Media Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain & Ground Zeroes

[pturtle]

David Hayter will be doing an our long MGS interview next week

 

[Rock83]

With a big announcement that he will return as Solid Snake in a NES remake

 

[GasparZizou]

Playing it right now, failed my 1st attempt to save Paz

The AI here is flat out the best AI on a videogame BY FAR.

 

[pturtle]

Playing it right now, failed my 1st attempt to save Paz

The AI here is flat out the best AI on a videogame BY FAR.

I'm working in getting the S Rank on hard with perks, it's rough.


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[GasparZizou]

I'm working in getting the S Rank on hard with perks, it's rough.

I'll get there.... Eventually

Controls are fantastic, they're so nuanced and smooth, I tried a couple CQC moves and there are various ways to dispatch enemies.

 

[pturtle]

Yea, the whole game runs smooth, only a few animations are a bit weird and that all comes from gunplay.


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[GasparZizou]

I haven't been doing a lot of gun play, I find it very intimidating to be discovered, so far I've only got one alert status and I managed to sneak away into a position where I could see how the guards coordinate, find cover and search for you, they mean business, I don't think I ever felt that afraid of an alert status on any previous MGS game.

 

[pturtle]

Yea it is pretty intimidating, knowing that a map full of soldiers and possibly a tank are coming for you if you get caught.


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[Solidus]

I've finally had a chance to play this game on a digital download, to see what all the fuss was about. So, first thing's first: Is this game really worth the $20 (or, has my opinion on the price changed at all)? For me, the answer to that is still a resounding "no" . But, I don't think I'm as adamant in my argument against the price as I was before, because for all things considered, Ground Zeroes does provide a fun game-play experience (albeit in a very small map that's coupled with a very, very short completion time).

My first play through with the "Ground Zeroes" mission took only one hour and twenty minutes. I got away with a C rank and triggered a bunch of alerts. At first, I struggled immensely against the enemy AI. Their peripheral vision seemed just as good as if they were staring at you point-blank in the face, and it resulted in an intensely frustrating experience, where I'd had to continuously restart from the previous check-point. I'd say that the completion of Ground Zeroes really depends on trial and error. But, surprisingly, I noticed that many of the enemy patrols are actually scripted. Jeeps would drive on roads at a certain time, and guards would follow a specific route in the patrols without deviating at all. So, in other words, with consecutive playthroughs of GZ, you'll notice patterns that you'd be able to utilize to your advantage.

I can't say that I'm a big fan of the new controls. In fact, Ground Zeroes has me missing the controls from MGS 4. The CQC set-up feels very awkward, where I now have to awkwardly move the right tumb-stick to select the interrogation command. In addition, you now have to hold down the R1 button to restrain an enemy, and tap on R1 if you wish to knock him out. But, if you don't tap on R1 fast enough, the game will register that you've released the enemy soldier from your grip. This happened to me a few times, and bastards ran and triggered alert statuses .

The aiming system is another oddity. As Ryan mentioned in his review, it's now nearly impossible to land a good head-shot at a distance. It does seem like KojiPro has incorporated a sort of "Magnus Effect" where bullets would veer off their trajectories at random. So, in order to land head-shots now, you have to sneak up dangerously close to enemies - more than any other MGS game that I've played before.

I've spent a few hours more on the side-missions, and it has become really obvious that Kojima has attempted to pad this game with extra content to compensate for the lack of a lengthy campaign. In addition, the side-missions are highly irrelevant to the storyline since Snake/Big Boss has never made frequent trips to Camp Omega, and the side-missions themselves, revolve around completing various tasks around the base. In terms of canonicity, the "Ground Zeroes" mission was the first and last time Big Boss would ever visit that base. So, if you're just interested in the main storyline, there's nothing substantial to be found in the side-quests.

There are some optional cassette tapes that you can gather to learn about Paz's and Choco's ordeal at Camp Omega. But, (at least for the ones I found), they really don't provide any sort of significant back story, aside from the sounds of torture, and the unzipping of pants, followed by rape.

I'd have to say that Kiefer's voice is what I had expected. I heard Jack Bauer's voice every time that Big Boss spoke. It's still extraordinarily strange hearing someone else voice Big Boss aside from David Hayter.

All in all, I'd give Ground Zeroes an 6/10. It's a game that feels very alien to MGS, but familiar enough, if you've spent time playing other Sandbox titles. It probably would have gotten at least 7 from me, if it weren't for the short length.

Edit: The lack of cardboard boxes, rations, and the "knock" feature are just unacceptable for a MGS game. I do hope that these things return for TPP.

 

[Henry Morgan*]

I haven't been doing a lot of gun play, I find it very intimidating to be discovered, so far I've only got one alert status and I managed to sneak away into a position where I could see how the guards coordinate, find cover and search for you, they mean business, I don't think I ever felt that afraid of an alert status on any previous MGS game.

Having fun huh?

Totally, I love to fight these marines

But the alert status is unfogiving it only gets worst if you don't hide for a while, I love how they don't repeat the same patters over and over again that made the older games easier.

I can't wait to play TPP on extreme that will be something else

 

[Solidus]

Any of you guys tried this on hard mode?

 

[Henry Morgan*]

pturtle is playing it on hard mode, and I finished every mission on hard. I haven't played the game since last weekend though

 

[Jameson Rook]

Thank you for taking the time to write typing you review, Solidus! It's well written, insightful and illustrates the exact same problems I have with the game.

My biggest gripe is indeed the Magnus effect, it was totally unnecessary for a video game. It we're talking about absolute realism here, then Big Boss would have collapsed from exhaustion within 30 minutes, give or take because he could literally sprint around the entire base without even a drop of sweat on him. I find it incredibly frustrating to land headshots and while I'm certainly getting better, I'm still struggling with the aiming controls.

Instead, why not restore the aiming from MGS4 (or just about any other third person shooter out there) while limiting the amount of ammo the player can carry to discourage players from playing it as a shooter. Look at Tomb Raider reboot for example, it had some of the best third person shooting controls and mechanics I've ever experienced in a game.

 

[Solidus]

Thank you for taking the time to write typing you review, Solidus! It's well written, insightful and illustrates the exact same problems I have with the game.

My biggest gripe is indeed the Magnus effect, it was totally unnecessary for a video game. It we're talking about absolute realism here, then Big Boss would have collapsed from exhaustion within 30 minutes, give or take because he could literally sprint around the entire base without even a drop of sweat on him. I find it incredibly frustrating to land headshots and while I'm certainly getting better, I'm still struggling with the aiming controls.

Instead, why not restore the aiming from MGS4 (or just about any other third person shooter out there) while limiting the amount of ammo the player can carry to discourage players from playing it as a shooter. Look at Tomb Raider reboot for example, it had some of the best third person shooting controls and mechanics I've ever experienced in a game.

No problem. I guess I'm just relieved that I was finally able to play this game and judge it for myself. In that regard, I don't regret spending the $19, but it certainly wasn't $19 well spent.

But, yeah, in terms of realism, there's way too much inconsistency in this game. Kojima took away rations, but now there's some kind of magical healing spray that cures Big Boss of his mortal wounds. Miller also warns Big Boss to watch out for hypothermia in the rain, but he doesn't even shiver or let out a sneeze. In retrospect, Solid Snake and Raiden would start sneezing in MGS 2 if you pressed them against cold surfaces . Big Boss also doesn't take fall damage, in comparison to MGS 3 where he could easily fracture his bones.

So much for a "realistic" MGS, huh? .

 

[Jameson Rook]

He could also hang on ledges indefinitely for some reason. And for all that crazy realistic textures, you'd think you'd see sweat patches under his armpits after a long sprint.

Anyway, I'm rambling here. Point is I hope the aiming system is revised, PLEASE!

 

[ronri]

I'm not even gonna lie. The controls felt easy as hell to work with. A bit of backrgound info regarding myself: I've never played MGS on any other console beyond the PlayStation ones, so this is the first time I ever ventured out to play it on the Xbox (all for the sake of Raiden/Snatchers DLC of course, if I want to play MGS1, I'll plug in my fully functional PSX thank you very much). And now this is from someone who hasn't even memorized the ******* the control pad of the Xbox (where's XYA....what were they again? no seriously) so I don't even have the excuse that I'm fairly seasoned in Xbox gaming.

Now seriously, I have not once looked at the manual to check the controls before playing this game, and there I was out and about with little to now problems whatsoever (barely even paying attention to Miller's calls since I actively played Codec calls on PW to make the background noise more interesting). Personally it just feels like a weird reinvention of the controls from PW, and given how I've been playing PW recently, I'm positive that they share the most similarities compared to other MGS games in terms of controls/intended mechanics. Now I haven't finished yet, I literally just mucked around and assumed I'd be dead in my first intended alert phase, and I'm just surprised to say it was even easier to hide in this one.

Now I'm not bragging mind you, more than anything I guess I'm expressing genuine..... surprise? I know some people had issues with it, but I honestly thought that the controls felt very smooth. Again, it feels like it's simply a streamlined version of PW's controls and while it's less inventory-heavy, it still works well and I definitely had no problem (sort of a lie, I forgot how the binoculars worked until I pressed every damn button on the controller). I didn't even know I could sprint and I was literally running and escaping capture from guards at normal running pace (you know, the classic "slow" MGS running).

Still have yet to finish it. I put it down after rescuing Chico, you know, when I actually took my run a little more seriously instead of messing around with the guards. So yeah, we'll see how it goes.

 

[Henry Morgan*]

What do you think of Jamais Vu? I played it just to get the Hidden achievement and thats it, I don't feel like replaying that one. But I liked all the other side missions.

For a few seconds I couldn't figure out how to roll, that was annoying... but thats the only time I had a "problem" with the controls

 

[Jameson Rook]

I'm not even gonna lie. The controls felt easy as hell to work with. A bit of backrgound info regarding myself: I've never played MGS on any other console beyond the PlayStation ones, so this is the first time I ever ventured out to play it on the Xbox (all for the sake of Raiden/Snatchers DLC of course, if I want to play MGS1, I'll plug in my fully functional PSX thank you very much). And now this is from someone who hasn't even memorized the ******* the control pad of the Xbox (where's XYA....what were they again? no seriously) so I don't even have the excuse that I'm fairly seasoned in Xbox gaming.

Now seriously, I have not once looked at the manual to check the controls before playing this game, and there I was out and about with little to now problems whatsoever (barely even paying attention to Miller's calls since I actively played Codec calls on PW to make the background noise more interesting). Personally it just feels like a weird reinvention of the controls from PW, and given how I've been playing PW recently, I'm positive that they share the most similarities compared to other MGS games in terms of controls/intended mechanics. Now I haven't finished yet, I literally just mucked around and assumed I'd be dead in my first intended alert phase, and I'm just surprised to say it was even easier to hide in this one.

Now I'm not bragging mind you, more than anything I guess I'm expressing genuine..... surprise? I know some people had issues with it, but I honestly thought that the controls felt very smooth. Again, it feels like it's simply a streamlined version of PW's controls and while it's less inventory-heavy, it still works well and I definitely had no problem (sort of a lie, I forgot how the binoculars worked until I pressed every damn button on the controller). I didn't even know I could sprint and I was literally running and escaping capture from guards at normal running pace (you know, the classic "slow" MGS running).

Still have yet to finish it (I put it down after rescuing Chico, you know I actually took my run a little more seriously), so we'll see how it goes.

It's not bragging, you had a pleasant experience with the controls and that's good for you. Have you played the Tomb Raider reboot and The Last of Us? The actions of Joel and Lara where they choked/stabbed/ran/sprint/punched people in the groin felt more satisfying and intuitive than the 5/6 hours I'm having with GZ unfortunately.

 

[Jesterhead]

I'm actually OK with the aiming and projectile dropoff. I think It's a good addition. I've gotten a few headshots with the tranq gun at 60+ meters, but it is indeed difficult to do. I haven't attempted much further, but I might give it a shot today!

 

[ronri]

It's not bragging, you had a pleasant experience with the controls and that's good for you. Have you played the Tomb Raider reboot and The Last of Us? The actions of Joel and Lara where they choked/stabbed/ran/sprint/punched people in the groin felt more satisfying and intuitive than the 5/6 hours I'm having with GZ unfortunately.

That's fair enough! And I recognize that's where we differ in opinion, especially since you mentioned The Last Of Us. I enjoyed it no doubt, but I honestly felt that The Last Of Us had clunky controls myself (not the melee, the melee feels like a revised version of Uncharted's controls) so I guess that's really where we differ in terms of experience.

For a few seconds I couldn't figure out how to roll, that was annoying... but thats the only time I had a "problem" with the controls

HAHAHAHA THIS! THIS is the only thing that confused me. I literally dropped the idea of rolling the moment that Snake kept crouching every damn time I pressed it. Unfortunately no, I haven't tried Jamais Vu yet. Like I said, I literally just put it in the Xbox to try it out for kicks to see how much the controls have changed, yet I ended up rescuing Chico in my "try-out".

Speaking of controls, the shooting. I didn't feel a difference....at all? I was doing headshots with the tranquilizer handgun in rainy weather like it was nothing. I'm not even talking about this in terms of doing it point-blank range, I'm talking about knocking out folks with headshots on the spotlight towers in long distances or anyone within a 30-50 meter distance (regarding the spotlight towers, that was mostly without even having "scanned" them in my binoculars because remember, I forgot how to use them haha!) Yeah, maybe it changes the trajectory (I didn't notice), but I adjusted to it so quickly that I ended up thinking that nothing's been changed until someone mentioned it here.