ChiefsPlanet - Video Games All Things Video Games & Game Reviews Part II

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Played via a PS4 (on a 55 inch 4K that I had to buy after my kid put a baseball bat thru my plasma).
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To start, I'm trying a different format for my reviews. We're going to break this up a bit and then summarize.

Starting with a quick overview...

MGSV is, (if rumors are true) the final installment of Mr. Punished Venom "Snake's" adventures into creating a military utopia. You play as Snake, (aka Big Boss) once again while he tries to take care of a slight problem in 1984 Afghanistan. If you all might recall, the Soviets decided Afghanistan would be a good place to settle and play their hilarious communist games. Unfortunately for them, several mercinary groups (aka Private Operation Forces) enjoy making money during wars and Snake's group, The Diamond Dogs are no different.
Hilarity ensues as you shimmy across the Afghan Desert and the Jungles of Africa recruiting, (kidnapping) soldiers and stealing equipment.
You're also on a revenge plot against another Private Army for their actions against Snake's previous group nine years earlier.
All in all, the story has many layers and this is a spoiler free review so pardon me for not going too in depth).

Graphics:
Since buying my PS4 a year ago, several games have impressed me with their graphics. The console is just about as close as you can get to a very good PC. However, nothing's really made me say "Holy Shit" quite like this game. It's exceedingly polished, runs perfectly at 60fps and I've had no lag whatsoever. There's been no rendering issues, glitches or fuzzing either. It's by far the most polished game I've seen on this system. I have no doubt it's pushing the console to the limit.

Sound/music/voice acting:
As you raise your 7mm or your mammoth .50 cal sniper rifles, line up a perfect headshot at 400 meters and pull the trigger you get the full satisfaction from the shot. It feels more real than any military sim game I've ever played. Each weapon has its own, unique sound and it's very immersive.
Explosions, tranq guns and flame throwers all sound perfect as well.

The music in this game is wonderful. As you explore the battlefields and your home base, you discover audio tapes with a full compliment of 80's era top 40 music, classical music or some tunes that are country-specific. You can also set these songs to play on your helicopters loudspeakers as you enter/exit the field as well. Ever want to go full "Apocolypse Now" and play Flight of the Valkyries as you fire your side-mounted mini-gun? Well, now you can.

The voice acting in this game is very good. Kiefer Sutherland is playing the role as snake and even though he doesn't talk much, the lip syncing is perfect and the voices are rich and true.

Gameplay: You know, I've played a few of the MGS games back on my old PS2 and NES and I still really have no idea what in the sweet chocolate Christ is really going on. From what I understand, dudes are pissed at other dudes for some shit that went down in Columbia a few years back. Snake was in a coma and then a giant flaming whale chased him and Jerry Garcia on horseback. Ok, in other words... You don't really need to know what's going on with the lore of this game. It brings you up to speed, eventually.
There's a lot to do in this open world military/espionage simulator. Take down outposts, steal equipment and materials to build your army, stealth or go full Rambo and even check out a hot chick in a bikini named 'Quiet' while she showers.

Speaking of Quiet...
Seriously Kojima? Did you have to do that shit? I won't dare play this game around my woman due to the harsh looks it'll bring. Basically, you have a buddy that accompanies you on missions. She's very attractive and the boys over at Konami/Kojima decided to focus on her tits at every opportunity.
Kinda inappropriate, really. I guess they needed something to reel in those 13 year old boys.
Other than that, the gameplay is great, (although it gets a bit old and repetitive at times).

Storyline:
There's not a whole with this game's storyline for the most part from main mission to main mission. "Go here and kill these assholes. Why? Because commie."
However, once you really delve into the game and listen to the audio-tapes and clear several missions, it opens up and becomes interesting, (and very weird).
I played about 60+ hours and finally thought I had beat the game. Come to find out, that was only the first chapter.
Now I'm deep into the very repetitive, boring and tedious second chapter. It made the writing in Chapter 1 look like ****ing Shakespeare. It's seriously very monotonous and you can definitely tell where Hideo Kojima jumped off the Konami payroll.
Speaking of Konami... Don't look for any more games from them any time soon. Rumor has it that they're taking orders from the Japanese Mafia to make Pachinko machines about their old video games. Assholes... First Silent Hills and now this shit?

Moving on to the online element.
It's really shit. You can construct "Forward Operating Bases" (FOB's) and staff them. Then people can raid your shit and take it and your troops. But that's ok, thanks to Konami you can buy insurance plans and they'll replace your stolen shit.
I highly recommend you just play this thing offline and enjoy the game for what it is. If you do so, you'll be enjoying a definite Game of the Year contender.
I'm scoring this at a solid 8.5. It would've had a perfect score if not for the half-assed storyline in chapter 2, the "Quiet debacle" and the shitty online effort.
It's a beautiful game, very well done and exceedingly odd. It is well worth paying full price. Yes, it's been out a while but I wanted to wait to write this until everything was done.
It's a good experience and you'll get anywhere from 70-90 hours of gameplay.