This year should be a big one for console gamers, especially for fans of action, adventure, or shooting games. With a ton of these new titles set to hit the shelves, gamers will be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. There is one that already seems to stand out, though. In terms of hype, this game beats out all others, hands down. The game, of course, is…
You guessed it! Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. This game will be the final installment of Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear franchise, and fans can’t wait to see the story rounded out. If you aren’t familiar with the franchise, don’t worry: Kojima has said several times that the game is intended to be enjoyable as a stand-alone instillation.
If you’re a fan of stealth-based combat games, games with gripping stories, or games that allow you to roam in an open world, this one has what you’re looking for. An official trailer was released some time ago and since then, several gameplay demonstrations have taken place at various conventions and put on YouTube. The few and far-between release, intense action, intelligent stealth system, and incredible graphics of these trailers and demonstrations have cultivated an extreme amount of hype toward the release. The exact release date is unknown, but it’s scheduled for release in 2015 (some speculate that it will be within the first quarter of the year).
In the game, you’ll play as Big Boss, or Snake, as he goes on a quest for revenge and becomes the villain, as we’ve seen him as in prior games. That might sound like a spoiler, but MGS fans already know this since MGSV, chronologically, takes place before other games with Big Boss (as a villain). Since the protagonist is a legendary soldier, hell-bent on revenge, creators have promised it will be dark and graphic, something those who played “Ground Zeroes,” can attest to. Ground Zeroes was a prologue and demo of sorts for The Phantom Pain that was fun, but very short. This is mainly because the release of Ground Zeroes was never intended by Kojima, he was merely under contract with Konami to release something that year. Instead of releasing the unfinished MGSV, he elected to release the actual game. However, he has promised to deliver in all the areas in which the demo left us feeling a little short-changed. The playable area in-game is said to be 200 times larger than that of the demo, and from gameplay trailers, it’s clear that options for combat, stealth, and infiltration have also increased by a huge factor.
The gameplay demonstrations have impressed upon audiences the sheer number of gadgets and resources that will be at their disposal as they play the game. By allowing players to use various means and routes to scout, assess, and then sneak or fight through a variety of expansive areas, this huge, open-world game allows players to be creative and make plenty of choices—always the mark of an enjoyable game. The multiplayer reveal trailer also got us excited about the prospect of making some of these choices with friends and working together to take out the other players as tactically as possible.
Again, the game itself is reportedly huge—too much to cover everything here—so if you’re interested, we highly recommend that you take a look at some of the trailers for yourself. Once you do, the hype should make perfect sense. Enjoy!
