Metal Gear Solid Pachinko: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, it's been about eight months since Metal Gear Solid V released. It's easily one of the best games of 2015 and maybe the best Metal Gear Solid game in terms of gameplay. Anyways, fans have doubted the continuation of the series due to Kojima's departure from Konami.

However, this trailer released back on Monday shows a remastered Snake Eater using the Fox Engine, which powers Metal Gear Solid V. The trailer itself isn't bad, but the reception to the trailer is not good at all. Before I go more in depth about the trailer, let me show you a screenshot.

Just admire the beauty....

Seriously, Snake Eater was a great looking game when it was released back in 2004. Just looking at what the Fox Engine is capable of shows us how far we have come in terms of graphical technology. It even shows that Konami is capable of re-re remastering Metal Gear Solid 3.

This brings me to my main beef with the trailer. Metal Gear Solid 3 is being turned into a pinball machine just in case you didn't know what a pachinko was.

What the hell Konami!? You're telling me that you have the budget to make a pinball machine and not a full remaster? I understand that Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and Peace Walker were remastered in HD for both Xbox 360 and PS3 a while ago, but this is using the Fox Engine!

Imagine if Metal Gear Solid 3 was released as a full remaster. It would sell like hotcakes! I know I would be willing to buy it since Metal Gear Solid 3 is a great game.

Instead of actually remastering the game, why not release Chapter 3 for Metal Gear Solid V. I have no idea if it exists anymore, but if it does you might as well bring it back and release it for free to make up for all your wrongs.

Nonetheless, Konami is only going down the drain. If they did decide to make a remaster of Metal Gear Solid 3, then they would actually gain some respect back.
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The Game Awards 2015: My Thoughts

Hey Guys, the Game Awards were on Thurday! I did not hear of it until last week, but I thought I check it out to see how bad it was going to turn out. Remember VGX 2013? Yeah, that was pretty bad. I didn't get a chance to see the Game Awards 2014, so I really can't give a fair opinion.

What can I say about it? Well, I thought it was okay. It wasn't great, but I did find some things from the show pretty cool.

I really loved the tribute to Satoru Iwata. They could have done a little more, but what they did was still honorable to Iwara nonetheless. I really wished more would have been said rather than just having sad music played for him.

If you were on the livestream or watched the Game Awards a little later, remember the the Best Performance winner announcement? I thought that was hilarious! I forgot who presented it, but she said Witcher 3 won, but then Viva Seifert from Her Story actually went up to the stage to get the award. It was a minor mistake, but it was pretty funny.

What I took away from the show was Rocket League coming to Xbox One! It won't be coming until February 2016. However, I really was disappointed that cross-platform play will not be allowed on the Xbox One version. You can blame Microsoft for that.

Okay, let me go on about Game of the Year. It was obvious that Mario Maker and Bloodbourne would not win due to them being console exclusive games. I already knew Fallout 4 wouldn't win because it hasn't even been out for a month. Additionally, it would be a pretty boring show if everyone knew it was going to win since the game would obviously win if it were released earlier in the year.

It was between Phantom Pain and Witcher 3. You should have seen the comment section during the livestream. You had people just typing angrily of who would win. I wanted Phantom Pain to win, so you could imagine how disappointed I was to find out that Witcher 3 won. However, I'm not going to complain about how MGSV should have won.

What I am going to complain about is the fact that Hideo Kojima wasn't allowed to be at the Game Awards! Konami is only proving itself to be the lowest of the low in gaming companies. I don't even think EA would pull off something like this!

Overall, I still enjoyed my time watching. You can find the livestream on YouTube, but I think the audio was messed up when it was processing.
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A Response to Samuel Roberts's Article "Why MGS5's ending is one perfect moment in a bad story"

Hey Guys, it's been a while since I mentioned anything about The Phantom Pain. First, I loved the game. It's easily a competitor for Game of the Year! I even gave the game a high score on my review of it. However, I did not give it a perfect score due to the story. Although I may not be a big fan of the story, I would not say it is bad.

I stumbled upon this article and have a mixed response to it. If you want to check out Samuel Robert's article, be sure to click here. If you did not already guess it, but this post will contain spoilers for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Please, do not read on if you plan on playing the game and/or are currently playing the game.

As my usual response posts, I will be breaking down some key quotes made in the article. I will not just be focusing on quotes that I disagree with, but this article does have some valid points that I need to address. Anyways, let me get started,

• "As someone who's followed the series very closely since the original Metal Gear Solid, though, I find so many of the creative decisions behind the story baffling in tone, approach and content". He does have a good point here, but I would not say that there is a complete loss of creativity is this game. A vocal parasite that effects the English language? That sounds pretty unique to me. However, I did feel that this game really did lack a lot of what made the previous entries in the franchise's story so good. 
• "Like a lot of observers I was onto this from the start of MGSV's story. In my review-in-progress piece in September, I called this version of Snake 'an anonymous action hero' and ‘an empty vessel'". If you're confused as to what he was talking about in the first part of the quote, he was talking about how most people were already aware of the fact that you were not playing as Big Boss. If you went into the game without knowing that you were not playing as Big Boss, then you would have already caught on to the fact that Big Boss really lacked in character in the Phantom Pain. Seriously, I think Big Boss had like 5 or 10 minutes worth of dialogue in the entire game. Why the decision was made for Big Boss to remain silent is beyond me, but I think it had something to due with the fact that this is not the real Big Boss.
• "Having lost nine years of his life to a coma, he then gives up his own identity to assume that of his ally for his protection, through both hypnotherapy and plastic surgery, then builds an entire army and forges relationships on an entirely false premise". The Medic is essentially a nobody. Mr. Roberts even addresses this later in the article. If anything, it really makes you want to feel bad for him since everything the Medic did means nothing since most people saw him as Big Boss including himself.
• "But the story feels deliberately unfinished—Quiet, Huey and Eli (Liquid Snake) all just vanish in various ways throughout chapter two, stripping more and more of Metal Gear’s lore away from The Phantom Pain". Honestly, the game does feel unfinished. Chapter 3 must have been cut from the main game because Chapter 2 was just painful to play through. Personally, I felt it was just filler at that point. There really was no closure to the game, but I feel there is as future DLC that will give this game a proper closing. 

In the grand scheme of things, Metal Gear Solid V is a great game. However, it is easily the worst game in the series in terms of story. Honestly, I do not feel the "ending" was great either. When I found out I wasn't playing as Big Boss, I felt so cheated. At the same time, it was still a genius ending as it was Kojima's way of giving the ol' tip of the hat to fans of the series.

We can't help but feel bad for the medic since his story is pretty tragic. Although we are not playing as the real Big Boss, it does not take away from core gameplay. As I said before, the story isn't bad in terms of video games in general, but I would say it's bad in terms of Metal Gear standards.

Till Next Time!!

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Review

Hey Guys, it's been about 3 weeks since Metal Gear Solid V released. Critics are praising this game like it was the second coming of Jesus. However, does the game really deserve perfect scores? To be completely honest, no it doesn't. Please, just be sure to hear me out and understand where I'm coming from. I will keep this Spoiler free as I'll have a spoiler talk in a separate article. Anyways, onto the review!

Story: 7 out of 10
That's right, I'm giving this story a "solid" 7 out of 10. You want to know why? Well, the game does have strong voice acting, despite the fact that Big Boss barely talks in the game, and the story rarely has a dull moment during Chapter 1. This game will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, this game lost 3 whole points due to the fact on how weak Chapter 2 was. Please, don't even get me started on that ending. If you've beaten the game, then you'll know what I mean. This has to be one of the most polarizing endings I've seen all year. The ending is both genius and disappointing. Essentially, the second half of the game is a huge slap in the face. Most of the missions are just challenges from older missions once you get to Chapter 2. Just enjoy Chapter 1 for as long as you can. The story will keep you busy though. I think I put in above 40 hours worth of gameplay once I finished the story.

Graphics: 10 out of 10
We all already know how awesome the Fox Engine looks! This has to be one of the best looking games on current-gen consoles. I played this the Xbox One version and I have to say that it can stack up the PlayStation 4's level of graphics.

Gameplay: 10 out of 10
It's clear as to where all the focus was at. This is an open-world stealth game. It's similar to Far Cry, but it's so much different in every way at the same time. You don't even have to play stealthy either! The game doesn't penalize too much for going guns-blazing other than making it more difficult to survive and a lower score, but most of us really don't care about the score.

I would also recommend taking full advantage of the buddy system. D-Dog and Quiet are especially helpful buddies that can really help you out if you're feeling stuck. D-Dog is more for stealth-players while Quiet is pretty much versatile. The more you use them on the battlefield, the more your bond with them grows. Once they reach a certain bond level, you can unlock new commands for them as well as new outfits.

How could I forget to mention Mother Base? It's amazing getting to upgrade Mother Base while progressing through the game. You have to gather resources in order to do this as well as recruit some soldiers for your base. You can even play as some of them as part of your Combat Unit! FOB Mother Base really isn't that good. I think it's just there just to be there. However, make sure to upgrade Mother Base as it allows you to develop new weapons and new weapon upgrades. The Fulton device is a huge help, so make sure to upgrade that, so you're able to capture vehicles and larger weapons such as turrets and mortars.


VGT Score: 9 out of 10
Look, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain does not deserve a 10 score. However, it doesn't change the fact that this game is awesome. This game has an insane value for only $60, so I would highly recommend that you get this game at full price. Trust me, it's worth it.
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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Impressions #2

**I just finished the game last night, but I will not spoil anything. I will have a review up soon on this game.**

Hey Guys, it's been a while since I made the first impressions post for The Phantom Pain. I finally finished Chapter 1 of the game, but I still have not completed Chapter 2.

For those of you wondering on how many missions there are in Chapter 1, there are exactly 31 main story missions that make up Chapter 1. I got up to mission 43 on Chapter 2 which has to be one of the most brutal, yet most emotional part of the game.

However, I don't like the fact that most of the missions in Chapter 2 are pretty much pointless. Seriously, a lot of them are just difficulty spikes of older missions while only a few of them actually continue on with the story.

My Mother Base has also been making some real progress as well. It might be a joke when compared to people who put in 70 hours or so into the game, but I still feel like I've been putting up more of an effort.

I still can't connect online. I'm really getting frustrated with this because I just want to transfer my save progress from Ground Zeroes into the Phantom Pain, but I have no idea if I will ever be able to do so.

Sorry I couldn't say much more, I can't a whole lot without spoiling the game to you guys. If you have not played the game yet, please go out and buy a copy. It's worth the $60.
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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Impressions #1

Hey Guys, it's been officially 4 days since Metal Gear Solid V released and I barely had enough time to play it. I believe I put in around 10 hours into the game and I'm not even at 11% completion of the game. I believe the game only times you during the main story missions, so I'm not sure if side missions are counted.

Before I begin my impressions of the game itself, I want to bring up the server issues I'm having with this game. I'm currently playing on the Xbox One version of the game, but I still can't connect to the servers. Konami stated they fixed the servers, but players will still have issues with it. I really don't care about uploading my scores for the world to see, but I do care about importing my Ground Zeroes save file into the Phantom Pain. If somebody has been able to import their save file, please message me about what it has because I really can't find any hard evidence of what you get if you played Ground Zeroes.

I'm currently on the mission where you have to rescue Emmerich from this base camp and I recently just defeated Quiet. I have to mention that the boss fight with Quiet was pretty cool. It wasn't difficult, but due to the unpredictability of the climate you never know what might happen. I had this sandstorm occur in my session and it was just a stressful fight since I had no idea where I was going or where Quiet was even at.

I haven't really expanded by Mother Base too large. I believe I have the second command post up, the medical bay, and the R&D post up. I'm pretty excited to see what my Mother Base will look like if I spend my materials improving it.

So far, I'm really digging this game. There's just so many activities you can do in this game. I'm pretty early into the story, so I still have some time to put in to really see what this game has to offer.

I'll be doing these updates as long as it takes to beat this game and put up the review to this game. However, I put in enough time to say that this game is worth its price tag. You're going to be busy with this game for a while, but it's mostly due to the stealth element of the game.
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Metal Gear Solid V's Reviews are Insane!

Hey Guys, if you didn't already know reviews of Metal Gear Solid V have been releasing yesterday. We already knew the game was going to be good, but "good" is a big understatement to describe this game. Just look at these scores...

I swear I didn't edit this. You can check this out right here on VG247

I'm positive that we all expected this game to be good, but apparently not THIS good. However, it seems reviews happen to criticize the same thing which is the story. I've seen that most of them are mixed. IGN believes it to be "sparse" while GameSpot says that it has a rather weak conclusion. Apparently, there is also this paywall that GameSpot was talking about for the multiplayer, but I don't really think it should be a concern until the multiplayer portion of this game releases.

Should the game receive a 10 even though the story may not be as good? Honestly, I really don't think it matters. Critics universally loved the gameplay! There is just so much content in this game that it really doesn't matter that the story may not be that good. How would we know there is a lot of content? The game is way too long to complete before actually releasing it on September 1st. Seriously, I bet most reviewers wouldn't be able to finish it in time if they received their review copies three days before the game releases.

If anything, more games should have early reviews like this! Think about that for a second. If critics got to release early reviews for games, then people would know whether to buy it or not. Pre-orders for this game are going to rise for this game! I don't even know if I'll have time to review this game seeing how long it's going to be. However, it should be safe to say that this game is worth full price.

Before I end this, these reviews were coming from the PS4. I don't know anything about the last-gen versions of the game, but there really is no reason for anybody who doesn't have a current-gen console to buy this game.
Till Next Time!!