Greetings, Antlion Family!

We’ve got a big ol’ blog update for you all today, featuring an ass-kicking review of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain from one of our very own here at Antlion, as well as a few reminders about our ongoing "I Love My Modmic" contest and our upcoming TwitchCon 2015 appearance at Moscone West in San Francisco, CA.

 

First things first; our friends over at Tom’s Hardware posted a quality review of the ModMic 4.0 earlier today, be sure to give that a look. We are very excited to be featured on their news section and stay tuned for more from them on yours truly.

The deadline for the "I Love My ModMic" or ILMM contest submissions is approaching fast: all entries must be submitted before 11:59pm PST on Friday, September 18^th. Entries are weighted to reward video and photo submissions with extra chances to win big from our list of fabulous prizes:

Grand Prize: $100 Amazon + Gigantic Beta Key (Chosen by admins)
2nd place: $75 Amazon + Gigantic Beta Key (Chosen by admins)
3rd place: $50 Amazon + Gigantic Beta Key (Chosen by Randomizer)
4th place: $50 Amazon + Antlion Audio shirt (Chosen by Randomizer)
5th place: $50 Amazon (Chosen by Randomizer)

To enter now follow the instructions in the Gleam Contest App.

For complete details and other awesome Antlion exclusives, hit up the Player’s Club.

 

Another quick reminder: Starting Friday, September 25^th, you can find the Antlion Audio crew raising our Kappas at TwitchCon 2015. Kreygasm. PogChamp. If you’ll be in attendance make sure to visit us on the show floor at Booth #2600. We’ll be giving away some sweet Antlion gear and we are excited to reveal a few surprises for what you can expect from Antlion Audio in the not-so-distant future!

 

Saving the best for last now, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. I know I can’t wait to sit down and get completely lost in this one. Keep scrolling to check out what our man Mister Black has to say about some of the finer details in the game that other reviewers have missed (NO story spoilers!).

DISCLAIMER: This review is for the PC Version. As of this writing, the online portion of MGSV:TPP is unavailable. Minor spoilers, (and NO Story Spoilers) lurk ahead. I’ve put in about 60+ hours in the game but have not quite gotten to the end. I’ll update this if the higher-ups at Antlion will allow me to!

The Devil’s in the Details: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 

By now, you’ve probably read enough reviews on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and why it’s so good: 

“The story is dished out in morsels, so you'll have to work for the full meal, but it's hard to call it "work" when controlling Big Boss feels so good, with so many possibilities at your fingertips.” 

“Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain doesn’t just respect my intelligence as a player, it expects it of me, putting it in a league that few others occupy.” 

In classic Spaghetti-Western style, I’d like to take a look at the good and not-so-good of the game that other gaming publications may have missed or only glossed over: 

The Good: 

• The astonishing attention to detail. Dust rises up as you crawl on the ground. Enemy soldiers take a quick stop for a smoke while on their patrol. Your binoculars and directional mic are now combined for efficiency. 

• This probably won’t matter for you pre-1990 gaming whipper-snappers, but for a Gen-X’er like me, finding cassette tapes in the game with full-length versions of classic 80’s hits is a big treat (it makes sense to have these songs since the game itself is set in the mid-1980s). You can even play them on a loop while going through missions! Having your helicopter land to Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” is somewhat appropriate. 

• Customization, customization, customization. You have absolute freedom to finish a mission however you want. Your final score for a mission isn’t (too) negatively affected if you decide to go on a kill-crazy rampage. You can develop your seemingly endless variety of weapons however you like, depending on if you find the right personnel for your R&D. Keep in mind that setting off a Combat Alert, retrying a mission (either by death or just re-starting) is a bigger factor in lowering your score. 

• You can customize the emblem that appears on Snake’s shoulder, provided you earn the options through the game (via capturing animals, marking enemies, etc.) There are endless options that the game gives you; it’s pretty staggering. 

• You can make the game as easy or difficult as you want. Man’s best friend definitely makes the game easier; for a challenge, don’t use him at all and mark your enemies on your own. Have you completed all the objectives in all the Missions? Me neither. Want to make it even harder not to get spotted? Turn off Reflex Mode and the white “someone’s suspicious” markers. 

• The subtle nods to previous games in the series.

• “Excellent, Snake… age hasn’t slowed you down one bit.”
• “Snake, what happened? Snake…? Snaaaaaaaaaaake!!!”
• The sound effects for series’ staples, such as switching weapons/items and an enemy being alerted, never changing since Metal Gear Solid 1.
• Stealth camo is still available! 

"At first glance, even I can't see Snake."

"I like how Snake covers his eyes with his arms when the Helicopter draws near."

 

The Bad: 

• David Hayter not being the voice of Snake. Would you change Michael Jordan’s number (it actually happened, but that didn’t last very long, did it)? No offense to Keifer Sutherland - a great actor in his own right - but replacing David Hayter as the voice of Snake is borderline blasphemy. I think this really affected the cut scenes, because Snake barely talks at all throughout the game. When he does, I keep asking myself, “Where the hell is David Hayter?” 

• Speaking of which - those of you who enjoy the trademark cut scenes of the Metal Gear series, you’ll be disappointed, as they are fewer and further between. Depending on how you’ve felt about Metal Gear cut scenes in previous entries of the franchise, you can see this as a good or bad thing. Do you yearn for more of the awesome voice acting that the series is known for, or do you find yourself watching an interactive movie? The former seems more appropriate, since the game is now in more of an open-world format. 

• …To be honest, I can’t think of much that is truly bad about this game. If you haven’t played it yet… what are you waiting for? 

The Ugly: 

• The metal spike in Snake’s head that cannot be removed (you’ll find out why early on).
• The flies that circle Snake’s head if you don’t take a shower. Seriously.
• A face that only a mother could love… although I’m not sure if even his mom loves it.
• A little too much butt-crack in the beginning hospital scene.
• Quiet’s “camouflage.” Granted, there is an explanation on why she wears what she wears, it’s definitely near ugly per se, and I personally don’t see anything wrong with it (just joking here)… but still! Feminists are fuming right now. 

Any other subtleties of the game you’d like to point out? Let us know via FB or Twitter! 

-Mister Black