For the past few days, I’ve done very little but play Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, a new video game made by the well-known spa company Konami. I’ve been sneaking and shooting through deserts and forests. I’ve infiltrated bases, crippled soldiers, and taken four showers. It has been wonderful. Show UPDATE (8/31): I’m now at the 50-hour mark and still not quite finished, so as we approach the launch of MGSV, we’re bumping up this piece in lieu of our formal review, which will be up on Kotaku by the end of the week. On Tuesday we’ll run tips and some other coverage, including a look at how the microtransactions will work, which we can’t check until the servers go live. And tomorrow afternoon, I’ll stream some spoiler-free gameplay for an hour or two. For now, as you wait for our full review, if you’re just wondering whether this game is worth your time, the short answer is yes. Definitely. I’ve got some issues with MGSV—a recent bullshit boss fight has soured me considerably—but the stealth is impeccable and I imagine we’ll be watching people pull off incredible feats in this game for many weeks and months to come. Original article follows: After more than 30 hours with the newest Metal Gear Solid, I’m convinced that Phantom Pain is the best Metal Gear yet, a game with extraordinary scope, inimitable style, and some of the most satisfying sneaking and creeping I’ve ever performed either in a video game or IRL. Particularly diehard fans might be miffed at how far The Phantom Pain has strayed from the formula established by Hideo Kojima’s first few Metal Gear Solid games, but in my eyes, just about every change is welcome. Older Metal Gear Solids had baffling controls, odd camera angles, and an incomprehensible story. Metal Gear Solid V has easy controls, a great camera, and… an incomprehensible story. Whereas previous Metal Gear Solid games took you through a linear, structured sequence of events—first you go through the tanker, then you go through the plant, etc.—The Phantom Pain is way more flexible, replacing chapters and segments with a large list of selectable missions, not unlike the portable Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. There are around 50 of these missions, and you’ll do them roughly sequentially, but you might get to pick the order of, say, missions 3, 4, and 5. You can also pick one of a variety of optional side operations—some of which aren’t actually all that optional—or just wander freely around one of the game’s big maps, which include chunks of Afghanistan, Africa, and a small set of platforms on the Indian Ocean called Mother Base. Unlike any Metal Gear before it, it’s all very open. Konami’s coverage embargo ended Sunday at 8pm ET, so you’ll see reviews popping up on game throughout the week. But this is a very big game, and I haven’t even come close to finishing yet, so Kotaku’s review likely won’t be out until closer to release day. For now, allow me to give you some spoiler-free impressions of Metal Gear Solid V based on a few dozen hours worth of sneaking, shooting, and resetting. Let’s break this down.
Earlier this year, when I previewed Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain after a two-hour session at Konami’s offices in Los Angeles, I wrote that “few games make you feel like as much of a supersoldier.” Thirty hours later, that’s still true. There’s nobody like Snake, and there’s nothing like Metal Gear Solid—plenty of other games let you sneak and shoot around a big open world, but none of them have the style, the tone, or the totally inappropriate gravitas of this series. I imagine that The Phantom Pain’s structure will lead to some incredible player war stories. “Hey, remember the time I made my horse poop on the road to derail an enemy car, then set my cassette player to Aha’s Take On Me and shot up everyone inside?” MGSV is out September 1 for PC and consoles. You can expect our full review closer to then, and we’ll likely do a Q&A this week for any lingering questions you might have about the game. It’s pretty damn good. How many chapters are in phantom pain mgs5?METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
There are 2 chapters. Originally the game was apparently going to be longer but we know at least one major mission and boss fight that would have been Main op 51 got cut.
Is MGSV shutting down?Konami has announced that the online services for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Metal Gear Online on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will be shutting down.
How long is 24 hours in MGSV?24 hours in Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain translate to six hours in real life. This was announced on the Kojima Productions Alert 4, the official podcast of the studio.
Is phantom pain easy?The Phantom Pain is too easy. It started with D-Dog. Initially, my efforts to scout and infiltrate bases would be occasionally sent awry when I'd round a corner and be caught by a previously unseen guard.
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