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We just got back from a long weekend, and both Andrew Reiner and I spent much of the that time playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. It's been a polarizing release, with some old-school fans decrying the game's open-world direction and lack of a traditional narrative. As it turns out, Reiner and I see the game differently, as well. I decided to try to get into his head a little bit and get him to articulate his biggest beefs.
Jeff: I couldn’t help but notice your flurry of Metal Gear Solid V tweets this weekend. It doesn’t seem as though you’re having a great time with the game so far. Would you say that’s accurate?
Reiner: I’m having a good time with it, but I wouldn’t say I’m enjoying it in the same way I have other Metal Gear Solid titles. The Phantom Pain is a departure for the series. Sure, it is built on the series’ tentpoles of stealth and technology, but applying those concepts to an open world dramatically changes the experience. Many of my tweets were in reference to how different it is.
Jeff: I think that’s why I love it so much. Joe and I were talking about it this morning, and I think moving the action to an open world was a long time coming. When you move the action outside into large spaces, the old routine of having guards walk on predetermined paths doesn’t work anymore. I love sizing up an area, figuring out how best to approach it, and then having the tools I need to get away unharmed if something goes wrong. It seemed like you want more old-school stealth.
Reiner: I agree that the open world gives players different avenues to tackle the stealth scenarios, but the randomization in enemy formations takes away from the intensity and randomization in the encounter design. I feel all too often the best strategy is to sneak behind a rock, wait for an enemy to turn his back to you, grab him, strangle him to sleep, then attach a balloon to him. I’ve done this over and over again in locations that all look the same, and in many cases use the same architecture. My favorite stealth moment in the game so far is a predetermined or scripted encounter in the Prologue, where Snake must evade two troopers by ducking beneath hospital curtains.
Jeff: Your point here is what inspired me to bother you about Metal Gear in the first place. I don’t understand what you’re looking for, ultimately. Do you want the guards to be placed in particular locations, and follow specific routes? Does that seem more intense?
Reiner: I would like to see a little of both, actually. The open-world setting doesn’t have much variety in terrain or the structures within it. The enemy placement is almost always the same within each base or city. There’s a guy behind a sandbag, another up in a tower, a couple under a tent. I feel like I’m running into the same scenarios over and over again. Maybe that’s just the luck of the draw tied to the randomization. Right now, there doesn’t seem to be much variety in the enemies or formations, just the way I can approach them.
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