Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Review Thread | Words That Kill

Zomba13 said:
I prefer codecs because even if it's just a character giving an info dump, they are giving it to Snake and it allows Snake to question things that we also question and then have the characters naturally expand on concepts and ideas they are explaining. With the tapes it's someone recording them for whatever reason. Some of the tapes in GZ made sense because it was like they wanted to record horrible shit happening and make Chico listen to them as a way to break him and in PW you had Paz with her diary.

They could both deliver the exact same information and be equally as missable but I think a codec call is better because even if it's a character just dumping information it feels more like a dialouge. I can see why they cut down codecs though and used tapes instead, less talking for Kiefer and you can have other characters talk and get the information to the player without having to have Kiefer comment or question.
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TAPE. HAVE. CONVERSATIONS.AND.DIALOGUES.

WITH SNAKE.
 
hydrophilic attack said:
The codec vs cassette tape "discussion" is so stupid. For all intents and purposes, they are the same thing, except for the fact that with cassette tapes, you don't have to be frantically calling every single contact over and over again whenever you make the slightest amount of progress or risk missing great dialogue for the rest of the playthrough. HOW IS THIS CHANGE A BAD THING? I LITERALLY CANNOT UNDERSTAND.
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But multiple playthroughs tho. All you have to do is remember what you missed from last time. Wait....
 
Nightengale said:
TAPE. HAVE. CONVERSATIONS.AND.DIALOGUES.

WITH SNAKE.
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You don't have the power to control what you want to talk/listen about. For example, in MGS1 you could equip a certain weapon and if you felt the need to hear Nastasha(weapons expert) opinion on it, you can. That's just one tiny example upon the many others.

ramyeon said:
I guarantee that most of the people complaining or crying "downgrade" have just flat out not even listened to the tapes in GZ or PW.
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I listened to them and I can assure you, they are fantastic but they are also a one and done type of deal.
 
Sn4ke_911 said:
Snake is doing the banderas.

Someone please gif this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o2zAaxgIAo
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8590400.gif
 
Death Metalist said:
LOL, I never knew that loving 4 means impossible to love the others as well. I love all 4 MGS games to death. Technically, my favorite one is 3 but for personal reasons(It was a cathartic experience for me after following and loving thw series since 1998-1999), 4 is my favorite.
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You are a good person.
 
Excellent reviews, which was expected. Now I just need to get a PS4 because I don't want to play this on a last gen console. It's going to be a pain waiting but this looks like a great introduction to current gen for me.
 
Death Metalist said:
That's just one tiny example upon the many others..
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That's valid. I myself agree tapes aren't perfect and there are tradeoffs. I do miss the trivia talk for EVERY SINGLE ITEM which was excised in PW for only selected items.

But there are a lot of ignorance surrounding the tapes and what kind of content are in there.
 
Death Metalist said:
No, that's why there was always the option to experiment and get more out of the codec, if you wanted. IF.
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And 9/10 you'll get the same thing you've already heard. I think you're vastly exaggerating the utility of the codec - just go and listen to a tape you haven't listened to yet. Better than calling random people on your codec until you get some new dialogue.
 
Death Metalist said:
You don't have the power to control what you want to talk/listen about. For example, in MGS1 you could equip a certain weapon and if you felt the need to hear Nastasha(weapon's expert) opinion on it, you can. That's just one tiny example upon the many others.
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Or you could just select the tape dealing with your current weapon for the exact same effect.
 
Nightengale said:
That's valid. I myself agree tapes aren't perfect and there are tradeoffs. I do miss the trivia talk for EVERY SINGLE ITEM which was excised in PW for only selected items.

But there are a lot of ignorance surrounding the tapes and what kind of content are in there.
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Agreed. I think that's because they were in a separate menu. With MGS5 allowing you to listen to them in-game, it'll be much better. I'm sure more people will get to listen to them now.
 
ramyeon said:
And 9/10 you'll get the same thing you've already heard. I think you're vastly exaggerating the utility of the codec - just go and listen to a tape you haven't listened to yet. Better than calling random people on your codec until you get some new dialogue.
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bishopcruz said:
Or you could just select the tape dealing with your current weapon for the exact same effect.
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Yet people still keep finding new shit within the codec for all 4 MGS games. I don't think there will be tapes for every single tiny thing and if there is, I'd be surprised but my point is that you had the option to experiment with this aspect of the game, in MGS5 you do not. That's a fact.

Mind you, I'm still getting the game(my favorite game series of all time) but I am also free to sound off my disappointments like the sparse story(I'll be the judge of that but as of now I'm only going by what I am reading/hearing) and no codec(there are tons of memorable and worthwhile codec moments which is basically rewards for your experimenting.)
 
Death Metalist said:
You don't have the power to control what you want to talk/listen about. For example, in MGS1 you could equip a certain weapon and if you felt the need to hear Nastasha(weapons expert) opinion on it, you can. That's just one tiny example upon the many others.
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You have that option with tapes too? That's why each tape has a title, so that you can determine whether they would be interesting to listen to or not. If you're not interested in listening to Kaz explaining nuclear deterrrence theory to Snake, then you just don't choose to listen to a tape with the title "nuclear deterrrence theory".
 
hydrophilic attack said:
You have that option with tapes too? That's why each tape has a title, so that you can determine whether they would be interesting to listen to or not. If you're not interested in listening to Kaz explaining nuclear deterrrence theory to Snake, then you just don't choose to listen to a tape with the title "nuclear deterrrence theory".
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True but it's just one example upon the many experimentation you can do when you combine the codec with what you're doing or sometimes looking at within the game.
 
hydrophilic attack said:
You have that option with tapes too? That's why each tape has a title, so that you can determine whether they would be interesting to listen to or not. If you're not interested in listening to Kaz explaining nuclear deterrrence theory to Snake, then you just don't choose to listen to a tape with the title "nuclear deterrrence theory".
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Exactly. They're similar to the point of being almost identical as far as the style of storytelling goes. The only difference is that the Codec gives you the illusion that you have more control over the dialogue.
 
Death Metalist said:
No, that's why there was always the option to experiment and get more out of the codec, if you wanted. IF.
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So you're saying that codecs are great because they are giving players so inclined the OPTION to experiment? I mean options are great. But don't you realize that in doing so you also take away, from those so inclined, the OPTION of listening to every single conversation, without having to tediously call every contact at random all the time?
 
WAIT... I thought there were five locations in this game. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

In a weird way I wish Konami held reviews until release day so we could get all the information at once instead of parsing info here and there.
 
hydrophilic attack said:
So you're saying that codecs are great because they are giving players so inclined the OPTION to experiment? I mean options are great. But don't you realize that in doing so you also take away, from those so inclined, the OPTION of listening to every single conversation, without having to tediously call every contact at random all the time?
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You gotta think about it positively, instead of seeing codecs as tediously calling every contact at random, look at it as engaging the player in interactivity and exploration to instill a sense of discovery while tapes will always be selecting things in a menu.
 
I'm glad to see the codec gone. I love the MGS series but having to constantly call people on the codec simply would't fit in with the style of gameplay that the series has progressed to. Even in MGS4 the codec felt out of place and broke up the gameplay. The inclusion of tapes is refreshing for me, when I'm on a mission I can do mission things, if I want to take a break I could listen to a tape or just put them on when I'm back at mother base.
 
PensOwl said:
You gotta think about it positively, instead of seeing codecs as tediously calling every contact at random, look at it as engaging the player in interactivity and exploration to instill a sense of discovery while tapes will always be selecting things in a menu.
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And exploring the game world to find hidden intel tapes? Maybe you need to think about it more positively?
 
PensOwl said:
You gotta think about it positively, instead of seeing codecs as tediously calling every contact at random, look at it as engaging the player in interactivity and exploration to instill a sense of discovery while tapes will always be selecting things in a menu.
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You must be joking.
 
hydrophilic attack said:
So you're saying that codecs are great because they are giving players so inclined the OPTION to experiment? I mean options are great. But don't you realize that in doing so you also take away, from those so inclined, the OPTION of listening to every single conversation, without having to tediously call every contact at random all the time?
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That's why I said if. I am speaking of myself of course but I really enjoyed finding the crazy, funny and often informative stuff when I play through the other games multiple times. Besides, in MGS5 when I'm going to listen to a tape, guess what I'll be doing? Hiding in a quite place so I could focus on whats being said lol.

PensOwl said:
I was thought the only tapes in the open world were music tapes?
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I am sure there will be hidden tapes, GZ and PW had them. Among the music of course.
 
PensOwl said:
I was thought the only tapes in the open world were music tapes?
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I would be surprised if that's the case.

Very mild spoilers from free mode in the Kinda Funny let's play.

He found a tape next to a portable toilet recorded by someone in the outpost he was infiltrating that had a soldier being sick in the toilets. I am sure there will be many tapes like this of varying importance to find if you're so inclined.
 
I don't care that codecs are gone either, but that poster is right. Codec was cool, and it is more active... conversation exploration was like mini-Snatcher. Calling Sigint about your items and Paramedic about animals in MGS3 was absolutely classic. It was really novel when elective, but has been dropped in it's traditional form due to it's intrusiveness in every other instance. It's still there in spirit with Kaz telling you stuff on the fly or pressing L1 to get info in binoculars etc, and you're just not locked into a screen with character portraits. None of the games except 1 had a Natasha equivalent that could blather on for hours about all the superfluous info you could ever want, so this is what we've always been moving towards.

Intercepting conversations as they happen would be one thing, but how else would you listen to conversations that already happened other than recordings? Nothing wrong with tapes. I suppose Kaz or Ocelot could play them in your ear for you, upon request, but what would that really add other than Big Boss seeming too infantile to press play himself?
 
Hmm... I've heard conflicting information on the tapes stuff (and FOB stuff, and wait timers...). It seems like a lot of this game is still under wraps, but its there's only a week left until the release so we'll find out soon enough.
 
MegaSackman said:
Tapes are recorded, codecs were live. Points for codecs in my opinion.
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Technically none of them are live. And you still have Kaz or whoever talking on your ear whenever you do anything (or something specific). And guess what? It happens without interrupting gameplay! EDIT: That's how it works in GZ at least.
 
Juan29.zapata said:
Technically none of them are live. And you still have Kaz or whoever talking on your ear whenever you do anything (or something specific). And guess what? It happens without interrupting gameplay! EDIT: That's how it works in GZ at least.
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Good point, is not really a big deal for me either way.
My only concern is the sparse story, I'll se for myself next week.
 
Ishida said:
Mmhh yeah.. I'm voting for Codecs too.
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Eh a lot of the codecs were situational and could honestly only be heard once. Not to mention you couldn't rewind them. I think you could in 4.

I personally prefer this method as I can listen to the tapes while actually playing the game if I want or if I'm just wandering MB.
 
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