Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is Hideo Kojima’s victorious exit

Every time the world hears news of a new Metal Gear game, there’s a brief moment of silence and anticipation at what new prospects series creator Hideo Kojima could bring to his long-running stealth adventure franchise. Since beginning his new vision of the saga with the original Playstation’s Metal Gear Solid, every installment has propelled Snake and his story to new levels that could be considered as EPIC as the mercenary’s legendary status, as well as conceptualizing new methods of gameplay that literally engage players in new ways to “think outside the box” and do more than just crawl and sneak their way past enemies to complete a mission.

 

Fast forward to 2015, and the world has come to embrace what may very well be Kojima-san’s final entry into the series – “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain”. More than a year since first releasing a glorified demo of a prologue chapter in “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes”, this is the true sequel that is designed to “complete the saga” and reveal the remaining gaps that detail the story of Big Boss and the rise of his mercenary group “Outer Heaven”. However, it is also the last Metal Gear game under Hideo Kojima, as controversy between him and publisher Konami has seen the former tender in his resignation and Kojima Productions dissolved. Despite this setback, Kojima stood by his word and continued work with The Phantom Pain, which was eventually released this September.

 

Now that it’s out, has the latest chapter in Metal Gear Solid earned its badges and stripes to call itself Game of the Year material? ABSOLUTELY. This game is the very definition of what “A Hideo Kojima Game” should be at its final evolutionary state – combining the mission and base building concepts started in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker with the fluidity of stealth action gameplay that only the proprietary Fox Engine can provide in an open-world setting. This is Metal Gear at its finest, giving the player absolute freedom at controlling, customizing, and deploying Snake to enemy territories and carrying out missions however they see fit and choose to.

 

 

The legend comes back to life

 

Set primarily in 1984, Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain picks up nine years after the events of Ground Zeroes and sees Snake wake up from a coma with several injuries that include shrapnel lodged in his forehead and the loss of his left arm. After a series of attacks that sees him escape and rescued by Ocelot, the man also known as “Big Boss” heads off to Afghanistan to rescue his old comrade Kazuhira Miller from Soviet Territory and reestablish a new mercenary group called “Diamond Dogs”. Now going under the codename “Venom Snake”, this punished soldier marches on with his army on a personal mission of revenge against XOF and the mysterious organization known as Cipher. However another new threat surfaces in the form of a weapon that looks to surpass Metal Gear, one with the threat of nuclear armageddon that only Big Boss and his army can stop in order to save the world once more.

 

Right off the bat, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is pretty much “Grand Theft Auto meets Tactical Espionage Operations”.  You can pretty much go anywhere and do anything on the map you’re in– a first of its kind for a Metal Gear game. This game is so huge that you’ll literally spend hours upon hours completing missions and customizing weapons and equipment in order to make Snake and his army a force to be reckoned with. The game encourages players to explore and play as they see fit, but also restricts them in such a way that you have to play smart to earn better rewards. Reputation and “Heroism” is decided based on the actions of Snake on the field, and procuring weapons, equipment, and officers is once again done through Fulton extraction OR the use of helicopter support. This game literally takes you on the grounds of Afghanistan and Africa and lets you experience the life of a mercenary and soldier… You need to think on your feet and decide the best course of action to complete a mission.

 

 

While it may sound difficult and overwhelming to do at first/, The Phantom Pain is actually a clear organizing entity thanks to its mission and chapter based structure. This is done with the use of the very handy iDroid mobile device – which acts as Snake’s organizer to give commands, take missions, and build stuff for him to use on the field. Much like Peace Walker, there are plenty of main missions and side missions you can play and earn better rankings through repeated gameplays. The benefit this time is that the game is open-world and you can do it all in one go – provided you have the tools and equipment to do so. If you need them immediately, you can use the iDroid to contact Mother Base and have a supply drop come in, or a chopper to help you get through enemy terrain and fire at enemy vehicles blocking your way. The possibilities are ENDLESS in this game, and the best part is that you can do whatever you want.

 

Because he no longer has his left arm, Snake gets by with a new “Bionic Arm” that  is upgradable as you progress in the game – allowing him to stun enemies, detect soldiers using a “Sonar Punch”, and even develop a “Rocket Punch” feature that screams 80’s popculture reference all over. You can also deploy in the field with a buddy – which is either D-Horse, DD the Dog, or Quiet the Sniper. Each have their own unique strengths and abilities that give Snake a tactical advantage on the field, especially when it comes to missions that require a form of stealth or attack that can’t be done by him alone. Building up your army and assigning the right soldiers properly is also important to keep Diamond Dogs afloat. They’re your bread and butter in making Big Boss and his missions effective, as well as dealing with enemies and getting the proper intel on them too.

 

So there’s plenty to say about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain that screams “Play this game and you won’t regret it” all throughout, but one thing that makes the game pretty unique is its ability to charm you to living the life of a convoluted soldier who is literally going against forces bent on world domination and beyond. All the 80’s references and nostalgia are finely tuned in this game, especially with the brilliantly mixed soundtrack that uses songs from that era and original pieces that you can collect and listen to as you please. Hideo Kojima literally built a masterpiece with this game, and if it’s his last one… Then he certainly built quite the “Mona Lisa” of an adventure that brings the saga full circle. — TJD, GMA News