The GNamer Podcast

Uncharted and Destiny,  

Batman

Halo,

I think the first two-thirds of MGSV is phenomenal and GOTY material. Chapter 1 is just a blast to play through - setting up Mother Base, investigating Cipher and XOF, roaming about Afghanistan and Africa... magic. The controls are tight and as a result the game makes it easy to feel like the legendary soldier you're meant to be. And storywise, it's on point - the final string of missions leading up to the finale were really gripping. I went from doing side-ops between each mission to blasting through the main missions simply because I HAD to know what was going to happen next. And then you find out there's more? Great! What a surprise, and look at all this I'm going to get to do... and then...

It really disappointed me. The structure becomes so stilted and you feel like you're having to squeeze out the next piece of content. We all know that Chapter 2 is unfinished - that's a fact - but it really harms the pacing of the game. I liked the story beats of Chapter 2 for what it's worth. Eli's escape, Huey's exile, that fantastic mission with Quiet - all great Metal Gear moments. But the story was building towards a crescendo that never came. I was really looking forward to a showdown with Liquid, but it never came. And then there's my issues with the ending.

See, my issue with the ending is that it literally came out of nowhere. Unless I'm remembering this wrongly, there's no story cue to trigger this flashback. Every other mission in the game has something to trigger it, be it a chat with Kaz or Ocelot, or a direct link to the preceding mission. The "truth" mission just popped up without any warning. It felt like the game said "welp, time to wrap this up, here's your ending now!" I liked the twist reveal, to be fair. There were too many fishy moments in the game, like Liquid's blood test not showing he's Big Boss's son, or the fact that the Boss's AI pod didn't recognise you. I liked that it explained how Big Boss survived in MG1. It's the way it was told that I disliked. A simple scene like Ocelot triggering the flashback would make it so much better.

And I totally agree with Andy that replaying the first mission in its entirety was a bit lame. I didn't enjoy having to sit through that opening scene in the bed - it needed editing down. The mission's great, but maybe not a second time through, tutorial text and all. You know what I'd have done? I'd have had you play that mission as Big Boss/Ishmael instead of Punished Snake.

However, whilst Chapter 2 and the ending weren't as good as I'd hoped, I still bloody loved this game. The mission where you have to deal with the infected soldiers is up there with MGS3's ending in terms of raw emotion. The mission where you extract Code Talker was one of the tensest things I've ever done in a video-game. I beat that mission without being seen (cheers D-Dog!), and I had to go calm down afterwards because I was on edge. I played Mission 30 like an action blockbuster, with me and Quiet storming OKB Base, and I had such a good time doing it. Skull Face was a perfect blend of menace and Metal Gear hamminess, and that car ride with him was a really cinematic, memorable moment.

So yeah, this game is a solid 9.5/10 from me. If Kojima ever descends from the mountain and gifts us with MGSV: Subsistence, that'll be the perfect Metal Gear game. I still prefer MGS3, and I'd even rank MGS4 above this, simply because I was more invested in Solid Snake's story than Big Boss's. But I loved this. I wouldn't have moaned about it this much if I didn't, because I know there's only a few niggles and a missing final mission keeping this from being a perfect 10/10. I blame Konami.