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[IAmRandom31]

Sounds fucking terrible. I've long been a proponent of keeping the story in the game itself, I've criticized Halo endlessly about this and I'll criticize Metal Gear now.

The scores are superb, but there is an awful lot that I am reading that I really don't like.

Yeah I despise shit like this unless the tapes are in easy to locate and logical areas. It is when there is a tape hidden on a secret path under a specific leaf of a specific tree only visible during a certain time of day that gets on my nerves.

 

[| Praxis |]

They're not...

Some people have different definitions of what a spoiler actually is. Would be courteous to spoiler tag things certain things imo.

Personally I haven't read anything I would consider a spoiler, but it's not hard to tell the things that could be considered as one.

 

[Delusibeta]

Reviewers played without microtransactions active, so we don't know how much it affects the game.

Presumably that they had the timers active, though. Assuming that's true, and assuming said timers don't get dramatically increased in a patch, that does suggest the microtransactions are redundant.

 

[tuxfool]

Gametrailers: "Phantom Pain expects the player to dig in to get the most out of the story. Dozen and dozen of cassette tapes slowly acquired throughout the game fill in vital gaps. They're so important that it's hard getting the full picture without them."

It seems very much that some of the reviews noting the lack of explanations aren't really mentioning the importance of the cassette tapes. The GT review even mentioned that there is some information that they considered too vital to be put in collectable tapes.

 

[raven777]

Does anyone else get the sinking feeling that there are no

Spoiler

bosses

in this game? (Not really a spoiler, since it's just gameplay speculation.) I've been suspecting it ever since it's been evident that MGS V is a home console version of Peace Walker, and I'm surprised journalists never brought up its absence in gameplay trailers during interviews with Kojima. I wonder if he even knew how much fans consider them to be essential to the series?

But Peace Walker has many boss battles.

 

[Nzyme32]

I'm not even close to finishing the game but I've skimmed the IGN/GameSpot reviews and I'm starting to suspect that there might indeed be a hidden "true" ending that GameSpot saw but IGN didn't. (That'd help explain why GameSpot raves about the story while IGN says it's disappointing.) Just guessing, though. No spoilers here, but from what I've seen so far, some things MGSV are ostensibly optional but should probably be played or else it seems like you'll miss out on big things.

That would be interesting to read about, but somewhat unsurprising seeing how much Peace Walker seems to have influenced this game

 

[Wasp]

I'm disappointed that the majority of the story, and most of Kiefer's lines, is done using cassette tapes. I disliked them in Ground Zeroes for the following reasons:

I couldn't tell who was talking in them.

I found it hard to hear them on my crappy TV speakers and over the games background noise.

I was too busy playing the game to concentrate on what was being said. Standing still and listening kinda defeats the purpose of them, might as well be watching cutscenes or Codec.

It's hard to get the context when it's just audio and no images.

 

[ramyeon]

Does anyone else get the sinking feeling that there are no

Spoiler

bosses

in this game? (Not really a spoiler, since it's just gameplay speculation.) I've been suspecting it ever since it's been evident that MGS V is a home console version of Peace Walker, and I'm surprised journalists never brought up its absence in gameplay trailers during interviews with Kojima. I wonder if he even knew how much fans consider them to be essential to the series?

YongYea's impressions video mentions the boss fights.

We know from several sources that there are boss fights in this game.

 

[RK9039]

Sounds fucking terrible. I've long been a proponent of keeping the story in the game itself, I've criticized Halo endlessly about this and I'll criticize Metal Gear now.

The scores are superb, but there is an awful lot that I am reading that I really don't like.

It doesn't sound so bad. As other have described it these cassettes are like codec calls but you can listen to the tapes and play the game at the same time. Sounds a bit like audio logs.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

I've been over the 'casette tape' method of storytelling for years now. It was awesome in Bioshock, was totally ubiquitous by around 2011/12, and to see it used as a primary narrative device in MGS almost a decade later is just really, really weird for a trend-setting franchise that excels in storytelling.

I mean, we had a thread complaining about how often its done all the way back in 2013.

You can pause and rewind these tapes though.

 

[longdi]

I don't mind the fractured story because of the open world nature. But I hope the quality of the story would at least match MGS3 on awesomeness.

The last 2 major MGS games have rather forgettable characters and stories

 

[213372bu]

I'd like to take the moment where I spoiler free assuage people's fears.

You are now assuaged.

The debate among the community people are talking about seems NOT based off of hard to find cassette tapes.

 

[BocoDragon]

I've been over the 'casette tape' method of storytelling for years now. It was awesome in Bioshock, was totally ubiquitous by around 2011/12, and to see it used as a primary narrative device in MGS almost a decade later is just really, really weird for a trend-setting franchise that excels in storytelling.

I see it as pretty logical.

MGS1 cutscenes happened at a time when video games aspiring to be cinematic was the cutting edge. It was appropriate to stop us frequently and wow us with then-cutting edge examples of 3D graphics telling a very movie like story.

In 2015, there is nothing impressive about a cutscene. And it is a video game, people want to actually play it. That's why audio logs have been favoured.

It make sense. Even though, as a person who grew up in the 90s, I am more fond of the game cutscene model.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Presumably that they had the timers active, though. Assuming that's true, and assuming said timers don't get dramatically increased in a patch, that does suggest the microtransactions are redundant.

True.

I see it as pretty logical.

MGS1 cutscenes happened at a time when video games aspiring to be cinematic was the cutting edge. It was appropriate to stop us frequently and wow us with then-cutting edge examples of 3D graphics telling a very movie like story.

In 2015, there is nothing impressive about a cutscene. And it is a video game, people want to actually play it. That's why audio logs have been favoured.

It make sense. Even though, as a person who grew up in the 90s, I am more fond of the game cutscene model.

What in the world are you talking about? Audio tape storytelling isn't a new innovative way to tell stories in video games and it's certainly not the evolution of how we should tell stories in games. And with this new boom in technology, there is absolutely a lot to be impressed with when it comes to cutscenes in games. Audio logs haven't been favored at all.

 

[tuxfool]

Does anyone else get the sinking feeling that there are no

Spoiler

bosses

in this game? (Not really a spoiler, since it's just gameplay speculation.) I've been suspecting it ever since it's been evident that MGS V is a home console version of Peace Walker, and I'm surprised journalists never brought up its absence in gameplay trailers during interviews with Kojima. I wonder if he even knew how much fans consider them to be essential to the series?

Plenty of reviews mention the existence of bosses (some of which can be avoided).

 

[bananafactory]

It doesn't sound so bad. As other have described it these cassettes are like codec calls but you can listen to the tapes and play the game at the same time. Sounds a bit like audio logs.

That's great if you actually find the tapes.

I'm not going to spend hours running around searching boxes for them. I'm going to play the main story as it happens and whatever I find along the way is what I get. I should receive a complete story

 

[Arklite]

Sounds fucking terrible. I've long been a proponent of keeping the story in the game itself, I've criticized Halo endlessly about this and I'll criticize Metal Gear now.

The scores are superb, but there is an awful lot that I am reading that I really don't like.

The cassette tapes worked beautifully with PW's portable nature in the original PSP release. I used to listen to them while taking a break or after a session. For TPP though, they really should've gone all in with cutscenes. I guess Kojima got a little too much influence from open world games.

 

[jschreier]

Reviewers played without microtransactions active, so we don't know how much it affects the game.

FWIW, I've been playing a retail copy at home on my PS4 offline and didn't even know there were microtransactions. So clearly they don't affect much.

 

[DukeBobby]

But Peace Walker has many boss battles.

It would have been better off having none.

 

[Ridesh]

Something about the importance of the Ground Zeroes save?

 

[JetBlackPanda]

I see it as pretty logical.

MGS1 cutscenes happened at a time when video games aspiring to be cinematic was the cutting edge. It was appropriate to stop us and wow us with then-cutting edge examples of 3D graphics telling a very movie like story.

In 2015, there is nothing impressive about a cutscene. And it is a video game, people want to actually play it. That's why audio logs have been favoured.

I find it much more logical. Even though, as a person who grew up in the 90s, I am more fond of the game cutscene model.

I think that's crazy. In a cinematic game with a narrative I would take a cutscene over anything else.

 

[Ralemont]

I've been over the 'casette tape' method of storytelling for years now. It was awesome in Bioshock, was totally ubiquitous by around 2011/12, and to see it used as a primary narrative device in MGS almost a decade later is just really, really weird for a trend-setting franchise that excels in storytelling.

I mean, we had a thread complaining about how often its done all the way back in 2013.

Same thing as Codec calls, except this is better because you can play while listening.

 

[Draper]

Blah, I'm tired- went into the spoiler thread and mindlessly read through an entire page.

I really hope those are mainly theories and nothing substantial has truly leaked.

 

[Alienous]

Well, the reviews were fun while they lasted.

 

[Magnalon]

YongYea's impressions video mentions the boss fights.

We know from several sources that there are boss fights in this game.

Maybe not as many as your typical series entry (where you fight giant rogue galleries), but yes it does have them.

Trying to be as non-spoilery as possible because I take it pretty seriously, but I wanted to assuage the fears of "no bosses."

 

[Despera]

Not forcing exposition down our throats and allowing a portion of the narrative to propagate through optional means, if done right, is a plus imo.

 

[Asriel]

The 10s are why I never take gaming review scores seriously, but this is shaping up to be a fine game.

 

[alr1ght]

Maybe not as many as your typical series entry (where you fight giant rogue galleries), but yes it does have them.

Trying to be as non-spoilery as possible because I take it pretty seriously, but I wanted to assuage the fears of "no bosses."

You played the retail version. How is the mother base grind? Microtransactions?

 

[Alienous]

Not forcing exposition down our throats and allowing a portion of the narrative to propagate through optional means, if done right, is a plus imo.

Tapes ought to be supplemental to the plot, not part of the telling of it.

 

[RK9039]

That's great if you actually find the tapes.

I'm not going to spend hours running around searching boxes for them. I'm going to play the main story as it happens and whatever I find along the way is what I get. I should receive a complete story

I'm sure most tapes will be easy to come by. I remember in PW I had a lot of tapes.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Near universal across the board, just as I expected. Ground Zeroes was amazing, pricing aside, so it doesn't surprise me.

I can't wait to play Kojima's final MGS masterpiece.

Well whatever I was gonna Big Boss salute gif but I'm having trouble linking on mobile.

 

[tuxfool]

Maybe not as many as your typical series entry (where you fight giant rogue galleries), but yes it does have them.

Trying to be as non-spoilery as possible because I take it pretty seriously, but I wanted to assuage the fears of "no bosses."

Are they good, or are they PW level?

 

[Peff]

The cassette tapes worked beautifully with PW's portable nature in the original PSP release. I used to listen to them while taking a break or after a session. For TPP though, they really should've gone all in with cutscenes. I guess Kojima got a little too much influence from open world games.

Going all in with cutscenes is too expensive to be practical, which is why the codec exists in the first place. Besides, audio only means Kiefer Sutherland can record lines from a studio instead of having to use the full performance capture gear, which I suspect is the reason why most of his dialogue seems to be there.

 

[Rajang]

I didn't like it. It's decent, about the best praise I could muster for it. If MGS1 and MGS3 are 10s, this is like an 8/10, which is obviously a huge disappointment. But one thing is for sure, I am glad Kojima is never making another MGS game. Just a decade of disappointment since the incredible MGS3. A weak "finale" that feels like an unnecessary entry. A little too long, a little too tedious at times, and poorly paced.

Kind of surprised with the very positive reviews, but then maybe I shouldn't be. Open world games are kind of the thing nowadays. I'm expecting it to be a love/hate kind of game.

Whatever happened to balance. Just go from one extreme to the other.

I still hate MGS4 more though.

RIP Metal Gear.

 

[Magnalon]

FWIW, I've been playing a retail copy at home on my PS4 offline and didn't even know there were microtransactions. So clearly they don't affect much.

My experience too. Retail copy, all offline, and I was able to complete the entire story.

It probably makes things easier, being able to buy in-game cash, but it's not necessary. I didn't really "grind" at all either or Fulton everything in sight. The only grindy experience I had was having to repeat some missions in the latter point of the game for the full ending.

 

[Foffy]

Gosh, of course I'm now getting hyped. Do I have enough time to re-play the games set before this?

 

[CambriaRising]

Tapes ought to be supplemental to the plot, not part of the telling of it.

Sounds like they are supplemental though.

 

[Memento]

The 10s are why I never take gaming review scores seriously, but this is shaping up to be a fine game.

Why? Cant someone like a game enough to give it a perfect score? What is wrong with it? It is not like a perfect score means a perfect game.

 

[Verendus]

That sounds a LOT different than putting the story in books and shows... or even in a "lore" menu.

There's actually a good argument to be made that story for a video game is better conveyed through audio logs than long winded cutscenes. Then you can actually play the game.

I certainly don't think MGS5 makes a good argument for it. It's a pretty crappy way of storytelling in my eyes, and MGS5 definitely suffers from this method considering the general pacing of the story.

 

[brickarts295]

Gametrailers: "Phantom Pain expects the player to dig in to get the most out of the story. Dozen and dozen of cassette tapes slowly acquired throughout the game fill in vital gaps. They're so important that it's hard getting the full picture without them."

"they're just FILLERS! USELESS FILLER... THEY'RE FILLER THAT'S DRIVING ME TO MADNESS! "
Sorry had to get that one out of the way XD
Anyways, MGS is one of the few franchises I don't mind having countless audio tapes to further explain the story. Also given how open and time demanding this game is, I find it awesome that we might be able to listen to tapes while doing missions or just running around mother base, makes it less annoying when you think about.

 

[Toparaman]

That sounds a LOT different than putting the story in books and shows... or even in a "lore" menu.

There's actually a good argument to be made that story for a video game is better conveyed through audio logs than long winded cutscenes. Then you can actually play the game.

Not really. Studies have shown that the human brain is literally incapable of multitasking. You can play the audio log in the background while playing the game, but really you're only focusing on one or the other.

In any case I'm fine with lots of cassette tapes since they basically replace lots of codec convos.

YongYea's impressions video mentions the boss fights.

We know from several sources that there are boss fights in this game.

That's good. I just hope they aren't PW-tier bosses with no personality or interesting characteristics.

 

[OverBlood 3]

After listening to that gametrailers review, I think we're lucky that the game went in this direction seeing as this is almost certainly the last one. It offers so much replayability in terms of different approaches that I can see people playing this for years.

Also the story tapes can be listened to at your leisure so it's not like you have to replay up to a certain point to try and piece things together. It also allows you to engage with the story as much or as little as you like, which contrasts previous titles which shoves story down your throat.

I'm all for this game.

 

[- J - D -]

Gametrailers also echoes IGN and EGMNow in regards to the story:

"What the Phantom Pain is trying to achieve is not necessarily what fans expect, and that's probably a good thing. It has a lot to say about political and ideological issues, things that are worth hearing, and that few other games would touch. Unfortunately the quality of the writing doesn't always properly support these grand sentiments. There are moments when dialogue sounds forced, or things are hurriedly explained away. There are times when the script leaps too quickly making it difficult to relate to, or enjoy.

Far worse though is that huge story threads are left wide open. It's as if The Phantom Pain has more to say, but get's abruptly cut off."

 

[BumRush]

Wow, I'm genuinely shocked it's getting perfect scores. I expected it to be very good but the reviews are insane.

 

[Nzyme32]

I've been over the 'casette tape' method of storytelling for years now. It was awesome in Bioshock, was totally ubiquitous by around 2011/12, and to see it used as a primary narrative device in MGS almost a decade later is just really, really weird for a trend-setting franchise that excels in storytelling.

I mean, we had a thread complaining about how often its done all the way back in 2013.

I don't know if "excels in storytelling" are the right words from my perspective. I've always hated the jarring way exposition is handled in the games. Partially the script or translation of it is to blame I imagine, but also that these were done with heavy cuts to cutscenes and codec moments that didn't flow well at all, where characters also seem to pre-announce incoming exposition. I think I would much prefer this cassette way of doing things, where you can pick the right time to go through the exposition. With an open world and freedom to decide what to do and where to go, it certainly seem quite fitting. Assuming this is also like GZ where cutscenes seamlessly flow between the game without cuts, I think this might do storytelling in a much more palatable way

 

[| Praxis |]

Going all in with cutscenes is too expensive to be practical, which is why the codec exists in the first place. Besides, audio only means Kiefer Sutherland can record lines from a studio instead of having to use the full performance capture gear, which I suspect is the reason why most of his dialogue seems to be there.

I just don't like his voice, it doesn't sound right. Not that it's a huge problem and it certainly wouldn't ever stop me from playing.

 

[KorrZ]

Greg Miller (Kinda Funny Games) - "This game lacks..the "Metal Gear Moment" - I don't know what that is for you, but for me that's...Hal kneeling over Sniper Wolf and her giving that awesome monologue as she dies and him crying and Snake being there and staring up at the stars and stuff where you're like holy crap that was awesome"

That's probably the most disappointing quote for me so far 1/2 way through the Kinda Funny review.

 

[Alienous]

I certainly don't think MGS5 makes a good argument for it. It's a pretty crappy way of storytelling in my eyes, and MGS5 definitely suffers from this method considering the general pacing of the story.

Verendus, do you have extended impressions somewhere? I saw what you posted earlier in the thread, and now this, seems like it might be insightful.

 

[legacyzero]

OMG dem reviews!!!

 

[Bishop89]

Fuck, I still need to play 2, 3 and replay 4 again as I stopped at

Spoiler

shadow Moses

when I played it years ago.

I know it's a prequel but I prefer to play games in release order