Games don't get much bigger than Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. This is a game that brings an eruption of discussion every time new media or information is released, and for good reason. It's a game that has been designed with care by one of the industry's greatest game creators, and it shows from its gameplay to its presentation.
There are a multitude of reasons that you should play Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain no matter how familiar you are with the Metal Gear universe. Below we'll go over why it's a game you don't want to miss.
10 Reasons You Need to Play Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
-
Its story is shrouded in intriguing mystery
The Phantom Pain is by far the most mysterious Metal Gear game to-date, and that's saying a lot. Although more than an hour of gameplay has been shown to this point, very little has been said about its story. Set during an important yet not well understood period of the timeline, it will bridge the major events of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010) and the first Metal Gear (1987) together, answering questions that fans of the franchise have been asking for more than a decade.
rn
rnDue to its mysterious nature, there's been a tremendous amount of speculation since The Phantom Pain was revealed. Among the thousands of posts across gaming forums and social media are discussions about whether the hospital shown in the reveal is a mere figment of a coma-borne imagination, if Big Boss is Gray Fox, if Quiet is Chico, who Ishmael and Skullface are, and whether or not David Hayter will make a surprise appearances. It's all bewildering at this point, and finding out the truth behind these story elements will be an experience in and of itself. -
A remarkable attention to detail
Blood that only washes away with rain, using horse poop to make an enemy Jeep lose control on the road, and a pet dog leaping onto enemies with a knife in his mouth to slit their throat. These are just three of countless examples of how The Phantom Pain is rich with the little things that continually surprise you.
rn
rnBack when Metal Gear Solid 2 came out it was similarly impressive for its time. It was one of the first games where you could shoot objects in the environment and watch them react realistically, or play around with different surface types. Some players would spend hours shooting fruit and vegetables just for the sake of it. The Phantom Pain is taking this to a whole new level. -
Starring Big Boss played by Kiefer Sutherland
You'll have trouble finding a protagonist cooler than Big Boss. This is a man who can survive just about any situation, even with a single eye. He can live on a diet on snakes and birds, all after surviving a fall of over 200 feet into a river below. He's saved the world from imminent nuclear war, and defeated the greatest soldier that ever lived (The Boss) with his own bare hands. He's such a beast that he would be cloned multiple times to preserve his awesomeness for future generations.
rn
rnIn The Phantom Pain Big Boss is animated and voiced by star talent Kiefer Sutherland. This could be the best performance ever seen from one of gaming's most iconic characters. -
A difficulty for everyone
Metal Gear has always been great at presenting various difficulty levels for players of different walks of life, and The Phantom Pain will be the best yet.
rn
rn If you're new to the franchise, playing on Easy will make enemies less inclined to detect and hunt you down when you make a mistake. You can also turn on the Reflex Time that debuted in Ground Zeroes, which provides you with a moment of slowed time to incapacitate a foe before the reinforcement is called. If you're a Metal Gear veteran, then the hard difficulty will ensure that you have to be careful how you move, and preserve ammunition. Ultimately, you can take it easy or push for a grueling performance, it's up to you. -
Its gameplay is already proven
Those who have played Ground Zeroes were treated to the best Metal Gear gameplay mechanics to-date. The game outperformed its predecessors with smoother action when walking, crouching, or crawling, as well as precise shooting controls. This proven gameplay was a demonstration of the new Fox Engine that The Phantom Pain is built on. -
It\'s Hideo Kojima\'s final Metal Gear
The creator himself, Hideo Kojima, had a bit off a falling out with Konami. It is extremely unlikely that he will ever work with the company again, and this time around he is serious when he says that this is his final Metal Gear.
rn
rnWhat's particularly interesting about Konami letting go of Hideo Kojima is that it was based on his attraction to perfection. Konami wanted a quicker development cycle, while Kojima wanted to make the absolute best game he could. These incompatible goals led to one of the most controversial fallouts in gaming as The Phantom Pain neared the end of its multi-year creation. So, you know when you play The Phantom Pain that you got the very best of one of the gaming industry's masterminds. -
Tell Konami that it\'s made a mistake
Konami's growing disinterest in funding large budget games has been a major controversy over the past year. A company once renowned for its blockbuster titles went from a showcase of Metal Gear and Silent Hills that could stand against nearly any other publisher on the planet to kicking out Kojima, scrapping Silent Hills, and focusing on mobile gaming.
rn
rnBy purchasing The Phantom Pain you demonstrate to Konami that this is the sort of product you want, and that its investment is worth it not only financially, but to make a positive impact on the gaming climate. -
Unique multiplayer isn\'t common these days
The Phantom Pain's single-player could stand on its own two feet, but the game will come packaged with two online multiplayer modes for good measure. rn rnSimilar to Metal Gear Solid 4's popular online element, it'll contain a tactical mode that offers players who enjoy teamwork-oriented play a way to compete for victory and upgrades. It will be backed by a unique Forward Operating Bases that will tie the single-player's base building together with online competitive play. In other words, you'll have plenty of content to invest time into. -
Metal Gear goes open-world
The Phantom Pain is set in a huge open-world Afghanistan. It is by far the biggest Metal Gear world in history, and more than 200 times what was demonstrated in Ground Zeroes. In this world you will be given freedom to explore and choose what to do at any given time. Given that Metal Gear has a long history of relatively linear level design, this is a monumental evolution that has required more than four years of strenuous labor to deliver. -
PC gamers are being treated as equals
For once PC gamers won't be treated as second rate citizens with this multiplatform title. The Phantom Pain's Fox Engine had a strong showing on the PC version of Ground Zeroes, and that will continue into the major launch. Made better, the PC version will support unique setting levels that will allow for draw distance and texture detail that current-generation consoles can't match. If you aren't into PC gaming, then you can play it on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, or Xbox 360. Nobody is disqualified from playing this game.
