For fear of spoilers, Konami invited journalists to review the game at five-day 'boot camps' tied to strict NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). We played between 9am to 5pm, with no unsupervised play outside these hours. That's a maximum play time of 40 hours, assuming no stoppages for eating, drinking, stretching… or reality. So you're trying to complete a 35-50 hour game (or longer, depending on your play style and the nature of your 'completion'… I can't say more), that you've been anticipating for five years, in a realistic window of 30-35 hours. On one hand, you're finally immersed in one of the deepest, most experimental, open-worlds in history – overwhelmed by side-missions, upgrades and secrets – on the other, haunted by a tick-tock race to reach the 'end' without knowing when that is.
Konami's conundrum is clear. Sending out retail review copies would lead to ruinous spoilers, but the alternative is no pre-release reviews. Extended access under duress is better than none but, twinned to our NDA, makes this a 'review' of what I can't and won't say. So with some fairly major caveats laid bare – is MGS5 everything we were all hoping for?
Based on the UK boot camp, I know of only one reviewer (who was able to play for six days) who has seen enough of the game to deliver a meaningful perspective… and I can't even explain why for fear of spoilers. In my boot camp, reviewers were charging through missions wearing the chicken hat (which makes you invisible) almost completely ignoring Mother Base and all the side-ops in a race for the 'end'. Will it score high? I mean, duh, but I don't feel the boot camp was sufficient basis to offer my views on Kojima's intentions and MGS5's abiding legacy.
At times, the boot camp felt like being gifted a bottle of Macallan 1946 whiskey in a frat house and being told to chug, chug, chug.
Many (if not all) of the reviews that are already online were written by journalists who were forced to play MGS V for eight hours every day, in regimented timeslots, while under instructions to share only the information that was deemed necessary by Konami higher-ups. Far from being a work experience course, this was a four-day review event, in which writers attempted to complete a sprawling open-world stealth game within a strict time limit.
Fans of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes may well have taken advantage of the incredibly useful “MGSVGZ Companion App”, which allowed players to access Snake’s iDroid directly from their mobile device whilst playing the game. If you enjoyed this functionality, you’ll be pleased to know that a companion app will also be downloadable for MGSVTPP! Find more info on what to expect from the App below.
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will have a companion app similar to the successful app for Ground Zeroes.
- Like in Ground Zeroes the app can connect with the main game to show the in-game map as you play. Acting as a second screen map in the palm of your hand.
- Using the app to navigate allows the player to see the map at all times and see more of the map on the screen than in game
- The app also allows you to listen to all records / music that you obtain as you progress through the game.
- The companion app is only available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and Xbox One and will be available for download on September 1st, 2015, in time for the game’s launch.
Al parecer, Konami habría dicho que el online será completamente jugable sin recurrir a los micropagos y que estos sólo permitirán conseguir cosas más rápido.Tampoco ha hecho mucha gracia lo de los micropagos en un modo online.
Seguro que ni habeis visto que no hay sombras en ese video...