The Phantom Pain, the fifth instalment of Hideo Kojima's stealth action saga Metal Gear Solid, isn't due on store shelves until September 1. Though still about a week away, the review embargo on the game was lifted earlier today. So what's the verdict on the game? Good. Very Good.
The game has received near universal acclaim from review outlets across the internet with many, praising its rich open world, near limitless player freedom, and flexible stealth gameplay. The Phantom Pain has received perfect, 10/10 scores from IGN and Gamespot, and currently sits at an astounding 95 average from 15 tallied critiques, on review aggregator metacritic. One should note, that the number may rise or fall as more verdicts come in.
IGN's Vince Ingenito says:
"The Phantom Pain is the kind of game, I thought would never exist - one where every minute gameplay detail has true purpose."
He praised the game for its challenging gameplay that demands careful planning and strategy from the player.
Gamespot's Peter Brown thinks, it's the best in the series. No small feat, considering the accolades past games have garnered.
"When defining the best Metal Gear game, things get trickier, but with The Phantom Pain, that problem is finally resolved. There has never been a game in the series with such depth to its gameplay, or so much volume in content. "
The game's few flaws seem to come from its story. IGN's review specifically singled out the 'sparse' narrative as a negative. Gaming blog Kotaku also noted that the series' signature cut scenes, which sometimes exceeds 30 minutes in length, are seemingly absent from this instalment.
"I have yet to see a cut scene that's run longer than a few minutes, other than the prologue, which lasts about an hour and a half and is essentially a cinematic tutorial." writes reviewer Jason Schreier.
Regardless of these minor issues, it looks likr Phantom Pain has lived up to the considerable hype surrounding it. September 1 can't get here fast enough.
