Venom Snake being voice by Sutherland has been a sore-spot for some fans from what I've seen, however I would've just liked it if Venom had more lines in the first place. Combat and CQC flow wonderfully, weapons are fun to use, and being able to set my chopper to arrive blasting whatever music I want makes me smile more than I care to admit.

In the end the only two things that even remotely disappoint me about the game are the apparent lack of bossfights and how quiet things feel. Cutscenes are a bit sparse and far-between, and during missions and dialogue cassettes Snake rarely talks. I'm just nostalgic, though. I always liked the cheesy, excessive dialogue because it reminds me of being younger and hanging out with my best friend. Some people might hate how few cutscenes there are, some might find it a refreshing change, I just so happen to fall on the former side of the fence.

All-in-all, I dig it. Could've used a few more proper boss encounters, but for what it is I really enjoy it.

Cameron wrote:

Haven't picked it up yet (due to various reasons like the lack of David Hayter, Quiet just seeming like a dumb concept, and the gameplay in general looking way different in playthrough videos I've seen compared to previous games), but do you guys think I should check it out? I adore MGS2, 3, and Peace Walker (haven't played much of 4 due to not having a PS3), but 5 looks like a pretty drastic change.

Prepare for a quieter performance from Sutherland. He is not bad, per se, but I guess they didn't give him much to talk about. Even during heavy situations he is often silent. That aside the gameplay is really fun, if not a bit repetitive, and Quiet is pretty easy to ignore if you don't care for having a sniper partner who communicates exclusively through humming. I tend to bring in D Dog, myself.

LeshLush wrote:

This is one series I've never played at all, which is probably rooted in the fact that I had an N64 and not a playstation. It's one of the few long-series of highly-praised games that I don't have any experience with. Every now and then, I'll get curious about it, so I'll look up Metal Gear Solid characters online to glean a little bit about what these games are like. This always ends with me whispering, "what the fuck?" to myself, and not putting any effort into seeking these games out. So my question for the rest of you, is, what am I missing? Somewhere talk me into giving these games a shot.

My reasons are probably the most shallow out of anyone. I love the ridiculousness of the tech, the trademarked wacky dialogue and character arcs, and the work of the VA's for the earlier titles before V. Growing up my best friend and I often played the games and spent hours dissecting all the little secrets spread across the game. Some boss fights reacted to items in certain ways, others had neat little quirks you could expose if you were patient enough to experiment. Amidst everything else were really cool weapons and neat little unlockables.

It just clicked with me as a kid and I rolled with it. I love the sounds when you equip items, use rations, and quick-reload your gun. The whole presentation just gels with me, and I think large part of it is simply because it was a great common ground between myself and a friend. There is a lot to talk about, even if it can all be exceedingly hoakey at times.

Sorry for the lengthy response. It is one of the few series I am exceedingly fond of.

lordsathien wrote:

Neutral-Bob wrote: ...Quiet is pretty easy to ignore if you don't care for having a sniper partner who communicates exclusively through humming. I tend to bring in D Dog, myself. D-Dog was incredibly useful until I brought up my bond with Quiet, now I just put her on Cover Fire with a suppressed Tranq rifle and the humming rarely comes up. My Intel is level 50 or so, making it easy to notice enemies that Quiet's not yet scouted out before they're a threat. I haven't used D-Gear at all. Further, Huey's Battle Gear was intended to be playable at one point, but Kojima saw how OP it made you and took that ability out.

I've heard that she is really useful, especially once you get the tranq rifle. She just doesn't fit my playstyle. I've actually wanted to give the D-Gear a try as I've been slowly upgrading it in between weapon and base upgrades. It looks like a really neat partner capable of fulfilling multiple roles depending on your preference. I just stick with D-Dog because he is adorable and he is surprisingly intelligent when I'm infiltrating a base. He'll actually split up with me and act as a diversion. Pretty neat.

Have you used D-Horse that much at all? Outside of it's speed and the ability to use weapons while riding it, I haven't found much use for it.