Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Collector's Edition - PlayStation 4

It is a masterpiece game and because it is indeed Kojima last Metal Gear Solid game is a most buy. Very happy with my half size Big Boss arm!

I’m currently about 20 hours into Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Hideo Kojima’s farewell masterpiece produced by the infamous pachinko makers, Konami. And already, this is shaping up to be arguable the best Metal Gear Solid installment yet. Already known for its refined sneaking and stealth mechanics, MGSV: TPP somehow further builds on the control mechanics of its MGS predecessors. This is probably some of the most exhilarating sneaking experience I’ve had in any game. That is to say that the prior Metal Gear Solid games only allowed me to take one relatively predetermined path from point A to point B with some obstacles and structured sequence of events in between. The Phantom Pain is designed to be a whole lot more flexible, replacing the chapters and segments of old with an expansive list of selectable "episodes". This is familiar territory to those who have played the PSP prequel, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. There are also many side operations, which you may complete using one of the many Mother Base recruits in place of Snake. Unlike any of the Metal Gears before it, this is truly a vast open-world just waiting to be explored. And that’s going to take some time. 20 hours in and it doesn’t even feel like I’m close to making a dent in terms of the story's plot (which has some amazing plot-twists by the way and Episode 23 is my favorite thus far), something I'll look forward to over this long weekend. Kojima, himself, often encourage players to tackle missions using different tactics. One may opt to stealth their way past all enemy guards and security cameras and complete the assigned tasks undetected like a ghost, or go in full Rambo with guns blazing and bombard the enemy camp with Michael Bay levels of explosions. Each is viable in their own right. Bringing along a companion in the form of a horse, a mechanical D-Walker, a dog, and the silent female sniper, Quiet, further enhances the experience in unexpected ways. The game, however, does encourage a more pacifist approach, where it’d be more beneficial for the player to NOT murder every enemy soldier they can find. With the return of the largely satisfying Fulton recovery system that was first introduced in Peace Walker, Snake can kidnap unconscious enemies and Fulton them back to Mother Base, where they’ll be repurposed into your personal soldier slaves. Sometimes, it’s the level of attention to details that truly sets this game apart and beyond many others. I can no longer fulton enemies or prisoners of war while indoors anymore. (People don’t just past through roofs!) In a different scene, I would tranquilize an enemy guard from afar, only to realize that they had died by the time I reached them. Apparently, they fell face first into a puddle of water and drowned. :( On the other hand, there also happens to be some small gripes I have with the game. For one thing, the aim and fire buttons are inexplicably swapped to the trigger button and vice-versa for the binoculars and codec buttons. This is particularly strange as Ground Zeroes on the PS3 still had the aim and fire button mapped on L1/R1 respectively. And there’s no settings option to change this otherwise. Another slight quirk is the absence of codec conversations between characters, a staple of the Metal Gear series. Instead, this has all been replaced by cassette tapes that Snake can playback while on a mission. Pray that Kaz or Ocelot doesn’t radio you (which happens often), or their audio will overlap with the cassette tape. A lot of props should go to the Fox engine’s ability to optimize the game from a technical standpoint. The Phantom Pain runs at a locked 60 fps on the PlayStation 4 console and even during parts of the game that had heavy action and explosions, the game held its own and hardly ever stuttered. Combined with Snake’s great animations, this locked framerate makes every action in MGSV feel perfect. Crawling on the ground, suppressing enemies in CQC. EVERYTHING looks and sounds great. This is everything the final installment of the Metal Gear saga should be and more. Despite Kojima parting ways with Konami Productions, I will still look forward with anticipation to whatever new projects he’ll helm next……(even if it’s not Zone of the Enders 3).

I'll review only the collectible part from this Collector's Edition, as there are plenty game reviews around. First, this CE comes in a box that imitates leather, but it's just paper, and with a non-removable Diamond Dogs logo (because the best things always stay on Japan.) Inside the box, you'll find the 1/2 scale arm, packed in a way that it won't break even if the mail guy kicks the box. And on the other side of the box we have the Steelbook with a Blu-Ray full of extras, and a spoiler, so it's recommended that you only watch that AFTER you're done with the game. And the game disc itself, that comes in its own retail case. Inside the retail case of the game, aside from the obvious game disc, you'll find the map of the game areas, with hints. This is the same map as the Day One editions have. The PS4 CE, however, lacks the DLC from the Collector's Edition, so you can email either Best Buy or Konami, with proof of purchase, and they should email you your Collector's Edition DLC in a few days The Arm is fully articulated, meaning that you can move the hands and fingers pretty much like any healthy human being can move theirs. Which also means that kids and rebel teenagers might make the arm "flip the bird" wherever it's displayed. This arm, however, can hold a PlayStation 4 controller. Sure it's not the full scale arm that all western fans wanted, but it has almost everything its big brother has, except that the fingers, except the thumb, look too flimsy to me, seems like you can break them easily if you apply enough force. Overall, this is one of the few CEs in the market that is totally worth what you pay for it, which is why it sold out really quick. And even if it wasn't worth its price, collectors would still buy it, as it means both Metal Gear Solid Series and Hideo Kojima's farewell from Konami.

The game is fantastic, one of the greatest games of the generation by far. The collector's extras are some additional weapons and camo outfits, a leather box, steelbook case with making-of DVD, and of course, the arm. The arm is smaller than you'd think, but well made and more articulate than I expected. You won't be able to use it for much than light posing or holding small items (mine is clutching a small Hot Wheels car) but it makes a nice figurehead for a shelf.

Metal Gear Solid 5 somehow managed to maintain everything that was great about the old games, and bring it to an open world type game. This was a great trip down memory lane, it's just a shame if anymore iterations of the series are released they'll never be the same. I'm not sure I'd suggest getting the collector's edition over the standard, as the replica mech arm was a bit underwhelming. I think the steelbook was definitely cooler, but that's about all there is to this edition, minus some DLC you'll probably be able to buy later from PSN. Either way, if you're looking for a great game for your PS4, this should be high on your list.

The best Metal Gear to date. The controls are too notch and gameplay is fluid. I've never had so much fun playing a game and wanting to play for hours just for the gameplay aspect. The story is great as always from a Hideo Kojima game. This is a must buy!

Great graphics are just icing on the cake. The story is good, and the gameplay is more fun than MGS:4, which was my only complaint with that game. The new open world really adds to the experience. Go for it.

This game took me away from other time consuming games (Destiny and all those addicting phone games). It's got a little bit of exploring added onto the Metal Gear experience. Not so much that you're wandering aimlessly, but just enough to feel like you can do anything you want in context of the missions ahead of you. The only two cons I can think of are the way stories are told are mainly through "cassette tapes" but that's not really anything new here, and the other is that codec calls aren't really a thing anymore. Storyline is the usual mix of crazy/serious that makes this series awesome.