5. Gameplay Changes
Fans of the series were sent into a frenzy when details of the gameplay demo at the Kojima Productions LA office were revealed. Some video game websites wondered aloud if Metal Gear Solid V was even Metal Gear anymore. A lot of people are comparing it to Splinter Cell instead. Some of the changes that were revealed included the following: slow motion executions to avoid alerts, possible regenerating health instead of the tried and true ration system, tagging enemies to monitor their movements, lens flares indicating when an enemy is able to see Snake, an evolved CQC system where stealing the enemy's weapon is possible, and the ability to steal and pilot vehicles. Some of these changes have me very excited, but others have the opposite effect so far. Minimising the elements contained in the HUD is a welcome change, but using blood spatter on the screen and just needing to seek cover to get back to 100% health would take a lot of the stress out of sneaking through a level and trying to avoid full-scale alerts. The executions could really go either way for me, but it does feel a lot like a copy of Splinter Cell, or even the latest Hitman for that matter. Stealing and driving different vehicles adds another level to the game, but the reports indicate that the driving itself seems to be very clunky and that could definitely detract from the experience. I am holding my breath with some of these changes, and putting my trust in Kojima to make them work.