Three features that should be added to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is rich in content: there are dozens of sidequests, hundreds of items to develop, many hidden items to collect, struts to construct, and an almost infinite amount of ways to play through the missions and experiment by combining different buddies with different tactics, weapons and infiltration techniques. Even so, there are three features that really seem to be missing, and it would be great if those could be added in a future update.
Theater Mode
Several past Metal Gear games have had cutscene viewers, or ‘theater’ modes, which allows you to play the cutscenes again without having to replay that mission. Metal Gear Solid 2 even allowed you to swap character models in all kinds of ways, so that you could have Solidus fight a middle-aged lady instead of Raiden, just to name an example. Oddly enough, MGSV has none of these options, which is especially regrettable because of the way the game’s structure works. Because some cutscenes are only triggered under certain circumstances, there’s no way to see them again unless you start a new save file. But wouldn’t it be perfect if there was an option to view all the cutscenes you’ve unlocked in any way you want? There could be a preparation screen similar to the mission select, in which you decide what characters will fit what roles, the time of day, their outfit, etc. This would give players both the option to revisit their favorite scenes as well as play around and create some crazy new ones.
Photo Mode
Being able to take pictures in games through a dedicated photo mode is something that has gained popularity theses past years. Several games added this option through an update, like Infamous Second Son and Shadow of Mordor. Of course, most platforms allow you to take screenshots during gameplay and cutscenes, but the advantage of a photo mode is that you can freeze the game, move the camera around any way you like, as well as remove the HUD and other obstructing elements. In other words, have more flexibility with your framing and angle. Being able to capture any moment in this game any way you like would be fantastic. This game really seems to be made for it.
New Game Plus
The Phantom Pain is designed as an open world game, allowing you to go through the missions how and when you like. The downside to the games’ structure is that you can’t really play through it again unless you create an all new save file. Many games now have a mode called ‘New Game Plus’, which gives you the option to go through the story another time while keeping some of your progress. In the case of this game, this could mean resetting your missions and buddy bond, but keeping your developed items and expanded Mother Base. Of course you can already replay every mission as it is, but giving this option would provide a bit more sense of progress. Another problem with selecting missions is that some of the cutscenes will only happen once in the game, so you won’t be able to see them again with your existing savefile. Having the ability to start a new game would be a good feature to have for those who want to experience the entire story again from beginning to end.
Seeing these three things added down the road would be awesome. Many of the games in the series have been rereleased at least once, often with more features and advanced options, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility, especially now that we live in an era where post launch support through updates is completely normal. And Konami seems to be serious about their support, so hopefully, we see this happen some day.
