Some new MGSV The Phantom Pain details from various previews (spoiler warning)
Earlier this week the embargo for the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain previews was lifted, and as a result many outlets shared their impressions from playing the game. Below are some new details and interesting points taken from various articles. Once again, there are no real spoilers but if you want to steer clear of any new information, don’t read on.
- At one point in the story Snake had to heal his arm, but this isn’t done through a menu like in MGS3 but by simply holding the triangle (action) button.
- You can use materials you have found in the field to craft items (for example, a tranquilizer can be made using Golden Crescent, a medicinal plant.
- Walking out of a story mission area will end the mission, but you can still continue doing nearby Side Ops.
- MGSV has ‘near endless ways to tackle a scenario’.
- The iDroid can be upgraded with a sonic pulse ability, that lets you detect nearby targets.
- MGSV feels ‘in everything expect name’ like a Hideo Kojima game (assuming the famous phrase will be removed from the box art, that is). His signature is everywhere to be found in the game.
- The maps feature a balance between player freedom and Kojima’s vision.
- Big Boss’ clothes will gather blood and dirt in real time, and they will appear in this state in the cutscenes.
- The fact that there are less cutscenes doesn’t take away from the magic, because the cutscenes that are there feel really special and are always ‘pretty awesome and packed with fan-service’.
- While in the box you can punch open the flap and stick your gun through to aim in first person. You can also use the cardboard to slide down slopes on your belly.
- While the author avoided most of the fan theories that are going around online, the few he has read are ‘pretty wide off the mark’. He does add that MGSV is a very trippy game, and some parts will make you wonder what’s real and what’s leftover damage from the coma.
- There are some ‘brilliant easter eggs for returning fans’. The author advices the player to attempt to Fulton Ocelot several times during the tutorial.
- There are no loading times once you are in the world, but there is one if you go back to Mother Base.
- Like in previous MGS games, bodies can be hidden in dumpsters and cabinets.
- Aside from your horse, Snake can also get around the map using a fast-travel system.
- All the larger enemy encampments have their own look and geography, offering variety.
- The game seems to feature an adaptive difficulty system (like enemies starting to wear helmets if you rely too much on headshots, and of course the option to use the chicken mask if you die too often).
- Some parts of Mother Base are accessible by jeep. You can also complete side missions on the base, such as target shooting.
- The game feels ‘every bit like the Metal Gear we all know and love’.
- Once your buddy bond with the horse reached a certain level, you can make it defecate on command.
- You can replay a mission at any time to improve your ranking.
- The day / night cycle also persists in the cutscenes.
- The author says he doesn’t know much about the story at this point, ‘besides various “holy shit” moments that have only raised questions’.
- When transitioning from indoor structures to the exterior, Snake’s eyes (or rather, eye) have to adjust to the bright sunlight.
- Most of the nuance of the story has been put in the cassette tapes.
- One of PT’s radio recordings can be heard playing at an enemy camp.
- Afghanistan is about as big as 50 Camp Omegas. You would probably need at least 45 minutes to go from one and to the other on foot.
- ‘The horse is animated exceptionally well, giving The Witcher 3’s horse ‘a run for its money.’
- Aside from tapes containing licensed music, you can also finds ones that contain enemy intel.
- By taking out communication devices of enemy bases, you can unlock new landing zones for your helicopter.
- ‘There were so many unexpected moments that left me agasp that I simply can’t talk about’.
- The author calls the hospital scene ‘dark, brooding, utterly batshit crazy and one of the best intros to a game’, adding: ‘if you think it looked cool to watch, just wait until you get to actually play it’.
- Snake and his Diamond Dogs have been hired to help the locals of Afghanistan push back the soviet forces near Kabul and the Angola-Zaire border region.
- Aside from cash completing side missions will occasionally reward you with blueprints for new weapons.
- When equipped as a sub-weapon, Snake can smash enemies unconscious using his bionic arm in an ‘incredibly powerful sprint attack’.
A9VG (translated by ‘DDVN’)
- The Chicken Hat allows you to be spotted up to three times without triggering an alert, after which it expires. If you die too often while wearing the chicken hat, you will unlock an eggshell hat. When you use the Chicken Hat, your highest possible score will be A. The eggshell hat is unlimited, but reduces the score to 0.
- You can build up to 4 of each of Mother Base’s departments (R&D, Medical, etc), so far at least.
Atomix (translated by invader_skoodge)
- The open world boss battles work really well. One fight in particular took the author an entire night, up until the next morning.
- As was already revealed, you can build a small zoo on Mother Base with the animals you capture in the field. An animal foundation pays the Diamond Dogs in GMP to rescue these animals from the battlefield.
- Although Ocelot speaks Russian himself, he doesn’t want to be Snake’s interpreter, so he has to recruit someone else for that job.
- Sexy posters you find can be ripped off the wall and put up in Mother Base.
