying MGS V GZ. The promise of buddies a huge open world and a massive arsenal gave me hope for and absolutely epic experience. But the whole experience was meh. Point by point list of complaints:

    - Why make it open world when the open world is boring as **** why not just make the "mission areas" into discreet levels accessible from the ACC?
    -Pointless boring open world with literally nothing to see outside of the outposts and guard posts.
    -Inconsistent AI which can be unobservant as a fat **** police officer taking a nap or as alert as a peregrine falcon on cocaine spotting you from the other side of the map, ruining your carefully planned infiltration every ****ing time.
    -after being spotted and failing a reflex takedown every guard telepathically knows your exact location within about a second.
    -Enemies with laser accuracy at 300m with a **** soviet AR.
    -horrible CQC animation bugs when taking from cover
    -DDOG jumps about 10 meters into the air away from target teleports to then for the throat slit animation.
    dwalkers god awful controls.
    -The way the camera ass and **** ****s Quiet every chance it gets
    -Using any gadget puts the base on alert for like 30 min even when not used offensively
    -Kaz calls you boss when you play as some other dip**** combat unit guy
    -retarded 2 hour plus unlock times for guns
    -gunsmith which basically lets you swap out scopes and attach a silencer maybe a barrel if you ****ing lucky.. WOW
    -Motherbase is boring as **** .. long bridges... repetitive convo's
    -Helicopter rides
    -Analysis complete
    -Quiet fight 3 min ... Man on fire one shotgun shell
    -****ing useless silencers until wayyyyy later in the game
    -headshots alerts enemies from a massive distance vs. tranq shot meaning lethal stealth is out the window
    -bug on PC with grenade throwing arc    … Expand
  74. slicewing09
    Sep 14, 2015
    7
    This game is such a mixed bag. Gameplay is excellent, and it looks good and sounds good, but the story is an absolute mess. The plot is there, it's just presented so poorly. Your first 10 minutes of gameplay are the most plot heavy you'll have for the following 10 hours. The theme of the game is supposed to be "revenge" but I can hardly want any when the only thing driving me to do so isThis game is such a mixed bag. Gameplay is excellent, and it looks good and sounds good, but the story is an absolute mess. The plot is there, it's just presented so poorly. Your first 10 minutes of gameplay are the most plot heavy you'll have for the following 10 hours. The theme of the game is supposed to be "revenge" but I can hardly want any when the only thing driving me to do so is Kaz babbling about it. Snake is totally uninterested throughout, hardly saying a word anywhere, and most missions have close to do emotional drive behind them. "Go here, kill/extract this guy, run" only works for so long. If they'd clean up their story presentation, they'd truly have a 10/10 on their hands, but that's not the case.

    Pros
    - Excellent gameplay
    - Looks and sounds great
    - Plenty to do, albeit a bit repetitive at times
    - Motherbase is fun

    Cons
    - Total mess of a narrative, the lead man acts like he couldn't care any less
    - Not enough mission variety
    - Maps are too big with not enough to do

    Fun but certainly not a 10.    … Expand
  75. TatsMcGee
    Sep 8, 2018
    5
    What Kind of Adventure?

    Third Person Shooter Was it fun? It was okay. By all accounts, I thought I would love this game but I just couldn’t get into it. Are there any similar games? Its a Stealthy Third Person Shooter so anything like that. Favorite Character? Snake is okay, I guess. Would you play it again? I kept trying to like it, I tried it 4 different times    What Kind of Adventure?

    Third Person Shooter

    Was it fun?

    It was okay. By all accounts, I thought I would love this game but I just couldn’t get into it.

    Are there any similar games?

    Its a Stealthy Third Person Shooter so anything like that.

    Favorite Character?

    Snake is okay, I guess.

    Would you play it again?

    I kept trying to like it, I tried it 4 different times to get into the game but I just couldn’t. I don’t see myself trying it again.

    Any Complaints?

    I thought the game was really hard and I often times was just lost as to what I’m suppose to do.

    How many hours did you play it?

    I played it for about 5 hours.    … Expand
  76. DanteMX
    Nov 23, 2018
    6
    9.3 ?? no way.... this is some kind of peace walker game but with steroids, nothing more
    From all the Metal Gear Solid games this is perhaps the weakest of all, this is why Kojima left Konami.
    Don´t let the fake 9+ of the "pro" reviewrs fool you. This game lacks of everything, poor in details, rushed, unfinished, empty. Have some decent things here and there, but overal this is a    9.3 ?? no way.... this is some kind of peace walker game but with steroids, nothing more
    From all the Metal Gear Solid games this is perhaps the weakest of all, this is why Kojima left Konami.
    Don´t let the fake 9+ of the "pro" reviewrs fool you.
    This game lacks of everything, poor in details, rushed, unfinished, empty.
    Have some decent things here and there, but overal this is a tremendous disapointment, beware.    … Expand
  77. Nath6349
    Dec 7, 2016
    7
    This game is very fun and entertaining with a lot of attention to detail. The open world however felt restrictive and repetitive with little character or interesting places to explore. The storyline is good, but one of the first games were I think the story was too long and became monotonous. The sci-fi elements were pretty ridiculous, a common but painful pitfall. The amount of depth,This game is very fun and entertaining with a lot of attention to detail. The open world however felt restrictive and repetitive with little character or interesting places to explore. The storyline is good, but one of the first games were I think the story was too long and became monotonous. The sci-fi elements were pretty ridiculous, a common but painful pitfall. The amount of depth, soundtrack and humour within the game make it entertaining, though it is not a game world I expect I will return to.… Expand
  78. OrionPax
    Nov 22, 2015
    7
    Everything is fine until to Chapter 2. After that you do the same missions over and over again. There's just 8 new missions in Chapter 2. But deep stealth gameplay, customization, expanding Mother Base and music's are very good.
  79. kyriores
    Nov 11, 2015
    6
    It's an enjoyable game. The combat system is well-designed and it really feels like a Metal Gear Solid but after a while you realize that all you're gonna be doing is clear bases all day long. The boss fights are very few and not that cool imo (Sniper fight, skulls x2, Metal gear fight and that's all). It seems like Kojima was about to create yet another masterpiece but then all of aIt's an enjoyable game. The combat system is well-designed and it really feels like a Metal Gear Solid but after a while you realize that all you're gonna be doing is clear bases all day long. The boss fights are very few and not that cool imo (Sniper fight, skulls x2, Metal gear fight and that's all). It seems like Kojima was about to create yet another masterpiece but then all of a sudden Konami interrupted him and told him to make a cash grab instead or gtfo. And we all know the outcome of that story...… Expand
  80. Swandive
    Sep 30, 2015
    7
    I do love the systems in the game, the graphics are lovely, the progression is fun. I like the different aids you bring on missions, and the thought that has gone into the interactions between the soldiers and snake and the various items is great.

    THe game there is, with the below exceptions, is great. I didn't like: The overall plot- I've played all the Metal Gear games back to    I do love the systems in the game, the graphics are lovely, the progression is fun. I like the different aids you bring on missions, and the thought that has gone into the interactions between the soldiers and snake and the various items is great.

    THe game there is, with the below exceptions, is great.

    I didn't like:
    The overall plot- I've played all the Metal Gear games back to Solid. So not the ones for NES or whatever. But the plot makes no sense. There's no change there from the previous ones.
    Interminable voice recordings. It's the same problem as with Destiny, there's a bunch of stuff you can read or listen to, but it's not done 'in game'. It's fluff.
    The more offensive bits of the plot. I'm not a big fan of excessive cruelty or child abuse. And f there is something in media I'm consuming, I want it to have enough artistic merit to the point where I don't fee like the guy making it is a creep.
    The deleted scene on the bluray edition screams 'cut for time'. Don't do half a game.    … Expand
  81. naveedesahar
    Oct 16, 2015
    6
    I have never played any MGS game before but this one was over praised by reviewers and couple of my friends insisted me on buying it so I went for it. To be honest I was so much disappointed by this game. The game have alot of contents but most of them are repetitive side ops and missions. I kept playing this game for dozens of hours wishing that there would be a point where I will startI have never played any MGS game before but this one was over praised by reviewers and couple of my friends insisted me on buying it so I went for it. To be honest I was so much disappointed by this game. The game have alot of contents but most of them are repetitive side ops and missions. I kept playing this game for dozens of hours wishing that there would be a point where I will start to enjoy this game and I failed miserably. I can't speak in favor of this game other then saying performance wise this is one of the best game to date. Story wasn't so good. There's not even a single excitement moment in this game. Had some hope with the online but it was even worse. Never believing the critics/reviewers again.… Expand
  82. brassmarsh
    Nov 8, 2015
    6
    This game is very overrated.

    The mission design is extremely frustrating-your allies guiding you via radio are completely useless and cause you to run around like Johnny English rather than James Bond. You've got a ton of weapons and items that are pointless using. You are also have to engage in the whole base management side which is just a case of selecting and the deselecting items    This game is very overrated.

    The mission design is extremely frustrating-your allies guiding you via radio are completely useless and cause you to run around like Johnny English rather than James Bond. You've got a ton of weapons and items that are pointless using. You are also have to engage in the whole base management side which is just a case of selecting and the deselecting items in a menu. The story as always from Kojima is a load of unedited bollocks.

    The reason I'm giving it 6 is that the actual gameplay, as in how you control your character, is very well designed. However having to negotiate these poorly designed missions is a total let-down.    … Expand
  83. aneudy
    Feb 7, 2016
    7
    This is a pretty good game overall, but while playing I kept thinking it will somehow turn into the classic MGS games I love. It did not, which made me hate this game. As a game, it was cool, but as a MGS game, it is a big disappointment. This game will be great for those who have not played MGS. It is basically a spit in the face to the MGS fans. I love MGS from PS1 to PS3 Guns of theThis is a pretty good game overall, but while playing I kept thinking it will somehow turn into the classic MGS games I love. It did not, which made me hate this game. As a game, it was cool, but as a MGS game, it is a big disappointment. This game will be great for those who have not played MGS. It is basically a spit in the face to the MGS fans. I love MGS from PS1 to PS3 Guns of the Patriots. All are classics to me. Even Peace Walker stayed true to the cannon. You can enjoy this game if you don't try to compare it to other MGS games.… Expand
  84. LebronGames
    Jul 4, 2016
    5
    For anyone who is not a huge MGS fan coming in, you will probably love this. Gameplay is decent. The story for me was probably the most disappointing moment of 2015. I can't really blame Kojima as much as I blame the people around him who let him do this to the series.
  85. SadoMiso
    Sep 11, 2015
    7
    The game is completelly unfinished. It has some good gameplay, but story is total mess. There is no whole chapter ot maybe a more. You need to repeat over and over same missions. Ending appear in the half of the game from nowhere, and it is disappointing. Where is Big Boss, where is his revenge, Where is outher Heaven, Where is FOX Hound. Why do we need over and over extract some people...The game is completelly unfinished. It has some good gameplay, but story is total mess. There is no whole chapter ot maybe a more. You need to repeat over and over same missions. Ending appear in the half of the game from nowhere, and it is disappointing. Where is Big Boss, where is his revenge, Where is outher Heaven, Where is FOX Hound. Why do we need over and over extract some people... Gameplays is fenomenal but it is not enough.… Expand
  86. osx77
    Sep 14, 2015
    5
    This game feels more like a Call of Duty than a real metal gear. it sad that this game don't have story at all. I was hoping to play a real metal gear. Just shoot everything, next chapter and that's it. A simple shooter with no story. To me Metal Gear as an open world game is a mistake(PERSONAL OPINION).
    don't get me wrong, the game play is amazing, but is to bad seeing a Metal Gear game    This game feels more like a Call of Duty than a real metal gear. it sad that this game don't have story at all. I was hoping to play a real metal gear. Just shoot everything, next chapter and that's it. A simple shooter with no story. To me Metal Gear as an open world game is a mistake(PERSONAL OPINION).
    don't get me wrong, the game play is amazing, but is to bad seeing a Metal Gear game going so wrong. No story, no bosses no nothing Kojima lose his passion in this game. Or Konami force him to make this game to sell more. either way is to bad.    … Expand
  87. Infadizle
    Oct 21, 2015
    5
    What a chore this game is. I couldn't even finish it as I got bored. Why did Kojima go open world? The world is empty! The side ops missions are boring to say the least. Yes most games are repetitive but when levels are designed well, you get a sense of progress. MSG V just feels like doing the same boring thing over and over. Most things feel out of place like the mother base. It's getsWhat a chore this game is. I couldn't even finish it as I got bored. Why did Kojima go open world? The world is empty! The side ops missions are boring to say the least. Yes most games are repetitive but when levels are designed well, you get a sense of progress. MSG V just feels like doing the same boring thing over and over. Most things feel out of place like the mother base. It's gets so tedious that you forget what the story is if there is any really.… Expand
  88. obligatory_user
    Oct 24, 2015
    7
    I’ve never been a fan of the Metal Gear franchise. I’ve attempted many times to get into the various titles after hearing for years what a classic the series is, but I’ve never lasted longer than an hour in any of them. The gameplay was either too dated or the writing astoundingly bad.

    All that said, I more or less enjoyed my time with this game (and Ground Zeroes). The gameplay was for    I’ve never been a fan of the Metal Gear franchise. I’ve attempted many times to get into the various titles after hearing for years what a classic the series is, but I’ve never lasted longer than an hour in any of them. The gameplay was either too dated or the writing astoundingly bad.

    All that said, I more or less enjoyed my time with this game (and Ground Zeroes). The gameplay was for the most part very well handled and implemented. The buddy system (especially Quiet) is a great addition and helps to add an extra dimension to the experience. The AI, while not without its problems, is among the best I’ve encountered and certainly added to my enjoyment. However, the repetitiveness of the mission styles did get old after awhile. Fifteen hours in and it was starting to feel like a chore. It got to the point where I didn’t even care about my score or fultoning out potential recruits. I just tried to get the mission over as soon as possible. Going open-world with this game was also a mistake. Nearly every base is identical, the areas in-between are cold and lifeless and the “man behind the curtain” feel of the design of the locations was very distracting and annoying. The size of the two maps felt like a waste of time. Most of my gameplay was probably spent getting from place-to-place (at least in the beginning) than on the actual missions. Mother Base is also another empty husk, with only a couple things of interest there to interact with (I’m not an online player). The Side Ops were standard open-world fetch quests, too; nothing new or interesting there.

    I’d also like to point out that while the graphics are good (especially facial animations), it is certainly not the best (or even among the best) of those out there right now.

    A key factor in my eventual dissatisfaction with this game was the story (or should I say the lack of one). Characters were endlessly lamenting their “phantom pain” and the constant harping on about revenge was tiresome. The problem was the plot never tried to delve any deeper and examine any of the issues that were brought up. Amputation, memory loss, PTSD are all ripe subjects that if properly handled could make for a very compelling story. But Kojima seems satisfied to merely pay lip-service to these themes, and instead is more fascinated with lingering camera shots on Quiet’s exposed cleavage, ludicrous supernatural elements and the numerous tongue-in-cheek easter eggs than telling any kind of coherent or plausible story. The absurd plot of the villain and the “twist” at the end undermined a lot of the gravitas the plot was trying to achieve. The tendency of the characters to constantly rehash and over-explain events that had just occurred was poorly handled, as well.

    It also didn’t help that many of the characters just flat-out annoyed me. Miller, Emmerich, Eli & Skullface were absolutely atrociously written & acted and some of the most aggravating in video game history. I’ve never been one to skip cutscenes, but I almost came close to doing it whenever these people were onscreen.

    A pet-peeve of mine in games is the silent protagonist, especially where a lack of dialogue in a conversation is particularly noticeable and awkward. Taking orders from a subordinate because your character doesn’t talk is just lazy and dumb.

    The only reason why I play any game is for the story. I need a motivation and reason for the dozens of hours I put into gameplay, otherwise it’s all just shallow, forgettable busy work. I’m sorry to say that most of this game lacks any clear story reason to continue, and the only thing that kept me going was the blind hope that there would be something at the end that would reward my perseverance.

    What saved the game for me and actually made my time with it worthwhile was Quiet. If you look past her ridiculous costume, she’s the best thing about MGSV. When she was first introduced, the fact that she doesn’t say a word (and that the game never explains how to utilize her as a buddy) left me feeling indifferent to her. It was only towards the end of the game that I came to honestly care for her. The dancing in the rain scene combined with Mission 45 (not the gameplay but the cutscenes) are some of the most beautiful and touching I’ve ever seen in a game.

    I only wish the exemplary moments in this game were free of the truly dreadful ones that accompany them. Quiet and her story arc is the only reason why this game is not the forgettable & awful entry its story destined it to be.

    This game (along with Ground Zeroes) is worth playing, even for newcomers to MGS, but only if you can rent it, buy for $30 or less or are a massive fan of the franchise.

    PROS:

    Gameplay
    Graphics
    Quiet

    CONS:

    Story/Dialogue
    Voice acting
    Repetitive missions
    Empty open world
    Grinding fetch quests    … Expand
  89. Lavonicus
    Sep 19, 2015
    6
    *****SPOILER FREE*****

    This game has cut content from it. You beat the campaign on Mission 30. If you didn't know 30 was the end, you like everyone else would ask yourself, "Did I beat it?". There are 20 additional missions after that 15 of which are repeat missions from the story under a much harder difficulty. The extra 5 missions add a bit more back story to certain characters.    *****SPOILER FREE*****

    This game has cut content from it. You beat the campaign on Mission 30. If you didn't know 30 was the end, you like everyone else would ask yourself, "Did I beat it?". There are 20 additional missions after that 15 of which are repeat missions from the story under a much harder difficulty. The extra 5 missions add a bit more back story to certain characters. Mission 51 was cut from the game for whatever reason and because of that it has no true final boss fight.. Yet you can look it up on YouTube and watch it. There are also additional hidden cut-scenes with pivotal information that isn't delivered to you by the normal means of playing the story. I had to look these up as well.

    Don't let the "Open World" fool you. It is open to you where you get to pick how you go about entering a mission area and going about your goals. Not lets say, Fallout/Skyrim to go explore and do as you please. You can still explore, but it serves no extra purpose and does little to help you with the game. There is only one true military base which I didn't like. I enjoy close quarters MGS, not open and able to pick everyone off from afar. This made the game lose a portion of its essence.

    How much did Kiefer Sutherland get paid to record all of what, 30 lines of dialogue? Seriously, he barely spoke through the entire campaign. Ocelot is great and Miller just cries the entire time and has the worst dialogue possible. THEY PLAYED US LIKE A FIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDLE!

    Upgrading your items though I liked a lot though, from customizing your weapons to ordering upgrades. Same for mother base and going into a camp and stealing there people and there weaponry is great. I found the balloon hilarious and a great tool for infiltrating a base.

    The combat is solid, even though Reflex mode makes everything too easy. What boss fights that are in it are okay at best and the Skulls offer the only challenge in these events. I'm a stickler for sneaking and using darts for EVERYTHING. I really enjoyed the sneaking portion of this. Your buddies that you use in battle, I loved all of them. Quite will cause a corruption save issue if you use her on 28 or 42 FYI.

    It has Microtransactions in it for online pay, which I can't describe to you how much this annoys me. The online play has you infiltrating other player bases and stealing there equipment and people. If your caught, they can do the same to your base. Microtransactions though, why just why.

    If this game didn't have Microtransactions and didn't require me to look up the real ending and other major plot points on youtube I would gladly give it an 8-9. In the end, it is worth playing through and is worth your time and money. V is about closing doors and providing you with additional information about what is happening where and what happens throughout the course of MGS. Don't expect new doors to be open here. Don't be surprise though when you beat it, if you ask "Did I beat it?".    … Expand
  90. 3Potatoteers
    Oct 21, 2015
    7
    Skip all the 10 scores and read the yellow ones, they are really helpful. For no reason this game deserves a ten, it is a joke, it is an insult to other games.
    - The open world is a lie. Remember the old games where you select locations on a big map? It is EXACTLY the same, only this time, they fill the areas between these locations with VOID. It is a large shell with nothing to explore.    Skip all the 10 scores and read the yellow ones, they are really helpful. For no reason this game deserves a ten, it is a joke, it is an insult to other games.
    - The open world is a lie. Remember the old games where you select locations on a big map? It is EXACTLY the same, only this time, they fill the areas between these locations with VOID. It is a large shell with nothing to explore. No random event, no interesting NPCs, nothing. There is no story in this open world, the story lies in the tapes, you sit in your chopper and listen to tapes to know about the Africa today, what the hell...
    - Repetitive missions serve no purpose. And picking up and drop down are annoying.
    - Reuse old missions to "unlock" new mission is a crime.
    - Meaningless waiting time of tech development. Collect all the materials and blueprints? Chill man, grab a coffee and wait for another 1 hour or rescue some sorry ass for the 11th time.
    - The cutscene is awesome but the story is bad    … Expand
  91. unit_1
    Nov 9, 2015
    5
    Such an unfinished game. It's a shame. Great (and I mean GREAT) gameplay, interesting characters and a story that sucks. Don't let me start on that stupid ending.
  92. maceshatwell
    Sep 24, 2015
    7
    MGS 5 is an almost perfect game for the first half of it then the second chapter begins. Second chapter is a redo of most the first chapters missions but on increased difficulty. Examples include you have to Infiltrate an enemy outpost but only use what you gather while in field. Redo this mission without reflex or a buddy. I would have felt better if they just gave me the first half andMGS 5 is an almost perfect game for the first half of it then the second chapter begins. Second chapter is a redo of most the first chapters missions but on increased difficulty. Examples include you have to Infiltrate an enemy outpost but only use what you gather while in field. Redo this mission without reflex or a buddy. I would have felt better if they just gave me the first half and called it a day rather than cheapen my experience.

    FOB missions are OK but I would make it so you can only be invaded while actually online so you have an option to defend your resources. Once personnel and resources are gone you have to go to the person who invaded you to get them back. In my experience it seems I am being invaded by people who have way more equipped FOBs, talking more than double the security I have unlocked, which makes retaliation pretty hard. Meanwhile, most my resources end up on other bases before I can process them.

    When MGS online drops, if done properly as videos suggest, MGS 5 would get an upgrade to an 8 or 9.

    In closing, up to mission 30ish this game is near perfect. 30-50 is a rehash of previous missions but on harder difficulty. Personally I feel 30-50 is rehashed because it was rushed and I dislike they consider harder difficulty new content. FOB missions are OK but there should be better options to defend yourself by taking offline play out of the mix. Give me an option to defend!

    I would buy it again but as the case with most of the recent XB1 games I have bought it just feels incomplete.    … Expand
  93. rafaaguilera
    Oct 4, 2015
    6
    After a promising prologue (hospital sequence), the game is kind of resumed into infiltrate enemies bases to extract people or objects. At first, it's fun, but after countless hours of repetitive gameplay, the title' ''pain'' never seemed so suitable to describe what it is to get to very end.
    Epic bosses, thrilling sequences, exciting characters and plot... everything this series is    After a promising prologue (hospital sequence), the game is kind of resumed into infiltrate enemies bases to extract people or objects. At first, it's fun, but after countless hours of repetitive gameplay, the title' ''pain'' never seemed so suitable to describe what it is to get to very end.
    Epic bosses, thrilling sequences, exciting characters and plot... everything this series is famous for, are almost absent here and MGS has never been so linear, despite been called the ''first MGS open world experience''. Even having 2 big maps, they are full of ''nothing'' to do and makes every attempt of exploration (outside enemies bases) pointless. So just call Snake's helicopter to reach the closest spot to the next mission and never ever bother to look behind, you won't regret.    … Expand
  94. Spidor
    Sep 21, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. MGSV is as annoyingly incomplete as it is magnificently polished. It is a true oddity to have a game that has such a polished game engine, game mechanics and so many flawlessly moving parts, only to have it fall right on its face in the story-telling department and characterization of all things.

    Slight spoilers: The story itself is packed with filler missions, along with side-ops that are literal filler missions, whilst failing to touch on any of that MGS storytelling greatness. The game is comprised of two major chapters - the first one is slow to introduce story elements, whilst the second chapter is actually 70% of the first chapter's, with a difficulty modifier. What you end up having is a slow-burning start, a mid-game climax, and then everything else trails off into insignificance. For a game saga that is beloved for its plot (and its whackiness), this unwhacky, thoroughly uninteresting foray of padding and filler is not a saga at all. It boggles the mind that its prequels, Portable Ops and Peacewalker, were both portable "mini-MGS" games, far exceed this "Triple-A magnum opus" in terms of story-telling and characterization. The twist you see a mile coming, except for when you are expecting one, but never get any - this character is just as boring as you thought, this character is leaving for good for no reason, this character is now evil. There are no character or plot arcs, because using two plot points only a straight line can be drawn.

    MGS excels graphically, audibly and so on, and has a bajillion guns for you to never try. But I don't feel alone in saying - this will not do, MGS. Knowing that already the reverse engineers of the internet have found a ton of cut-out content just reinforces my opinion - I don't like this game as an MGS, despite its many, many merits. I'd like it more as a GI Joe game, disassociated from the MGS that I love.    … Expand
  95. mtg837
    Oct 2, 2015
    7
    When I completed Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots, I thought it was the perfect ending to an outstanding series. When I heard about Ground Zeroes, and it's semi-sequel "The Phantom Pain," I met the title with a kind of hopeful nervousness. Could it live up to the jet-setting brilliance of "Patriots?" After such a complete wrap up, was "Phantom" even necessary?
    "Phantom"    When I completed Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots, I thought it was the perfect ending to an outstanding series. When I heard about Ground Zeroes, and it's semi-sequel "The Phantom Pain," I met the title with a kind of hopeful nervousness. Could it live up to the jet-setting brilliance of "Patriots?" After such a complete wrap up, was "Phantom" even necessary?
    "Phantom" travels back in time and follows the story of Big Boss, nine years after the events of Ground Zeroes (so, the 80s.) You've lost an arm in a chopper crash, and awake weakened in a hospital when the enemies come to kill you. After a daring escape with the help of Miller and "Revolver" "Shalshaska" "Ocelot" (yes, his name is three nicknames) you venture to "Mother Base" the ocean fortress you are tasked with turning into your own personal army. And that's where things veer wildly from the other MGS titles.
    In all other MGS games, Snake is dropped into enemy territory lightly armed and without much hope. (Typical starting gear includes a communicator and a pack of cigarettes.) Weapons are scarce, as is ammo, and must be used sparingly. In "Phantom," that's not the case. Within the first 5% of completion you'll have a machine gun, a sniper rifle, a grenade launcher, a wicked cool horse, a chopper that can preform devastating air strikes, and a base that can send in additional supplies as needed (C4? you got it. Ground to air missile launcher? On its way.)
    There's a two pronged idea behind these innovations, it seems. The first is to turn Big Boss into an ACTUAL boss. You are no longer the lone hero, fighting against the "powers that be." You are the powers, and it's a pretty cool feeling. The second is to provide players with multiple ways to accomplish a mission. For instance, in older MGS games, there were very specific ways you needed to clear obstacles. Now you can clear them in any number of ways (tanks can be dispatched by grenades, by airstrikes, or by getting ahead of them and planting C4, that way you're never spotted.) I think the "any route to victory" gives players a more immersive feel, like they aren't bullied into one course of action, even though some courses will be more fruitful than others. For instance, if a hostage is about to be killed, it's best to create noisy distractions with grenades. If you're trying to steal a valuable item, it's best to move quietly and use tranquilizers when necessary. It's more true to life, this way.
    As far as game play goes, I'll come out and say it -- "Patriots" was better. For one, the roll has been completely replaced with a "dive" move. This means no more rolling away from enemy fire and into cover, and no more strafe-rolling whilst aiming (a BAMF move in firefights.) They've also eliminated some on-ground moves, which is upsetting. Aside from this, game play is still solid (no pun intended.) New innovations include "crag climbing" (a lot of buildings have cracks, which you can climb up) new driving controls, and (obviously) horse riding controls. They all work very well.
    There are issues with trying to insert a sandbox format into an MGS game, though, and this is where "Phantom" suffers a bit. For one, the story doesn't propel itself, which leaves you feeling kind of wanting. What made other iterations so fun is that it felt like you were playing a movie. You had to accomplish these difficult feats, and after each one Snake found himself deeper in trouble, deeper in enemy territory. Now you have this kind of ambling feeling, like you don't even have to participate in the story if you don't want. Instead of being a soldier trapped behind enemy lines, you're kind of like the world's meanest bully.
    Also, Ocelot occasionally pesters you about spending too much money or needing more troops for "Mother Base." You'll feel like you're succeeding in MGS while failing at Sim City, which is annoying. Most folks shelled out sixty bucks to play "Tactical Espionage Action," not Rollercoaster Tycoon with guns.
    Lastly, the open world fails at making the true "fortress" feel. I think it's an overlooked aspect of prior games. Breaking into the Speznaz base in MGS3, or Shadow Moses in MGS 1 & 4 felt like a true military fortress. All the good stuff (Rex/Ray) was hidden at its core, which took hours and hours to reach. There was a genuine sense of discovery and danger that escalated as you advanced. The bases in 5 are much smaller due to the open world, so breaking in kind of feels like holding up a McDonalds in comparison. It just isn't as rewarding. Not to mention Afghanistan's deserts aren't exactly eye candy.
    If "Phantom" were the first in the series, I'd give it an 8 or 9 out of 10. But following "Patriots" leaves a sour taste in my mouth. This game is fun, innovative and well executed. But it's a considerable letdown from "Patriots," and there's just no way around it.    … Expand
  96. CatWizard
    Oct 24, 2015
    5
    I was really looking forward to the Phantom Pain this year, hoping it would be one of the best games of the year, but to my surprise I met with disappointment after disappointment.

    Most Metal Gear games aren't renown for their superb writing, but the story always has a high production value and is quite entertaining. Judging from all the trailers and gameplay demos, I thought this    I was really looking forward to the Phantom Pain this year, hoping it would be one of the best games of the year, but to my surprise I met with disappointment after disappointment.

    Most Metal Gear games aren't renown for their superb writing, but the story always has a high production value and is quite entertaining.
    Judging from all the trailers and gameplay demos, I thought this would be one of greatest Metal Gear games of all time, but sadly that's not the case here.

    While the gameplay is fun to experiment with, it quickly becomes repetitive with missions that are too similar to each other. It doesn't help that chapter two of the game is mostly a series repeat missions from chapter one with added conditions. That to me just comes of as lazy.

    The writing is by far the worst it has ever been. The plot twist wasn't handled well at all, and sadly was supposed to be the game's saving grace. However, the real problem is that the main story has serious identity issues.

    It wants to be a revenge story, but Venom being a mute and never expressing or showing any reaction to things kills that vibe. It wants to show a journey of transformation, but without a strong narrative it just comes off as Venom running around extracting the world at random, then it wants to show origins, but non of the sub plots are finished.

    A lot of the characters are haphazardly thrown in to make the cast seem bigger, but the ones already there are bland enough as is, throwing more bland characters that are written so poorly isn't going to make them seem better. The main antagonist is the most guilty of this.

    A lot of the story is told through in-game cassette tapes, so if you want to understand what's going on; you'll have to sit down and listen to multiple tapes. This is atrocious and ruins the pacing of going from a high adrenaline mission, to listening to a five minute tape that tries to explain everything with horrible writing.
    This to me is extremely lazy. Show, not tell.
    This wouldn't be a problem if they weren't necessary to understand the story and characters.
    Peace Walker did it better in this regard. Since the tapes in that game enriched the characters and story, but weren't required at all to understand the plot.

    That's not even going into detail how much cut story content was discovered after the release of the game.

    Also, as of this review, a recent patch came out for the game that penalizes you for playing offline if you ever went online with the new patch. How it does this is by splitting your in-game resources and currency to offline and online. So now most of your resources are stored online that you can't transfer back to offline storage, essentially making the game online-only to some extent, which is a disgusting move, especially doing so after the game came out.

    All in all it's clear the whole team needed more time and rushed the story aspect. They tried to fit too much when they didn't even bother to finish one theme before moving on.    … Expand
  97. JustinElliot
    Dec 2, 2015
    7
    i want to give this game a red review so bad because it let me down on so many levels. but i am trying to look at it as a separate game and not as a metal gear solid let down. as a game it is a 7. it's a fun concept building your base, but the missions are all repetitive. both the story and the side missions. as a metal gear solid game i give this a 4. what i expect from MGS is a story.i want to give this game a red review so bad because it let me down on so many levels. but i am trying to look at it as a separate game and not as a metal gear solid let down. as a game it is a 7. it's a fun concept building your base, but the missions are all repetitive. both the story and the side missions. as a metal gear solid game i give this a 4. what i expect from MGS is a story. not a game made to work with microtransactions. it taints the image of the GMS franchise. it is ok if MGS is a railroad shooter, leading you along the way. that's ok.. it's metal gear. But it was taken in withe the idea it had to be open world, it had to be more. but MGS was always enough. if it wasn't broke don't fix it... or should i say... if it was always good why the hell are you changing it now!… Expand
  98. vaughtex
    Oct 2, 2015
    6
    With clocking up only three hours of play, it became startlingly apparent that it’s mostly a series of fetch quests. There are some excellent story missions, which reveal themselves after about ten hours of play, but they are in the minority and all tend to blur in one, due to the repetitious structure and fetch-based objectives. It suffers from Grand Theft Auto 4 syndrome, whereby all theWith clocking up only three hours of play, it became startlingly apparent that it’s mostly a series of fetch quests. There are some excellent story missions, which reveal themselves after about ten hours of play, but they are in the minority and all tend to blur in one, due to the repetitious structure and fetch-based objectives. It suffers from Grand Theft Auto 4 syndrome, whereby all the quests are the same. Either: blow this up, rescue this person, or steal something. I lost count of how many times I’d go to rescue someone from an enemy camp and they had been moved, causing me to search out again. It’s frankly uninspiring and lazy for such a AAA title. After the 20th time of doing exactly the same thing, it becomes tiresome.

    The game is structured like a series of episodes, whereby you undertake missions inside the helicopter. Each mission and side quest have a series of tasks. A main task then usually four others, which are optional – it might be the case that there is a blueprint for a new gun hidden inside a base which you can pick up whilst you are in the process of competing the objective. All of the missions are re-playable, so you can go back and attempt to complete the optional tasks; there is a lot of replay value here, if you can be bothered.

    This vast open world is the games achilles heel. As impressive as it is, the decision to take the game out of confined environments is a huge mistake. It takes the tension out of the cat and mouse stealth, if something goes wrong, you can just run in the opposite direction until the enemy loses interest. This is the main catalyst for why the missions are so dull. Also, not forgetting, because of the open world, it’s difficult to develop a cohesive storyline.

    The other problem with this open world, mission style approach is that as a result, there isn’t really a gripping narrative moving the game forward. The game lacks a ‘real’ developing storyline. Metal Gear games have always been lambasted for the convoluted storylines, especially with the 45minute cut scene in MGS4, but I can’t help feeling they would be a welcome addition. Instead, Konami decided to take this criticism of the previous title to heart and decide to let the storyline develop through a series of audio tapes, which you listen to, between missions, in the helicopter. Without visuals to support them, the audio gets dull quite quickly. Especially when some run into the 5minute+ mark. There are a few shorter cut scenes, but in the main it just feels like an empty sandbox and occasionally a piece of story will come along that opens up the next missions. This mission based element makes the game more accessible in shorter bursts, but it does unfortunately mean that it takes away cohesiveness. The storyline feels disjointed and like episodic DLC.

    Aside from it’s looks, some good missions and attention to detail it honestly feels like a video game from a decade ago, especially near the end, you have to repeat missions in order to progress (just on a harder difficulty). This reeks of laziness and instantly made me turn my console off in frustration.

    Despite this criticism, I did mostly enjoy Phantom Pain. It isn’t a ‘bad’ game by any means, I had fun blowing up base camps, rescuing prisoners and working my way through the flimsy storyline to find out what happened next, it just felt dull in comparison to the other titles in the series. I enjoyed the majority of my play through and spent hours hooked. It’s an addictive experience.

    Sadly, for a series that led the way in terms of innovative, excellently constructed pieces of gaming culture, this feels like a bit of a compromise. The previous titles in the series had a lot more innovation. Fundamentally, it’s not a metal gear solid game that the fans know and love, it feels like a cheap knock off, or generic sandbox title with characters from the series.

    There are some truly memorable elements, but they are fleeting. It is undoubtedly a missed opportunity and definitely a showcase of how to successfully screw up a beloved franchise and turn it into something completely unrecognizable from it’s source material and previous legacy. There are some improvements here and there. The controls and feel of the game are tightened, it feels more refined, but lacks soul and fun. It’s a labourious process and not one for repeat playthroughs. This game is Kojima’s swan song for Konami. It feels like the game company either meddled with his creation or he has perhaps tried to create a game so westernized to appeal to a mass audience, he has forgotten to add what made the previous games so special.    … Expand
  99. EpikTheMaster
    Oct 10, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pro's:
    -Gameplay is extremely amazing! It will blow your mind!
    -The new mechanics like Fulton extracting!
    -Chapter 1 is actually pretty Good!...until(See Cons for details)
    -Managing mother base!
    -D-Dog, D-Horse, and D-Walker

    Con's:
    -Chapter 2 as a whole. After you complete the game what do you do? basically all you do is play recycled missions just cranked up in difficulty(Because Difficulty TOTALLY doesn't make the mission Repetitive right?) and contributes barely ANYTHING to the story which it ends with the WORST ending ever put in a single Metal Gear Solid game.
    -The Open world is useless....You can just use your helicopter and talk a few short walks to the objective or spec op mission.
    -If you were here just to be blown away by the story...Yeah you wont be...The story is actually quite bad...It contributes to basically nothing at all and has characters you will be forgetting...
    -The game midway through chapter 1 says "Hey let's put in these armored OP characters that can only be killed with explosives! THAT WONT GET ANNOYING...Right?" Skulls are also overpowered piles of garbage that need to be nerfed...ASAP.
    -Lastly, Micro-transactions have NO place in an open world game. For shame, Kojima!

    TL;DR
    Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is really good...for most of the first chapter. However it's Very Flawed in multiple elements (such as the open world and the entirety of chapter 2)...I have to give it a 6/10. It needs to fix it's **** as it is getting quite close to the negative side for me...(Also after looking through most of the positive reviews...it seems they aren't actually reviewing elements are just calling the game flat out perfect....Nothing is perfect people).    … Expand
  100. evanMP
    Oct 1, 2015
    7
    i wanted to wait until i finished the game and play a lot of side ops to give my review, and finally here it is. At the beginning i was super exited and having so much fun with the game, because the gameplay is simply awesome, but as the game progressed the side ops became a little repetitive and at some point boring, and also the missions with the extra difficulty were justi wanted to wait until i finished the game and play a lot of side ops to give my review, and finally here it is. At the beginning i was super exited and having so much fun with the game, because the gameplay is simply awesome, but as the game progressed the side ops became a little repetitive and at some point boring, and also the missions with the extra difficulty were just disappointing. Dont get me wrong i think these missions were fun, but they represented basically 75% of the second half of the game so it was kind of disappointing. Finally, the story is ok but it doesn't feel as epic or exiting as the previous games. Overall MTG 5 is a really good game, but i don't think is the best in the series, the story and the general content of the open world were just plane and sometimes monotonous.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PS4 Game of 2015
4
#4 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
3
#3 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 86 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 86
  3. Negative: 0 out of 86
  1. Polygon
    Dec 3, 2015
    90
    If this is where Kojima does finally leave the series he created, it will be a bittersweet send-off, both for Big Boss and one of gaming's most intriguing auteurs.
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  2. Time
    Nov 10, 2015
    100
    The holy grail of world-building games, it’s argued, is a black box that lets players do as they like with minimal handholding. Pliability with just the right measure of accountability. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, a tactical stealth simulation wrapped in a colossal resource management puzzle inside a love letter to theatrical inscrutability, comes the closest of any game I’ve yet played to realizing that ideal.
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  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Nov 5, 2015
    91
    There’s no denying the Game of the Year potential of The Phantom Pain. The campaign is absolutely massive, it’s almost too much to cope. That being said, Chapter II is a huge let-down and feels like artificial padding. Still, this is about as good as tactical espionage operations can get in a video game. [Oct 2015]
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