Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the game of the moment, it seems, getting rave reviews from critics and fans of the series alike, but here’s a confession: In the two hours or so I’ve played it of it, I can’t get into it, and I’m actually starting to regret buying it. I kind of wish I’d bought Avalanche’s Mad Max instead.
Maybe it’s because I don’t have a strong history of playing the MGS series that is taking over here. The only MGS game I’ve played was MGSIV, and I didn’t like that much either. The Phantom Pain just isn’t capturing my attention. I don’t think about it every waking moment. In fact, I’ve played Tearaway Unfolded, a PS4-exclusive, than MGSV: The Phantom Pain.
I don’t know why the game’s not impacting on me. Maybe I was swept away with the hype surrounding the game, convincing me to buy it and be Big Boss. Maybe I was captivated game play I’d seen that made it look really, really great and I just had to have it. I don’t know what it is but at the moment, I almost have to force myself to play it, to justify the money that I paid for it.
I’ve heard that the first two to three hours will be make or break as to whether you’ll like it – is that right? – so maybe I have to grit my teeth and persevere until I get access to Mother Base and the ability to fulton things. I guess in a game that can give you 40+ hours of game play it’s going to have a slow start, right?
The first hour was totally confusing (Hideo Kojima has a wild imagination, that’s for sure), and to be honest, half the time I had no idea what was going on (I’ve just come across some zombie-like soldiers called the Skulls – this is also confusing the hell out of me). When I’d finished the prologue I was still none the wiser as to what had just happened.
So, have I made the right decision with MGSV and should I stick with it? Will it get better? Or do I cut my losses, try and sell it and pick up something like Mad Max? I’ve also got Tearaway Unfolded, Forza 6 and Until Dawn to play.
I’d appreciate your thoughts in the comments section.
*I’m going to continue playing MGSV and see whether I get hooked. I’ll keep you posted!
Interesting review. I felt the same as you describe here about Bioshock and Fallout. Just couldn’t get into it, and left wondering why it’s so acclaimed. Probably not going to play any MGS (or at least not at full price) because I fear the same thing.
I loved Deus Ex and Mass Effect series though which are similar genres. This phenomenon continues to puzzle me.
I haven’t tried MGSV yet. Am still stuck on Witcher 3.
I loved Bioshock and Fallout 3. However, gave up on Deus Ex after a few hours as I found it extremely generic and just a bit meh. Played MGS4 the whole way through, didn’t understand a lot of it though!