Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is an incredible experience to say the least. While not the big conclusion a lot of fans were hoping for, it still does a masterful job at creating a fun sandbox to roam around and crafting new memorable characters and fleshing out some older ones. I had a lot of fun with this game. The tutorial was awfully slow, which turned me off a bit at first, but I stuck with it and ended up enjoying the game. Certain mechanics that game introduces were a bit hard for me to understand at first, but I eventually got the hang of it all. The new cassette tapes are a welcome edition and are a great way at conveying the story in a new and interesting way. No longer am I required to listen to the long codec codes that would interrupt me during my mission. It’s a new way of advancing the narrative that I welcome with open arms.
Of course, the narrative wouldn’t be as good without the voice actors to help tell it. Now he’s no David Hayter, but I think Kiefer Sutherland does a passable job portraying Big Boss in this entry. Robin Atkin Downes’ performance as Kazuhira Miller was a big standout among the cast. Troy Baker does a good job playing Ocelot. And Cristopher Randolph does an absolutely fantastic job reprising his role as Huey Emmerich, truly helping make the character one we all love to hate. Similar to the voice acting, the game’s soundtrack not only helps compliment the narrative, but also sounds amazing to boot (as is with all the metal gear soundtracks). From songs like “Sins of the Father” and “Quiet’s Theme” to some of the licensed songs in the game such as “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”, “The Final Countdown”, and “The Man Who Sold the World”.
The various weapons and items also help add to the level of strategy that the game offers. Items like a smoke grenade to the series staple cardboard box, every item is useful for a variety of different situations. There is great satisfaction every time I preform a tactical takedown on Soviet guards and take their outposts swiftly without being seen. On the contrary, if I am caught by an enemy, it immediately adds a significant layer of tension to the game that the series is known for. And even if I’m seen but not caught, the stakes are raised higher when the enemy goes on high alert or calls for backup. The window that appears whenever I am caught is also really helpful, giving me a perfect chance to silence them before they call out to their comrades. Obviously some missions were better than others, but it was an overall fun experience…until the second chapter starts.
The second chapter (without giving away too many spoilers) is what I would call, a jumbled up mess. Cutscenes are thrown at the player out of order and with little to no context at times. Despite everything I did and even doing thorough research on my first play through of the game, I couldn’t find a solid answer on how to access the final mission. Eventually I got frustrated and went to do some of the side operations in the game and replay a few older missions. After a few of those I got a call from one of the characters, which immediately saw me thrown into a cutscene. I still have no idea how it happened. Chapter 2 of the game sees missions that are not actually “new” but rather different variations of older missions. These missions will require you to complete them with a variety of different conditions from completing a mission without being caught once to going into a mission with only a set amount of resources at your disposal. Some people may find these types of missions fun, but not me, personally.
I still think this game is an amazingly fun game to play and has an amazing narrative and is an even better anti-war commentary. I personally don’t think media deserves to be rated by a number. So all I will say is: play this game.
I will always hold this game, this franchise, and the developer and team who created this game in the highest regards. Working at Konami during this was not a great way to live. Employees were restricted access to internet, emails, and phone calls. The branding found on all games up to this point: “A Hideo Kojima Game” were also quietly removed in addition to any mention of Kojima Productions. Employees apart of Kojima Productions were all forced to disband after production of the game was complete. And through all of this, Kojima publicly reassured fans that he would stick with the game until the very end. All I can truly say to the developers of this game is: I’m sorry. We all are. And here’s to the true end of one of gaming’s greatest franchises…
Reviewed on The PlayStation 4
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