I just started playing this again thanks to it being free for PSN subscribers, and I can say that you can skip much of the opening sequence by pressing the middle button and then choosing to skip cutscene. It makes it bearable, and gets you to the amazing game pretty fast!
Oh praise jebus
I am too old to keep track of what goes on in all these wacky plot lines… Same problem with MGR and most anime. My brain is just not as sharp.
But here’s the deal; the game is REMARKABLE. One of the best stealth action games I’ve ever played, and I’m smart as shit. :)
Skip every cutscene, like me, and you’re in goofy stealth heaven. I just upgraded my Inflatable Decoy Man with a speaker, so now he spouts little Solid Snake phrases while distracting enemies.
Also:
Solid?
Oh man. I too picked it up free the other day, and I really wish I’d known about skipping chunks of the intro. Still, it’s a bit fun to actually have played it, I now know I have great patience.
I’ve only played 2 or 3 missions so far, but I honestly got so freaked out about The Skulls that I get a pulse everytime I finish a mission, just in fear of encountering them again. Don’t know if I’ll survive seeing them again.
BUT - I’ll keep playing until that happens. So … of you don’t hear from me again, you’ll know The Parasite Unit killed me.
Oh man. I really loved this game. Came in as a definite Metal Gear fan, but Phantom Pain is really the epitome of the series. Still has some Kojima craziness, but a more appropriate amount. The plot does not make a ton of sense, but I actually found myself enjoying the themes of language and legacy/identity. While I’m still not sure if Quiet was supposed to be satire, wish fulfillment, or some combination of both, I even found myself enjoying the relationship between her and Snake by the end of the game (not as much as the relationship between Snake and D. Dog though.
In terms of pure stealth gameplay I do not know of a more enjoyable experience. Really well constructed environments that allow for lots of choice in how to approach missions. Difficulty/AI almost always felt appropriate in that when you died it felt like it was because you messed up and not that the game was unfair. And, a much longer game than expected. I did take a lot of time to go through side quests, and build up my base, but even just the standard story took up a significant portion of my time (and, a lot of later missions would be very tough if you do not take some time to develop your arsenal and sidekicks).
Yes, the game is not perfect, and it is a shame that the final act did not get the completion it deserved, but what a great note for an iconic series to go out on.
Not sure where to put this (maybe P&R) but enjoy.
So this is on sale for the next week and I’m thinking of getting it, but I would like to know about the mission length and the possibility of saving during a mission. How does saving work in this game? Does it use checkpoints or can you save and quit anywhere?
All I know is that was the most painful, boring, nausea-inducing-shaky-cam, melodramatic, weird-Japanese-shit, cinematic-in-the-worst-possible-way, can’t-skip-a-god-damn-bit-of-it prologue in the history of all video games and I seriously hope the rest is a dramatic improvement.
Before you get close to an area with enemies (e.g. outpost, base) the game always saves a checkpoint just before you enter the area. This is so, whether or not you are following a main mission or side mission. So yes there are various and generous checkpoints (in fact I would say this is the checkpoint system done right, without needing to resort to save anywhere).
Mission length can vary. Some are scripted and timed, some are completely open, as long as you complete the objective.
One thing I have to say is that the beginning is pretty tough, because you are totally underequiped for the first few open world missions. Once you opened up your mother base for R&D, then it is a steady state of nirvana. Every hour or so you get a new toy to play with, and approaches to missions really opened up.
Thanks for your detailed explanation! So there is no way to save mid-mission? Unfortunately, that structure is pretty much incompatible with having a toddler.
I agree with this 100%, and yes, the game gets dramatically better after the prologue.
Tried this game. I get a vertigo just watching the abundance of cut scenes. I thought it was my not used to my widescreen monitor. One time I had to lie down after just an hour of gameplay… and then I saw that I am not alone. Thanks for validating!
I now skip the cutscenes whenever I can… the game is nice so far and I am enjoying this Metal Gear Solid (never own a PS before).
Are there any “must have” mods for this game? This is my first play through.
Noooooooooo…!!
[ed]
This one is pretty good too.
Hell yeah.
Now that is some funny shit.
I finally was inspired to actually play a few missions of this after going through the interminable intro sequence a few years back because the bulk of the gameplay looked fun, and it is!
Couple of questions: does one have the empty magazines to create distractions from the beginning? Because I could swear I didn’t, so I couldn’t distract those weird zombies at the end of the first mission.
Also, when I requested an evac helicopter after the second mission, the game didn’t let me “get to the choppa” so I wasted that money. What gives?
Finally, when you do get to the evac chopper, is D-Horse also extracted automatically or did I accidentally leave him last time?