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[Kindekuma]

One year ago today marks the anniversary of The Phantom Pain releasing on PS3, PS4, XB360, XBO and PC. The trailers, the hype, the conspiracy theories, and review buzz made the wait unbearable after the first announcement of TPP back in the VGAs of 2012.

First let’s take a brief look at the launch history:

-Simultaneous worldwide release for all platforms on Day 1.
-Ground Zeroes save bonuses were immediately available, giving players a Golden Robotic Arm, Snake’s Sneaking Suit from Ground Zeroes, and several special Mother Base staff.
-FOB functions went live, giving players a free FOB to start off with. Additional FOBs could be purchased for Mother Base coins (earned either by getting daily rewards or by micro transactions). Up to 4 FOBs have been allowed for players to maintain.
-MGO3 was delayed and eventually released on October 6th for consoles and January 19th for PC players.
-Additional cosmetic DLC was released for single player and MGO3, along with various MGO3 expansions with new maps, and the ability to play as Quiet.
-FOB events launched soon after launch, giving players challenges in the FOB meta-game to earn rewards such as higher ranked staff, weapons, camos, and cosmetic changes such as gun/base colors, and emblems.
-METAL GEAR SOLID V: DEFINITIVE EXPERIENCE was announced, a bundle containing both Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain in one disc, with all included DLC. Launches Oct 11th (NA), Oct 13th (EU), and Nov. 10th (JP). Available only on PS4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam).

Other tidbits:

-TPP received universal acclaim, earning various 10/10 awards from varying video game reviewer outlets (such as GameSpot and IGN). It currently holds over a 90% rating on Metacritic. MGSV also walked away with various E3, BTVA, VGA, and DICE awards.
-Konami officially stated there are no plans to complete Mission 51 as it was a scrapped concept mid-development, and was not meant to serve as an ending to the game. Konami also hinted that the elusive Chapter 3 will only begin when players reach the Nuclear Disarmament event.
-MGSV reportedly made $179 million USD in the first 24 hours of its global release. (The game had a ~$80 million budget).
-The PC port was originally slated to release on September 15th, but was pushed ahead two weeks earlier to launch alongside consoles.
-A few months after launch, Konami pushed out a patch to

Spoiler

bring back Quiet after Mission 45

.

So GAF, let’s talk MGSV

Spoiler

as civil as possible

. Personally, after 290 hours I’m still playing the game almost daily. I was addicted to Peace Walker’s gameplay and base building mechanics, and this game built off of it. The core gameplay is so addicting and polished it’s hard to put down. Combine that with PC mods like Infinite Heaven, and there lies even more things to take on. I kept my expectations realistic about the story, amazing trailers aside I knew that Kojima only had so much room story canon wise to work with

Spoiler

in other words I wasn't disappointed by what story there was

. The one thing I absolutely hated about this game, was collecting animals for 100%. Otherwise my favorite thing about MGSV is the sandbox open infiltration gameplay. The replay value in that alone is what keeps me coming back.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

Called it my GOTY15 back then, and it still is. Easily.

 

[Zaki2407]

The best gameplay of series.

 

[demosthenes]

Loved it. While the story was of course silly and eventually fell apart as it was unfinished the gameplay was SO satisfying. Wish I could get more of it.

 

[Piichan]

Yeah my GOTYof 2015 as well. Put an insane amount of hours into this game. Perfect realization of open world and stealth gameplay. Also just feels really good to play, thanks to the great controls.

I'm not even mad about the story being unfinished, it's that good.

 

[hlhbk]

As someone who played the series only for the story it was the worst entry of the series by far.

 

[rexor0717]

Favorite game of last year, although I didn't play too many others. But I doubt they'd rank higher cuz the gameplay in MGSV was on point.

 

[Syder]

I've never simultaneously enjoyed and been so disappointed by a game this much. Gameplay is 10/10, Snake has never handled so well. It's a shame we got spoiled on what little story there was by all of the marketing material. FucKonami.

 

[Realeza]

It had a laughable open world. That's the thing that left the biggest impression on me.

 

[Thabass]

Game of the Year for me. The gameplay is what makes it stand out. And gameplay is the most important function in the game for me.

This is a no-contest.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I'm still mad about it. In fact, i felt kinda depressed for a few weeks after finishing the game. Ground Zeroes is the real MGSV for me.

That trailer tho'... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4F1K4eHCH8

 

[Aeternus Malum]

Best gameplay of the series hands down.

 

[BizzyBum]

I can't believe it's already been a year. Where the fuck does time go...

Personally, I thought it was amazing. Screw the haters, it had one of the best openings in a game ever. I played on PC and graphics were amazing and the gameplay was even better then that. I'm just disappointed there were only two zones because I wanted more of that open world goodness. Also, lack of cutscenes sucked. Everyone seemed to hate that in MGS4 but I loved that shit. At least the cutscenes that we got were epic as hell.

 

[Novocaine]

I had an absolute blast with MGS V. I put well over 100 hours into it but I haven't touched it since I put it down after completing it. Might be a good idea to go back and see if it still holds up.

 

[Edzi]

As a pretty big MGS fan up until the abomination that was PW, MGSV was an utter disappointment. The story was nonsensical (not in the good way), incomplete, and retroactively cheapened/worsened the overall series lore. Established characters were changed on a whim in terms of their voices, appearance, and motivations. The gameplay had potential, but even that was spoiled by the insanely boring grind and poorly designed open world.

It was an MGS game made for people who didn't like MGS games.

 

[kooplar]

Amazing gameplay only ruined by my stupid desire to only use the tranq gun (as past mgs games taught me) since it will get very repetitive. Even then it took 40 hours to start feeling repetitive. The story also leaves ALOT to be desired (even more if you've played mgs3 and peace walker) , but the gameplay is soo good it almost makes up for it...almost.

 

[AmyS]

Absolutely impeccable gameplay. Incredible really.

 

[The Last One]

I've never simultaneously enjoyed and been so disappointed by a game this much. Gameplay is 10/10, Snake has never handled so well. It's a shame we got spoiled on what little story there was by all of the marketing material. FucKonami.

Well, the trailers were actually edited by Kojima so it's kinda his fault.

 

[Aurongel]

A very, very good game that-

I'm gonna say it...

Actually, really, seriously, non-ironically could have been the greatest game of all time. I'm not even joking, the ambition was just amazing. Incomplete or not, games this ambitious and risky get made less and less these days.

 

[RoyaleDuke]

Honestly, truthfully?

It is probably the best MGS game next to MGS1, TTS, and MGS3: Snake Eater(Vanilla or Subsistence).

I love it, the gameplay is pure bliss and take ques from each game of the series for many of its ideas and systems, refines them to a point, makes them deep but still accessible, made the AI slightly better and the animation work incredible.

The visuals on PC are absolutely astounding, the game is a looker on every platform it is on, and honestly I love playing on PC just to get mouse and keyboard control.

It was the GOTY for me of that year.

Then again, I'm an odd duckling, I think MGS2 is terrible aside from some elements of the story, and I love MGS1,3,The Twin Snakes, MGS4, and MGSV.

Of the entire series it has the highest cutscene to gameplay ratio, and as much as I love cutscenes I've always loved the MGS series for satisfying gameplay equally.

I am conflicted in my love of MGSV, I feel like it is a fantastic end for the series that galvanizes a lot of people like MGS2. I hope given enough time, people might begin to revere it.

 

[Kindekuma]

Also, lack of cutscenes sucked. Everyone seemed to hate that in MGS4 but I loved that shit. At least the cutscenes that we got were epic as hell.

When I first read that there'd be way less cutscenes in the game, and that Snake would be more subdued I knew that deep inside the game was going to end up exactly as it is now story wise. Man those trailers were fucking GOOD though.

I'm the type of MGS player that plays for the gameplay more than the story anyway, so 4 had me quite annoyed by the sheer amount of cutscenes. But I think 3 had the perfect blend of both.

 

[manzoman96]

I can't believe it's been a year already.

After years of hype I was disappointed by the story (or lack thereof), but the entire experience of the game was amazing. Going from mission to mission on horseback listening to 80's tunes was awesome.

I don't know if I'd rank it above any of the other games in the series but I certainly did enjoy it. Also I don't know if I'll ever replay the whole game in it's entirely. I never even finished all of the repeat missions at the end. Once the final credits rolled I peaced out. I had already played the game for 50+ hours by that point and those missions were getting on my nerves.

Edit:

I've never simultaneously enjoyed and been so disappointed by a game this much. Gameplay is 10/10, Snake has never handled so well.

I pretty much share these sentiments. Though I think I did a pretty good job of not spoiling myself on the story beforehand.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Please download the Infinite Heaven mod.

 

[Robot Pants]

Well sorry but it's one of THE most disappointing games I've ever played. As a finale to the series it's just god awful. Terrible boss fights, the whole venom snake thing was awful, code talker and vocochord parasites was so dumb, skull face amounted to nothing, ocelot wasn't ocelot, repetitive boring missions.
It just sucked. Badly.
Gorgeous to look at though and impressive frame rate. That's about it

 

[Bolivar687]

I've played MGSV more than Skyrim, Oblivion, or Morrowind. I never thought an action game would challenge Bethesda's RPGs for time sink in an open world but it somehow did. The way it loops the single player back to the metagame of base building, the online PF leagues and FOB infiltrations/events makes it incredibly addictive to play today. The grind for resources and research is never ending and the skill curve for infiltrating the highest level FOBs is huge.

It feels like there's still such an overwhelming amount of stuff to do today as there was back when it launched a year ago.

 

[Strangelove77]

Despite a disappointing story, which up to this point was half of what made the MGS series great to me(the other half being gameplay), MGS5 is still a great game. The gameplay is so fucking good.

 

[chronic_archaic]

GOTY last year for me

 

[Grisby]

One of the best playing games ever made.

There was a lot of bullshit surrounding the online and MOB crap, but goddamn if it wasn't amazing. The story wasn't great, but I'd take that gameplay over any convoluted MGS story any day of the week.

2015 was a great year wasn't it? And while The Witcher and Bloodborne managed to outshine MGS5 for me, it was close. I still think about it often.

 

[leng jai]

Most disappointing game of 2015 along with Xenoblade X.

 

[ThatsMytrunks]

Booted it up for the first time in some months and tried MGO, and didn't care for it. And they've released a few too many ways to charge me money for stuff in the main game.

That said, the game's masterclass in terms of gameplay and visuals, and while the story didn't make most people happy, I enjoyed every aspect of it. The leadup, the experience, the ending, and the discussions that took place for months afterwards.

What a fucking great video game.

 

[KyanMehwulfe]

Just passed 400 hours myself the other week.

On one hand, MGS 3 Snake Eater is still my favorite Metal Gear game.

But I think I've barely put 100 hours into it. Usually it's a 10-20 hour story and then I'm done for a while. But MGS V, there's just so much replay value in its gameplay freedom.

That said, I'm a big Peace Walker player, too. I like building up Mother Base in the same way I did in Peace Walker; I like recruiting and training Diamond Dog soldiers almost in a sort of XCOM fashion (very different mechanics; just mean it's a similar theme). A big part of MGS V for is the theme -- the base, the army, the recruitment, the constant upgrades and always managing those things. There's a sort of sim-element to it that sort of gives me just that little extra motivation to constantly try go out and do wetwork to bring in troops, bring in resources, and constantly keep building my army and base.

 

[Tagyhag]

I loved the game, haven't beaten it yet but I might go back to it later on.

Please download the Infinite Heaven mod.

I've been really curious about this, should I download it now or wait until it's actually finished?

Also, I'm not too clear as to what it adds, other than Mother Base AI invasions which is awesome.

 

[Carlius]

am stuck at the helicopter screen with the yellow tape. cant get out of it to go play missions.

 

[Grisby]

For your listening pleasure.

 

[Wagram]

You can now experience the disappointing story in definitive form.

Why oh why did Big Boss go heel? Who knows!?

 

[petethepanda]

For me, it's simultaneously one of the best games ever made and one of the most disappointing games I've ever played.

It was not even remotely how I wanted the series to end - though it wasn't an entire shock to the system, as I already didn't love 4 - but it was also just one of the fucking best-playing things I've ever experienced.

 

[potatohead]

All my S class guys got stolen. Gawt damn FOB invasions.

And yea, like everyone else said......... as disappointing as the game was with narrative and such......... hot damn this game has the best tactical gameplay systems of any stealth action adventure game by miles. Like it's so far ahead of other games it's not even funny.

Splinter Cell am cry and whatever.

 

[Dremark]

Best game I've played this generation and one of the best games I've ever played easily.

 

[luka]

counter to popular opinion i think the story is totally brilliant, despite a multitude of odd and unfinished presentation and design elements. mgsv not only made up for the vacuous, insufferable mess that was mgs4, but actually added enough context and development that made it's ridiculous twists more palatable.

the game was pretty fun, too.

 

[NathanDiego]

Was and still my GOTY 2015,the story was a disappointment and yes it's an unfinished game,but the gameplay is probably one of the best if not the best I've ever played,with a great story like the previous entries could be my GOAT

 

[Gravidee]

am stuck at the helicopter screen with the yellow tape. cant get out of it to go play missions.

What? Have you tried opening the idroid menu?

 

[Kindekuma]

I loved the game, haven't beaten it yet but I might go back to it later on.



I've been really curious about this, should I download it now or wait until it's actually finished?

Also, I'm not too clear as to what it adds, other than Mother Base AI invasions which is awesome.

Finish the game first then install the mod. Experience the game vanilla and then once you finish it, then install the mod. It's fantastic, you get bonus camera tools for great screenshots, you can have enemies free from, vehicles and tanks in free roam on patrol, random enemy AI alert phases, OSP for any mission, helicopters flying around in Mother Base coming and going, etc. It's excellent.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I've been really curious about this, should I download it now or wait until it's actually finished?

Also, I'm not too clear as to what it adds, other than Mother Base AI invasions which is awesome.

No time like the present. It provides a plethora of tweaks for gameplay, such as a Subsistence mode which allows for OSP options customization. Free Roam is spiced up quite a bit with Skulls encounters, chopper and armored vehicle patrols, so on. It has so much to offer. The mod gets better and better with every update.

 

[maniac-kun]

Best gameplay of the generation.

 

[HeisenbergWW62]

Story was a letdown but the gameplay was brilliant. Had so much fun just sneaking into bases and shit

 

[J.EM1]

Been playing this game almost everyday since its release. Logged in 600 hours of gameplay. Even with its faults, I love the game wholly.

 

[DarkKyo]

It was a really cool game. Probably my favorite Metal Gear(from the ones I've played). Chapter 2 feels a bit rushed but that's the only thing holding it back. I guess the story felt a little anti-climactic as well. I quite liked the twist tho!

 

[Jangowuzhere]

One of the best games of all time.

Completely changed my outlook on what is possible in a third person action game. Every other game just feels so clunky in comparison to MGSV.

 

[Apoleptica]

Like many others it was the GOTY for me. I still play it regularly.

 

[InsaneTiger]

I grabbed the puppy and let it lick Snake's face. I stopped playing after that, I beat the game right?