In amusingly typical series fashion, Metal Gear Solid V isn’t a sequel to Metal Gear Solid 4, just like 3 wasn’t a follow-up to 2. And Hideo Kojima the director of this game is very pleased to release it in 1-September-15 by amazing optimized graphics and performance as well.
Truth be told, The Phantom Pain is set in 1984, putting it almost a decade past the events of Ground Zeroes, but also about a decade before the classic Metal Gear from the 8-bit days. In typical Metal Gear fashion, expect enemies and scenarios with a bit of a fantastical, supernatural twist, and some heady, controversial topics (such as child soldiers). Frustratingly, the game also has some awkward, potentially sexist overtones: female character Quiet wears only a bikini and shredded stockings on the battlefield, plus you can place an image of a half-naked woman on the cardboard box you’re hiding in to lure enemy guards.
As introduced in the prequel, Metal Gear Solid V is the first entry to ditch Snake’s original voice actor, David Hayter – who has been replaced with none other than 24 star Keifer Sutherland. It’s strange to not hear Hayter in the role, but Sutherland does a good job of lending gravitas to a gruff, damaged man back for another fight. And when it comes to presentation, parts of The Phantom Pain look downright stunning. The Phantom Pain promises to be 200 times the size of Ground Zeroes, delivering open environments marked by dynamic weather and a day/night cycle. On one hand, that means now there’s no set path for Snake to pursue: no perfectly-designed corridor to be led through, and we’d guess very few ventilation shafts to crawl into, seeing as most of the game seems to take place outside.
Creator ‘Hideo Kojima’ likes to push the envelope, but it could be a bit off-putting here from what we’ve seen.