Same as the Old Boss

Parasites are the new nanomachines--or should I say, nanomachines were the new parasites. MGS4 used nanomachines as a crutch to explain everything weird from seemingly immortal super healing to personality transplants. MGSV does the same thing, but using parasites instead. I never expected an explanation for the powers the Cobra Unit possessed, but MGSV went ahead and explained them anyways.

On the surface, parasites being used to infect people who speak certain languages sounds like a stretch, but Kojima has a way of providing a strong enough extrapolation from reality that it at least seems plausible, and the same goes for the concept of metallic archaea. Only from Kojima can you get equal doses of hard hitting military realism, historical minutia, and pseudo science. It creates a package that can't really be found anywhere else.

For all its faults with the narrative, the Metal Gear universe is one that is so uniquely realized that no other series comes close. Nowhere else can you can find such strong anti-war themes wrapped up in the ultimate war game with some of the corniest, most dramatic, and silliest gags out there. I look forward to finishing this game and potentially raging at the ending. Whatever happens at the end doesn't matter, because this journey has been worth it.

The Phantom Pain

I am in love with this game. This is the MGS I've always imagined ever since playing MGS2, which blew me away back in the day. The difference between MGS and MGS2 was staggering, and I believe a similar shift just happened with MGSV.

As great as MGS3 and MGS4 were, they were fundamentally rooted in the template laid out by 2. Hell, you could say the entire series up until this point was anchored by the design principles of Metal Gear 2 on the MSX2.

MGSV completely rewrites the rules. This ain't no evolution, this is revolution. MGSV is the culmination of all the design elements from past entries. Simply put, this is the ultimate Metal Gear game.

If you're not enjoying MGSV, you're doing it wrong. The game is what you make of it. It's all about options, and not even the most optimal ones. Take joy in experimentation. Don't play how you think it should be played, play in every way possible. Think outside the box, or in the box, and with every box, because MGSV is the ultimate sandbox. 

The Phantom Platinum

It's a long and tough road to 100%. I've already sank in a hundred hours and I'm not even halfway done. I've halted progression in the campaign to set myself up for the finish line. I've completed all available side ops and I'm trying to S rank my previous missions and complete all tasks. Even though I'm only on Mission 24, I'm already seeing S rank soldiers in the field and I'm pulling them from completing main story missions. I haven't even broken 200k heroism. 

Right now, I'm in the process of farming materials. I've got a severe shortage of fuel and common metals, even with a FOB. I'm going to farm as many materials as I can and see how far I can S rank missions without hitting a development wall. The only thing stopping me right now are specialist skills that I'll have to pick up during the campaign. 

Once I get the ball rolling, I should cruise pass the 100% mark comfortably. I'm confident it won't take another 100 hours to get there. Once I research the highest levels of equipment, I should be able to break the game at my leisure. The only thing that worries me is capturing animals. Everything else I can brute force. Capturing animals is pretty RNG, and I'm getting terrible flashbacks to Peace Walker where I had to grind AI pods to make the perfect Metal Gear.

The things I do for gaming...

Peace Walker

Peace Walker is one of the greatest PSP games I have ever played. Its fun, endlessly entertaining, and relentless addicting. It somehow merges the “gotta catch ‘em all” mentality of Pokémon with the trademark tactical espionage action that Metal Gear Solid is renowned for. Kojima Productions tailored the series’ gameplay for portable play, with great results.

The game follows the story of Big Boss and takes place after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3. Big Boss and a cohort, Kazuhira Miller, are in charge of the Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF), an independent army. What follows afterward is an adventure into the jungles of Costa Rica to fight against invading forces that seem to be lead by the CIA. I won’t spoil the story since a large part of the MGS experience is watching the plot unfold through the comic-animated cutscenes. Although the cinematics are no longer in real-time, each character is still fully fleshed out with hours and hours of voice-acting. There are some real gems in the game from audio tapes to hilarious codec conversations, so there isn’t anything lacking from the production values front.

The gameplay is an amalgamation of past Metal Gear games. It incorporates the soldier recruitment mechanic from Portable Ops, a stripped down version of MGS3’s camo system, and the user-friendly controls of MGS4. The level design and enemy AI is modified to suit the mission-based, modular, and compact game design. This is further emphasized with the structure, by breaking the core game modes into Main Ops and Extra Ops. This allows the developers to integrate multiplayer (both competitive and coop) into the main game’s framework. By making the entire game mission-based, it encourages bursts of play and to get the best ranking for each mission (S-rankings as per Japanese custom).

Whereas past Metal Gear games stacked innovation on top of the core mechanics (such as first-person shooting, camo systems, etc), Peace Walker decides to go sideways. The innovation isn’t in the gameplay, which is decidedly simplified compared to its console brethren, but in the packaging of the gameplay. Kojima Productions has created a network of subsystems that work together to create an ecosystem of causes and effects.

Each soldier you recruit has ratings, and you can assign soldiers to different units from combat, R&D, and Medical based on these ratings. By placing soldiers with high ratings in their respective categories in the right departments, you can unlock new weapons and gadgets. In order to unlock the best gadgets, you have to recruit the best soldiers, which are in the hardest missions, which can only be done with the best equipment. Everything goes in a beautiful circle that encourages you to collect the best of the best in everything.

With Peace Walker bundled as part of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid HD collection, there is reason for you not to experience such an excellent entry in the Metal Gear Solid series.

Peace Walker is amazing.

Play it.