Just wanted to chime in and say how much I've been enjoying MGSV lately. I got back into it after replaying Ground Zeroes, which led to me reinstalling The Phantom Pain.
I played TPP religiously last September — even enjoyed its loose story structure and slice-of-life pacing, and gleaned a lot of meaning from its tale — but in the months that followed, the Internet knocked it down a peg or two in my mind. Revisiting it now, however, it really is an amazing game.
It simply feels fantastic. Not just the movement and controls, which I swear by as having the best "game feel" of any realistic-looking third-person game, but also the atmosphere — from the sweeping vistas of Afghanistan and Africa, to the contemplative mood of Mother Base and the AAC. The lighting and materials make each landscape feel so concrete, evocative and real.
And then the connection between my character and the landscape is anchored by the power and precision of his movement. It just feels good to navigate these environments — briskly crouch-walking while reloading a tranq pistol, or segueing from a sprint to a dive to a crawl, or lunging out to grab someone and drag them behind cover, or carrying and throwing bodies like a sack of potatoes. The satisfying *POP* when you line up the perfect headshot in reflex mode, or the hiss of a sleep grenade lobbed overhead, and guards collapsing to the ground in a heap of ZZZs... It's all so good!
I find myself perusing the side ops list and taking every "prisoner extraction" or "extract the highly skilled soldier" mission I can find. They seem to renew themselves, which is good, since I don't think I'll ever tire of them.
Usually I'm nonlethal, but occasionally I'll go Rambo on their asses. The open-world format is perfect for a stealth game like this. Some criticized MGSV for its lack of GTA-style random events, but I feel this design choice is actually perfect for a game like this where planning the right approach is key. Being able to slip in and out of each base to reset your strategy makes MGSV much more enjoyable than past stealth titles. I just love the whole process of staking out a location, scouting troops from afar, plotting the right approach and then slowly working your way toward the target.
Part of that enjoyment comes from the various systems at play. There are many variables that determine whether you'll be spotted — stance, cover, camouflage, proximity, pacing, light, shadow — and you can control these variables in a variety of ways, by misdirecting enemies with decoys, remote bombs and other distractions, or keeping them in the dark by disrupting their communications chain... or more literally, by systematically shooting out lights from afar with a silenced rifle. I still feel like I've barely scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exploiting the enemy's AI, using my arsenal of gizmos and gadgets (and vehicles, buddies and support services) to manipulate all of the systems at play. I'm simply astounded by the attention to detail in this game... Detail that is rigorously gameplay-driven.
So yeah — I've been thoroughly enjoying my return to MGSV.
BONUS QUESTION: What are your favorite weapons to use? There are simply so many of them! I'm trying to develop everything, but I don't know what to actually use. MGSV nails the feeling of firearms and provides a lot of variety on that front. It's a bit overwhelming, so I'm open to recommendations.
I played TPP religiously last September — even enjoyed its loose story structure and slice-of-life pacing, and gleaned a lot of meaning from its tale — but in the months that followed, the Internet knocked it down a peg or two in my mind. Revisiting it now, however, it really is an amazing game.
It simply feels fantastic. Not just the movement and controls, which I swear by as having the best "game feel" of any realistic-looking third-person game, but also the atmosphere — from the sweeping vistas of Afghanistan and Africa, to the contemplative mood of Mother Base and the AAC. The lighting and materials make each landscape feel so concrete, evocative and real.
And then the connection between my character and the landscape is anchored by the power and precision of his movement. It just feels good to navigate these environments — briskly crouch-walking while reloading a tranq pistol, or segueing from a sprint to a dive to a crawl, or lunging out to grab someone and drag them behind cover, or carrying and throwing bodies like a sack of potatoes. The satisfying *POP* when you line up the perfect headshot in reflex mode, or the hiss of a sleep grenade lobbed overhead, and guards collapsing to the ground in a heap of ZZZs... It's all so good!
I find myself perusing the side ops list and taking every "prisoner extraction" or "extract the highly skilled soldier" mission I can find. They seem to renew themselves, which is good, since I don't think I'll ever tire of them.
Usually I'm nonlethal, but occasionally I'll go Rambo on their asses. The open-world format is perfect for a stealth game like this. Some criticized MGSV for its lack of GTA-style random events, but I feel this design choice is actually perfect for a game like this where planning the right approach is key. Being able to slip in and out of each base to reset your strategy makes MGSV much more enjoyable than past stealth titles. I just love the whole process of staking out a location, scouting troops from afar, plotting the right approach and then slowly working your way toward the target.
Part of that enjoyment comes from the various systems at play. There are many variables that determine whether you'll be spotted — stance, cover, camouflage, proximity, pacing, light, shadow — and you can control these variables in a variety of ways, by misdirecting enemies with decoys, remote bombs and other distractions, or keeping them in the dark by disrupting their communications chain... or more literally, by systematically shooting out lights from afar with a silenced rifle. I still feel like I've barely scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exploiting the enemy's AI, using my arsenal of gizmos and gadgets (and vehicles, buddies and support services) to manipulate all of the systems at play. I'm simply astounded by the attention to detail in this game... Detail that is rigorously gameplay-driven.
So yeah — I've been thoroughly enjoying my return to MGSV.
BONUS QUESTION: What are your favorite weapons to use? There are simply so many of them! I'm trying to develop everything, but I don't know what to actually use. MGSV nails the feeling of firearms and provides a lot of variety on that front. It's a bit overwhelming, so I'm open to recommendations.
