Last Game You Finished and Your Thoughts MKII

If someone winds up getting this in the secret Santa, your gift might - or might not - be from me.

There's only a few endings, and to actually get a credit roll you need to beat the game twice, as the true ending isn't even attainable first time through. The game's designed around that though, with unskippable cutscene moments becoming skippable, new content opening up and a whole new ending area. To that extent, it doesn't really feel like a second playthrough, and the game is jam packed full of little bits of dialogue that change based on your actions (nothing major, though), so it still feels pretty fresh. It's fairly short too - I got the true ending in 12 hours, with my first playthrough taking about 7 hours and my second playthrough taking a lot less (I faffed about at the end of the game, so you could probably complete this in 10-11 hours). There's a third ending I haven't touched yet, but I'm not going to get into it for actual spoiler reasons.

So... what was the result of your first playthrough?

So I spread far too much love in my first run, although I had a lot of chuckles along the way with my boy Papyrus, and did try to spare a lot of folks. In my ending the boy returned home, but Udyne became leader and vowed revenge on all of humanity, and especially me. I did make a snowman very happy though! Definitely trying my hand at a non-violent playthrough. I might read a few spoilers myself after that.

Also, fucking Flowey, man    

That's more or less my first playthrough - I spared all the bosses and mini-bosses, but I think I done in a few random encounter enemies. You absolutely should do what Flowey suggests and go for a non-violent playthrough. Also, a tip - I'm assuming by "a few laughs with Papyrus" you mean you had a humorous encounter in his home after his boss fight? If so, you can do this with two other prominent NPCs. Where to trigger their encounters can be tough to find, but it's in your best interests to find them.

small spoiler, but reason for why you should do so:

The snowman... man, I felt so bad in my first playthrough. He gave me a piece of him, I went to check its item info in my inventory and accidently used it, so I ate a piece of him in front of him. He burst into tears and called me a hurtful monster.

Flowey boss... horrifying. I actually recoiled a little from my screen when that eldritch terror popped up.

Some time ago, long before MGSV's release, Kojima released a picture of one of the new characters the game would feature. A female sniper, named quiet, wearing almost nothing at all. With a cheeky grin, he told us he was looking forward to seeing the cosplayers. What a hound dog.
Naturally, some people weren't impressed. I mean, just look at her! Suddenly Koj was giving it "she's a parody of the way games treat women" and "just wait until you find out the reason for her nakedness, you'll be ashamed of your words and deeds."
The parody thing might wash, if it weren't so hard to tell her apart from every other woman in games who wasn't a parody; including some of Hideo's own creations. And the "true reason" was some nonsense sci-fi gubbins which, rather than coming across as tragic, just feels like an excuse for her to look the way he wanted her to look. Even if it was supposed to be something to pity her for, nobody told the cameraman, who performs gymnastics to give us extreme close-ups of her boobs and butt at every opportunity.

What makes this all such a shame is that elsewhere the game does so well. When she's contorting in the rain or showing off jiggle physics, I love Quiet as a character. The reason for her silence, and her story of love and redemption makes a brilliant counterpoint to the blokes who never shut up and their tales of revenge. If she'd worn some clothes, and been filmed by less of a pervert, she'd be a fantastic member of the MGS pantheon. I can forgive all the nonsense, maybe even enjoy it, but I'd hate to be playing one of her scenese when my mum walked in. She doesn't even have the sense of empowerment Bayonetta or Eva has; she's naked so men can look at her.

Also, in a move that seems like a deliberate "fuck you" to Ubisoft, one can play as a female soldier at any time after recruiting one. They have all the same moves, all the same equipment and command the same respect as any male. Turns out, women are just people. Who knew!

After missions 30 and 31, the game launches into Chapter 2. The focus is lost a little; the Diamond Dogs have taken their vengeance on Skull Face and the main plot is wrapped up. Chapter 2 is about clearing up side-quests, developing Mother Base and crafting the legend of Big Boss. There are important missions, to wrap up the stories of Quiet, the kids, the parasites and the character you've been playing as all along. The problem here is that the game gives the illusion that to unlock these missions one has to complete a number of repeats: old chapters given horrible new rule-sets or extreme difficulty spikes. In reality, the game treats these missions like optional side-ops and, bar a few key objectives, the player can do whatever they fancy to unlock the final couple of chapters. I took the time to do some nice leisurely mine-clearing.

The annoying thing is, by rearranging the way missions are presented and taking the time to include the cut content this final section could have been much more palatable. But because its a little rushed and wonky, and because the internet loves to backlash against anything popular, you could get the impression the end is so terrible as to ruin the whole game! This is, of course, nonsense.

The mission in the quarantine chamber is the most heart-wrenching, harrowing thing I've done in a game possibly ever. Seeing my men salute me as I executed them to quell the disease, hearing them say "we trusted you, Boss!", listening to Emmerich be a whiny prick... I needed to put the controller down and have a cup of tea. Fuck me.

Then there's the mission when Quiet leaves. A kick-ass action sequence against a whole bunch of tanks and choppers, followed by a genuinely emotional goodbye. All of this is let down a little by the fact Quiet is almost sexually assaulted just as an excuse for her to not have trousers on, which makes me feel dirty and complicit.

And finally, there's the ending. The "truth" ending. As I'd predicted from the beginning (well, before that. Ever since I heard the medic talk in Kiefer's voice in Ground Zeroes) the player character is not the true Big Boss, but a body double. At first glance, this might seem like a twist for the sake of a twist, but the way its done and what it means is all really well done from both a plot and thematic standpoint.

For starters, it helps to explain events from the MSX game; how Big Boss was able to be in two places at once running FOX and Outer Heaven, how Snake managed to kill him twice and so on. It also added a nice layer to the "legendary soldier" aspect of the character. Venom Snake wasn't the real Big Boss, just another great soldier, but because people believed in him and his legend he was able to succeed. And finally, the way it all tied into my name and birthday and the avatar of myself I'd made at the start of the game was a really nice touch. Big Boss chose me to be his double because I was a loyal soldier and friend who was there for SE, PW and GZ. Which is true, I was! For long term Metal Gear fans, this moment lets them say "I am a character in, and a part of, this series I love. I am one of the Snakes." Which is really nice.

So the game doesn't give absolute closure on everything. Its also the middle game in what is now a 10-part series. If you want an ending, go to MGS4. This bridges the gap perfectly between MGS3 and MG (the game actually ends with a shot of Phantom Big Boss at Outer Heaven as Solid Snake arrives for the start of the very first game.)

Overall, I'm incredibly satisfied. Could a couple more months of development made it better? Of course.
Are there some questionable decisions in there? Of course.
Has anything better been released this year? God no.

What a game. WHAT A FUCKING GAME.
TEN OUT OF TEN.
10/10