Support NeoGAF

[Extollere]

Holy shit I just started this game for the first time (it's also my first serious attempt at a mgs game, I've spoiled most the lore so I'm not totally lost)

I really like how it's a slice of life anime of metal gear weirdness. Also the choice to tell a lot of the story with great audiotapes is fucking rad IMO, the long cutscenes are a common complaint I see hear with these games, and I guess they could throw in some more long scenes? But I feel like because I'm spending so much time playing the game and listening to these in-depth expository conversations that when the game decides to show me skull face owning a metal gear for the first time in that long-ass scene it's rad as hell and has a ton of impact.

Gameplay wise I've dumped sixty hours into this game since I started it last week and I haven't even got close to getting tired of it. So fucking fun (I'm also excited as hell for survive, even if it's silly the gameplay looks on point so I'm more than in)

Also the soundtrack is a bunch of my legitimate favorite songs, so holy shit I love infiltrating an enemy base and hearing these songs from a different room.

I'm actually way more excited to play the rest of the series after this game, I feel like I'll know ocelot really well as a guy and I feel like I'll have spent a lot of time in a more reserved metal gear game before some of the ridiculous shit like 1/2/3 and revengeance ("not canon" but it is to me, since it makes zero difference)

I'm probably about where you're at, in progress with this game (think I'm on mission 17 or something), but based off of what I've seen so far Ocelot is a totally different character from previous games. He's basically Yosemite Sam in the old games, so to see him acting like he has a shred of sanity here (between MGS3 and MGS1 chronologically) is definitely weird.

Also, it must be weird to go from MGSV to previous entries. The gameplay is totally different and more constrained. Still great games and totally worth it for the story and experience though.

 

[Adam_Vania]

I have seen there is a Skulls mission running at the moment, I will have a look at it tomorrow, quick question, how do you access these 'events'?

go to FOB Missions and RT tab over to select "FOB Events". that's the one you want.

the events seem to be updated weekly or at least whenever there's a maintenance period and there's just a couple of variations. one is the skulls event, where skulls invade a foggy FOB, and you either take them out, or you can stealth past them. the other FOB events are a little more standard: in New World Order you are infiltrating a (typically low-level) base. in Bound Dragons you are infiltrating a base with prisoners for you to find and rescue. thoe are my favorites cos usually the enemy is really well armored so you kind of have to try to be sneakier - ie ur gonna run out of your silenced stun shotgun w these guys way faster.

have fun! don't be afraid to fail and/or try new approaches.

 

[Neiteio]

I'm probably about where you're at, in progress with this game (think I'm on mission 17 or something), but based off of what I've seen so far Ocelot is a totally different character from previous games. He's basically Yosemite Sam in the old games, so to see him acting like he has a shred of sanity here (between MGS3 and MGS1 chronologically) is definitely weird.

Also, it must be weird to go from MGSV to previous entries. The gameplay is totally different and more constrained. Still great games and totally worth it for the story and experience though.

Ocelot was a double agent (or triple agent, depending on how you look at it) in MGS3, so his over-the-top behavior was all an act. He's also a double agent (or triple agent — again, depending on how you look at it!) in MGS1, so his behavior there was an act, as well.

And then in MGS2 and MGS4, where he pretends to be possessed by the will of Liquid's hand, among other things, it was all a ploy (via self-hypnosis, among other shenanigans) to trick the Patriot AIs into sending Old Snake to destroy themselves.

MGSV is the only game in the series where Ocelot... is himself. And I appreciate this rare glimpse into his character. I mean, he's a genius actor who tricks so many people with his unpredictable personas. In MGSV, we get to see him for the cool, calculating, deeply intelligent mastermind he is. At pretty much every turn, he persuades Venom over Kaz.

Some elements are still familiar, though. Like the penchant for torture as a tool of interrogation (something he says he doesn't enjoy, although I'm not fully convinced). He also still enjoys showing off with his gun and talking with his hands.

 

[LoveCake]

go to FOB Missions and RT tab over to select "FOB Events". that's the one you want.

the events seem to be updated weekly or at least whenever there's a maintenance period and there's just a couple of variations. one is the skulls event, where skulls invade a foggy FOB, and you either take them out, or you can stealth past them. the other FOB events are a little more standard: in New World Order you are infiltrating a (typically low-level) base. in Bound Dragons you are infiltrating a base with prisoners for you to find and rescue. thoe are my favorites cos usually the enemy is really well armored so you kind of have to try to be sneakier - ie ur gonna run out of your silenced stun shotgun w these guys way faster.

have fun! don't be afraid to fail and/or try new approaches.

Been trying this event for a hour now, watch the three videos on YouTube trying to work out how to do it, using my best weapons I am getting my ass kicked, I have lost a load of GMP it seems as well going to try and do the event, the Skulls in the videos go down easy mine do not.

I managed to get enough free coins and got another FOB, I don't have enough fuel to build anything to even start the base, I have about 53000 unprocessed fuel but only about 5000 processed and my mother base processing is level 3 out of 4 but it's taking ages to process anything, I have had a go at the resource farming missions but there are no containers there, the only time there are any is on mission 12 but they have been nurfed so only give x75 each container on the next go, wish I hadn't bothered getting the second FOB now, or updated my game for the events as I have no way of beating them, I don't see how people with lower weapons can take out the skulls in under 3mins when I just keep getting killed every single time.

 

[Adam_Vania]

Been trying this event for a hour now, watch the three videos on YouTube trying to work out how to do it, using my best weapons I am getting my ass kicked, I have lost a load of GMP it seems as well going to try and do the event, the Skulls in the videos go down easy mine do not.

I managed to get enough free coins and got another FOB, I don't have enough fuel to build anything to even start the base, I have about 53000 unprocessed fuel but only about 5000 processed and my mother base processing is level 3 out of 4 but it's taking ages to process anything, I have had a go at the resource farming missions but there are no containers there, the only time there are any is on mission 12 but they have been nurfed so only give x75 each container on the next go, wish I hadn't bothered getting the second FOB now, or updated my game for the events as I have no way of beating them, I don't see how people with lower weapons can take out the skulls in under 3mins when I just keep getting killed every single time.

the skulls one is tough, maybe the toughest one. i have high level weapons and i still have trouble. if you get frustrated, don't worry, the skulls one will be rotated out w an easier one in a week or so.

if you do want to kill them imo definitely use the 6-at-once homing rocket launcher. two blasts of that tends to do the job. that paired w the Brennan anti-material rifle or a high level grenade launcher should work. of course run and refill your health whenever low.

a good strategy is to find where the helipad is on the base and get there before the skulls even show up, laying a bunch of C4 on the ground in front of it. when the skulls appear you can get their attention from that spot, maybe using decoys, or throwing magazines, to get them to come into your trap. usually i end up taking out only 1 or 2 at most w this method but hey that's half of them gone in the first minutes of the battle.

 

[Adam_Vania]

I managed to get enough free coins and got another FOB, I don't have enough fuel to build anything to even start the base, I have about 53000 unprocessed fuel but only about 5000 processed and my mother base processing is level 3 out of 4 but it's taking ages to process anything, I have had a go at the resource farming missions but there are no containers there

best way to get containers is FOB infiltration on Base Development platform. this tends to be where most materials are stored on a given FOB. remember you keep whatever you steal, so if you manage to jack a dozen containers and get killed, it was not for nothing.

 

[LoveCake]

best way to get containers is FOB infiltration on Base Development platform. this tends to be where most materials are stored on a given FOB. remember you keep whatever you steal, so if you manage to jack a dozen containers and get killed, it was not for nothing.

I'm not going to go about robbing other players though.

 

[Kindekuma]

I'm not going to go about robbing other players though.

But if you git gud and don't get caught or kill anyone, then there's no way for the other player to retaliate against you!

 

[endlessflood]

But if you git gud and don't get caught or kill anyone, then there's no way for the other player to retaliate against you!

He's looking at it from the side of altruism, not reprisal. I feel the same way.

 

[Gsnap]

Just started playing this again a few days ago. It's just so.... fun. It has everything I could want from a game. Even the mother base stuff is fun when you stop worrying about it and let it run its course. Going all out is fun, limiting yourself is fun, FOB invasions are fun, seeing the numbers go up and up on your base building and security is fun, running around and doing nothing is fun.

It's got all the benefits of pure gameplay games and bar-filling games in one package. I won't lie, sometimes it's enjoyable to get a little addicted to the loot and level progression of such games, but a lot of games take it too far in that they don't provide substance beyond that. But this game does. Just playing it with no frills is still a joy, so once you get burned out on the base-building you just gear up with whatever you've got and go for S ranks, side objectives, or pure craziness.

It's a gift that keeps on giving.

 

[Jabba]

This made me get a new ps3 and MGS Legacy HD Collection. Played MGS3 great story but the archaic controls brings it down a bit. I highly regard it.

I'm imagining what MGSV would have been, greatly expanding on Peacewalkers mechanics structure as in V, without the microtransactions. I believe MGSV would have been top 3 of all time games for many. I really think this game is that good at it's core structurally.

I really think the modern day publishing environment hurt the game the most, along with the weird structure of the story. Despite this, they've made a fantastic game. Also because of MGSV, I'll keep an eye on MGSurvive as, now I'm interested in the MGS universe itself

 

[UncleMeat]

Just started playing this again a few days ago. It's just so.... fun. It has everything I could want from a game. Even the mother base stuff is fun when you stop worrying about it and let it run its course. Going all out is fun, limiting yourself is fun, FOB invasions are fun, seeing the numbers go up and up on your base building and security is fun, running around and doing nothing is fun.

It's got all the benefits of pure gameplay games and bar-filling games in one package. I won't lie, sometimes it's enjoyable to get a little addicted to the loot and level progression of such games, but a lot of games take it too far in that they don't provide substance beyond that. But this game does. Just playing it with no frills is still a joy, so once you get burned out on the base-building you just gear up with whatever you've got and go for S ranks, side objectives, or pure craziness.

It's a gift that keeps on giving.

Well said. I played the hell out of it when it came out but I had mixed feelings about the base building and the disappointment of chapter 2 probably soured my feelings some.

Going back almost exactly a year later and replaying all the missions it really hit me what a masterpiece the game is, albeit a flawed masterpiece. The mother base, fob, and open world aspects all started to click with me as well and I enjoy them immensely.

 

[Gsnap]

Well said. I played the hell out of it when it came out but I had mixed feelings about the base building and the disappointment of chapter 2 probably soured my feelings some.

Going back almost exactly a year later and replaying all the missions it really hit me what a masterpiece the game is, albeit a flawed masterpiece. The mother base, fob, and open world aspects all started to click with me as well and I enjoy it immensely.

Yeah. I can understand why a lot of people would end up disappointed with parts of it. The pacing is definitely odd, I can see how long time fans wouldn't enjoy the way the story plays out, and sometimes it is hard to separate yourself from the "grind". But I think, if approached with an open mind, all the parts fit together in a pretty enjoyable way. Even if a lot of people disagree, the solid backbone of the top-tier 3rd person stealth/action gameplay is always there, and you can't take that away from it.

 

[ActWan]

When I first played this game, I only played stealth. If I was caught, restart checkpoint.
Now I tried to play it without doing that, and holy shit...THIS is where the gameplay TRULY shines. It's amazing how many things can happen in every mission and guard post, the possibilities are insane. The setpieces you get with that stuff are so crazy and most of all, ORGANIC. It's just amazing what they achieved here.

 

[Adam_Vania]

I'm not going to go about robbing other players though.

you can play however you want.

but i never really had a problem with "robbing other players". you are an international warlord who spends all game robbing other players - it just happens they are NPCs. but they are other PFs, other private forces, just like the other players you invade in FOB.

when you start the game you have nothing -- all of "your stuff" (outside of some volunteers) is actually stolen. anything you fear might be taken from you in an FOB invasion, you likely took from somewhere else in the first place.

 

[B-Genius]

Just started playing this again a few days ago. It's just so.... fun. It has everything I could want from a game. Even the mother base stuff is fun when you stop worrying about it and let it run its course. Going all out is fun, limiting yourself is fun, FOB invasions are fun, seeing the numbers go up and up on your base building and security is fun, running around and doing nothing is fun.

It's got all the benefits of pure gameplay games and bar-filling games in one package. I won't lie, sometimes it's enjoyable to get a little addicted to the loot and level progression of such games, but a lot of games take it too far in that they don't provide substance beyond that. But this game does. Just playing it with no frills is still a joy, so once you get burned out on the base-building you just gear up with whatever you've got and go for S ranks, side objectives, or pure craziness.

It's a gift that keeps on giving.

Absolutely. I was getting really bogged down in the mission where you save Emmerich - kept having to retry from the checkpoint just outside the base - until I just said screw it and called in an entirely new set of equipment and took a crazy "all-in" approach.

Cause havoc by bombing the bridge guarded by the Walkers, and setting off C4s all over the place to distract guards, and still managed to sneak in unseen. Jogged my way out with the Walker (as I couldn't figure out how to make it "dash") and taking down the Gear with the chopper's minigun was pure satisfaction.

Now after some calming base management I can't wait to get back into the action.

 

[Neiteio]

Absolutely. I was getting really bogged down in the mission where you save Emmerich - kept having to retry from the checkpoint just outside the base - until I just said screw it and called in an entirely new set of equipment and took a crazy "all-in" approach.

Cause havoc by bombing the bridge guarded by the Walkers, and setting off C4s all over the place to distract guards, and still managed to sneak in unseen. Jogged my way out with the Walker (as I couldn't figure out how to make it "dash") and taking down the Gear with the chopper's minigun was pure satisfaction.

Now after some calming base management I can't wait to get back into the action.

AHHH

Reading all this makes me want to resume playing MGSV.

But I have to finish MGS2 (which I'm also enjoying). And I just started the BioShock Collection. And looks like the Ico & SotC Collection just arrived. And I still need to get around to Chrono Trigger DS.

Videogames, man! <3

 

[Xiraiya]

Some of the gameplay features I saw in survive made me wish they were things they would put back into MGSV, since they feel like they originally were going to be there, like I want that crafting table on Motherbase to fully customize my FOB defense systems like it was initially advertised.

\And then in MGS2 and MGS4, where he pretends to be possessed by the will of Liquid's hand, among other things, it was all a ploy (via self-hypnosis, among other shenanigans) to trick the Patriot AIs into sending Old Snake to destroy themselves.

No one will ever convince me that it was a ploy in MGS2, his hair changed length in real time and his arm and whatnot all totally changed in real time on the spot, he was literally being possessed.

It was only a ploy in 4 because by then his arm was clearly cybernetic and he had long since replaced Liquid's arm, but you didn't get to see that it was cybernetic until the fight, I still to this day don't know why all that confused people and why they assumed it was a retcon or a plothole, I believe they even say he got rid of the arm because he couldn't control it, which is what was going on in 2, so unless I'm forgetting something, they give you enough to naturally be like "Oh he removed Liquid's arm and went under self hypnosis instead at some point between 2 and 4, I get it" Or at least that's what my train of thought was when first playing MGS4.

 

[Neiteio]

Some of the gameplay features I saw in survive made me feel like they were things that were suppose to be in MGSV originally, like I want that crafting table on Motherbase to fully customize my FOB defense systems like it was initially advertised.




No one will ever convince me that it was a ploy in MGS2, his hair changed length in real time and his arm and whatnot all totally changed in real time on the spot, he was literally being possessed.

It was only a ploy in 4 because by then his arm was clearly cybernetic and he had long since replaced Liquid's arm, but you didn't get to see that it was cybernetic until the fight, I still to this day don't know why all that confused people and why they assumed it was a retcon or a plothole, I believe they even say he got rid of the arm because he couldn't control it, which is what was going on in 2, so unless I'm forgetting something, they give you enough to naturally be like "Oh he removed Liquid's arm and went under self hypnosis instead at some point between 2 and 4, I get it"

I'll have to check later, but I was just reading the MGSV Piggyback guide the other day (which is approved by Kojima himself), and in the story recap for the entire series, it says that it was a ploy even in MGS2.

 

[Xiraiya]

I'll have to check later, but I was just reading the MGSV Piggyback guide the other day (which is approved by Kojima himself), and in the story recap for the entire series, it says that it was a ploy even in MGS2.

Oh it's in the recap for the series? I don't think I ever read the MGS4 Database stuff.
That's a real damn shame because there is literally no reason for that to be true, there was enough information from playing the game for you to understand it was Liquid in 2 and then Hypnosis in 4.

 

[luka]

I'll have to check later, but I was just reading the MGSV Piggyback guide the other day (which is approved by Kojima himself), and in the story recap for the entire series, it says that it was a ploy even in MGS2.

it wasn't a ploy, mgs2 was written with it as straight up possession. kojima's been on record saying he never thought about the narrative beyond the game he's currently writing, and is fully aware that he doesn't even get all the facts straight when referencing things from previous games. whatever story they ended up deciding on when coming up with the official timeline a decade after mgs2 was written doesn't change the original intent.

mgs4 made me realize it's best not to think about the continuity too much and take each game at face value without worrying about the tenuous context added by any others, letting each game's themes and ideas stand on their own without all that extra baggage. basically, for me, what happens in mgs4 stays in mgs4: if you're playing mgs4, the 'possession' was a ploy. if you're playing mgs2, it's real.

 

[Neiteio]

it wasn't a ploy, mgs2 was written with it as straight up possession. kojima's been on record saying he never thought about the narrative beyond the game he's currently writing, and is fully aware that he doesn't even get all the facts straight when referencing things from previous games. whatever story they ended up deciding on when coming up with the official timeline a decade after mgs2 was written doesn't change the original intent.

mgs4 made me realize it's best not to think about the continuity too much and take each game at face value without worrying about the tenuous context added by any others, letting each game's themes and ideas stand on their own without all that extra baggage. basically, for me, what happens in mgs4 stays in mgs4: if you're playing mgs4, the 'possession' was a ploy. if you're playing mgs2, it's real.

Oh, I agree that the original intent was literal possession, but best as I can tell the official retcon since then has been "It was a ploy even in MGS2."

 

[luka]

Oh, I agree that the original intent was literal possession, but best as I can tell the official retcon since then has been "It was a ploy even in MGS2."

ah yeah, i just read the post he was referencing. i personally don't really like the idea of canon that relies on external sources to cover points that aren't touched on in the games, so the 'he was possessed, then he put on a new arm and hypnotized himself!' explanation was always particularly egregious to me. either way it renders mgs2 pretty nonsensical in the context of 4, but as i said i feel its best to look at each game's narrative without worrying about the others too much.

 

[Cartho]

While the story may not have been as engrossing to me as some of the others (MGS3 4 lyfe), and the skulls missions kinda irritated me after the initial adrenaline rush shock of the first one, the gameplay in MGSV might be the best stealth gameplay ever made.

The sheer diversity of tools and approaches available, combined with superb, fluid controls just made it a joy to play. It never felt like you were forced to play the way the designers want - like you do in Assassin's Creed. It just felt like each mission was a proper sandbox, with an enormous variety of tools to play with. You get an amazing sense of that really early, with a mission to kill / capture a high ranking spec ops commander. I got to a hillside overlooking the camp, was scoping it out and saw him outside through my binocs - instead of sneaking in, I just took out my rifle and popped him. The soldiers in the camp then started yelling SNIPER, through themselves to the floor, called in mortar fire on my position but by that time i'd hightailed it outta there.

I assumed at first that it wouldn't even work, I was so used to games being like "NOPE, you do it OUR WAY!"

Awesome, awesome game.

 

[Neiteio]

The sheer diversity of tools and approaches available, combined with superb, fluid controls just made it a joy to play. It never felt like you were forced to play the way the designers want - like you do in Assassin's Creed. It just felt like each mission was a proper sandbox, with an enormous variety of tools to play with. You get an amazing sense of that really early, with a mission to kill / capture a high ranking spec ops commander. I got to a hillside overlooking the camp, was scoping it out and saw him outside through my binocs - instead of sneaking in, I just took out my rifle and popped him. The soldiers in the camp then started yelling SNIPER, through themselves to the floor, called in mortar fire on my position but by that time i'd hightailed it outta there.

I assumed at first that it wouldn't even work, I was so used to games being like "NOPE, you do it OUR WAY!"

Awesome, awesome game.

Yep, moments like this are incredible. MGSV produces some of the best moments around &#8212; action movie moments, spy thriller moments, war movie moments. You can replay the same mission 10 times and have 10 different experiences, all of them amazing. I've completed Mission 13 ("Pitch Dark") like 20 times, and it continues to surprise me.

 

[chronic_archaic]

So I decided to buy the Xbox One version and beat the game again after already playing 100+ hours on 360...

It's gonna be great.

 

[Neiteio]

So I decided to buy the Xbox One version and beat the game again after already playing 100+ hours on 360...

It's gonna be great.

Nice! I only played the PS4 version, but it's so polished. 1080p 60fps... Looks gorgeous! And I never encountered a single glitch or performance hiccup in 200+ hours of playing.

Xbox One version should be similarly good. Fox Engine is insane. I hope someone makes more games with it!

 

[Adam_Vania]

i just started using Rocket Punch for FOB. holy moly. this is a game changer.

Rocket Punch is so OP. it is silent, and invisible, to enemies, meaning you can fly all around just scouting if you want.

usually it stuns them in one hit, and you can keep using it, meaning if there are a bunch of enemies in a row, you can just KO one after the other!

its funny, the Nikita Missile part of MGS was so clumsy i always hated playing it but Rocket Punch is that same concept, just done really, really, really fucking well, and i love it!

 

[Adam_Vania]

i was listening to David Bowie's "Lodger" today and found a neat little Easter Egg in a song called "Move On". the lyrics:

Cyprus is my island
When the going's rough
I would love to find you
Somewhere in a place like that

in MGSV the island of Cyprus is where Snake was kept during his coma, ie. "when the going's rough". i wonder if this was an intentional reference, considering how much Bowie is in the MGS series....

 

[whoszed]

Silenced tranq Riot SMG and a silenced tranq sniper rifle is pretty much all you need. Oh and smoke grenades.

 

[Adam_Vania]

saw this cool base skin i'd never seen before. wood paneling!