Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a action-adventure stealth video game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami in 2015. The game directed, written and designed by Hideo Kojima. This project was Kojima’s last game at Konami.
The game takes after the events of Ground Zeroes which was a stand-alone prologue released the previous year. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was released for Playstation 3, 4, Windows, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on September 1, 2015.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Story
In 1984, nine years after the destruction of MSF, Big Boss awakens from a coma in a hospital on a British military base in Cyprus. Quiet, who is Cipher assassin, tries to kill him. But he is rescued by a heavily bandaged man called Ishmael. They escape the hospital while evading pursuit from Cipher soldiers and two superhumans, the Third Child and the Man on Fire.
Big Boss loses Ishmael, but he is found by Revolver Ocelot and brought aboard Diamond Dogs, a new mercenary group founded by Kazuhira Miller on an offshore platform near Seychelles. Big Boss begins searching for Cipher. Snake becomes involved in the Soviet–Afghan War and the Angolan Civil War.
He recruits the superhuman mute sniper Quiet. Scientist and MSF associate, Dr. Huey Emmerich. Code Talker, a Navajo expert on parasites forced to work for Cipher. Snake captures Eli, a British child believed to be a clone of Snake and leader of several child soldiers. But DNA test confirms that Venom Snake and Eli are not genetically related.
Snake learns that Cipher’s leader, Zero, was usurped and XOF, a rogue faction of Cipher, was responsible for destroying MSF. XOF’s leader Skull Face considers Cipher’s plan for world peace akin to making it culturally American and intends to release a parasite that kills anyone who speaks English.
A modified parasite gave Quiet and XOF’s elite soldiers, the Skulls, their unusual abilities. After releasing the English strain parasite, Skull Face plans to use the threat of the latest Metal Gear Sahelanthropus to make nuclear weapons desirable.
He believes that nuclear deterrence will attain world peace while protecting other cultures. In secret, he will retain remote control of the weapons. Skull Face refuses to use an AI for Sahelanthropus, so it’s dependent on the Third Child’s psychic abilities.
During a test, the Third Child betrays Skull Face. Had Sahelanthropus seriously wound him and crush the Man on Fire. Snake defeats Sahelanthropus and recovers one of Skull Face’s three parasite vials; one is missing and the other is taken by the Third Child and given to Eli.
Skull Face is left to die by Snake and Miller but Huey executes him. Sahelanthropus is brought to Mother Base. Eli, the Third Child and the child soldiers later steal Sahelanthropus and flee. It is revealed that the Third Child’s powers enthralled him to the will of the most vengeful person nearby. Meaning Sahelanthropus’ attack was instigated by Eli.
An epidemic of parasites occurs on base, forcing Snake to kill many of his men in order to contain it. To honor them, he has their cremated remains turned into diamonds to carry into battle. Huey is accused of causing the epidemic while attempting to mutate the parasites to sell as weapons.
Alongside suspicion of his role in MSF’s destruction and evidence that he murdered his wife Dr. Strangelove for preventing him from using their son Hal in experiments, Snake exiles him from Diamond Dogs. Quiet disappears in Afghanistan.
Code Talker reveals that Quiet was infected with the English parasite to spread it within Diamond Dogs. But her allegiances shifted and she remained silent to prevent an outbreak. Huey’s mutation of the parasites convinced Quiet that she could not guarantee the group’s safety.
Snake finds her and helps fight off Soviet forces before they hide. Quiet is forced to speak to call Diamond Dogs when Snake is bitten by a venomous snake and flees to avoid causing another epidemic.
In the end of the game, it is revealed that this Big Boss is not the real Big Boss. MSF medic caught in the explosion that injured Ishmael, the real Big Boss. During his coma, the medic was transformed via plastic surgery and hypnotherapy to serve as a decoy for Big Boss while he wages a covert war against Cipher.
After the truth reveals, medic takes the name as a Venom Snake, instead of Big Boss name. It is possible to say that he takes this name because he got bit by venomous snake.
Venom Snake goes on to set the events of the Outer Heaven uprising in motion. After his death, Big Boss resurfaces during the Zanzibar Land disturbance. Miller and Ocelot discuss Big Boss’ plans to create Outer Heaven. While Ocelot remains supportive, Miller is disgusted at his former ally’s deception and vows to assist Venom and Big Boss’ son David in hopes of contributing to his downfall.
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