My MGS5 Experience

Started doing some of the actual gameplay in MGS5 last night.

I approach that first guard post all stealthy. Camp out behind a rock with my binoculars, spend a good 2 minutes looking around, and only see one guard. I switch to pistol, because it seems more hardcore, not realizing at the time it's tranq darts instead of bullets. I sneak up on him oh so carefully, hoping at some point I'll get the option to stealth attack him. I

And indeed I do! The hand icon shows up and I grab him. Then I go for the interrogate option, but can't for the life of me figure out how to select a choice. I didn't realize I had to press the stick down to select something. After experimenting with buttons for 30 seconds, I press something that lets him go. He turns around and shoots me. I fall on my ass and the screen goes red. I think I'm dead until he aims downward and lets loose a full blast from his AK into my crotch. Now I think for sure I'm dead. Yet now he's just staring at me, gun pointed down, while I lay on the ground unmoving. Seconds pass. No game over screen. Am I the king of stealth, and he's lost track of me? Is he holding me at gunpoint until the authorities can arrive to capture me? Is he just really, really confused about what I'm doing?

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Finally, I turn and fire about 6 shots into his crotch. Sweet revenge! Remarkably ineffective, though. I get shot a few more times and then he falls over with a "zzz" over his head. This should be when I realize that I was using tranq darts, not bullets, but that realization comes much later. For now I just figure he was incapacitated with the pain in his nuts.

I look down at his body, see the interaction icon, pick it up, and drag it behind a rock. I AM KING OF STEALTH! To celebrate, I go into the nearest building and steal some bio materials. Why? I guess because they're there. Where do I put them? Don't ask, don't tell. Feeling good, I stroll out the door back into the sunlight and start getting shot by the other guard, who I hadn't seen. He hits me a good 10 or 12 times, but the screen isn't even going red. I take my time and line up a headshot on him and drop him. I'm beginning to think I'm invincible.

I make my way to the big output northwest of there, where Ocelot tells me there is probably some intel. This stealthing goes much better, as I finally figure out how to try (and fail) to interrogate someone, and then choke them into unconsciousness. I take out most of the base with stealth and it isn't until I'm down to 2 enemies left that one sees me and I end up in a gun battle with them. I take them out after getting hit about 20 more times. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I'm part fire demon, and will be able to shoot all these bullets back at them at some point.

Now I know where Miller is. He's apparently exactly where we'd already assumed he was. Great! Now I know where to go last. I go visit a few more guard posts first, because SHUT UP THAT'S WHY, and of the four I visit, only one is taken down without getting into a major gun battle. There's also an unfortunate incident with a pleasant female voice telling me I'm leaving the mission area, and I cry a little inside, but then I head to one of the bigger enemy areas in the southwest. I forget the name of it.

Stealth goes to hell right away. I'm creeping up behind the very first guard when he turns and spots me. Thinking maybe I can salvage it, I keep moving towards him and hoping the grab icon comes up in time. Nope. I mean, well, it does, but not before he starts yelling and shooting me, alerting everyone else. I body slam him into the floor, spend a moment reflecting on my poor life choices while his friends shoot at me, and then run and hide. I circle around, pull out the binoculars, and tag the 8 or so guys roaming the hills looking for me. Where'd they call come from? I could swear there were only 3 when I started. Oh well. That's okay. I'm going to take them all out by stealth.

So there I am, having cleverly moved into position to take out the first, and in the process of choking him out, when his friend shows up and starts shooting me. It's cool. I finish slowly giving the guy his little nap, and like to thinking I'm whispering "shh, shh" and gently patting his hair as I put him down for a nap. At this point, I've cocked it up badly enough I just kind of want to let them kill me. Except they can't seem to. I'm running low on tranq darts so I pull out my primary weapon and go loud. I just sort of stand in the open and take my time lining up head shots on everyone. And usually missing. They hit me plenty, but I never die. I find the highlight of the experience is running up to guys who are down on the ground (but not out) from all the bullets I put in them, and then kicking them in the head.

Eventually, I get tired of shooting them and being shot. I'm not dying, mainly because I refuse to sit still, what with all the head-kicking I'm doing. But then I notice something. A mortar. OH YEAH. I crouch down next to that thing and just start sending mortar shells all over the base. Eventually, nothing is moving anymore. I send another dozen shells throughout the base anyway, for good measure. I check out the buildings and find a cassette tape with a song on it. I forget which. Looks like a single I could have gotten for $.99 in the store, but I murdered a dozen men to get it. I wonder if maybe I'm working for the RIAA and it's my job to recover and destroy bootleg mix tapes.

Eventually Ocelot starts whining about how I should really go save Miller, so I do that. I go at night and see a truck parked out front. That same damn truck I've seen driving around the map the last day or two. I stealth into the back of it and lay down, wondering if maybe it'll drive me into the base. Nope. As the driver gets in and starts driving down the road, a guy on the roof of a building sees me. The entire base goes on alert as one. The driver immediately stops the truck and hops out. 357 grenades come my way. Or something. All I know is that I found out that yes, you can die, if you're in the back of an exploding truck.

My next attempt goes a little better. I stealth takedown one guy before being spotted. Then it's an allout gun battle for 8 minutes, where I come close to dying a lot unless I run and hide. Eventually, the base is silent and still. This makes stealth much easier! So I run around until I find a crack in the wall where I can climb up, then jump between building, and then drop down inside Miller's building. Look at me! King of stealth!

Only, apparently not everyone was dead, because I start getting shot immediately. Two or three guys were in here and just didn't want to come out and play before. After some more crotch shooting followed by head kicking, I finally find and rescue Miller!