Postby Gob Hobblin » Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:53 pm
MGS V is one of my, hands down, favorite games. In spite of it's almost crippling story and characterization flaws, and the fact that you spend a lot of time in some of the most inactive warzones on record (who the hell are all these Rhodesians and Russians fighting, anyway?)...and that the resource management system is simultaneously engaging and infuriating in ways that make it broken...I love MGS V. I love it to pieces, which is one of the reasons why it drives me crazy that I feel like it was only the parts of a truly fantastic game.
Just pondering it, I could see the sinews (from previous MGS titles) of a game I would have liked to see, but did not get. So, I thought of what I would have wanted to see in MGS V.
Having a stagnant warzone is not in itself problematic: many hot wars are currently simmering right now in stabilized fronts or well-established DMZs. This was true for the bush wars and proxy wars of the Eighties. So, having that element is not a problem.
The problem is, there are no sides. There's just Big Boss, and everybody else. It does wonders for paranoia, but, considering the anti-war slant that Kojima clearly has, it would have benefited the game to have multiple sides. War is a gray and gray prospect much of the time, and the Eighties, being a clash between the ideals of capitalism and communism, were hardly a time of straight good guys and straight bad guys. The Mujaheddin we supported became the nascent core of the Taliban that we fought a fifteen year war against, the the African guerillas that we opposed, while often vicious and freely using child soldiers, were also fighting against the oppressive and racially restrictive regimes of apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia.
Allowing Big Boss to try and navigate this murky world as a true mercenary, bouncing back and forth between both the Soviets and the Americans, being a true proxy fighter, having a fundamental impact on the war, while trying to navigate back and forth across the lines...THAT would've been interesting.
Also frustrating was the distinct lack of civilians and population centers. They gave an in-story reason for why they weren't there, and removing the ability of the player to commit war-time atrocities is not a decision I oppose (I actually applaud Kojima for refusing to give in to a temptation a lot of other games freely allow). Still, having civilians caught in the crossfire, allowing Big Boss's actions to either save them, harm them, or simply leave them to fend for themselves...there's some moral ground to explore there that I think the FOX engine would have been good for exploring.
Small unit tactics would have been nice, too. Sure, you're a super soldier, but...you have an army. And there's a lot of space on your helicopter.
You can't drop in with a squad? Or buy some twin-rotor helicopters to deploy some jeeps? Imagine a little tactical or strategy side game inside of MGS.
My heart...she yearns....
