Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, is the latest addition to the Metal Gear Solid franchise. As a fan of the Metal Gear Solid games since the first one was released on the PlayStation, I have been eagerly anticipating the release of this game.
The first thing you have to understand about Phantom Pain is the fact that it is a continuation of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. If you haven’t played that yet, it might be a little confusing at the beginning. The game is also set in the 1980s, which is why there are a lot of references to events that occurred during the decade.
The game starts off with Big Boss waking up after being in a coma for nine years, he is rescued from an assassination attempt, and becomes the leader of a new mercenary crew, the Devil Dogs. Big Boss goes into Afghanistan during the Afghan-Soviet war, as well as Angola during the country’s civil war, in an effort to track down the people responsible for the destruction of MSF.
Along the way, Big Boss gets to do a lot of really cool stuff. The gameplay in this game is pretty amazing, since it is a Metal gear Solid game, you are going to do a lot of sneaking around, but you don’t always have to sneak around. In some situations, you actually have to attack your enemies head on, which is a refreshing change of pace.
Phantom Pain also allows you to react on the fly in certain situations. The reflex system gives you an opportunity to quickly take out an enemy guard because it slows down time. This allows you to either take the enemy out with a quick headshot, or get out of the enemy’s line of sight and still have time to take them out without alerting the other guards.
One of the things that fans of the franchise have complained about over the years, is the fact that the storyline and cut scenes dominate the game, which can be a little annoying, especially if you are new to the franchise. Konami must have listened to the complaints, because the story doesn’t dominate the game like it did in the past.
The open-world in the game also allows you to roam around and find something else to do if you want to take a break from the main storyline. With over 100 side missions, it is a game that you will be playing for a long time.
Final Thoughts.
Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pains offers players so many things to do, even with the new open world, it never departs from its roots, giving fans a great espionage game to enjoy. It has been rumored that this is the final Metal Gear solid game, and if it is, it is one hell of a send-off, because this is one of the best, if not the best game in the entire franchise.