Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is here. If you have a gaming PC, you'll want to use it to harness the power of the game's best version. Below I'll go over why.
The Big Boss of MGSV Versions
When PC gamers throw down over a thousand dollars for a gaming rig, they expect to have only the best experience. That isn't always the case, but with MGSV: The Phantom Pain it certainly is.
Featuring higher quality textures, draw distance, shadows, and effects, MGSV: The Phantom Pain is a sight to behold on PC. Konami's statement that it's "stunning" is an understatement as it's one of the best-looking games that you can play. Given that it's an open-world action game, these seemingly minor differences are amplified when you're out exploring Africa or Afghanistan. Big Boss has never looked so good.
Settings For A Fine-Tuned Experience
As many PC gamers hoped for, there are a variety of settings for adjusting the presentation of MGSV: The Phantom Pain. Older rigs are likely to run it. But really, the selection of settings specifically allow those with modern hardware to adjust the game to run with a configuration tuned for their environment. Those wanting to play the game at 4K resolution can provided they have the equipment to do so, while those with GPUs a couple generations old can decrease the intensity of post processing and more to secure a 60 frames per second experience. These settings can easily be adjusted mid-game for convenient testing and optimization.
Windowed Mode: Fullscreen, Borderless Fullscreen, Windowed
Resolution: Up to 4K
Display: Depends on how many monitors you have
Vertical Sync: Enabled, Disabled
Frame Rate: Auto, 30 FPS Lock
Motion Blur: Off, Low, Medium, High
Depth of Field: Disabled, Enabled
Model Detail: Low, Medium, High, Extra High
Textures: Low, Medium, High, Extra High
Texture Filtering: Medium, High, Extra High
Shadows: Low, Medium, High, Extra High
Lighting: Low, High, Extra High
Post Processing: Off, Low, High, Extra High
Effects: Low, Medium, High, Extra High
Ambient Occlusion: Off, High, Extra High
Volumetric Clouds: Off, On
Optimized to Perfection
I've been extremely pleased to find that the game runs as efficiently as MGSV: Ground Zeroes' PC version did. This isn't the sloppy port you might expect in this day and age.
As a result of its optimization, many users, both with mid to high-end PCs, are reporting great framerate despite the game's beautiful presentation. The years of hard labor by artists and programmers at Kojima Productions have paid off in a big way for the end-user experience.
A Timely Arrival
Unlike the Grand Theft Auto V's of the world, MGSV: The Phantom Pain has debuted on PC at the same time as its console counterparts. This makes it easier to avoid spoilers, and enjoy the experience during the initial wave of popularity.
It originally wasn't supposed to be this way. MGSV: The Phantom Pain's PC version was slated for a release two weeks from now, but thanks to the determination of staff at Kojima Productions, the PC version is playable on day one.
