'Metal Gear?!' Solid V: The Phantom Pain

[Old Nehamkin]

Fuck it, just caved and ordered this on PS3. I was worried that the last-gen version would be massively scaled-down, sluggish and half-arsed (flashbacks to playing the Wii versions of virtually any major cross-platform release circa the late 00s) but apparently that suspicion was a load of shite because all the reviews I've read seem to agree that the game looks very nice and runs very smoothly on the Playstation Jr., so come on then, let's be having it. Hope it lives up to the hype I've absorbed from this thread and all the breathless reporting from the video gamey people on my Twitter. I haven't been this excited about a new game for ages, to be honest.

[Paul Calf]

This game has a really serious bug: if you're not online, it silently fails to save your progress. I just wasted 5 hours.

Konami know about this but don't give a fuck, by the way.

Don't buy it.

[The Boston Crab]

I've logged over 300 hours both online and offline and lost nothing. Perhaps you don't understand how the checkpoint system works. I've heard nothing about an offline save bug from the subreddit or anywhere on the Internet before this. The only bug involved a specific set of circumstances on two missions, and it's now been patched. The apology is still there when you boot up.

So, yeah, do buy this game.

[Old Nehamkin]

Played a bit of this game now. It is very fun. I'm glad I didn't not buy it.

[Onken]

I've just finished the mission where you rescue

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Emmerich

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and have to evade the

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big robot thing

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before the helicopter could pick you up.

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You're in a valley, you have him on your shoulders and being told to avoid being seen from something towering over you.

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I really couldn't be arsed guessing what route it wanted me to take. It was the the only the part of the game I've not enjoyed so far.

When does the multiplayer start?

[Bhazor]

That mission seems to have a real problem with pathing. First time through he seemed to get stuck in the base and I just ran out with the hostage and my new toy and escaped no problem. Replaying the mission was nearly impossible and utterly infuriating because the cunt was right on top of me the whole time. Eventually I cheesed it out by glitching into an inaccessible spot behind a building. I'm sure I'm missing something but I have no idea what.

Speaking of cunt missions. The

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save the child miners

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mission can get just fucked off completely. I think I burst a testicle in anger during the twelfth fucking go.

[Paul Calf]

I've logged over 300 hours both online and offline and lost nothing. Perhaps you don't understand how the checkpoint system works. I've heard nothing about an offline save bug from the subreddit or anywhere on the Internet before this. The only bug involved a specific set of circumstances on two missions, and it's now been patched. The apology is still there when you boot up.

So, yeah, do buy this game.

I understand perfectly how the checkpoint system works. I played in online for a week and when I played it offline, it stopped saving. I lost two A-class completions for missions 9 and 10. It seems that the problem here is that when disconnected from the internet, the console doesn't know what the time is and so the game doesn't know which save to load. It's a very serious bug, more so given that the big game reviewers are giving this 10/10.

Either the 'save when disconnected' scenario wasn't tested - which I refuse to believe - or it was tested, it failed and they released it anyway without warning. Either way, it's not going to be helped by starry-eyed fanboys blaming the user and denying that it's a problem.

The 'Save with Quiet' bug is a different one.

[Harpo Speaks]

Interesting. I'd better have a look tonight and make sure my progress during the last session has saved, I disconnected after getting the daily reward as I'm really not into the idea of another player invading my game etc.

[Thursday]

It's a very rare problem that most people haven't encountered. (I also hadn't heard of this until now, I mostly played offline, only logging on at the start to get Mother Base daily rewards thing) That doesn't make it okay or your fault, but it means the situation probably isn't as nefarious as you're making out. I'd be surprised if this problem wasn't patched soon.

(The fact that the game is unfinished is a more pressing reason for it not to get 10/10's. Clearly most reviewers didn't quite finish it at the review events, some held off giving scores until they had, while others didn't)

[Old Nehamkin]

I played offline for about 3-4 hours yesterday (on PS3) and haven't lost any progress at all.

Am I right in thinking that there's no way to upload your own music for helicopter use, etc.? It was easy enough to do that on the PS3 version of Ground Zeroes, but there doesn't seem to be any option for it in this one, which is a bit disappointing. I want All Star by Smash Mouth blaring out when I'm scrambling away from angry soviets, damn it.

Other than that this game is pretty great so far and really shows up the weaknesses of IV. I mean I enjoyed that game on the whole, but actually being allowed to do big, substantial missions without being interrupted by a long, incomprehensible cutscene every time you dare to step through a door is refreshing as fuck.

My only real criticism so far would be that the whole base management aspect seems a bit tedious and something I'm not really looking forward to spending much time on. But that's really just a personal taste issue as management-type games tend to do my head in generally.

[Thursday]

You can only add your own music on the PC version.

[Old Nehamkin]

Oh and it seems a bit shit that when I buy a new expansion for my base I have to wait an hour in real time for it to get built. It's not really much of an imposition as I've got plenty to keep me busy in the meantime, but it's slightly annoying to spend thirty quid on a game and then be reminded of Candy Crush Saga, even if just for a moment.

You can only add your own music on the PC version.

Ah right, that's a shame then.

[The Boston Crab]

I understand perfectly how the checkpoint system works. I played in online for a week and when I played it offline, it stopped saving. I lost two A-class completions for missions 9 and 10. It seems that the problem here is that when disconnected from the internet, the console doesn't know what the time is and so the game doesn't know which save to load. It's a very serious bug, more so given that the big game reviewers are giving this 10/10.

Either the 'save when disconnected' scenario wasn't tested - which I refuse to believe - or it was tested, it failed and they released it anyway without warning. Either way, it's not going to be helped by starry-eyed fanboys blaming the user and denying that it's a problem.

The 'Save with Quiet' bug is a different one.

It sounds like you had a power cut? You'll want to call an electrician and get your wires and white goods checked out. If your fridge starts leaking freon you'll have more to worry about than losing an A class mate. Your gravitas is ludicrous.

Basically, you were unfortunate enough to encounter a bug so rare that it's not been mentioned in this thread or on the MGS subreddit, you lost two missions worth of negligible progress (nothing below S class counts towards anything) and your response was to tell people not to buy the game, despite the overwhelming positive impressions in the thread.

A large over-reaction, to keep things polite.

[kittens]

i got this for my housemate for his birthday and had a go on it tonight
it's so good i'm creaming my pants, i've never even played metal gear solid before and i love it, just sneaking about the shop shooting lads in the head taking their metal and sheep, love it

i watched him play the opening though and i got scared that was scary but otherwise i loved it

[Onken]

Yeah it beats playing Animal Crossing the people in the Wii U thread had you playing.

[lazarou]

Bit late to the party on this one but this game is gold. Peace Walker HD was previously my favourite MGS title and this is basically everything that one did right but in an open world with 10 times the budget. Fultoning people to add them to your base team is such a great way to encourage stealth, good recon and non-lethal takedowns that even a die-hard run & gun idiot like me can't resist getting stuck in there.

I'll probably sour on it further down the line as the cracks become a little more apparent, but in the first dozen hours this is the most refreshing open-world thing I've played in some time.

[EFB]

I started playing this last night, I'd not played a MGS game before. It's not quite what I expected. Giant fire demons? Is there a supernatural theme running through the game, or is this some kind of dream sequence?

[kittens]

I started playing this last night, I'd not played a MGS game before. It's not quite what I expected. Giant fire demons? Is there a supernatural theme running through the game, or is this some kind of dream sequence?

that totally took me by surprise too, had no idea stuff like that was in it.
spent all of yesterday playing this and will probably do the same today and tomorrow as my housemate i bought it for is working all weekend
it's so good, i fear i may lose my whole life to it

[Old Nehamkin]

MGS games have always had supernatural stuff kicking about in them. The first one had a flying psychic man who could look at your Spyro the Dragon save files and the second one had a bloody vampire and all. Get with the programme.

[Urinal Cake]

And philosophical rambling but this one less so.

[The Boston Crab]

I started playing this last night, I'd not played a MGS game before. It's not quite what I expected. Giant fire demons? Is there a supernatural theme running through the game, or is this some kind of dream sequence?

I won't spoil anything but yeah, I was in the same boat as you after the prologue and not particularly turned on by it. A few hours of tranqing guys in some dusty outposts in Afghanistan to some unfashionable 80s hits and I felt I was in a different game. This probably has fewer elements of tonal dissonance than most Metal Gear games, overall, but there are still lots of weird surprises along the way.

I'm just about to develop my final weapon, as far as I know, and I'm still absolutely cumming buckets into my disc drive. My ball sac is aching with so much spunk having blasted out of my cock end awww shit yeah.

[Bhazor]

People always complain about Kojima's writing being tone deaf and flitting wildly between real world politics, melodrama, toilet humour and just balls out fantasy insanity. But to me thats the best part of the games. When a character opens their mouth you have absolutely no idea whats going to happen. Will it be a major plot point? Will it be a wry witticism? Will it be them telling their backstory? Will it be an in depth breakdown of some real world military operation? Will it be a 15 minute talk about the Quetzal bird breeding dance? I think its great. It's something no other game series does. Other games can do stealth (Splinter Cell). Other games can do military fetishism crossed with fantasy elements (F.E.A.R). Other games can make long cinematic cutscenes (Uncharted). But only Metal Gear can take a 20 minute break to tell me that maybe love really can bloom on the battlefield.

[Thursday]

There's things about Metal Gear when the Japanese influences show, but filtered through western sensibilities, and it's something that can be great about the game. It sets up quite a realistic world and delivers it very straight and then gives you men with telekinetic powers, cyborg ninjas and mech's as if it's the most natural thing in the world. It's jarring and yet you go along with it.

[The Boston Crab]

I really recommend you support the maximum number of randoms for FOB defence, I tend to get one defensive emergency popping up every half hour. It's really tense and great fun trying to locate the infiltrator and watching them stealthily working through the Base until you launch a stun grenade at them and let everything kick off. Great rewards too if you're early to mid game. I finally unlocked Quiet's last costume and I'm busy cumming.

[EFB]

I won't spoil anything but yeah, I was in the same boat as you after the prologue and not particularly turned on by it.

So I was thinking I might find the game a bit dull, but the amount of recommendations I got to get it, I thought, why the hell not. Worth a try. Knowing there's a bunch of crazy stuff in there too makes it much more appealing to me :)

I'm just about to develop my final weapon, as far as I know, and I'm still absolutely cumming buckets into my disc drive. My ball sac is aching with so much spunk having blasted out of my cock end awww shit yeah.

Well, that's just... fine.

[ArchieGemmel]

Looking forward to playing the online portion of it when it unlocks tomorrow. I'm getting a bit of a The Last of Us online vibe from it which I absolutely loved.

[Onken]

Those stupid Konami IDs stopped me from ever giving MGS4 online a proper go but if I remember correctly it had lots of warehouses with catwalks and hiding places. I can't imagine how the multiplayer will work the same with an open world environments.

[Famous Mortimer]

And philosophical rambling but this one less so.

I always liked the philosophical rambling, myself.

I've only been put off from buying this by a quite reasonable fear of paying £40 for anything I might get annoyed with after ten minutes (although I love the first four, so chances are I'll quite like this too).

[Old Nehamkin]

OK, I'm 23 missions in now, and this may be a case of me judging the game less on its own merits than on my own expectations of what a Metal Gear Solid game should be like, but I've been a bit let down by the lack of proper boss fights so far. The one with

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Quiet

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was quite nice- I really loved that location and the set-up reminded me quite strongly of

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The End

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from Snake Eater, which is just one of the best boss fights in anything ever- but it was over far too quickly to feel anywhere near as fulfilling as that one did. Then later when I came across

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The Man on Fire

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in that freaky hospital place in Africa I was really geared up to have a proper showdown with him, but then all you're required to do is hold him off for a wee bit then hop on the chopper and fuck off. Real anticlimax at the end of an incredibly atmospheric mission.

It just feels like the game keeps dangling these really cool, intimidating enemies in front of me[nb]the

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Metal Gear prototype

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in Afghanistan would be another example[/nb] and then going "nah mate, you probably wouldn't be interested in that" and pulling them away. Maybe this is less of a problem in the later levels, but at the moment it feels a bit ridiculous that the enemy who's required the most hits for me to put down so far was

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that little Macauley Culkin shit on the boat

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. It's just frustrating considering how fucking strong the series has been on this front in the past.

Game is still incredibly enjoyable other than that, I should add.

[Onken]

Eurogamer Metal Gear Online needs some work


The online doesn't look good and said to have a lot of issues including how people are playing it. Teammates shooting down your fultons to steal kills. I haven't touched it myself. Releasing the multiplayer as later element as GTA V also did is a smart move when it comes to reviews. I'm surprised more games don't do this to protect it from any negative headlines.