“This is Snake.”
The name is Snake. Solid Snake. Unless its Venom Snake, then it’s Big Boss. While the character backstories are as complex as Kerbal Space Program and character timelines as convoluted as a Dr. Who episode, The Metal Gear saga has withstood the test of time, thanks in part to the franchise’s unexpected twists and revelations, cinematic gameplay and impeccable voice acting. The brainchild of renowned creator Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear first appeared in 1987 on the MSX2 Computer, and since has gone from strength to strength, even as the narrative has changed – hosting various sequels and prequels, and numerous cast iterations – The Snakes, Venom Snake, and Big Boss. At one point, there was a sarcastic katana-wielding cyborg ninja. Though t🐈hat’s a totally different article altogether.
Considered by many as the best Metal Gear game in the series’ history, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, is the latest in Kojima’s extensive lore, winning numerous Game of the Year awards and accolades. An open world action-adventure stealth epic, MGS V puts you in the booܫts of Big Boss, leader of the Diamond Dogs – a private military group – as you traverse the plains of Afghanistan and jungles of Africa that house Kojima has built.
Innovative mechanics, improvisational gameplay, and X-Com-like resource management only further immerses you into its astonishingly deep open world. But if you don’t pay close at💧tention, this open world can swallow you whole – making you miss the intricate details that may just be staring you in the face, ready to be Fulton-ed away.
Here are 15 awesome things you didn't know you could do in Metal Gear Solid V – cardboard box included.
Oh, and potential spoilers ahead.
15 ꧑ We Bought A Zoo
While everyone may know about the wolf pup you can raise to become the stone-cold killer D-Dog early in the game, did you know that you can also ꦅbuild your very own animal conservatory?
One of the amazing things about Metal Gear Solid V is the use of the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system. But what you may not know about the Fulton system in MGS V though is that it can be used not only for recruitment of military contrac⭕tors, but also any animals you come across in the field – provided certain upgrades are me﷽t of course.
Once you’ve tranquilized and airlifted yo🅷ur chosen game, they re-appear i🌠n a dedicated area in your Mother Base, organized by dietary requirements and even an avian platform.
In total, there are 4♐7 different species to capture, including two Ultra Rare animals, so happy hunting!
14 🌳D Stands For Dung Patties
A particular history story tells of how cities in 19th century battle the ꧋environmental disaster of seemingly endless deposits of horse manure with the introduction of personal cars and electric streetcars.
Well, in Metal Gear Solid V, horse manure makes a spectacular comeback. When you have a high enough bond with D-Ho🦋rse (Diamond Horse, not Dung Horse), you cꦐan make D-Horse defecate on command, lending itself to one of the silliest ways to Fulton recruits out of the area of operation.
Simply command D-Horse to discharge on the road and wait for a light vehicle to approach. When one does, the horse dung will cause the vehicle to spin out of control and daze the soldier on board. T🐟his gives you ample time to extract them via the Fulton system – all thanks to horse poo.
13 Cardboard Boxes: Not 🦄Just For Shipping 🗹
When is a box more than a box? When its found in Metal Gear Solid of course!
One of the pillars of the Metal Gear Solid franchise and a fan favourite of the saga is the preposterously versatile cardboard box. Since the original Metal Gear game, it has been a mainstay of the franchise, with its seemingly endless application – from an infiltration aid to an effective hiding place. Well Metal Gear Solid V adds another use for this infinitely purposeful thܫrowaway item – desert sledding.
The pinnacle of tactical espionage operations, simply find your favourite hill in this open-world sandbox, get a running start, dive, and let your cardboard shenanigans take over. While 𝕴its one way to derive some silliness for a generally stark and dark subject matter game, its an also effective way to travel in the absence of your buddy D-Horse. Provided you’re heading downhill...
12 Bionic Commando 🐓
Losing his arm in the aftermath of the Ground Zeroes incident, Venom Snake’s bionic arm goes through various renditions as you progress through the game. And much like Spencer of Bionic Commando fame, this prosthetic arm provi🤪des Big Boss with a myriad of uses, none more ridiculous than the non-lethal roꩵcket arm.
A late-game item, the rocket arm requires the necessary research, employing the Bionic and Cybernetics specialists and meet the minimum requirements for R&D, Intel, r🔯esources, and GMP. Meeting these prerequisites allows you to detach your bionic arm and aim it towards your enemies, s♑tunning them cold with a fistful of steel. The onboard view allows you to accurately guide your detached arm towards the hapless guards – even as its coming towards their face. The rocket arm can be used on multiple foes providing a hilarious, yet 0% risk tactical weapon to prevent alerts.
11 ♛ Smell-O-Visio▨n
Tactical, covert operations can be gruelling work. The physical exertion, weighted gear, and perspiring work means taking care of🀅 one’s personal hygiene is of utmost importance.
If Big Boss has been out in the field for longer than five in-game days, his declined hygiene will begin to impact his mission effectiveness. Flies 💛ꦗstart to accumulate around Snake, enemies begin to notice his stench and investigate, and wild animals will thinks Snake is dead.
Keep up the declining hygiene long enough and your comrades begin to comment – most noticeably Ocelot, who delivers perhaps one of the best lines in the game... “Snake... You stink!,” inducing an in-game cutscene where Ocelot douses you with a bu𓂃cket of water.
For an alternate cutscene, employ Quiet as your buddy during this sequence to unlock a special cutscene – provided your relationship with Qu♊iet is high enough.
10 ꦺ Hooked On A Feeling
As Metal Gear Solid V is set in the 80s, cassette tapes and the portable walkman play an integral role in the in-game open world. As secret collectibles Big Boss can gather in hidden locations, the cassettes contains important missions and some cassette tape♕s produce special effects.
"Soldier with Stomachache," for example, eliminates enemy suspicion while near or inside a toilet. Several animal tapes discovered after you Fulton extract the required species will cancel suspicion when played as the enemy approaches your location. There’s even a cassette that will clear the c𒀰urrent alert status, provided you’re hidden from sight.
There are 41 music tapes🙈 available to be collected to provide your gameplay with a solid 80s soundtrack – remember, there wasn’t Spotify or any streamable music service back then. As well, there’s a dozen cassette tapes that offer up spec🗹ial effects when they’re played through your iDroid or walkman device.
9 ꦚ Guard Duty ൲
Guards that occupy the Metal Gear universe are curious by nature, bu🅷t they’re also easily fooled. This means that there🃏 are several ways of disposing of guards – with some being absurdly ridiculous and others being down-right genius. Here’s just a few of our favourites.
- If you stun or tranquilize a guard and they fal💯l face down in a puddle, they’ll drown
- Calling a supply drop atop an enemi🔯es head knocks⭕ them unconscious, perfect for hard to kill enemies
- Throwing unconscious enemies at other enemie🐻s stuns them
- Ammo cartridges aren’t just for weapons, you can throw them at enemies’ heads to stun them, this also works with unex🍌ploded ♚grenades and even flares
▨- Distract an enemy with a cardboard box babe poster and utilize some CQC while the guards ogle the pin-up girl
- ROCKET PUNCH!
There are many other ways to impair guards. How many have you🐠 found? Comment below.
8 Look At This Photo😼graph
Did that title make you laugh? While that title may be a popular lyric from a certain Canadian rock band (whom we won’t name...), it’s also a unique feature in Metal Gear Solid V.
During moments in in the game in which you’re riding in your support helicopter, notes and photographs can be found attached to your walls. Upon further inspection, the player will notice that these photographs and notes are actually mementos from you🌄r adventures in the game. As you delve further into the game, more keepsakes will be added or removed, depending on your style of gameplay.
While they serve no purpose, they serve as nice reminders of your progress throughout the game, as well as the level of intricate detail th✅at Kojima has implanted in the game.
Plus it's always good to look bac🌄k at the 🦋memories you’ve made.
7 A Streetcar Named Fult🌸on
The Fulton recovery system is a versatile tool that provides endless fun for🔯 the player as the countless of ways to use it ranges from silly to the absolutely effective. It allows you to send supplies and personnel to your hive of operations, Mother Base, productively improving your GMP. But did you know that the Fulton system also works as a tactical espionage tool?
That’s right, on top of assisting Big Boss with managing and upgrading his resources and personnel, did you know that you can Fulton yourself? Instead of having to traverse to the landing zone at the end of a mission, you can end the mission and directly transpo⛄rt yourself back to Mother Base by simply climbing on top of a cargo conta🌺iner and equipping a Fulton balloon on it.
Though in order to accomplish this feat, you have to upgrade your Fulton syste🔜m to the a🔯ppropriate level (Level 2 or higher).
6 Wan💛dering Soldie🌃rs
From time to time as you traverse through the MGS V open world, you’ll encounter erratic zombie-like soldiers you’re unable to kill, no matter how hard you try. That’s because they’re former comrades from the Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes prequel.
You can Fulton them back to Mother Base, but they’re hard to capture – as tend to dart off erratically when you get too close, making tr♛anquilizers or CQC stun att🍎acks nearly impossible. To circumvent this problem, you can approach them in your trusty cardboard box or play the “Love Deterrence” cassette to lure them into submission.
Once you have captured one, head back to Mother Base. If you’ve unlocked the Medical Platform on base, go to the third floor deck and locate the automatic opening door that unlocks to trigger a secret cutscene featuring another comrade from your Peace Walker days.