7 Ways Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes Is Better Than Phantom Pain

4. It Is Instantly Recognisable As A Metal Gear Game

Starting up Ground Zeroes you had warm feelings of familiarity alongside the stark new features. A lone operative on a solo sneaking mission to infiltrate an enemy base? Check. Tutorial and mission briefing given via radio whilst approaching the first enemy engagement? Check. Some graphical feature or location that wows the player in some way - in this case the aforementioned search light towers in the FOX engine? Check. A significant reason Metal Gear succeeded in the west was because, despite the paranormal elements, the game began under the pretence of a straightforward militaristic action game that always pushed graphics and narrative. But with The Phantom Pain we're put into an awkward survival horror tutorial and made to wait a good hour or more to reach the actual "Metal Gear" part of what was meant to be there from the get-go. It was not as engaging as its predecessor because it just didn't feel 'Metal Gear' enough, as weird as that sounds. I was actually confused with the "Create-a-Face" tool in the hospital, mistakenly believing I was making an online soldier for later, and how wrong we all were about that.