Before I begin, and I will not begin with a stupid "Kept You Waitin' Huh?" (it's only cool when Stefanie Joosten does it) this review contains MAJOR spoilers. Read if you have finished the game, do not read if you haven't. If you have finished the game but you're not reading, it is probably because you have been eaten by a Sahelanthropous. If you haven't finished the game and are reading this, then why are you still here... just to suffer.
CREDITS:
Written and directed by @samimista and @theamazingspidey
Plot
TheAmazingSpidey
The game's writing is occasionally heavy handed, pretentious and tell-don't-show. I I admit that it got pretentious to hear Kaz repeating the same "we've lost everything" to the point where it started to sound one dimensional with how many times he said it. Although it wouldn't have been half as bad if the writers did a better job in actually showing it.
But most of all, I'd really like to take a second to seriously praise Hideo Kojima for his storytelling. It shouldn't be very surprising after MGS1 and MGS3 that he's one of the greatest storytellers in the business. Each Metal Gear game has made me feel emotion, excitement and attachment, and in The Phantom Pain: Hideo Kojima propelled the story to measures of heart breaking heights, and mind bending culminations. No game has ever broken my heart as it broke my heart killing my own soldiers and seeing Punished Snake give the heartfelt speech and smother the ashes on his face. Also no game has bent my mind watching the Truth Mission unfold and discovering that I was never really Big Boss. It's also powerful scenes like the introduction of child soldiers, Huey's torture, Skull Face's death and Mission 43 which made my heart beat faster than any other game has. The storytelling is also presented so masterfully with cut scenes and voice acting that put most movies to shame. It's also a shame to hear that the exact story which I am praising is getting so much flak for being unfinished which I'd like to debunk.
Child soldiers are brought into the fold and their introduction moved me. Unfortunately though, The Phantom Pain doesn't have more to say about child soldiers besides that they exist. It is definitely a good step in the industry to see a game including those themes, but they are not as prevalent and well explored as I would have hoped for: especially since Hideo Kojima said the game might be banned in some countries.
I really like how The Phantom Pain subverts writing 101 and turns in a special narrative structure. Nowadays we expect similar narrative structure in fiction, that all assets will begin somewhere and end up somewhere else in the story. TPP doesn't really end that way, which is why most people I think do not like it. However MGSV is similar to the narrative structure of an episode of The Sopranos. Basically the episode is about a therapist struggling with a morality decision. In the end of the episode, what decision does the therapist come to? None at all. She ends up in the same place all over again: tested, yet she still doesn't bend. That itself is a perfect example of subverting narrative expectations which MGSV does do.
A lot of the story fails in connecting together, and so the story feels more like a collection of set pieces than an actual narrative. Although it's probably the weakest plot of the Solid games, it's much, much better than games like Farcry 4 where I intentionally have tried to ignore the story with how terrible it is. I actually was interesting in The Phantom Pain's story with all of it's presentation flaws.
Samimista
The year is 1984, and Big Boss awakens from a nine year coma. Due to the aftermath of Ground Zeroes, Big Boss has lost an arm, and his body has been invaded by a mixture of human teeth and shrapnel. All that remains is the Phantom Pain, a medical condition commonly associated with amputees; when an individual experiences sensations, specifically pain, in limbs or organs that are no longer physically apart of the body. Big Boss' physical transformation leads to changes in his motivation as well... Such a lust for revenge, WHHOOOO?!
Erm, sorry about that. It seems I was possessed by Psycho Mantis. What I meant to say is that Big Boss is driven with revenge, and forms Diamond Dogs with Ocelot and Kaz. Together, they travel across Afghanistan to pursue Skull Face, the commander of XOF who were responsible for the destruction of Militaires Sans Frontières. Turns out, Skull Face has created a new Metal Gear called the Sahelanthropus with the help of Huey Emmerich. Skull Face intends to use the Sahelanthropus to deliver a parasite that activates upon the recognition of certain languages, with Skull Face intending to wipe out everyone who speaks English.
On paper, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain sounds like an epic. We've seen promising trailers prior to its release that got everyone so hyped. Personally, I was extremely disappointed, and I feel that Metal Gear Solid V is the weakest in the franchise with its plot. For starters, the game's central theme is revenge, but do the characters actually get revenge? To an extent, yes. Big Boss and Huey shoot Skull Face in the face halfway through the game, but besides that? Not really. The characters, especially Kaz, continuously ramble on about revenge, but do they actually get revenge in another way besides killing Skull Face? No, and honestly I find it rather annoying how many times 'revenge' is said throughout the whole game. Show, don't tell.
That leads to my next complaint. There aren't many cutscenes in Metal Gear Solid V. In order to understand what's going on with the plot, there are cassette tapes which feed you information. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I mean, after Metal Gear Solid 4, less cutscenes is refreshing. But, almost every cutscene in Metal Gear Solid V was spoiled in the trailers, and some of the scenes in the said trailers were completely removed. Seriously, and there was a Mission 51 which hinted at Eli and Trent's (Psycho Mantis) future that was removed.
My point is, Kojima forgot how to balance out gameplay and cutscenes. Metal Gear Solid 1 - 3 had the perfect balance, but Metal Gear Solid 4 and V don't. I'm not asking for a lot, but what makes the franchise so iconic is due to its memorable cutscenes which V severely lacks.
And speaking of severely lacking, the game's pacing completely falls apart once Chapter 2 starts. Like Gordon Ramsay would say, the chicken is so undercooked that a skilled vet could still save him. I enjoyed the pacing in Chapter 1 because it was alright with 31 missions and it's cutscenes were spread out. Chapter 2 consisted of 19 missions, and everything happened too fast. Now, I would have been okay with 19 missions, most of these were just repeats of Chapter 1's missions on different modes: Hard, Extreme, and Substance. And in order to unlock Mission 50 (considered to be Metal Gear Solid V's True Ending), you have to do at least one repeated mission (though, it was four for me, personally) along with a bunch of Side Ops.
This sounds like something Ubisoft would do with Assassin's Creed. But, given Konami's decisions in the past year, I shouldn't be surprised. It's just a real shame that Metal Gear Solid V had so much potential that was thrown to waste. I honestly wouldn't have mind waiting for a late release date so I could play a finished game. This just...It doesn't feel like Metal Gear, really. The whole parasites is obviously pre-nanomachines, and there are obviously characters from the franchise, but the other Metal Gear titles feel complete and whole. This Metal Gear does not feel complete and whole, it's quite the opposite, really.
Characters
TheAmazingSpidey
I would've liked more development for the main cast. I actually prefer the story over the characters and will praise it more than the characters. Although characters in the game are for the most part well written, they suffer from underdevelopment. Venom Snake is a fascinating character. I too was initially disappointing that he never becomes a demon, but why would you want him to be? Why should we introduce "good" and "bad" into the MG series? Metal Gear series has never been a black and white series and there is no reason to introduce that for the sake of seeing Big Boss become a demon, although it would've been cool to see. What we see here is a man who sees himself as a demon for all the past actions he has committed such as murdering the boss. Then you see missions like Shining Lights, in which Snake murders his own men. That is an example of "Kaz, I'm already a demon." He's stuck in this path, doing the only right things in the situation such as killing his own men but feeling horrible about it, then he smashes the mirror and that's when Venom Snake just doesn't feel about about his path anymore. That to me is a far more realistic character transformation and is not black and white.
Shamefully, Skull Face is reduced to a Sunday Morning Cartoon villain after being built up in Ground Zeroes to be so terrifying. He is an entertaining, hammy and James Bond-y villain, but that isn't how he was built up to be and it certainly isn't as interesting. He offers parallels between him and the main character: both who had their faces, identities and pasts stolen from them, and his death is a powerful scene. You need no words to understand the meaning behind the scene as you see Punished Snake shoots off Skull Face's limbs: the same limbs that cause lost. It also does a good job at demonstrating the futility of revenge. Kazuhira is an interesting character, albeit more pissed. One of the messages of the game is that Outer Heaven doesn't present an end for anyone: and that is presented with the character of Kaz. Ocelot is a far cry from the Ocelot of previous games, and less interesting. He's mostly there to narrate player actions than actually be Ocelot. It was cool however to see that he does back stab someone.
Huey is an outright compulsive liar and a horrible person. Ever since before the game I've been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the game states it in the amazing "Huey's Trial" scene that he murdered Strangelove and now I hate him for that. He is one of the game's finest characters and the writers did a good job of exploring and studying the character that they had created. Other characters such as Tretij Rebenok (I will need to google up what that means), Eli (younger Liquid Snake), and the child soldiers serve smaller roles. Former fourth wall breaking Psycho Mantis is cool in this game, but he never once breaks the fourth wall, although him being a conduit of revenge is a fascinating concept. Eli isn't as prominent as I would've hoped for, but the game sets him up to be his future self, and the child soldiers were not as meaningful as I would've hoped, although they moved me initially. It was also delighting to hear The Boss's AI, Strangelove, see the Man on Fire (although it is unforgivable that a major character of MGS3 has been reduced to this), and foremost: Zero. I really like how Zero is characterized in the tapes when you find out that he is not terrible after all. Code Talker is a bit disappointing: he’s not bad to have around per se, but he’s mostly around for information dumps is all.
And how could I forget about Quiet? One of the game’s finest characters. Her outfit and behavior has caused some controversy, and believe me, I’ve questioned it myself, but the more I thought about it: the more I loved Quiet, her design and personality. A character that is a sex object is a character that is that: a sex object. If you removed their sexuality, then they are terribly written, terribly made characters. However, you could dress Quiet and she would still be a great character! Quiet is actually more of a feminist character than some of the other characters who were made AS feminist characters. Although I haven’t finished her story line, I’ve liked most of what I’ve seen. Diamond Dog is also a very cute puppy, and D-Walker a force to be reckoned with.
Samimista
Honestly, I really like how Big Boss is Quiet in this game...See what I did there? A lot of people have complained about Big Boss not really speaking (at least in the cutscenes and gameplay, Big Boss does speak a lot in the cassette tapes) , but I personally like it since I prefer silent protagonists...I'd say more about Big Boss, but well, I'll save that for the next section.
My favorite character in Metal Gear Solid V would be Quiet. I've personally loved Quiet ever since she was announced. One of the reasons why I love Quiet so much? Due to her character design, actually. A lot of users on here have asked for my opinion about Quiet's outfit, and personally, I think it's cute with the bikini top and boots.
That said, while I actually like Quiet's outfit, I do think it's ridiculous with the hyperbole in regards to it. Specifically with what Kojima said, "But once you recognize the secret reason for her exposure, you will feel ashamed of your words & deeds." No, Kojima-san, I did not feel ashamed of my words and deeds. The reason why Quiet wears her outfit is silly, but it fits in with the other crazy explanations in the series. Basically, Quiet's lungs are burned and due to the parasites that she's infected with, she has to use photosynthesis. So really Quiet breathes through her skin to absorb air, water and nutrients.
Despite what Kojima says, it's obvious that Quiet was intended to be sexualized. His excuse was an attempt to justify the character design. And again, I like the outfit, but how its presented is the real problem, in my opinion. There's a cutscene where Quiet is showering with her clothes on, and she's doing these slow sexy poses while Ocelot and the Diamond Dogs soldiers are watching. There's even one who catcalls in the background. This scene bothers me because why are the soldiers even watching? Can't they give a girl some privacy? I'm sure that the soldiers wouldn't like Quiet watching them shower.
Besides that, Quiet is the most useful companion. I use her in almost all my missions and Side Ops because she can kill/tranquiliz all soldiers nearby. This is very useful when you're like me who's terrible at stealth and only plays for the plot. Unfortunately, Quiet can actually be lost forever in your game. This happens once her final mission is complete. I have not played the final mission because I am wearing a butterfly emblem that hides the said mission so I don't lose Quiet for good. I feel bad for players who completed Quiet's final mission because the butterfly emblem secret isn't even hinted in the game. The only way I knew was by reading a guide online.
Anyways, I wish there was more Quiet cutscenes in the game. She's become my third favorite Metal Gear lady. My first two would be The Boss and Eva. And honestly, I'm surprised Quiet didn't end up being Big Boss and Eva's daughter. I really expected that given how much Big Boss and Quiet look alike, but really, we don't know much about Quiet's past. I would love to learn more about Quiet, but well, given the close friendship between Stefanie Joosten and Kojima-san, I doubt we'll see another game with her.
Ocelot is in this game as well. Except, Ocelot does not look like Ocelot. He greatly resembles his voice actor, Troy Baker. Not a bad thing, but well, I miss the sexy appearance from Snake Eater. It's what made me an Ocelot fangirl, anyways. But besides that, Ocelot has mellowed out. He doesn't really backstab anyone...Or does he? Dun dun DUN.~
And I sure miss my happy-go-lucky Kaz from Peace Walker. He's really changed here. It's understandable given what he's went through. He lost his arm and leg, his comrades, and was captured and tortured by the Soviets.
Even though, I mentioned earlier in my review that I find it annoying with how Kaz rambles on about revenge, I feel like his character development should have been given to Big Boss. Like, why isn't Big Boss filled with rage like Kaz is? Instead, Big Boss doesn't really speak, and goes along with missions. I like how Kaz is hitter and alone. It adds more to the game's theme, in my opinion.
And of course, there's Eli. I'll be honest to say, I actually never liked Liquid Snake until this game. Before, I thought he was your stereotypical villain with a British accent, but really, I like his spirit and attitude as a kid. Eli's willing to do anything for survival, and I can respect that. Unfortunately, Eli barely has any screentime. There is a cool boss fight when you first encounter him, but well, I was hoping for another boss fight with Eli towards the end where he takes control of the Sahelanthropus, but that doesn't happen.
As for Skull Face, another character who lacks screentime. Seriously, I really liked how sinister and twisted Skull Face was in Ground Zeroes. I mean, he forced a thirteen year old to rape a twenty-six year old woman. Who does that? You'd think Skull Face would cause more trouble in Phantom Pain but no. He is written and acts like a cartoon villain.
And I save the worst for last, Huey Emmerich. I don't have much to say here other than the guy was always a jerk...I'd use another word to describe Huey, but ComicVine is a family oriented site. Anyways, it was said in Metal Gear Solid 2 that Huey drowned himself in the family's backyard swimming pool and tried to take his step-daughter down with him as well. I mean, why are some people even surprised that Huey isn't nice?
Ending
TheAmazingSpidey
It’s a shame that Mission 46 is dropped on us like that. Because I am such a big fan of the ending. I even wrote a blog about it here. Everyone has their own interpretation of the ending: it’s supposed to simulate Phantom Pain, it makes us feel the same as Big Boss felt when he lost the boss, it’s a twist for the sake of the twist… I prefer this explanation: Hideo Kojima is giving us the title of Big Boss: "I am Big Boss, and you are too, this life, this legend its ours, we built it together, always carry that with you, thank you my friend, from here on out, you’re Big Boss" or something like that.
Big Boss is essentially Hideo Kojima in the from The Man Who Sold The World. It’s a perfect goodbye. I like all of the hints to the ending: Ocelot saying “your father isn’t here”, Ishmael, Big Boss not knowing Dr. Clake’s gender, smoking an E-Cigar, the “Star of Bethlehem” flowers being moved to The Medic’s side of the room, Volgin’s reaction in the important side op, Boss’s AI and Huey not recognizing Snake, the mirror reflection, Eli’s DNA test, making your own face, the photos, Kiefer voicing The Medic, general appearance differences, “maybe you’re the boss we hoped for after all”, and above all, the choice of The Man Who Sold The World as the opening song.
The ending is the most mind boggling thing I’ve ever played in a game: “he took some shrapnel… to the head” was just unbelievable. Then I think about it and you ARE Big Boss. The real Big Boss gives you the title, you created the face, The Medic is almost an empty slate and… hell… “Vic Boss” even writes your name on the pack of the photos (I typed in my own name so the good luck _____ was awesome!) Not only is it an amazing farewell to the series, it actually brings the games full circle just as Hideo Kojima promised. Although I could spend hundreds and hundreds of words on why I think this ending works, I’ll let TheFantasticFillip’s analysis on Giant Bomb, and this tumblr blog explain why this twist works so perfectly. The whole idea of “you’re a part of the legend” and you are Big Boss and you are Venom Snake makes me so happy. As a big fan, this is a brilliant send off to the series.
Samimista
I have literally seen the twist called out over a year ago, and I didn't believe it because it sounded fanfiction-like. Needless to say, I don't like it. Before anyone says it, yes I understand what Kojima was aiming for with the meta commentary. Even Ocelot said it in Sons of Liberty, "Given the right situation, the right story, anyone can be shaped into Snake."
The concept has potential, but it was executed poorly in Metal Gear Solid V, in my opinion. There were a few subtitle hints throughout the game. In the prologue, The Man Who Sold The World covered by Midge Ure plays in the background. This I actually like because it's not the original by David Bowie, meaning it's a fake. Just like how The Medic is the fake Big Boss. There's also an unusual line from Ocelot when you first encounter him, "The name's Ocelot. Big Boss, you know who I am," and then Ocelot explains who Kaz is. Like, why? Why would Big Boss not know who his two best friends are? Yeah, there's the shrapnel lodged into his head, but I don't know. That line is what made me realize that something wasn't right. As for the character you create in the beginning, the said character's reflection can actually be seen as Venom Snake's reflection in the helicopter.
So yes, there were subtitle hints, but this twist was nowhere near as good as the one in Metal Gear Solid 2, in my opinion. In Metal Gear Solid 2, the character switch happens early whereas the twist in Metal Gear Solid V, isn't said until the very end...In a mission that you have to unlock by playing difficult missions and multiple Side Ops. Way to go, Ubisoft Konami. And you know what I like about Metal Gear Solid 2? Raiden is supposed to represent the players. He's a Solid Snake fanboy who wants to be just like him. It's like how people on the internet have their favorite character as an icon because they wanna be just like them.
The twist in V was unnecessary. I personally would have enjoyed the whole The Medic = Big Boss if it was handled differently. Halfway through the game, Venom Snake should have discovered the truth, and decided to get his revenge on the real Big Boss. I mean, think about it. The real Big Boss stole a man's face, identity, and past. That's the real Phantom Pain. We, the players, were led to believe that we were playing as the real Big Boss, but that was nothing but a lie.
There's something I really don't understand. Why did no one give The Medic his past memories and personality? I mean really, did everyone think it was okay to use hypnotherapy on The Medic and give him Big Boss' memories? In the prologue, it's said that the everyone wants Big Boss dead, but how come no one tries to assassinate The Medic/Venom Snake while he travels throughout Afghanistan?
I sure find it funny that Kojima claimed that Metal Gear Solid V was supposed to be the missing link in the series...Because the same exact thing was said about Portable Ops and Peace Walker. And honestly, the twist in this game caused more retcons than anything else. For starters, the real Big Boss took part in conflicts such as the Mozambican Civil War and the Mercenary War. That's not something that someone "in hiding" should do, in my opinion. And what about the relationship between Big Boss and Gray Fox? Gray Fox working with Venom Snake in Zanzibar Land makes no sense. Why would Venom care about Gray Fox, anyways? It also means that Big Boss never knew Naomi yet he seems familiar with her in Metal Gear Solid 4.
From The Man Who Sold The World? More like, From The Kojima Who Trolled The World.
Gameplay
TheAmazingSpidey
Regardless of the disappointing characters, regardless of whether or not you like the story, the gameplay is simply put: fantastic. You probably never thought you’d be busting 80s music, exploring an open world, building a fortress, abducting soldiers, riding vehicles around a big Afghanistan map and STILL be playing a Metal Gear game. Yes, it is the most different Metal Gear game, but it is still a Metal Gear game at it’s heart. In the midst of “BOSS, GET DOWN!” and “that’s an enemy gunship”, the gameplay is phenomenal. And it is phenomenal as a result of a few contributing facts. Kojima-San and Kojima Productions really went all out in gameplay, crafting a game where every single item, weapon, equipment, outfit, vehicle, buddy or mechanic can be used to make something out of. That is the beauty of the game: me and you could sit down and discuss how we finished the same mission… and we’d have completely different stories!
You have Mother Base: which is your base of operations. Although you begin the game with Mother Base as a small hub, you can then expand it by purchasing new struts such as command, medical, intel, r&d etc. platforms, and not only does it give you a sense of progression seeing Mother Base so big, you also unlock more positions for new stuff. You acquire stuff by fultoning people all around Afghanistan and Africa (they had the same thing in The Dark Knight, but Nolan had to ground it and called it “sky hook), and by acquiring more staff you unlock more items in development: guns, explosives, boxes, stealth camo, buddy equipment… and each of these items have been designed to allow and encourage the player to craft their own stories and their own approaches to the missions. There are hundreds of ways to complete all the missions because of the endless amounts of weapons and items, as well as the smart level design and the core mechanics, which have been perfected since Ground Zeroes. This sort of replayability is what I hope is the future of open world games!
Reflex Mode opens up a short window for you to counteract enemies in a few seconds, although I wouldn’t recommend that you intentionally abuse reflex. Although in reflex you can do a few cool things: such as disarming the enemy, or stealing their weapon, if you time it perfectly. CQC is essentially CQC, but it has never been better and more intuitive: you can now hold up enemies in multiple ways such as from cardboard boxes, and doing so has never opened up such a wealth of options. Cardboard boxes are still present, and now you can attatch posters to it, slide down hills with it, hit Ocelot with it, follow Ocelot around with it, creeping behind Ocelot and THEN hitting him with it. The Phantom Cigar is also a good addition: it allows you to skip, or lose perception of time, allowing you to choose at what time of the die you are going to strike depending on play style.
Although the open world itself is mostly a hub between missions. Most people say that there is not much in between enemy outposts that isn’t “BOSS! The ENEMY SNIPER…” and that is true in a way. Although there are fuel resources to collect and rough diamonds, you’ll spend most of your time in the ACC (which is the WRONG way to play the game. I wouldn’t encourage doing that). You’re ACC is where all your momentos (and your budd(ies)) belong. The buddy system is one of the game’s biggest features: although it’s a bit dissapointing to see that none of the support buddies were surprises. Then there are the cassette tapes which are one of my favourite features in the game. Yes codec calls are gone but calm down. Each has their own goods and bads. What I love about the cassette tapes is that it allows you to consume the story hower you want: whilst you’re completing missions, in the ACC, in Mother Base, doing side ops and / or target practice, managing your base, in Afghanistan, in Africa etc.) and you can repeat these tapes just as much as you want. Music is also a core pillar: although it is a bit funny that there is a David Bowie song in Music Tape 2, but not a single song sung by David Bowie.
Samimista
Metal Gear Solid V has the best gameplay mechanics in the series, in my opinion. That's one good thing I can say about the game. Kojima finally nailed it. There are no wonky controls, and you can attempt missions and Side Ops at any way you'd like. What I personally like is the Buddy system because each Buddy has their own specialty: Quiet for sniping and scouting, D-Dog for finding items and scouting, D-Horse for traveling, and D-Walker for assaulting. I admit, I do not like using the last two because I see no need since Quiet and D-Dog are more useful, in my opinion.
As for the open world, I'd say that Metal Gear Solid V is similar to Far Cry 2. The main protagonist doesn't really speak, so you can project yourself onto him, and the character slowly becomes more evil as the plot thickens. You can mark items and enemies with binoculars, the day and night cycle affects the enemy's vision, patrolling jeeps, collecting diamonds, capturing outposts, and the freeform missions. There's also the map which gives you limited mobility, you can drive with it, and walk with it, like in MGSV, but you can't sprint with it, mortars are not fixed placements in either and can be removed, there are cassette tapes to collect, and as mentioned there is the buddy system.
Aside from that, I would like to mention that there is a little something in this game. On your Birthday, everyone on the Motherbase will throw you a surprise party. I personally haven't tried this since my Birthday is in April, but I like this feature because it makes you feel really special.
Graphics
TheAmazingSpidey
The Phantom Pain is really a beautiful game and is a best looking open world game. Although to be honest most of the graphical power has been focused on character models and what a model The Medic is environments are still lush and beautiful (thanks, Fox Engine!). Although it isn’t the best looking game in the market it is by far potentially the most beautiful and the best looking open world game.
Samimista
Considering Metal Gear Solid V was developed with the last generation in mind, I'm astounded at the graphics. I'm playing on PC and the graphics are perfection. What I personally like is the character models. Especially with the facial structure and the hair. It's a real shame that Kojima can't use FOX Engine again. All the work was for nothing since Konami owns the rights to it. I just hope that we can get Metal Gear 1 and 2 remade with the FOX Engine.
P.S. Check out this mod:
Voice Acting
TheAmazingSpidey
Some of the best voice acting ever breathed into a game! Robin Atkin Downes has now left his mark as one of the greatest voice actors. Ever since his first scene in the game, his voice acting is really intense and exerts emotion and Robin Atkin Downes does an excellent job in portraying a Kaz that had everything stolen from him and has an aptitude for McDonalds. Kiefer Sutherland is also amazing as both Punished Snake and Big Boss. He truly NAILS both characters and delivers one of the most emotional speeches ever in a game: “I won’t scatter your sorrows to the heartless sea. You’re all diamonds. Plant your roots in me”, and his Big Boss is just as gruff as you remember him. It was actually nice to see the subtle differences in his voice acting ranging from Punished Snake to Big Boss. Kiefer’s motion capture also really payed off, especially since Punished Snake doesn’t talk much. Troy Baker turns in a good, albiet inconsistent performance as Troy Baker: ranging from the typical aggressive Ocelot to calm, collected jarringly, but he really makes you smile as Ocelot.
James Horan as Skull Face is hammy, James Bond villain-y and entertaining: making the character of Skull Face, who I mentioned to be no more scarier than a cartoon villain in the game’s storyline, enjoyable from a dramatic standpoint. Not a single line James Horan delivered incorrectly, even the infamous “such a lust for revenge? WHOOO” and the “Major, I’M BURNING UP” (which felt like classic Metal Gear). Pierre Stubbs’s Eli is definitely one of the finest acted child characters in video games, although he doesn’t speak nearly enough. Stefanie Joosten makes her debut into voice acting perfectly as Quiet and it was so good to hear her speak. Time Winters is no David Bowie, but he is still a perfect predecessor to Jim Piddock. Christoper Randolph nails Huey as a bastard. Lori Alan even has a few lines as the Boss’s AI, although it was nothing remarkable. Top notch voice work.
Samimista
Well, we all know why Kiefer Sutherland doesn't speak much in this game, and honestly, I'm okay with that. Sutherland did a good job to convey emotion with Venom Snake's facial expressions. Though, I admit, I'm still sad about David Hayter. I was so certain there would have been a post credit scene with Solid Snake at Zanzibar Land. I'm hoping that Konami can get David Hayter to return in future titles. I missed the grizzly, sexy voice.
And I'm disappointed that this dialogue from Sutherland was removed from the game: "We have no tomorrow. In our struggle to survive the present, we push the future farther away. Someday, the world will no longer need us." Unfortunately, I cannot find a video recording to post, but I did hear the said line a few weeks ago. I'm not sure why exactly it was removed since it would have added more to the twist, in my opinion.
Overall the voice acting is good. I just don't like how Revolver Ocelot and Kaz sound so similar. And honestly, I like Troy Baker, but I noticed for certain roles like Delsin and Ocelot, he uses the same young voice. As for Huey, I know its the same voice actor for Hal (Otacon), but I do find the voice grating in this game. Probably because Huey whines a lot so it sounds like fingernails scraping against chalkboard.
Soundtrack
TheAmazingSpidey
Remarkable soundtrack. The same can be said for all other Metal Gear’s and The Phantom Pain is no different. Each of the scores are good at conveying their own moods. “V has come to”, “You Can Call me Ishmael”, “Quiet’s Theme”, “Sins of The Father”, “Shining Lights Even In Death” are all great tracks. Although I won’t dwell on this: the soundtrack is so masterful, even in Sins of The Father was played in an awkward moment. I also cannot stress any further that the licensed soundtracks: “The Man Who Sold The World”, “Kids In America” and “Maneater” make the game just as much, if not more! I also love this song:
Samimista
I'll be honest to say, I wasn't really paying attention to the instrumental music throughout the game. But, I absolutely loved the 90's cassette tapes. My two favorite songs would be Only Time Will Tell by Asia, and Friday I'm In Love by The Cure. If you're playing on PC, there's a feature that allows you to add your own songs into the game, but well, I haven't done that since I'm lazy, haha.
But, I do have one complaint. In Ground Zeroes, you can put songs on repeat, and I don't think you can in The Phantom Pain? Which is weird because there's an option for repeat in the game, but it doesn't work? Maybe someone reading this review can clarify for me.
And I love listening to Quiet's Theme that was performed by Stefanie Joosten.
Probably the best theme in the franchise, honestly.
Verdict
TheAmazingSpidey
9.8/10 The Phantom Pain might have the most hollow plot in the franchise, but I am immensely satisfied with the overall game. Hideo Kojima propelled the story to measures of heart breaking heights, and mind bending culminations. No game has ever broken my heart as it broke my heart killing my own soldiers and seeing Punished Snake give the heartfelt speech and smother the ashes on his face. Also no game has bent my mind watching the Truth Mission unfold and discovering that I was never really Big Boss. It's also powerful scenes like the introduction of child soldiers, Huey's torture, Skull Face's death and Mission 43 which made my heart beat faster than any other game has. The storytelling is also presented so masterfully with cut scenes and voice acting that put most movies to shame. As an interactive medium, The Phantom Pain totally exceeds: turning in open game design, exciting stealth and mechanics and excellent level design.
Samimista
7/10 - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a good game, but not a great Metal Gear, in my opinion. And if anything, I feel Kojima works better with a co-writer because I felt like he went all George Lucas with the plot. I know Metal Gear is crazy to begin with, but parasites as pre-nanomachines is laziness. And the only reason why I'm not giving the game a lower score is because the gameplay is seriously that good. It's the only reason why I still play Metal Gear Solid V from time-to-time. That said, I'd recommend The Phantom Pain to anyone who cares about the gameplay, but if you're like me who cares more about the plot and characters than anything else, I'd either recommend waiting for this game to go on sale, or stick to the older titles that are actually complete and not rushed with development.
P.S. Ishmael has a very cute butt.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this double review and that you can share your own thoughts on the game below. Be nice and have fun.
Log in to comment