Peace Walker vs Phantom Pain

[solidelman]

I was wondering what A.G. and others around here would prefer if we placed these two games face to face, as they're both technically "missing links".

I think I'd prefer Peace Walker. Phantom Pain has better gameplay, but Peace Walker seems to at least make a better job at trying to explain Big Boss' "downfall" and is far more complete in content. I wasn't so satisfied with the story but boy, did it have its moments.

Thoughts?

[edward18]

Peace Walker makes more sense, but it still pisses me off. It forced Otacon's dad into the series, threw in all that super AI crap and giant-ass mechs that have no place back then, and kept dragging out that whole "Boss" issue when it was over and done with at the end of 3.

But Peace Walker's at least fun to me. 5 is nothing but "grr grim, dark, everything's bad forever". It's fun, and it has its moments. Plus I do like Venom Snake character-wise, but it's just so depressing compared to Peace Walker...though Paz x Big Boss has always just been really f...cking creepy.

What the prequel stuff after 3 shines in is the character interactions. Everything else can go to hell for me pretty much.

[Cerberus_0408]

It forced Otacon's dad into the series, threw in all that super AI crap and giant-ass mechs that have no place back then, and kept dragging out that whole "Boss" issue when it was over and done with at the end of 3.

Yeah, PW seems like a half-done POS. Like, it essentially sends MG1 and 2 down the drain. Why is the "historical weapon" like REX in 1984? Why is young Liquid driving it? Same dumbass reason that Otacon's dad sounds like Otacon? Horrid writing! Why is everyone related and connected? Why are the mechs in the 70's and 80's better than in the 90's and 2000's? All of this is very frustrating.

Peace Walker and Zeke were more technologically advanced in 1974 than TX-55 and D in the 90's. f...ck, Rex in 2005 wasn't even that mobile. Zeke was bouncing around as well as Ray and had technology to deflect missiles. How the bloody hell is TX-55 a revolutionary threat in 1995 when Metal Gear's were bigger, faster, and generally more advanced in the 70's and 80's? Playing these games chronologically now lessens the importance of earlier installments.

Everyone is connected and plot points rehashed. At first it was interesting but now it's like the later seasons of Friends, everyone eventually slept with everyone else. Snake and Otacon are partners... So were their dads, and they looked and sounded the same, and built a similar looking Metal Gear. Gimme a f...ckin' break! The Boss's death was a huge hit in MGS3... Let's bring her back as an AI... In 1974... Just to give Big Boss something to cry about. Liquid driving Rex in MGS1 was iconic... Let's have him do it 20 years prior in 1984 making his reveal in MGS1 irrelevant.

Big Boss vs Zero. If you go from MGS3 to MG1, it's perfect. You know Big Boss is pissed, but having him lead Foxhound in 1995 makes sense and you retain the big reveal as head of Outer Heaven, the only plot twist the game has. The less you know about him the better. Add Peace Walker and there is no reveal. Things also don't make sense. Why would Zero allow Big Boss to lead Foxhound when he knows he built Outer Heaven? How is TX55 a big deal when both the U.S. Government and Big Boss had this tech in the 70s and 80s? Why is development of Rex a big deal in 2005 when the CIA had Peace Walker in 1974 and a working Rex was active in 1984? Etc etc

I absolutely CANNOT stand it that the new games are erasing the notable reveals, watering down significant moments, and exploiting emotional moments of the earlier games. MGS4 was partially guilty of this, but just on a few notes. Peace Walker is raping the series.

[A.G.]

Hmmm... Probably a tie.

I think that both games in terms of plot are not a good fit into the series. They both introduce story, characters, and mecha that do more damage than good to the overall plot.

MGS5 is fun to play. Peace Walker is a 2010 PSP game. Any way you slice it, it's extremely limiting. MGS5 gives you gameplay variety that you can have fun with.

MPW, however, is actually complete. That can't be ignored. MGS5 is broken in many ways (cut content, repeating chapters, inability to replay many key moments, inability to rewatch cutscenes, no way to start a new game).

It's really a toss up. The sad part is in comparison of these two games it boils down not to which one you like more but to which one you hate less.

[Cerberus_0408]

PW should have been released on a normal console. The very fact that it was a portable game caused there to be lesser buttons. But it's fun, and is unlike normal MGS games.

I would say plot-wise, it falls short of the standard set by previous MGS titles. As for gameplay, replay value is there.