Need your opinion: MGS 5:TPP or The Division?

[pk500]

Fellas:

I have some Best Buy credit, and I'm looking for a good game that's on sale. I've distilled my choices to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain or The Division.

Which game is better? Which has longer legs? Which is more compelling? Which has fewer bugs? Which would suit me better? You cats know me: I love military shooters, don't mind stealth and am open to an RPG/action hybrid even though I thought Destiny was the most overrated grind game of this generation.

Both of these games are in the same price range. Which would you choose in my shoes, and why?

Thanks!

[Diablo25]

I havent played a MGS game in a LONG time but The Division is a fun game. I think you will like it. You do various missions and upgrade as you move throughout the story. I would give it a watch on Twitch for a while and get a feel for what you would be getting into.

[RobVarak]

I played them both. Put in a TON of hours in MGS. Gave The Division the old college try, but it really left me cold. I would absolutely go with Metal Gear. There is the usual insane backstory, but the gameplay is just great and it is super addictive.

[fletcher21]

Metal gear by a mile. The division is a game you will either love or hate. You're guaranteed to love mgs, especially if you know the formula. Not only that, but the story is halfway decent and isn't as far fetched as previous titles. Metal gear is a 9.5/10, while the division is a 6.5. I grew extremely annoyed with the way the division enemies take bullet sponge to another level. I will say this, though. Being able to play your single player campaign missions with 3 other random human players is a thrill not found in mgs.

[TCrouch]

MGS, and it's not even close. The Division is fun, and is getting a MASSIVE overhaul patch in 2 days--but it's always been grind-y and MMO-y. I don't think you're into that much. I dig it, and I'm looking forward to the 1.4 update, but I hadn't played it in months until they teased that patch.

MGS is incredible all the way around, other than the corny intro and bizarre story bits.

[pk500]

Thanks for the advice, fellas. Bill raised a great point: Twitch.

Twitch has become almost an even better asset than demos for discerning game quality. You can usually judge a game pretty well through Twitch, opinions of respected people from DSP and either a demo or early access on EA Access.

I watched The Division last night on Twitch for about 10 minutes. Looked tedious as f*ck. Fletch's point about bullet sponges was VERY evident. That would drive me nuts.

Then I watched MGS:TPP. Wow. That game looked cool and funky, with a Japanese style.

Think I'm sold on Metal Gear. But I'm interested in any more opinions on either game, too!

Thanks again.

[ScoopBrady]

Metal Gear has a long, plodding intro mission (I personally enjoyed it but I know some thought it was tedious and way too long) but once you get through that it really opens up. If you don't mind the supernatural aspect of the story it truly is one hell of a game. The Division is decent at best and gets repetitive. Metal Gear gives you so many options of how to complete missions in a big sandbox (literally it is all sand!).

[Danimal]

I'm one of the lone few who loves the Division but it is much more fun playing with friends than solo. Having said that I would still go with MGS as that game is incredible.

[10spro]

I'm one of the lone few who loves the Division but it is much more fun playing with friends than solo. Having said that I would still go with MGS as that game is incredible.

Playing co-op is almost a must. Much easier to accomplish your tasks for sure. I played MGS mostly offline and The Division online, if that helps. Both are fine shooters but MGS definitely is a deeper game.

[TCrouch]

The Division is getting a major overhaul tomorrow, so I'd take another look if you had even a moderate amount of fun with it previously.

It's still more of a Diablo-style Loot game than something like MGS, but the bullet sponge enemies were toned down somewhat, and a lot more useful loot drops. Played it for a bit on the Public Test Server the past month and really can't wait to dig back into it tomorrow on the live version with a "real" character.

[pk500]

Thanks, fellas. All good food for thought. I ended up pre-ordering Dishonored 2 today with the credit. I loved the first one, and the sequel looks fantastic.

But these two games also remain on my radar for future purchases. Appreciate the feedback, and keep it coming!

Curious about the results of the patch on The Division, Terry. That game intrigued the hell out of me during development, but the beta and post-release feedback turned me tepid.

[Diablo25]

Thanks, fellas. All good food for thought. I ended up pre-ordering Dishonored 2 today with the credit. I loved the first one, and the sequel looks fantastic.

But these two games also remain on my radar for future purchases. Appreciate the feedback, and keep it coming!

Curious about the results of the patch on The Division, Terry. That game intrigued the hell out of me during development, but the beta and post-release feedback turned me tepid.

Dishonored 2 does look fantastic. I'm very close

[pk500]

Thanks, fellas. All good food for thought. I ended up pre-ordering Dishonored 2 today with the credit. I loved the first one, and the sequel looks fantastic.

But these two games also remain on my radar for future purchases. Appreciate the feedback, and keep it coming!

Curious about the results of the patch on The Division, Terry. That game intrigued the hell out of me during development, but the beta and post-release feedback turned me tepid.

Dishonored 2 does look fantastic. I'm very close

Did you play the first one? One of my five favorite video games EVER.

[Diablo25]

Thanks, fellas. All good food for thought. I ended up pre-ordering Dishonored 2 today with the credit. I loved the first one, and the sequel looks fantastic.

But these two games also remain on my radar for future purchases. Appreciate the feedback, and keep it coming!

Curious about the results of the patch on The Division, Terry. That game intrigued the hell out of me during development, but the beta and post-release feedback turned me tepid.

Dishonored 2 does look fantastic. I'm very close

Did you play the first one? One of my five favorite video games EVER.

No I did not. I almost got the definitive edition on the XB1 but just never pulled the trigger.

[Danimal]

Not changing my opinion on the above bu the Division patch really makes the game a lot better. Even with everything new I have right now I keep wanting to go back and play the Division.

[TCrouch]

Same. All I've done lately is play The Division. The new loot drops keep you on that constant upgrade cycle, which is very important for a game that (at its core) is nothing but a loot game.

MGS5 is still the better overall game (and will appeal to a broader audience), but The Division scratches that Diablo-loot-grab itch now for me. I love those games, and am constantly sucked into a kill-loot-repeat cycle with them that I'm fine with being addicted to

[Danimal]

Agree plus I feel it is a lot easier to group in the Division without feeling like the higher level player is doing all the work like in Diablo

[TCrouch]

I don't know, I always play solo except when I'm grouped with my wife...and in that case, I'm still doing all the work

[pk500]

Thanks for the feedback, boys. I ordered The Division used from Gamefly last week for $15. Still waiting for it to arrive. Eager to play.

[TCrouch]

That's one of the last games I bought on everything, too. I could play some co-op in there, it's definitely still more fun with others. But now enemies don't take 17 clips to kill (even the purples and elites I'm killing later on I can drop with one clip, provided I don't get peppered by everybody else at the same time).

The lethality was raised, overall. You both do damage and take damage at a much higher rate, so fights are just faster and more lethal affairs. Early on, it's not as evident as you have sh*ttier and more inaccurate guns, but as you get higher stability SMGs and settle on a play style, it opens up.

[fletcher21]

Division is engrossing at first, but I quickly lost interest. You are doing yourself a huge disservice if you don't pick up mgs at a later date. It's in my top 10 all time gameplay wise. Every mgs story is a bit too out there for me, but the gameplay was perfect. The only thing I disliked was how important it was to recruit soldiers, so you felt some regret killing any high ranked enemy. Once I unlocked the anti material rifle I just wanted to kill anything that moves lol.

[pk500]

I'll probably get MGS 5 at some point, Fletch. Thanks.

I know Ground Zeroes wasn't indicative of The Phantom Pain, but GZ left me sort of cold.

[Teal]

Haven't played a MGS game since, well, MGS. I played some of the Phantom Pain game, and time hasn't been kind to the absolutely bizarre story. The mechanics are good enough, but I just can't get past the insane plot nonsense now...lol.