A Closer Look: Metal Gear Solid V - The Phantom Pain

Probably one of my favorite trailer's I've had the pleasure of viewing so far out of E3 was the one that started off Microsoft's Press conference, MGS5 (or MGSV, however we're going to shorten this).  If your big into the Metal Gear lore, then there's a ton of info here to sate your appetite.  Let's break it down:

0:14 - "It's not just them..." - presumably we're talking about either XOF or Cipher, or both or whatever name our enemies are going by this time.  Judging by this bit of dialogue, it's looking like Big Boss and co. are being framed for some international incident, perhaps having something to do with their own private Metal Gear.

Also, we've got our first audio clip of Ocelot, who's sounding a bit Troy Baker-ish to me today.  Later in the trailer, we'll hear more of the classic Zimmermen inflections that really sell the Ocelot presentation.

Other stuff: building the army again and saving Miller, starting to sound like Peace Walker all over again.  Also, we're in Afghanistan.  How is that for an info dump in just under a minute?

0:52 - Looking closely, we can see Snake still has a metal shard of... something... still embedded in his skull.  Still trying to figure this one out, might have to do something with the car wreck from an earlier trailer.

Binocular callback to MGS 1 and 3, used early in the game to explain the rules of the soldiers on the field.

1:06 - Revolver Ocelot's speech patterned perfectly

1:30 - Horse Stealth, don't mind me, just a random white stallion roaming the canyon

1:42 - Realtime Weather has a lot of interesting implications when it comes to stealth and combat.  Nothing like that clutch sandstorm limiting the sightlines allowing you in undetected.  Bonus points if Konami makes some post game items that let you manipulate the environment at will.

1:53 - I'm still not entirely sold on lots of different vehicles in a stealth game, but am willing to accept this as a conceit of getting around a supposed "open world."  Stealth Jeep gameplay ahoy!

2:00 - ...or better yet, Stealth Tank gameplay.

2:12 - It's here I wish we could see more UI elements.  Will we be able to mark and memorize targets that we've scouted out?  Keeping track of how many soldiers are roaming the battlefield could be quite the handful.

2:28 - Stealth Truck Gameplay!  Also, this is where "Sins of the Father" starts to kick in.  Donna Burke always does fantastic work when it comes to the MGS soundtracks and I can't wait for this single to get released.  Practically have this trailer on repeat for the song.

2:42 - Another semi-gimmicky feature at first glance that could have some cool implications if done correctly.

3:08 - Jumping across buildings - probably the most dynamic action given to players in the whole Metal Gear saga.  Don't know if this is context sensitive yet, but we can see the player do a similar dive out of the light later at 3:20

3:25 - Pretty awesome move, wonder if any of the CQC options will utilize the Zadornov hand

3:31 - Here's some of our first dialog of Snake as done by Sutherland.  I'll be the first to say that I'm going to miss Hayter's signature brusque delivery, but I'm willing to give this a shot.  It's strange to me though that Miller is still voiced by Robin Atkin Downes, same as in Peace Walker. Still, he does a great job of sounding like he got the stuffing beaten out of him, more on that later.  Great "kept you waiting" callback.

3:53 - This looks like some of our ally and rogues gallery as is typical to the MGS series.  Some old and new faces, so lets run them down:

-Kazuhira Miller - A Visonary robbed of his Future - The ally from Peacewalker that turned out to have closer ties to cipher than we would have liked.  Japanese born and former mercenary,  Kaz has always been full of random trivia and sad backstory.  Most players will also remember his quasi-appearance in MGS1.

-Quiet - A Sniper deprived of her Words - Getting very strong hints of Sniper Wolf here, but as with many of the next people, friend or foe?

-Eli - A Youth who Curses his Fate - Anybody else getting a Joffrey vibe from Game of Thrones?  Wouldn't be surprised if he was involved somehow with some of the child soldiers we'll being seeing in a bit...

-Skull Face - A Ghost without a Past -As best we can tell, this is our main antagonist for the game, yet we're still short on a lot of details.  He seems to lead the XOF (thats Fox backwards) and looks to be the person who imprisoned Chico (earlier trailer).  I'm about dead even on if this guy is brand new or a returning Metal Gear character.

-Emmerich - A Technocrat who Stands his Ground - This is our tech expert from Peace Walker and Father of Otacon. Prior to 5, Huey here was stuck in a wheel chair, now he seems to have a set of robo legs.  While he's typically an idealest, much like his son, he is looking somewhat megalomaniacal here

-Ocelot - A Rival living a Lie - Whoo boy, here's our common link among all the Solid series and by far the most complex  story.  Son of a super soldier whose allegiances seem ever shifting,  Ocelot may be an ally today only to be a rival tomorrow.  While not always clear, he always has an endgoal.  Seems to idolize Big Boss, so it'll be interesting to see his interactions with our supposedly fallen legend.

-Code Talker - A Wise Man denied his Homeland - I got nothing on this guy.  Shhhhh

-Those who "Don't Exist" - Seemingly nightmarish ghosts from the series history, fans have lots of interesting speculation on these threatening visages.  A gasmask laden child evokes imagery of Psycho Mantis.  A towering figure in a familier red suit seems to call back to Colonel Volgin.  Real enemies or PTSD trauma?  We'll have to wait and see...

4:40 - We've been told by Kojima that this game will be dealing with darker themes than any past MGS game, like race and revenge.  Here we have another touchy subject:  Child Soldiers.  Kojima is going to have to take great care with this subject in order to give it the reverence it deserves.  It's one thing to have a main character recall his past as one,  it's another thing entirely to possibly present it as a gameplay element.

4:49 - Some escort mission, I'd rather just carry you

4:58 - ...or drive you

5:05 - This scene is rather confusing.  At first glance, it looks like Big Boss might actually be killing Chico.  More probable is that he's applying pressure to some kind of wound (thats what I'm hoping anyway)

5:10 - Snake looking back at a shadowed figure.  I think this is Kaz, though the getup is not unlike some promotional material of Snake in Peace Walker.  We could be looking at some more clone action going on, wouldn't be too far a stretch for the series.

5:12 - Outer Heaven on fire.  And I put so many man hours to staffing my tech department too...

5:23 - Kaz has the sound of revenge in his voice, not so idealistic this time.

5:29 - Children and the Diamond trade, this is some heavy stuff

5:39 - Punished Snake - A Fallen Legend - It's interesting to note that we now almost have more appearances of Big Boss than Solid Snake in the MGS series.  Exactly what Big Boss is being punished for is still unclear.  Here's hoping will finally see that transition from legend to villain.

5:45 - Finally, we see the extend of Kaz's wounds.  Missing an arm and a leg, Kaz will most probably no longer be a soldier but more now an advisor.  It's interesting to note that this conflicts with promotional footage that we've seen of Master for later games (kind of).  Still, he seems like he's calling the shots, and a messed up hand isn't stopping Big Boss, so perhaps there's hope for him yet.

6:01 - "Cipher sent us to hell..." Kaz wants that revenge, and Snake just sounds exhausted, great way to end the trailer.


Great visuals with a great song really help to sell this trailer.  What do you guys think?  Leave a comment and let me know!